


We're In This Together

by zugrian



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Banter, Character Study, Childhood Trauma, Cynical, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Morally Ambiguous Character, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:21:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 91
Words: 687,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26828773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zugrian/pseuds/zugrian
Summary: After the Chamber of Secrets, two unlikely allies bond over their similar backgrounds. Their plans for freedom take them on a different path through Harry's adventures and will bring them together in unexpected ways.
Relationships: Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood & Pansy Parkinson, Narcissa Black Malfoy/Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson & Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter
Comments: 129
Kudos: 239





	1. Introduction/Author's Note

Introductory Author's Note

Every fanfiction begins with an idea. Usually something an author wants to either change or elaborate upon. In my case, I had a couple of them that got me started writing this.

First of all, I really only find Harry to be a particularly believable character in Order of the Phoenix, when he is frustrated and angry. With everything that happens to him in the books, year after year, that just makes more sense to me compared to the rather innocent boy in canon. Plus, I remember being a teenager, as well as having more recently watched my nephew go through his teen years. Being sarcastic and cynical is the way most teenagers act in my experience.

And that's before we get to someone suffering such an abusive childhood as Harry. While the Cinderella-like aspect fits in with the more whimsical, fairy-tale like first book, the series goes on, becoming darker and more serious, and yet that abuse is never treated very seriously.

I think that's why so many people choose to make a bigger deal out of it when writing fanfiction.

I've also tried to make Harry more cynical in part to make him more devious- as I think that's how he would react to having to deal with the Dursleys for all those years. Plus, it helps make the sorting hat's assertion that he could do well in Slytherin work better, as Harry is much more often shown being impulsive rather than cunning in canon.

However, that's only part of the germination of We're In This Together.

The other half in this case being Pansy Parkinson.

It was obvious to me to have Harry paired off with a Slytherin girl for this story. It could have easily been the more popular Daphne Greengrass instead.

But I decided to use Pansy for a few reasons.

1\. She is the only Slytherin girl that actually gets some characterization in the books.

2\. She seems quite likely to have had parents that would support Voldemort.

3\. Way too many stories that feature Pansy also feature Draco, or even worse Draco/Hermione (which is beyond disgusting- he's a bigot that wants to kill her for fuck's sake)

4\. Pansy is basically the mean girl role in the series, which I wanted to play around with.

5\. If there can be thousands upon thousands of stories that turn nasty bastards like Draco and Snape into heroes, then surely even the school mean girl deserves a chance to shine- and uncover some hidden depth along the way.

As a point of departure though, this Pansy is rebellious. Canon Pansy shows up at the flying lesson being a bitch (but seemingly knowing Parvati & Neville already- something that will come up in this story) but otherwise doesn't appear again until book 3 when she starts hanging around Draco all the time. Therefore, I've taken the trope idea that while canon Pansy is basically set up with Draco/betrothed to him somewhere around the beginning of their third year, this Pansy is disgusted by Draco & wants to be free from him.

Also, with Pansy's family being potential Death Eaters, this fits perfectly with a second idea that started off this entire thing- what if Harry found a girl from a magical background who also suffered an abusive childhood? How would they team up & get along? What effects would their similar backgrounds have on them- both negatively & positively... etc.

And that led directly to the focus on their relationship- the intensity of that first teenage love, magnified in this case by trauma, magic, and the various adventures that Harry always gets drawn into.

With Harry being more cynical, he fits much better with Pansy than canon Harry would have.

He is also much more distrustful of authority here- as authority has let him down his entire life, with no one ever doing anything to help him against the Dursleys. Then when he gets to Hogwarts, Harry has to repeatedly save the day while the authority figures still let him down over and over again. Or in Snape's case, go out of their way to make him miserable.

Now in some ways, this story is inspired by the popular "Independent Harry" tropes.

However, I will try to avoid (or at least twist) many of the cliches that I've seen in similar Harry breaks free fanfics. For one thing, this starts at the end of Chamber of Secrets, rather than the more common end of Order of the Phoenix/Sirius emancipation via will idea. For another thing, breaking free from Dumbledore's control of his life will not be a focus.

That being said, because Harry will be different from canon, he will also react very differently to many of the characters- especially some of the good guys. I will be trying to avoid bashing any characters though. Not that bashing is necessary to show someone in a negative light. And in this case, even some of the characters that I personally really like won't be portrayed as positively as they often are.

But I do try to keep people's behavior similar to canon for the most part- other than the admitted changes to Harry, obviously.

And over the course of the story, there will be changes to the plot as well that divert things away from canon, as the actions of our protagonists create ripples throughout the narrative.

As a note about the rating- this story will eventually feature sex & violence. There will be cursing throughout, although I won't have them swear like a sailor the way I did at that age. I hope you enjoy the story.


	2. Meeting

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, obviously.

* * *

It had only been a few days since he had somehow survived the Chamber of Secrets, and once again Harry Potter felt like the Magical World was completely mad. Death Eater and unrepentant monster Lucius Malfoy had unleashed a beast that could have easily wiped out an entire generation- a 60 foot long snake that could kill with a glance, let loose in a school full of children, including his own son, and yet he walked out of Hogwarts a free man.

Albus Dumbledore was supposedly the greatest wizard alive and had an enormous amount of power as the head of the magical version of British parliament as well the magical version of the UN. But he let a man whose actions had terrorized and nearly killed students under Dumbledore's supposed protection go with a mere twinkle in his eye and a warning to behave himself. Was it any wonder the Death Eaters had caused so much destruction if the great hero fought terrorists with little more than stern words?

Of course, this was also the second year in a row that a boy who grew up in a cupboard had to save the school from the most evil Dark Lord in history. What made this pitiful fact even worse was that he had been shunned by almost the entire school because he could speak to snakes, which obviously made him a Dark Lord in training. They turned on their hero in the blink of an eye because they were all completely mad.

These thoughts made it a bit clearer why he had been abandoned to a life of slavery and abuse after saving them all as a baby- why would these crazy people bother caring about the fate of their savior?

Unfortunately, these thoughts also left Harry quite distracted as he wandered the halls of Hogwarts before dinner and left him lost somewhere high up in the castle that he had never been before. He turned a corner after hearing two familiar laughs and ran into three of the Weasleys.

Ron and the twins were standing over a dark-haired girl from Slytherin who would have looked nearly in tears to most people. But Harry saw something else- a haunted, broken look of someone who had seen far too much pain. It was something he saw in the mirror sometimes, and something he took great pains to never let anyone else see.

"What's the matter little snake? Your monster nearly took our sister from us," Ron was sneering at the girl who he realized was Pansy Parkinson. Ironically, Harry had often seen her sneering whenever he'd been classes with her as if she were far too noble to speak to a commoner from Gryffindor.

But now, she was just a girl whose wand was lying ten feet away and who had three much larger boys taunting her, menacingly. Her legs were still shaking from the obvious jelly-legs curse. It was too much for Harry's sense of honor to handle, whether these boys were his friends or not.

"Leave her alone!"

The twins turned to see Harry coming down the hall pulling out his wand. Ron replied, "She's just a slimy snake. You know she's gonna end up a Death Eater like her boyfriend Malfoy." None of the Weasleys noticed, but Harry saw a look of revulsion cross Pansy's face. Whether it was the mention of Death Eaters or Malfoy, he couldn't tell.

"I said leave her alone."

"No reason not to prank a Slytherin, Harry. They'd do much worse to us," Fred or George said. How would Harry ever be able to tell the difference if their own mother couldn't?

"I don't care if she's a Slytherin, you three need to back off."

"What's the matter with you, mate? The filthy snakes were taunting us all year about how they'd kill off people like Hermione," Ron said.

"Malfoy was the only one who ever said that."

"And his little pets like her all laughed it up," Ron argued.

"You can't change the snakes, Harry. They've been rotten for centuries," said the other twin.

"I don't care. Leave her alone."

"You gonna fight us over a stinking Slytherin, mate? What's wrong with you?" Ron looked as if he couldn't believe Harry wouldn't join him.

"I hate bullies," Harry said in a low voice.

"We're not-"

"I killed a giant fucking snake to save your sister. I'm not afraid of you three. Now go find someone your own size to pick on."

The Weasleys backed up and the twins at least had the decency to look a bit ashamed. "It was just a bit of a joke," Ron mumbled as he walked off with his brothers.

Harry picked up her wand and walked over to Pansy. He held it out to her and offered her a hand up. "Why did you help me?"

"I hate bullies."

Pansy looked at him, wondering just who Harry Potter really was. Something about the boy-who-lived didn't make sense. Then she had a flash of recognition, a sense of familiarity, and her heart both broke for him and soared for herself. It was a feeling of hope, something she had almost forgotten, but maybe he could be the hero she never dared to believe would rescue her.

She should her head and asked, "Why don't you wear your family ring, Potter?"

Harry stared at her for a moment and asked, "What family ring?"

"The Potter family ring. You are the last Potter, heir to an old and powerful family," she replied. Now something really didn't make sense about him.

"I've never heard of a Potter family ring."

"That's not good," Pansy said as she started to pace. How could he help her if he didn't know anything? Then, she realized she could help him and he, the noble Gryffindor, was bound to help her in return. At least the tiny sliver of hope wanted to think he would.

"We need to somewhere to talk," Pansy said, and suddenly a door appeared on the wall, right next to where she had been slumped on the floor moments ago.

They both turned at the wall then stared at each other skeptically. "That was far too convenient." Pansy looked down the hall, noting they were still alone, before cracking open the door. She then quickly dragged Harry inside.

"Sometimes I love magic," Harry said as he looked at the room. Inside were several chairs and couches, all looking thoroughly over stuffed and comfy, as well as a table with butterbeer and snacks. He grabbed a drink and sat down. "So what is a family ring?"

"I'm guessing you live with muggles?" Pansy asked. The look he responded with seemed to be several different emotions at once, all of them negative. "That's good in a way, one less thing for you to have to overcome. If a magical family were keeping you from your inheritance, it could make things much harder. Did you at least get your vault key?"

"Hagrid brought a vault key to me when he took me to Diagon Alley."

"Why would Hagrid take you? He's basically the gardener, all students from non-magical families are supposed to be met by McGonagall, that's part of her duties as Deputy Headmistress."

Harry thought for a moment, unsure what or how much he should say. He barely knew Pansy, but she seemed to honestly want to help him. Of course, any amount of trust usually had to be pried out of him, but what he'd seen in her eyes made him think that maybe she was someone he could learn to trust. Maybe. He'd just start with a small step. 'My relatives didn't want me to come here,' he thought, but no that might give too much away. "There was some difficulty getting my Hogwarts letter."

Pansy realized by the way he wasn't looking at her that he wasn't saying everything, but she decided not to push. This was their first real conversation after all. "Even so, they should have sent someone who could do actual magic like a teacher." She thought for a moment. "Did Hagrid say who had the key before he brought it to you?"

"I don't think so," Harry thought for a moment, "maybe Dumbledore."

"That is interesting."

" _Bad_ interesting?"

"Hard to say with what we know. Which isn't much." Pansy took a drink of water before continuing. "You need to get to Gringotts as soon as possible. Show them your key and ask to speak to a manager. Tell them you are there to receive your family inheritance, which should have them bring out the Potter family ring. Once you put it on, you will be officially recognized as the Potter family head. Normally, you'd have to be older, but as there are no other Potters left, you could have claimed this as early as 11, once you were old enough to buy a wand."

"What good will that do me?"

"As head of your family, you will legally be granted emancipation. You'll effectively be an adult."

"You mean I could live wherever I want?"

"As old as the Potter family is, I'd assume there would be several properties where you could choose to live. Possibly with house elves too."

With the mention of house elves, Harry felt inspired and called out, "Dobby?"

A small crack announced the arrival of Harry's most insanely devoted friend. "The great Harry Potter calls for Dobby?"

"You've got your own house elf?"

"No, Dobby's just my friend."

"Wait a minute, aren't you the Malfoy house elf?" Pansy asked warily.

"No, the great Harry Potter freed Dobby from the bad masters."

Pansy looked at Harry, who was watching the gleeful elf look around the room, and the sliver of hope grew a bit brighter. "You freed a house elf?"

"I tricked Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock the other night. Malfoy was the one who caused the Chamber of Secrets to open."

Pansy shook her head and sighed. "That makes sense. Malfoy claimed to be under the Imperius curse to get out of going to Azakaban supposedly after the Dark Lord fell, but I'm pretty sure he just bribed his way free. What did Dumbledore do?"

"Nothing," Harry spat bitterly. "He let him walk free with barely a warning. Several students, including my best friend, nearly died, and the bastard just walked out the door."

"Damn, I expected more from Dumbledore than that."

"So did I."

They sat for a moment before Dobby asked, "What can Dobby do for the great Harry Potter sir?"

Harry looked over at the elf. "What are you going to do now Dobby? What do free House Elves do?"

"Dobby will need to find somewhere to live, sir, hopefully with a nice family."

"Don't you want to be free?"

"House elves need to live with a magical family or at a business to survive," Pansy explained.

"That's true Harry Potter sir. Dobby will need to find a good family or eventually Dobby will get sick."

"Well, apparently I am the head of the Potter family. Or at least I will be once I can get to Gringotts. You could be a part of my family if you want."

"Dobby would be honored to work for the great Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter would be the best master in the world!"

"I'll do my best Dobby. Will you be alright for the next couple of weeks?"

"Dobby will stay nearby. Hogwarts always has work for elves to do."

"Okay, take care of yourself and I'll call you as soon as I can." That was more than enough encouragement for Dobby, who left with an enormous smile on his face. Harry then turned to Pansy, "So... once I claim the Potter family ring, I'll be able to do whatever I want?"

"To a large extent. I'd recommend getting a solicitor as soon as possible. I assume you've never been paid for all the boy-who-lived crap that people sell everywhere."

"They sell stuff about me?"

"Sure, tons of things. You're one of the 10 most popular quidditch jerseys, a second year amongst the Holyhead Harpies. Not to mention all the books about you. Or the dolls," Pansy smirked at Harry, as his face went a bit green as the realization of his fame sunk in a bit further.

"No wonder Ginny had a crush on me."

"She's far from the only one, Potter." This time Pansy didn't smirk, but looked away with a hint of disgust. Without looking at him, she continued, "Most of the girls raised in the magical world probably do. People have been telling their children bed time stories about the heroic little boy who saved the world ever since then. A lot of people were surprised at how you looked and behaved when you got here. Supposedly, you grew up in a far off castle, learning magic, fighting monsters, and rescuing pretty young maidens from evil wizards. I guess whatever life you had in the muggle world wasn't quite the same as that?"

"Not even fucking close," Harry muttered. Pansy turned to him to see something dark in his eyes. After an awkward moment, Harry asked, "So once I get my ring, I'll be free from my muggle relatives. I assume you'll want something for telling me this?"

"Why would you say that?" Pansy was a bit worried that he'd figured this out.

"It wouldn't be very Slytherin of you to give me valuable information without wanting something in return."

"I'm surprised no one has told you this before. Any of your pureblood friends should have known this. If Weasley was too jealous, at least Longbottom should have said something, or even the Patil girl."

"I didn't know they were all purebloods."

"You've really been kept in the dark then. The Longbottom & Potter families have been close going back for generations. Even if Dumbledore is keeping you in the dark for whatever purpose, that squib was honor bound to tell you these things."

"He's not a squib," Harry said as he started to get irritated as she seemed to want to insult all his friends.

"Why waste your time getting bent out of shape on his behalf if he's been lying to you this whole time? And please don't start defending Weasley to me either, especially not after today. I can see that you're not stupid, Potter, you must know he's incredibly jealous of you."

"Yeah, I've seen it sometimes. I guess if I'm as rich and powerful as you're suggesting that would make sense, but I still have a hard time believing how famous I am. I had no idea they sold Harry Potter merchandise, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Imagine that, a nasty little Slytherin girl turning the golden Gryffindor boy into a cynic!" Pansy chuckled mirthlessly.

"I was turned into a cynic a long time ago." Harry looked at her with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "You got us off topic. You still haven't told me what you want from me in return for all this."

Harry could tell there was something that Pansy was holding back, but he let the silence play for a few moments. Eventually she sighed and answered him, "If you can get control over your life like I'm suggesting, you might be able to help me. You're not the only one who lives with relatives they don't like."

Both of them knew that this was an understatement and at the same time started to realize that maybe they had a lot more in common than they were willing to acknowledge, at least out loud.

A moment later, they heard a number of voices out in the hall. "It must be time for dinner. Listen, Potter, maybe we can talk some more soon. But if people saw me start hanging out with you all of a sudden..." Pansy trailed off, angered by how precarious things could get for her if any of the junior Death Eaters from her house found out she was _cavorting with the enemy_.

"I get it, someone like Malfoy could cause you problems for being seen with me. Why don't we meet after dinner tomorrow night? If you can slip out a bit early and find an empty class room-"

"Why don't we just come back here? This room is out of the way."

"Alright, tomorrow night after dinner. We both make sure we're not followed."

"I'd suggest we both get to dinner early, we have a lot to talk about."

"Okay," Harry said as he walked to the door, preparing to leave. "Give me a couple of minutes head start so no one will see us together?"

"Sure. Thanks, Harry, for earlier."

"You're welcome, Pansy."


	3. Parkinson & Potter, Runaways Inc.

* * *

The next day passed slowly for Pansy. Hope and excitement were trying to break through years of doubt and sorrow, and all these conflicting emotions left her reeling. Thankfully, with finals canceled and a free period in what would have been Defense, she didn't have to concentrate much. She spent part of the day browsing the library, finding a reference book that should hopefully help tonight's discussion. With little appetite, she went to the Great Hall for dinner early just to get to the meeting with Harry as soon as possible.

Harry, on the other hand, spent the afternoon in the infirmary talking to Hermione. Madame Pomfrey had told him repeatedly that she couldn't hear him, but that actually suited Harry just fine. He felt like he was unburdening himself, spilling secrets to Hermione, even though she wouldn't remember them. In truth, it felt good just to say some things out loud. Harry had been isolated for so much of his life that talking to himself was therapeutic, a way to not go crazy when he was locked in the cupboard for days on end.

Once he knew that he was alone with Hermione, he began to ramble. Harry's excitement was hard to contain. If Pansy was telling the truth, he might finally be free from the hell of his relatives. He told his best friend's stiff form more about the pain of his life than he ever thought he would. The many nights he had passed out from sheer exhaustion when he had been too hungry to fall asleep. The dozens of times he painfully wheezed all night long from what he assumed were broken ribs. The time 2 years ago when his uncle had broken his arm for not washing his car thoroughly, only for it to be healed over night. And the even worse day later when his uncle found out & broke it again. That was one of the only times he ever felt something other than hatred for his aunt as she had kept Vernon away from him for the next few days. Whether she was trying to keep Vernon from getting blood on her carpet or just didn't want to have to figure out how to dispose of his body, he never really could decide although Harry assumed it was probably a bit of both. After all this time, pain was just a normal part of life to Harry- and the idea that he might soon never have to see those monsters again left him feeling positively giddy.

Assuming she wasn't lying to him... and for some reason Harry just instinctively knew that she wasn't.

When he saw her that evening, as one of the first people sitting down at the Slytherin table across the hall, he could tell he was right. Instinct had been forced to develop strong in him just to keep him alive all this time. The look on the girl's face, brief as it was when she quickly looked away, told him that she was desperate for him to succeed and to help get her away from her own family life. Harry wondered what exactly had been so wrong with Pansy's childhood, but the idea of combining magic with whatever cruelty allowed people to abuse children quickly began to turn his stomach. He pushed those thoughts away as well as he could and tried to focus on the time left. 6 days till the end of term and the return trip on the train. He forced himself to eat and began trying to plan how to escape to Gringotts.

Less than half an hour later, he saw Pansy finish eating and leave the Great Hall. As he was about to finish his last bite, Fred & George entered the Great Hall and headed for Harry.

"Hey Harry, about yesterday-"

"We just wanted to apologize-"

"You were right, it was out of line-"

"We shouldn't have taken it out on that girl-"

"It's just after what happened to Ginny..."

"We were frustrated and angry-"

"Guys, hold up. First of all, its not me that you should apologize to. Secondly, I can understand being upset about Ginny. Next time, pick the right target. Here's a hint: the name starts with an M and ends with alfoy."

"Right Harry. I don't see Parkinson anywhere tonight, though..."

"Maybe we should tell her sorry tomorrow?"

"Sure guys, could you tell Ron I needed to go by the library tonight? He borrowed my broom this afternoon and hasn't made it to dinner yet."

"Okay, later Harry."

Harry tried not to hurry out the door and down the halls. As soon as he made it to a bathroom and found it empty, he pulled out his father's invisibility cloak and headed upstairs.

On reaching the 7th floor, he found the mysterious door from the day before and cautiously opened it. Pansy was sitting on a leather couch opposite the door, with her wand out as he stepped inside. He pulled off the cloak and she let out a breath.

"I was about to start hexing. How did you get a hold of an invisibility cloak?"

"Apparently, my father left it with Dumbledore before he died. I received it as a Christmas present first year."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You mean the part about why people _in hiding_ from the worst Dark Lord ever would just give away something as useful as an invisibility cloak when their lives are at stake?"

"Well, that or the part about how the old man was allowed to hold onto a Potter family heirloom for a decade. Then he gives you your property back as if you should be grateful to him."

"Yeah, oh how benevolent of the mighty Dumbledore. I'm granted one thing that belonged to one of my parents a decade after they died."

"So much for the idea of me turning you into a cynic," Pansy said with a chuckle. Harry noticed that she seemed to be more at ease the more bitter he sounded. This was so refreshing- Ron and Hermione both complained when he "got moody." As if they had any idea what a bad mood really was. Ron not getting a third plate at dinner or the library not allowing Hermione to borrow two dozen books at a time were not even on the same planet as the summer Harry had been dreading until yesterday.

"So, what all do I need to know about how to become emancipated?"

"The basics from yesterday are the main things. I'd recommend calling Dobby to help out once you claim your head of house status. He can take you wherever you need to go, transport your belongings, and whatnot. House-elves are actually really useful; unfortunately for them, most wizards just see them as servants for doing things around the home."

"I guess I should talk to Dobby about what all he will be able to do for me."

"Especially with how loyal he was yesterday. I imagine he'd do most anything for _the great Harry Potter!_ "

"I know he's a bit... excitable..."

"That's one way to put it," Pansy smirked.

"Well he did try to save my life. Just not in the most sane ways."

"Who are we to say what is sane for a house-elf?"

"Considering he's the only one I've ever met, I have no idea."

"My family has one named Leddy. She is pretty odd, but part of that could be the different people she has to serve. My mother is particularly harsh in her punishments," as she said this the sneer Pansy often wore returned. "She's not so bad when Father goes away on business. Dear old mum often just drinks the day away, so as long as I stay out of the way, things are pretty calm.

"By the way, for all sorts of magical customs that you should learn about, I got this from the library," she handed over a book that was relatively new compared to most things one would find in Hogwarts. "I figured it might be prudent to check this out for you. If Dumbledore is interfering in your life, better to not let him have any idea what you're up to."

"Something I read once in a muggle book: 'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.' I'm not sure which would be worse, that he might be lying to me and manipulating my life, or that he's just a senile old fool. Either way, he is magically and politically powerful and could cause me more problems."

"Okay, so read the book and then ask me any questions you might have."

"Well I have one for starters- what about all of these customs do I need to know to help you?"

"You're really going to help me?" Pansy said, briefly startled. A little voice inside her head screamed out in disbelief, 'He wouldn't be a hero like this for someone like you. _You don't deserve it._ '

Harry answered, "Of course" so quickly and easily that the terror receded and Pansy's sliver of hope exploded with glee. She smiled to him and said, "In a way its too bad it wasn't me you saved from the Chamber of Secrets. That would make things a lot easier."

"How so?"

"Well you would be owed a life debt as Head of House Potter by House Parkinson, so you could just claim me from my parents."

"What is option two then?"

"You could help me runaway, but that would only be a temporary solution. The larger problem is betrothal agreements."

"What does that mean?"

"My parents could arrange a marriage for me," she said with a look of pure disgust. "Would you want to be Mrs. Draco Malfoy?"

"I think I'd rather die."

"Exactly." An awkward silence followed before Pansy could continue. "There are ways to break betrothals, although some of them are quite painful."

"Sounds fun," Harry answered cynically. "What types of torture are we looking into exactly?"

"Well, an easy one would be for me to lose my virginity. That would cause the typical pureblood arrangements to fail."

Harry suddenly looked at Pansy and involuntarily gulped. He admitted that Pansy was attractive, but he hadn't considered her like that before. Puberty had recently kicked in and Harry was just starting to understand how much more he wanted to touch a girl. Pansy was certainly cute enough to be that girl. But she was talking about jumping in to the deep end of the pool and Harry hadn't even learned to tread water yet. A moment of dread crept in. He'd already decided he was going to do whatever he could to help her get away from her family but this was going to be more serious than he was afraid of. Now he had to quickly think of how to respond.

"The look on your face, Potter," Pansy said with a genuine laugh. No smirk or sarcasm, actual mirth coming from the girl cleared Harry's thoughts. "The hero can face down monsters and rescue damsels in distress but seems terrified to help poor little Pansy."

"Well considering the best option you've suggested involves yet another near death experience, while plans B & C could lead to your family claiming that I had either kidnapped or raped you, I think a little terror is the appropriate response."

"As often as you seem to nearly die, maybe I should just hang around you for a few weeks and that life debt idea could be ready to go."

"I haven't even told you about some of my 'adventures' that involved even more danger thrown my way," Harry responded with something between a groan and a chuckle. "My time in the magical world has involved 9 close calls with death; considering that involves a year as a baby and two years of schooling, I'm pretty sure that Fate must hate me."

"Well then, maybe the next week will solve this little problem. I'll just have to figure out a way to keep close enough to you to nearly die at the same time."

"This conversation is getting a little morbid. I'll read the book soon, why don't we talk about something else for awhile. Tell me something about yourself. We might as well get to know each other if we're going to be partners in crime, so to speak. The teenage runaway team of Potter and Parkinson."

"Parkinson and Potter sounds better, after all I'm clearly the brains of this organization."

"I guess I should start working out if I'm supposed to be the muscle then."

"Good idea, Potter, you're a bit too scrawny for my purposes right now."

Although he felt a brief bit of anger at why he was so small and thin for his age, Harry realized that Pansy didn't know that. Somehow, he was able to push that aside and just keep up the teasing banter, "Should I be worried about what purposes these might be?"

"I think worrying about being a criminal or nearly killed again are enough for your plate right now."

"Thanks for small mercies. So tell me something about yourself. After all, a little shared black mail info might make our nefarious partnership more successful."

"Look at you with the big words. Clearly you've spent too much time around the bookworm," Pansy said before realizing- "Sorry, Harry, I'm sure you've been upset about Granger."

"I've actually spent a lot of time in the infirmary with her. I know Madame Pomfrey says she can't hear me, but that's not really a problem for me. I grew up alone, talking to myself is nothing new. I'm closer to Hermione than other muggle born students because someone like Dean had a normal childhood- that's not something I can really relate to very well. Hermione grew up in books. I'm not as avid a reader as her, but the library was one of the few places where I had moments of peace."

"Damn it, now I have to say something revealing too." Pansy was more than a little shocked at Harry opening up to her like that and had to think for a moment. "Something personal, then... I like long walks on the beach with a guy who can make me laugh at sunset."

"How shockingly normal of you. Let me guess, turn offs include bad breath, poor manners, and people not willing to nearly die to save your life."

Pansy laughed and replied, "Fine. I love to dance. When I was younger, I was taught how to dance for societal functions, typical pure blood stuff. I enjoyed it so much that I was able to convince my parents to have extra training at it. Of course, I haven't actually been able to use that training for anything as Father's business dealings and travel have limited the family's social events lately. Another year or so, and I'm sure they would have me out on the ball circuit trying to see who might offer up the best offer for a betrothal. That does put a damper on the hobby, but as a girl, the idea of dancing with some handsome young man..."

"So Pansy is a romantic, imagine that."

"I'm not a little girl any more, Potter" despite rolling her eyes, Harry could tell from her tone that she wasn't as annoyed as she might claim. "Besides, only pure bloods would be suitable for me. Tell me who you would pick from Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, & Zabini."

"Ugh. I guess Zabini isn't too awful," Harry said before noticing her look of revulsion. "Maybe not?"

"He might be the worst option, and considering Malfoy, that's saying something."

"What makes him so bad?"

"I guess you wouldn't know much about magical society. His mother is very rich as she's had 6 wealthy husbands who have all died. I can't remember what her last name is right now as it changed again about a year ago and honestly, I would rather never have to speak to her. Can you imagine having her for a mother in law?"

"Or even worse, how an obvious serial killer might do raising a son. I can just imagine after his first wife dies mysteriously, his proud mother the psychopath."

"You're smarter than you look Harry, so I assume you realize why I would never want to be the first wife in that scenario?"

"I'm still not sure that would be worse than Malfoy, at least Zabini might make it quick and painless. A few years as Mrs. Malfoy might be a fate worse than death."

"I think a few days would be bad enough. He may annoy you regularly in classes and at meals, but at least you don't have to be in the same house with him or share all his classes. Almost everyone in Slytherin is a pure blood, with many having much older and more powerful families than his, but Daddy Malfoy's money means Draco thinks everyone has to bow down before him. I'm sure you want to punch his smarmy face in, imagine having that same feeling all day, every day."

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't realize how awful Malfoy was to people other than me. My dearest condolences, my lady," Harry said while dramatically taking her hand and brushing his lips across the back of her hand. Pansy suddenly blushed and was glad that he wasn't looking at her while wondering where this confident and amusing side to Harry was coming from. For Harry's part, he had a brief flash of wonder at what the hell he was doing before just deciding to trust his instincts. Maybe he was flirting with her, but considering she had thrown out the idea of losing her virginity to him earlier, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

"Apology accepted, after all you are just the muscle of the organization, I guess I can't expect too much sensitivity out of you."

"If you want me to grunt and call you mistress, you're out of luck," Harry said with a smile that made Pansy consider just how much she might like to hear him call her mistress. "I will, grudgingly, admit that Parkinson and Potter does have a slightly better ring to it, but that's still the name of a partnership. If you want a goon to follow you around, you'll have to see if Malfoy will rent out Crabbe for awhile."

"Not Goyle?"

"Crabbe is a bit more menacing looking, don't you think?"

"I guess but they're both so dense that neither would make a very good henchman. Must be why they stick to Malfoy, he could never be much of a mastermind without having to tell his father about everything."

They both started to do an impression of Malfoy saying 'when my father hears of this' before bursting into laughter. Harry smiled at Pansy, watching her try to control herself, and wondered at how much he enjoyed being around her. A week ago, this would have been unthinkable. 'Well, might as well have a criminal partner that is a bit of fun to be around.'

"Somehow, next year, I want to be able to talk to you without worrying about who might see us."

"That's a big goal, Potter. Between the junior Death Eaters and bullying thugs like the Weasleys, we both might be screwed."

"The Weasley twins actually apologized to me about the other day when I was on my way here. I told them you were the one they needed to apologize to."

"Not bad, you actually got through to those fools. Other than walking around with a ready wand to hex people, I'm not sure how to fix someone like Malfoy."

"We'll have to figure it out together, _partner_."

"Alright partner, if you can figure out something to help deal with that little shit then I might be willing to admit that you're more than just the muscle."

"I'll get right to work on it then just to show you my most smug face when we walk down the hall together in the fall."

"It shows Gryffindor foolishness to court danger by openly cavorting with the enemy, you know."

"Well, if you ever become my enemy, I'll start to worry."

"Have you thought about what classes you're going to take next year? Because, as partners, we really should take the same classes to maximize our time for scheming."

"More time for us to make the fools around us confused too. After all, am I the next Dark Lord taking a good pure blood princess as his Dark Lady? Or are you an evil witch seducing the poor hero to the dark side?"

"Either one would be hilarious to hear as gossip. Back to classes though, of the five options only three are worthwhile. Muggle Studies is widely regarded as an easy joke class, plus I assume that since I'll be teaching you about the magical world you can explain the muggle world to me."

"Fair enough," Harry answered, thinking that he probably would have to learn a lot of things about the non magical world too. He hadn't had a wide variety of experiences out there anyway. That was something else that he would have to change this summer.

"Divination is also pointless. Unless you're having visions of the future, which is really something you should tell your partner about."

"Assuming day dreams don't count, then no."

"That leaves the other 3, all of which could be useful. Arithmancy has to do with numbers, math, patterns and whatnot and how they relate to magic. I don't know anyone taking it but it sounds fascinating."

"Are you sure you're not secretly a Ravenclaw? I was pretty good at math in primary school, so I'm willing to give it a try."

"Good. Study of Ancient Runes would be very practical too. Runes are used in all sorts of things like warding, enchanting magical items, making every thing from wands to brooms. I decided a long time ago to take it, so you better be willing to join me in it. That just leaves Care of Magical Creatures."

"After everything I've experienced these last couple of years, that should really be important for me. Between a basilisk, acromantulas, a unicorn..."

"Wait a minute, a basilisk? That was what was in the Chamber of Secrets?" Pansy said shocked.

"Yeah, it nearly killed me too. But that's not important right now, I need to tell you something. I just remembered the unicorn from first year-"

"You killed a basilisk?" Pansy was looking at him in disbelief. "What could be more important than that?"

"It's about Voldemort." That got her attention and Pansy saw that Harry was having trouble deciding what to say next. A tense moment of silence made her force him to finish his thought.

"What about him Harry? I really don't like this serious look on your face, say whatever you have to say so we can get back to our criminal organization."

"He's not dead. Or not completely. First year he was, I don't know, I guess possessing Professor Quirrel. Remember that turban he wore?"

Pansy nodded looking horrified. "Is this going to explain how he mysteriously disappeared at the end of the year?"

"He didn't disappear. I killed him."

A statement like that was always going to bring the conversation to a halt and Pansy stared at Harry with a scrutinizing eye. He couldn't tell what she was wondering about him and for a moment he thought that maybe he shouldn't have told her this, but she deserved to know, especially if she was going to count on him in the future. He quickly decided to continue.

"He had Voldemort's face growing out the back of his head. Dumbledore had hidden Nicolas Flamel's philosopher's stone in the school, apparently as bait for Voldemort, but I don't think he realized that Quirrel was actually possessed. Imagine that, we actually studied under the Dark Lord," Harry said this with a chuckle, but Pansy still looked worried and horrified. "Remember that nonsense about a painful death down a third floor corridor? They had a Cerberus guarding a trapdoor along with a few other obstacles, all of which 3 first years were able to get past. In the end, Quirrel and Voldemort attacked me to try to get the stone. He tried choking me and when I struggled to fight him off, touching me burnt his skin. I grabbed him and he basically turned to ash. Dumbledore claimed that the protection of my mother's sacrifice protected me from him. Then this black shadowy form flew away, so he's still out there as a wraith or spirit or something."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"I assume this means Quirrel was the one hexing your broom in Quidditch then?"

"Yeah. I ran into him in the Forbidden Forest when he was feeding off the blood of a unicorn."

"Why were you in the Forbidden Forest?"

"McGonagall sent me out there with Hagrid late at night for detention to find out what was attacking unicorns. Hermione, Neville, Malfoy and I went out with Hagrid before he had us split up. A few months after being told to avoid it, a teacher sent 4 first years out with the grounds keeper to track down whatever nasty thing was killing magical creatures."

"That's completely insane!"

"I know, I've kinda assumed that everyone's mental in the magical world since then. It would explain why so many people bought into Lockhart's nonsense or why Snape is allowed to teach, if you want to call what he does teaching."

"Speaking of unpleasant people, I should probably tell you something too. My father is a business associate of Lucius Malfoy, and has been for years," Pansy said with a dark look.

"You mean he's a Death Eater? Another of Voldemort's followers?"

"Officially, he was under the Imperius curse. Unofficially, he always wears long sleeves to hide the Dark Mark. And you can probably guess that would mean he isn't very pleasant, even to his family."

"I'm sorry," Harry answered. He thought that he should give her a hug, show some comfort, but another part said that she didn't want his pity. He settled on lightly patting the back of her hand, and if she hadn't pulled away, he might have tried to hold her hand.

"I believe you actually mean that, but the point is that this will make things more difficult and dangerous for us both. My family would be a problem regardless but because of who he is and who you are-"

"There's a much greater chance that he'll try to kill me."

"Yes," Pansy said, resigned that she might be losing her partner before her plans could really take shape. She looked away and wished she had allowed Harry to take her hand a moment ago. She didn't want him to let her go, but she could barely stand the idea of trying to face her father. How could she expect him to do it for her, or even with her?

"Okay. I guess the start of our schemes will have to be dealing with your father and then the Malfoys." His movement caused her to look back and Harry was now standing in front of her with has hand reaching out. She smiled as he asked, "Partners?"

She shook his hand and agreed, "Partners."

"So, we'll take 3 electives together next year. I think Ron will be annoyed with me, I'm pretty sure he's going to take the easiest classes he can."

"Speaking of the endless stomach, how did you get away from him so easily tonight?"

"I let him borrow my broom this afternoon so I could get to dinner early & not have to lie about ditching him to come meet with you."

"So you are hiding this too?"

"Well, Ron isn't known for subtlety, and I wouldn't think you'd like him shouting about why we're suddenly friends in the Great Hall. He'd probably say something offensive about how you were obviously evil and trying to use me for nefarious ends and then I'd have to punch him for being an ass."

"But I am using you for nefarious ends," Pansy laughed.

"No, no, no. You're just encouraging my heroic Gryffindor nature to rescue another damsel in distress, even if I have to resort to questionable methods. And that just shows how far I'm willing to go to do the right thing."

"That is a marvelous rationalization. Maybe you can be my assistant in the brains department."

"Do you want to be my assistant with the physical side of things?" Harry smirked back at her.

Pansy flushed but answered, "If you can find something important enough for my time, but don't expect me to break a sweat unless its really worthwhile."

Harry now knew he was going to have to study and prepare this summer for a new, more important task. He was sure that he would make it worth her time.

Pansy thought that the idea of getting sweaty with Harry was sounding more appealing the more he talked to her. And looked at her. And smiled at her. She felt a shiver go down her spine. She had to get ahold of herself somehow.

"So, tell me all about these 'adventures' you've had. I need to know just what my partner is capable of to properly scheme. I can hardly believe we might actually be able to do something about my father. Must be a Gryffindor rubbing off on me."

"Being decisive can be a good thing. Gryffindor decisiveness combined with a nice cunning plan will turn out well for us."

"I guess I'm cunning enough to share a bit of my expertise with you."

"Want to know a secret?"

"This sounds fun. It isn't very cunning to willingly give me more blackmail worthy information, you know?"

"Eh," he shrugged. "This will amuse you and I don't mind if you know some of my secrets since I know some of yours. The sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. I begged it not to."

"Why?" Pansy could have become his friend two years ago if he had agreed with the hat.

"Mostly because I'd already met Malfoy."

"Now I hate him even more."

"I'll admit a bit of it was that Hagrid and Ron had both told me that Slytherin was where all the evil wizards came from too. But Malfoy was just such a prick that I couldn't stand the thought of sharing a dorm with him."

"It would have really been something to see the looks on people's faces if the boy-who-lived was sorted into the house of snakes."

"True. It was fairly amusing just watching the look on your face when I told you."

"Well, I admit that you are a bit more cunning than I thought. Now, on to these adventures Potter, and make them interesting."

The room thankfully was providing as it had the day before, so Harry took a drink of Butterbeer before beginning to tell her of all the craziest things he'd done over the last couple of years. He made sure to get every near death experience in, as they weren't as bad to talk about now that he had lived through them. Plus, he really didn't mind telling Pansy about them, especially if they made him sound more heroic. He went through everything he could think of from first year- from smuggling Norbert out, to how the Troll was defeated, and through all of the obstacles to get to the stone. They both spoke of how thoroughly negligent it was of Dumbledore to keep the stone in a school, then discussed how the Chamber of Secrets fiasco was possibly even worse, especially once Harry told her of how Dumbledore knew that Tom Riddle had opened it 50 years ago and Moaning Myrtle had been killed by him. That also got into the fact that Voldemort was Riddle, and a half blood at that, something that made Pansy shake her head at how many pure bloods she knew had knelt before him. They talked on and on and by the time Harry's story was catching up to meeting her in the hall just yesterday, they realized it was after curfew.

Harry got out his cloak and turned back to Pansy, "Get under here with me and I'll help you sneak down to the dungeons."

That was an offer that Pansy was glad to accept. She cast a quick charm to help muffle their footsteps and they opened the door into the hall. She looked back into the room to make sure they hadn't left anything behind then joined Harry under the cloak. It wasn't going to be too cozy with him, as the cloak was surprisingly large, but she decided to stay close just in case she felt the need to wrap an arm around his waist. To make sure they kept their pace while walking, of course, certainly not because she just wanted to hold onto him.

Harry had discovered a couple of secret passages that trimmed a fair amount of time off the trip down to the dungeons, but if he didn't have Transfiguration first thing in the morning, he would have taken the longer path just to be near her longer. They were able to complete the journey without running into Filch surprisingly and Pansy was soon about to say good night.

"Will we see each other tomorrow?" he asked wondering at how he would be able to keep getting away from Ron to talk to her.

"We probably shouldn't. If we both keep disappearing every evening someone might notice. Besides, you need to read that book."

"Okay, how about Friday evening?"

"We'll both go to the library after dinner. I'll find a quiet spot then once you see that I'm alone, you pull me under this cloak and we come back up to this room. We can sleep in the next day if we get caught up again like tonight." Pansy was determined that they would definitely get caught up again.

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night."


	4. For Luck

* * *

Harry read the book about magical customs voraciously. He especially focused on the parts about life debts and betrothals, as well as any other parts he found having to do with debts between houses. Unfortunately, it looked like Pansy was right in that saving her life would be by far the easiest way to get her away from her family without leaving them any recourse to getting her back. Not that he wouldn't save her life, but he'd really rather just keep them both away from as much danger as possible. Harry had been getting in enough trouble without looking for more.

Friday evening found him wandering towards the back of the library till he spotted Pansy at a table, a book open before her that she was absent-mindedly flipping through. She quickly looked around after spotting him and he drew towards her while pulling the cloak over them. "Did you finish the book," Pansy asked in a whisper.

"Yes. Let's get to the room though."

It was a warm night as they made their way through the halls and up the stairs. By the time they reached the 7th floor, they were both sweating, and as soon as the door to their special room opened Harry was glad to see that it had open windows with a cool breeze blowing in. They pulled their robes off once they closed the door and now that she was only wearing her school uniform, he had a chance to really check her out more closely. Pansy was a bit shorter than average for girls his age, but that still left her with an inch or so over him. She had a slender figure, but her curves had started to develop and she had very shapely legs. Harry quickly caught her turning around and stopped admiring her body as she began to question him.

"Did you bring the book with you? We can go over anything you might have questions about."

Harry pulled it from his book bag and they sat down at a table that appeared before them with chairs for each of them. "It seems from what I read that you were right about a life debt being the easiest option, not that I am pleased about the idea of us facing death together."

"Am I not good enough to face death with you?"

"Despite how often I run into danger, I don't actually enjoy the idea of seeking it out. Nor do I want to put either of us into mortal peril unnecessarily."

"So, kidnapping it is then?"

"Probably. Dobby?" With a crack, the house elf appeared, as excited as ever.

"Master Harry calls for Dobby?"

"I'm not your master yet, Dobby, just your friend. I had some questions to ask you. First of all, the way you appear when I call for you like that, how does that work?"

"A house elf can always hear when he is called for."

"Will that work for anyone? I mean, if Pansy called for you could you come to her too?"

"Once the Great Harry Potter bonds with Dobby, Dobby will only go to people that Master Harry allows."

"Okay, well for future reference, I want you to be able to find Pansy. This summer, we're going to find a place to live. We're also going to figure out a way to let Pansy live with us. Until she does live with us, I want you to be able to go to her if she needs you. Pansy could be in danger. Will you help me protect her Dobby?"

"Dobby will protect miss Pansy."

"Thanks Dobby. Pansy told me that you could transport me with you when you apparate. If it is apparation that house elves do, that is."

"It is house elf magic, but it is near the same as wizard apparate magic. Dobby could take Master Harry with Dobby."

"How many people could you take with you? Could you take Pansy & I at the same time?"

"Yes, Dobby could take a few wizardy people at the same time. Dobby is not sure the most Dobby could take."

"But the two of us wouldn't be a problem? That's great news. Another thing I wanted to talk to you about was clothes. I understand about freeing a house elf, but I want you to be able to wear something other than just rags. So," Harry pulled out a handful of coins, "I want you to take this money and get yourself a proper outfit. I've worn ill-fitting hand me downs most of my life, you and I are going to dress better from now on. After all, the Great Harry Potter will need the Great Dobby looking his best so people will know you're part of my family."

Dobby threw himself around Harry's legs and was attempting to praise him between sobs and tears of joy. Pansy smiled while watching the two of them and realized that joining Harry was going to be one of the best decisions of her life. They'd been friends for less than a week and already he was planning on how to protect her this summer. Dobby left to find a proper outfit to make Harry proud, and Pansy realized there was one other possible scheme to join him.

"Speaking of joining your family, there is one other idea about getting the two of us together. A betrothal."

"I thought you were wanting to avoid being forced into marriage?" Harry was pretty sure he didn't gulp this time. Between offering up her virginity and now her hand in marriage, he was thinking that Pansy probably enjoyed trying to make him blush and gulp.

"I can already tell that you'd be much better than the other options. Don't get a big head though. The Longbottom Squib would be a better option than people like Malfoy and Zabini. Of course, it would be a pretty dull marriage since he usually stutters in the presence of scary Slytherins like me."

"Poor Neville," Harry said while Pansy glared at him. "He's a nice enough guy but I'm not sure how he got into Gryffindor. And I'm positive that you'd make each other miserable."

"There are few boys your age who could handle being with someone as amazing as I am. You can consider yourself lucky enough to be almost worthy of my time."

"I am so honored, Heiress Parkinson," Harry once again kissed the back of her hand with a flourish, only this time he held onto her a moment longer. Flirting was on the agenda from now on; he would force himself not to be embarrassed by whatever outrageous things she suggested in the future, or the often dangerous gleam in her eyes. Up close now, he realized they were a lighter shade of green than his, probably closer to hazel. He loved looking into them regardless, there was a glint he saw in her that was sarcastic and biting that he thoroughly enjoyed. It showed her strength remained despite whatever pains her parents had inflicted on her. He wondered how well a betrothal might work between them if it could be arranged, dubious as that seemed. "Somehow I doubt we could arrange a betrothal without using a potion on your parents."

"That or the Imperius curse."

"I don't know how to cast that yet and I'm guessing you don't either. Otherwise, all this scheming would be a lot simpler."

"Your fellow Gryffindors would be so disappointed in you, Potter. Shouldn't you be lecturing me about how mind control is evil?"

"You obviously are forgetting this past year. I am clearly the next Dark Lord. Parselmouth is just the first step, next advanced curses. Soon Necromancy, demon summoning, and magic so foul that innocent young women such as yourself could not even hear of it without fainting."

"In your dreams, Potter. You just want me to faint so you can carry me in your arms like a brave hero."

"Yep, that's me. Rescuer of damsels, extraordinaire. I guess Ginny owes me a kiss- too bad for her that she runs screaming from the room whenever I'm near."

Pansy mimed vomiting, "You need to rescue better damsels. I don't want to watch you kiss that little tramp."

"This must be your lucky year then," Harry chuckled. He thought that maybe his luck really was going to change. Now they just needed some luck with her parents...

"Didn't you say that your mother drinks when your father is away?" Pansy agreed with a nod while looking rather disgusted at the reminder of spending the summer back home. "Maybe we could use that to our advantage. Wait till she's drunk, maybe throw in a Confundus charm, and the idea of getting her to sign a betrothal might not be so unlikely."

"Sadly, that wouldn't work. As the Parkinson Heiress, only my father could sign a betrothal for me. Unless he died, but I doubt I'll get that lucky."

"Damn. Here I was thinking maybe you were about to admit that I was the brains for once."

"Kidnapping is back at the top of the list then. I'd suggest getting a Fidelius charm around whatever home you have, that would help keep us safe."

"Well, then you should be ready to go at a moment's notice. I'd recommend keeping things packed, if Dobby needs to pop in, grabbing you & a trunk shouldn't be too much trouble."

Pansy took a deep breath, "I'm trying not to get my hopes up Harry. Let's just focus on one thing at a time. Dobby should be able to pass messages back and forth. My parents would wonder who I was getting mail from, so he would be a safer bet than your owl. Let me know how things go at Gringotts and once you find a place to stay."

"Okay," Harry looked at the nervous Pansy and tried to think of a way to take her mind off her worries. "What do you think of muggles Pansy?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, there are a lot of them, and if we need to hide, hiding would be a lot easier in the non-magical world. It seems like most wizards and witches don't really know much about muggles, especially purebloods, so it might be much harder for your parents to find us there."

"That's not a bad idea. I don't particularly care one way or another about muggles. I'm glad I'm not one, but that's just because I like being a witch."

"Of course you do," Harry smirked.

"What's that smirk for Potter?" Pansy tried glaring at him but was finding it harder to even pretend to be annoyed with Harry.

"Its just that in the muggle world, calling a woman a witch would mean you found her unpleasant," Harry said with a chuckle, quickly adding, "However, I would never suggest such a thing of you, milady."

"You better not," Pansy managed to barely get out before laughing at him. She was glad he seemed more willing to flirt, that would make things so much easier in the long run. Staying in the muggle world sounded like a good idea, but she knew she could improve on it, "If we're going to live in the muggle world, then you'll need to keep me entertained there. Especially if we can't do magic. So get to thinking about that as well- you don't want me sitting around the house bored."

"That sounds like a threat, Pansy."

"I'm glad to know your ears work properly Potter."

"I will be sure to keep you entertained in the muggle world then," Harry answered. A part of his mind, though, started thinking of keeping her entertained at home as well. He noticed the clock on the wall and thought of stopping by a broom closet when he walked her back to the dungeons later. He enjoyed sitting so close to her but at the same time, it was a bit like torture. Even though they had been sweating earlier, she still smelled wonderful. His hormones were getting into full gear tonight.

They talked for awhile about the train ride away from Hogwarts. Despite wanting to sit together, they both agreed that it would be better not to be seen together just yet. Her parents would be a big enough obstacle without someone like Malfoy noticing and making things worse. They did, however, come up with a plan to cause enough of a distraction for Harry to leave the train without anyone spotting him while he headed to Diagon Alley via floo.

They spoke about summer assignments and Pansy decided that she would try to focus on school work for the beginning of the holidays, trying to stay busy as well as keeping herself out of the way of her parents. "Out of sight, out of mind after all." Hopefully that would work. And maybe her father would be busy with work too.

Harry thought of being able to practice magic once he was emancipated, something he had read & Pansy confirmed. He would need to get magically more powerful as soon as possible. It was obvious that there were many, many threats Harry would have to deal with, even more with Pansy needing his help, and none of them were just going to wait for him to finish school. If he wanted a fighting chance, he would have to prepare himself.

They talked for hours. All sorts of topics flew by. Simple things like what they enjoyed eating to what types of books they liked to read, and even into more serious topics like things they wanted to do in the future, once they were away from her parents. He suggested going to movies or plays, she suggested going to concerts or out to dance. Harry thought that he would have to get Pansy to teach him how to dance; he would probably have to suffer looking like a fool in front of her for awhile, but it would be worth it to be able to take her dancing. He would fulfill her childhood fantasy of dancing with a handsome young man, assuming she thought him handsome. He was determined to be charming enough to make the idea work regardless.

Eventually, it grew late and they were forced to return to their dorms. Harry once again escorted Pansy down to the dungeons underneath his invisibility cloak. He thought of trying to kiss her good night, but his nerves got the better of him. As he made his way back up to the Gryffindor tower, Harry swore to himself that he would kiss her before leaving for summer. He would use the excuse of it being a kiss for good luck if need be; after all, they both were going to need as much luck as possible to get everything worked out the way they hoped.

* * *

The weekend crept by slowly for Harry. He tried goofing off with Ron as usual, but his heart just wasn't in it. He went to see Hermione and tried to talk to her, but the other petrified students had a few visitors too and what he needed to talk about was not something that he could let be overheard. He laughed at himself briefly, he needed to ramble at Hermione because she was the perfect listener, one who wouldn't judge or argue or even remember just how worried and nervous he was about everything. If something went wrong and he was forced back to the Dursleys again, especially after last summer when they locked him up like a criminal, he was just sure that things would end badly. He'd kill those monsters before he let them treat him like that again.

Harry's most his recent near death experience had effected him more than he at first realized. Once he looked up the basilisk and found that by all rights the poison should have killed him, everything seemed to matter a lot more or a lot less. Freedom from the Dursleys and becoming as powerful as possible, as fast as possible now mattered more than almost everything else. Clearly, the adults and authority figures were useless. Since his mother's death, no witch or wizard had ever stood between him and danger. From now on, he would never expect them to either.

The only problems were his doubts. What if something went wrong with the goblins? What if Dumbledore, or others, were conspiring against him? What if Pansy were wrong? And a tiny little doubt that he crushed down as soon as it popped up- what if she were lying?

As beaten down as he had been for so long, it was natural for Harry to distrust someone wanting to help him like she apparently did. But at the same time, something inside him just _knew_ that he could trust her. He wasn't sure why, and the little boy who grew up in a cupboard was terrified that this was all a sick joke, but Harry was now something different. The childish dream of being taken away from the hell that was his life came true when he went to Hogwarts, but then it all came crashing down as well. He had found his first ever friends, he had begun learning magic, he had learned to fly, and he loved quidditch. But at the same time, people expected more of him. He was their savior and they looked at him skeptically. He felt years behind in class, having never known anything about magic till a month before starting Hogwarts. He was nearly killed, again and again, only to emerge triumphant. Then, he was sent back to the Dursleys to once again be treated like a slave. The wizarding world had shown him its love by throwing him away and forgetting him for a decade.

Then his second year came and he got to experience the magical world's scorn. For months, they treated him like a monster that would attack them. Amusingly, only some of the Slytherins didn't treat him that way- but then again, they were the same kids that already hated him anyway. Once again, Harry had survived and won. However, other than the Weasleys, no one thanked him. No one even apologized for assuming that he was the Heir of Slytherin that wanted to kill all the muggle born students. He had been amazed at their stupidity- he had spent 2 years almost always in the company of Hermione- but now he realized they were all just crazy. Common sense and logic clearly had no place in the world of magic.

Harry ate his dinner while only partially paying attention to the Weasleys around him. Pansy had confirmed the night before that the twins had actually apologized to her, which made him hopeful that they might be open to his friendship with her in the future. Ron, however, was another matter. He had not even mentioned the hallway confrontation, and Harry doubted that Ron would be thoughtful enough to realize that he had done wrong, let alone be sorry for harassing a Slytherin. Slytherins were seemingly all evil in his mind. Harry hoped that Hermione would be more open minded. Maybe there was a book he could find that would list prominent former Slytherins who were productive members of society, that would surely help sway her.

Pansy's caustic nature would probably make it harder for both of them to get along with her though. And Harry wasn't sure what he would do about that. He enjoyed the things about her that he realized his friends would almost definitely dislike or at least disapprove of. This would be something he would have to think on over the summer.

Across the table, he caught Ginny staring at him. He wondered how much his daring rescue of her might have inflamed her crush on him. She was still unable to speak to him and mostly ran off whenever she got too close to him. It was a pity really, as he thought that she would need a friend now more than ever. Who knows what the possession by Riddle's evil diary might have done to her? Harry was pretty sure that the magical world did not have anything like a therapist. Despite the problems it might cause, he was going to have to keep an eye on Ginny in the future, as doubtless no one else would. Yet another thing that the adults were completely neglecting.

He looked around at the rest of his friends in Gryffindor, although really most of them were more acquaintances than friends. Seamus and Dean were decent blokes, but they had hit it off immediately and were close like he and Ron had become, which meant that he didn't really know either of them that well. Neville was usually the odd man left out. His lack of confidence made Harry wonder about what his life had been like, but at the same time, Pansy's statements about how he should have told Harry about his family made him think that perhaps he couldn't really trust Neville. It was one thing to be shy, but to know important things about someone that was supposedly a friend and not say anything to them was worrying. Of course, maybe Harry was just being paranoid, but after the year he'd had, could you really blame him?

Parvati and Lavender were down the table a bit from him, giggling about something as usual. They were nice enough usually but seemed a bit shallow to him as well. However, that could have been in part because he didn't know them that well, but it was also likely that Hermione was so much more serious in contrast and his friendship with her was so deep.

The only other girl he really knew now was Pansy, and thinking of her made him look over at the Slytherin table. Harry made sure not to stare at her, and instead, chose to look around at her yearmates that sat near her. The boys were all apparently terrible, although she hadn't complained about Nott in particular, at least not yet. Of the girls, while she was sitting among them, he noticed that Pansy was clearly not very good friends with any of them. Of course, from what he'd seen, it didn't seem that there were any particularly strong friendships there. It made him glad that he had argued with the sorting hat, although that also made him wonder if he and Pansy would have become friends had he been a Slytherin. Harry shook those thoughts away and tried to focus on the other girls around Pansy. Davis was seemingly the friendly, sociable one of the group. Greengrass was quite attractive, with her long blonde hair and aristocratic features, but she was also cold and arrogant. Bulstrode made him think of how she had attacked Hermione at the dueling club- she was the largest girl in his year and apparently the female version of Crabbe and Goyle, a brute who threw her weight around. Thinking back, Pansy was probably most often seen speaking to Bulstrode in class. Harry wondered if she was just trying to stay on the big girl's good side.

* * *

As Pansy was eating, she noticed Harry looking over at her table. At first, she worried that he might have been staring at her again. As good as it made her feel, it would have been particularly bad timing for someone to notice with the holidays about to begin. However, she spotted that he was looking around at the Slytherins in general and she hoped that maybe he was trying to understand what her housemates were like. That would be more like the secretly sneaky Potter that she had begun to know, which made him more cunning than a large portion of her house. Malfoy was so boastful, arrogant, brash, and loud that he would make a better Gryffindor in a lot of ways. Of course, he was also a wretched coward, so maybe not.

The day had been fairly boring for her, unable to scheme with Harry, so she had spent a good portion of it just daydreaming. She envied him, with his own freedom so easily in reach. Although if Dumbledore was controlling Harry's life, then all their plans could go up in smoke. Better to be a bit envious and have things succeed then. She might have been envious even of him being an orphan as much as she hated her parents. Of course, knowing her luck, she would have been taken in by the Malfoys and grown up as Draco's play thing. Pansy suppressed her disgust and tried to get back to more pleasant thoughts. She briefly caught Harry's eye and let her mind wander to being able to spend time with him. The idea of getting away from her parents was still a bit too much to hope for, but her mind could easily imagine sitting in class next to Harry. Or walking down the hall with him, as people gossiped about them. Walking into the Great Hall on his arm...

'Oh crap, I'm falling for him.'

A bitter voice inside answered, 'of course you are. Silly little girls always dream of heroes rescuing them. You should know better by now. Your plans won't work. Dumbledore won't let him be free. He won't be able to rescue you. Your parents will arrange things for you, a good pure blood marriage.'

Pansy closed her eyes for a moment to keep the terror from her face, and she realized something about her panic. 'Even my doubts and fears can't argue that Harry wants to help me. Only that external forces might keep him from doing so. Which means that I just have to come up with a sound enough plan. And I will. I will figure out the way to be saved from the parents, then get my partner to be _the muscle_ ,' she chuckled as she thought that. It would be nice if he did start working out, Harry was way too scrawny.

They both finished their meals eventually. As she left for the evening, she saw him smile at her. Maybe falling for him wouldn't be the worst idea...

* * *

The next day, Harry found that the mandrake potion was being finished and Hermione would be back that afternoon. This would be great news except for one thing. Hermione was much more perceptive than Ron. Sneaking off to scheme with Pansy would be a lot harder now.

Harry put that aside for now. Hermione would want to know every detail of what had happened. He and Ron had a lot to tell her. He just hoped that she wouldn't be too disappointed in the notes he'd been taking in class for the last few weeks. Of course, if she complained, he could just tell her to get Ron's notes instead. 'As if Ron took notes.'

The trio was reunited, the last few days of term went by and Harry prepared to change his life. But he had one last thing to do before riding the train home in the morning.

He used his cloak to move through the halls in the hour before the final feast. Pansy was finally spotted in the library returning the book she had borrowed for him. He reached out and held her hand through the cloak as she headed for the door. Thankfully, she didn't react too much, just letting him pull her down the hall to an empty class room. Harry removed the cloak and locked the door once they were both inside. "I needed to see you before we left."

Pansy's insides were delighted but she still felt the need to glare at him a bit. Ever since Granger had returned to the land of the living, Harry had not spent any time with her.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to get away the last few days. Hermione is just way too clever to ditch as easily as I could Ron."

"How are you going to handle them next fall? I thought you wanted to be able to be seen with me."

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Harry could tell that the recent distance had bothered her. He had missed being around her as well, but at least he had Hermione and Ron to keep him occupied. "I just couldn't risk either of them blowing things for us. Hermione is way too much of a sucker for rules and authority. Telling her that I'd been scheming with you to run away from our families would lead her to immediately go running to McGonagall. And Ron would just yell at me for talking to a Slytherin."

"What about next year?"

"As soon as you're safe with me, I'll tell them the truth."

"What if they don't approve?"

"They'll just have to get over it. We're partners after all. I'll owe you for my freedom, I won't turn my back on you just because they're being childish."

Pansy looked deeply into his eyes and could see the truth coming from him. She sighed, stepped forward, and tentatively held her arms out to him. "I'm afraid," she whispered.

Harry hugged her and answered softly, "Everything will work out somehow."

"You can't know that."

"I won't abandon you, Pansy. If you have any problems, just call for Dobby."

"If something goes wrong, or my parents find out.."

"I'll just steal you away from them," Harry could feel her trembling in his arms. He had been a bit worried but suddenly everything had changed. He felt confident- she needed his bravery now, so he would give it to her. "I'm supposed to be the hero, right? So obviously, I can't fail a damsel in distress. It would ruin my reputation."

Pansy chuckled in his arms and for a moment she felt happier than she could remember. "I'm pretty sure this entire year has been about ruining your reputation, oh great Heir of Slytherin."

"Yeah, well, a lot of people are morons."

"Of course, it would have helped if Dumbledore had told the truth."

"Oh yes, I'll just rewrite his leaving speech. ' _Children, I have a story to tell you of a half-blood orphan who grew up to become a psychopathic Dark Lord. But while he was here at school 50 years ago he opened the Chamber of Secrets and let loose a basilisk which killed a girl. We all now have the pleasure of a haunted bathroom. I knew that Harry Potter was not the Heir of Slytherin and all of you should have as well since he is our savior after all. Plus, his best friend is a muggle born, so the idea that he would attack them really doesn't make any sense. I forgot to tell you all not to scorn him for several months, that might come back to bite you in the future._ "

Pansy laughed louder this time and interrupted, "Oh no, I'm sure the great hero won't turn his back on us just because we're fools and sheep that treat him like garbage."

"Of course he won't," Harry said with a knowing smirk then cleared his throat. "Where were we, oh yes, ' _regardless of my blatant failure to ensure the safety of all of you, just like last year, Harry once again saved the school by nearly dying. He killed a monster, defeated the evil wizard, and rescued the maiden, just like in those ridiculous books that lied about him as a young child while I sent him to live in hell. For these remarkable heroics, I will award him enough points to nearly make up for the bias of Professor Snape, who has only taken 250 points from him this year for minor offenses like not dying. Let us congratulate Gryffindor for winning the house cup."_

"Snape would take points away for you clapping too much if he could get away with interrupting Dumbledore."

"Yeah," Harry groaned. "I hope you don't mind, but once we deal with your parents and the Malfoys, one of these days, we will have to come up with a plot to deal with Snape as well."

"Why would I mind that? He may be the head of Slytherin, but he is lousy at it as well as being a terrible teacher. I just do pretty well in his class because I've read a fair amount about potions and he doesn't grade me harshly because I wear green."

"Feel better now?" Harry asked and released Pansy from the hug.

"Yes."

"Good, because there's one more thing before I can let you go. We both could use some good luck this summer. So..." Harry leaned in; Pansy's breath caught as she saw his approach and she quickly tilted her head a bit, then closed her eyes. He slowly finished the movement towards her and then their lips met. It was a tender kiss, full of the hope they both now had. It was only for a moment, but it was a moment neither of them would ever forget.

Harry began to pull away as they both opened their eyes, but Pansy was smiling at him and she wrapped her arms around him. He relaxed in her arms and returned her embrace. Neither said anything. After everything each had been through, this instant of togetherness felt like a miracle. But it also felt natural, somehow.

"I think we're both going to need _a lot_ of luck this summer." She kissed him, and as he responded, this time the kiss was longer, harder, and more passionate. It was full of a shared desire and need to have someone they could trust and count on.

"Wow."

They both took a deep breath and as they looked at each other, Harry said "I promise I'll do whatever it takes to get you away from your parents."

"You just want me to kiss you like that again," Pansy said, laughing softly. "But I believe you. We need to come up with the right plan to make sure that I get away from them for good. Having to repeat a kidnapping would make things that much harder and they could still try to force an arranged marriage on me."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and your father will die. Then we could use my plan to confound your drunken mother into signing a betrothal to me."

"Since you're not a bad kisser, I suppose a betrothal to you wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. But even if we did use that silly plan of yours, I'm still the brains of this team."

"But I would get to look smug if my silly plan worked. And I'd assume a reward kiss for successfully rescuing the lovely maiden as well."

"Don't look too smug or I might pass on the kiss."

"As you wish, my lady," Harry answered kissing the back of her hand.

"I love it when you do that, even though you are being silly."

"I thought you might."

"We need to get to dinner soon."

"I know."

"Sit facing away from the Slytherin table tonight so you won't be staring at me all through dinner."

"Good idea."

"Not even going to try to argue that you wouldn't be staring at me?"

"Not tonight."

Pansy chuckled at Harry's sincerity. "I'll leave first in a moment. Put your cloak back on when I do, just in case." She walked over to the door and said, "Good luck Harry."


	5. Summer Begins

* * *

"What are you smiling about Harry?" Hermione asked once the food arrived.

Harry had been in a great mood all through the final meal and of course Hermione wanted to know why. It was good that Pansy made him face the opposite way, as he was pretty sure the goofy grin on his face would be a dead give away. Now he just had to figure out the right way to lie to Hermione.

"Its nice to be able to end this year. No more giant snakes or fraudulent teachers, just the three of us eating together. It feels... normal I guess. After the last seven months or so, normal is a relief."

"Well, I'm certainly glad to be eating with you again instead of being frozen stiff in the infirmary. I'm also glad that at least one of you was visiting me, even if I don't remember it."

"Hey, I visited too!" Ron argued, with only moderate amounts of food flying out his mouth. One of these days, someone was going to have to teach him table manners.

"I'm sure you did, Ronald, but Madame Pomfrey told me how Harry came to see me every day while I was out."

"What can I say? I'm a great friend and you were a great listener for me to tell all my troubles and secrets to."

"I wasn't actually listening though, Harry."

"I know, that made it perfect," Harry said as Hermione rolled her eyes at him. One of the great things about Hermione was knowing just how to annoy her playfully enough to get the reaction without truly angering her. "So, either of you have any big plans for the summer?" Ron started to mumble something with an enormous mouthful of food but Harry raised his hand and said, "You first Hermione."

"Well, my family often goes on vacations during the summer and I know my parents had talked of possibly going to France this year, but I obviously haven't been in touch with them much recently. Hopefully, that trip will still be on though. Mum taught me French when I was younger but I haven't practiced it in quite awhile. I'd love to see the Louvre."

"You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back. I imagine a proper letter describing it would be too heavy for Hedwig to carry," Harry said with a chuckle. "She might be mad at me for suggesting such a thing. I'm sure I just insulted her honor or something."

"Only you, Harry, would be worried about offending his owl."

Ron stopped eating long enough to say that he doubted his family would be doing anything special this summer but offered to let Harry visit at some point.

"I'm sure that would be nice, assuming nothing comes up." Harry felt a little bad at this point, he was pretty sure there was no way he'd see Ron over the summer. He had important things to do though, goofing off with Ron would have to wait. Plus, Mrs. Weasley was far too domineering for Harry's tastes. The last thing he needed was yet another adult that knew what was best for him without actually knowing anything about Harry. Being in close proximity to Ginny would also probably not be for the best, as she was still unable to speak around him for the most part. Occasionally she did manage to say a few words before blushing & running off. Harry wasn't cruel enough to ruin her whole summer by forcing her to do just that for days on end.

Harry went to bed early that night. He was going to need his rest for tomorrow.

* * *

Harry ate a larger breakfast the next day and chatted with Hermione while Ron hurried to do all his packing at the last minute, which seemed to be a Weasley family trait. The twins were doing something similar and Ginny hadn't come down from her dorm yet either. Percy, of course, was punctual but he often seemed like the black sheep of the family. Harry asked Hermione to teach him a few French words as he'd never had any chance to learn another language. For some reason, she refused to teach him to swear, not even when he argued that he'd need to know when the French were speaking ill of him. The French were not known for appreciating tourists, especially ones from the UK. Of course, Harry had never been on a vacation of any sort and had obviously never traveled to the continent before. That would be something for him to look into, and he began to wonder if Pansy had traveled much.

The train ride from Hogwarts was thankfully uneventful. Harry's nerves were glad for the down time. Unknown to him, Dobby had confused Draco with his elf magic when he got the bright idea of being his usual obnoxious, arrogant self and therefore he forgot to make his rounds annoying everyone else. Harry absent-mindedly patted his pocket where he had his cloak hidden. When they arrived at King's Crossing, Harry took a deep breath. 'Here we go.'

As his friends opened the door and started off down the hall, Harry hung back for a moment and a familiar dark haired girl stepped into his path, separating him from Ron & Hermione. He heard a quiet pop behind him as Dobby took his belongings and Harry flung the cloak over himself. He waited for a clear path off the train and slipped through the nearest door. He saw Ron & Hermione looking around for him near the rest of the Weasleys. He looked away and hoped that the next time he saw his friends he would have a great story to tell them.

To his left, he saw Pansy meeting an older woman by the floos who could only be her mother. She must have been attractive when she was younger as Pansy had clearly inherited her looks. She could even have been quite pleasant still to look at but she had a scowl on her face and was clearly annoyed at having to interact with her daughter. He sadly thought that could be Pansy's fate if she was forced to marry someone like Malfoy and spent the rest of her life full of bitterness and regret. This was not something that Harry would allow.

He walked past her and once he got to an empty floo, he went straight to the Leaky Cauldron. He kept his cloak on as he made his way through the busy pub and down Diagon Alley itself until he got to the doors of Gringotts. Once there, he made his way to the shortest line for a teller and steeled himself for a meeting that would hopefully change his life.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pansy had been carefully calming herself and locking down as many of her emotions as she could. She was as neutral as possible as her mother picked her up from the train and noticed a floo activate without anyone seemingly going through it. She knew Harry was off to Gringotts. This meant she was now going to play the waiting game.

The good news for her was that her father was out of the country on business, which hopefully meant he would be gone for quite a while. Their house elf Leddy took Pansy's trunk away and Pansy followed her mother through a floo and back home. The Parkinson family manor was quite beautiful on the outside but full of dark brooding rooms. Pansy went straight to her bedroom and began to organize her things. She got her school work out and began sorting what she would need to get done over the summer. Then she went through her clothes as well as looking through her wardrobe at what she may want to take with her if she succeeded in escaping. Really, Pansy was just doing anything she could to keep busy, trying not to think about what Harry might be doing at the time or how quickly she may be able to get in touch with him. She continued her busy work till Leddy called her down for dinner. All in all, it was a quiet peaceful day for her but that did not keep her from worrying for Harry's sake.

* * *

At Gringotts, Harry found himself led to a private room where an older goblin was waiting for him. "I am assistant manager Vogruk. Welcome Mr. Potter, we are glad to finally meet you."

"Thank you sir," Harry had learned that being direct and polite was usually the best way to get things done.

"Impressive manners for a wizard. I assume you are here to claim your inheritance and take up your head of family?"

"Yes sir. Is there anything I should know beforehand? I have never received any correspondence from Gringotts and did not even know of the bank till a couple of years ago."

"That is not good news Mr. Potter, but we should be able to get everything straightened out. Call forth your family ring and we can get right to work."

Harry called for the Potter family ring as the last heir of the line and it appeared before him in a flash of light. Harry looked at it briefly, it featured a sapphire stone and as he picked it up, Harry could feel the magic of the ring. It felt as if it were humming to him. He slipped it onto his smallest finger on his left hand and felt magic surge through his body. At first there was a flash of pain but it passed after a moment and then Harry felt more alive than he ever had.

The ring had been waiting for Harry and finally its master had joined with it. Centuries of magic, knowledge and power finally had the boy that was the last hope for the Potter line. Harry knew at once that magic was alive. And magic did not want to see the end of the Potters. It expected great things from him and somehow Harry knew that it wanted him to know just how much potential he had within him.

"Congratulations Lord Potter," the old goblin said as Harry began to control the feelings the ring had stirred within him. "This folder contains a list of various assets you have. Please looks things over and I can explain whatever you may need."

Harry took the paperwork and began flipping through things. Other than his vault, he found that he had various investments in both the magical and non-magical worlds. He also had a variety of properties that he'd have to check on. One of them in particular stood out to him. "Vogruk, what can you tell me about this property?"

"That is the one property that did not come from the Potter line. Your mother received a fairly large payment upon the deaths of her parents when she was a teenager. She used it to purchase this property and lived there for a time both before and after her final year at Hogwarts. The occupants have remained the same for the last 15 years. According to our records, the top flat is still empty as your mother never rented it out after she married."

"So it's possible that some of her things may still be there?"

"Quite possible. If nothing else, the couple that live there should be able to tell you more."

"And they knew my mother?" Harry's heart was thrilled at the idea of someone being able, and hopefully willing for once, to talk to him about one of his parents.

"They were her neighbors for part of a year. You should know that they are squibs and therefore aware of who you are, more so than just being the son of Lilly Potter. Or Lilly Evans as they knew her. You will also be glad to note that we have never had any problems with them, even after your mother's death. However, it was found to be easier for all concerned to have things set up through a muggle bank that we are in contact with. Therefore, you also have an account at Barclays originally set up in your mother's name. If you will sign these documents, it will officially be under your control now."

Harry signed them and was handed another piece of paper showing his new muggle bank account. It was a lot of money, apparently expenses for his mother's property had been dealt with by Gringotts, leaving the account to merely accumulate rent and interest ever since the 70s.

"While your family ring can be used similarly to a portkey to transfer you to the various Potter properties, we would need to create one for you to travel to the building owned by your mother. The fee for doing so would be 5 galleons or 10 for a reusable device."

"I'd like the reusable option."

"Excellent," Vogruk called for an underling who went to get the portkey. Vogruk went over some questions Harry had of the various properties and investments. Harry would need a lot more time to study them before making any decisions. A few moments later, a goblin brought in what appeared to be a silver chain that was nearly two feet in length. Harry was told the password, took up the folders of financial and property information and made plans to revisit Vogruk in August, once he had time to really go over things and decide if any changes would need to be made.

Before leaving Gringotts, he went into a restroom and put his invisibility cloak back on. He activated the portkey and was transferred to the side walk directly in front of a 3 story building. The ground floor contained a tea and coffee shop. The owners were an older couple, the Brightwells, who also lived in the flat above it. The top floor was another flat which his mother had lived in once upon a time. Harry slipped into the shadows and removed his cloak once he made sure no one would spot him appearing out of thin air. He braced himself and opened the door to the shop.

A woman that he supposed must be Mrs. Ruby Brightwell welcomed him inside. She was short and slightly plump with red hair that was starting to grey. It was the early afternoon and the room was almost empty. Harry stepped up to the counter and ordered some tea.

"Here you go, deary. Anything else I can get you?"

"I'd like to talk to you actually. I'm Lilly's son." The woman turned to him with a shock and looked up to his forehead, then looked back down.

"Yes, you have her eyes. She was such a sweet girl," Mrs. Brightwell said sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss Mr. Potter."

"Thank you ma'am. Is your husband home?"

"He's out having a late lunch at a pub with some friends. He'll be back in an hour or two before business picks up."

"Well, I'd like to discuss some things with the both of you, tonight if possible."

"We have a girl that works the evenings with us. By 8 or 9 at the latest, we should be able to leave things to her for a bit. If this is going to be a long talk, it would have to wait till after closing time, which is 10."

"It shouldn't be that long. Do you get any magical customers?"

"Very rarely, this is a muggle neighborhood. Our son is a wizard but he doesn't come by very often. Why do you ask?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that you've seen me." The older woman looked at Harry shrewdly and nodded in agreement. "I'm going up to the top flat. I'll be back by the evening to meet with you and your husband."

With that, Harry finished his tea and went outside. He entered a separate door with the key he'd gotten from Gringotts and made his way up the stairs to the top floor. He took a deep breath, unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The flat was still furnished, although the main room looked a bit spartan. It was large though, an open floor plan that had a kitchen area to the left of the door. There was a fireplace on the rear wall of the building and a door to one side that led out to a balcony. He went out onto the balcony and looked out over the rear yard, which slanted downhill to a stream running roughly parallel to the street out front. Beyond it was a small wooded area that followed the stream. On the other side of the trees, maybe a third of a mile away at most, was another neighborhood. He could see a park stretching out of the trees with a playground area full of children and a pitch with a dozen or so older kids playing football.

Harry went back inside and headed over to the fireplace. He drew his wand and focused his magic. After a moment, he found a glowing stone near the mantle. He made a small cut on his hand and held it against the stone. At once, he felt the ward stone accept him. He walked over to the kitchen area and found a book that had appeared. He opened it and found only a few names that had access to the area. Other than James Potter, the only names he recognized were the Brightwells. He crossed through all the other names, then added Pansy and Dobby. He wasn't sure if he needed to add the elf, but thought it better safe than sorry.

"Dobby," he called and immediately the elf popped in with Harry's trunk and Hedwig. "Welcome to our new home."


	6. Discoveries in a New Home

* * *

Dobby was as happy as a house-elf could be. He had a new master, the Great Harry Potter, and a new home. But what made this even better was that the new home hadn't been cleaned in 15 years. Dust covered everything, the bathroom needed to be thoroughly scoured, bedding would need to be washed, and the refrigerator had a few things that might even be alive! Dobby had known his master was a great wizard but he had no idea that he would choose such a wonderful place to live.

Harry, on the other hand, was in a bittersweet mood. Everything here had belonged to his mother so long ago. The woman who had given birth to him, loved him, and then died for him. He had no memory of her and knew very little of her. He slowly made his way around the flat, examining everything closely. There was so much to take in. He found a stereo with a record player in the living room and flipped through her collection, bands and albums he'd barely heard of if at all. The Dursleys were not the type of family to listen to music, as one might imagine. He did recognize a band called Fleetwood Mac and found an album with a pale green cover and a picture of two children on it. The title, Future Games, seemed auspicious.

As the music crackled to life, Harry began looking around the rest of the flat. He told Dobby to make sure to check with him before getting rid of anything. One bedroom was sparsely decorated, with little more than a bed, night table, and an empty dresser. The other bedroom had clearly been the one his mother had used. There was a small desk in one corner with a few papers scattered over it. He opened a drawer and found several notebooks. He opened one and saw what appeared to be a combination of diary and notebook, with school notes from her Hogwarts years. Harry quickly organized these by year, setting them aside to read later. Her handwriting had been quite lovely, making Harry feel a bit ashamed of his own sloppy script. Of course, getting used to quill & ink had been a rough transition but he still felt that he should improve. He didn't want to disappoint her.

All at once, a chill crept through him. His mother had sat here, years ago. She had written at this desk. Her parents had died and she set this place up as a home after her 6th year at Hogwarts. Had she already been in love with his father? Did she have many friends? She would have been preparing for her NEWTS then, which classes did she study that far? So many questions to ask, and what did he really know of her? Her name. What her eyes looked like. That her older sister was a completely awful bitch. And that she had died, her sacrifice somehow saving him according to Dumbledore.

Harry collapsed on the floor and wept. He had learned many years ago that life was not fair. But something about this place made it clear just how cruel the world really was. This wasn't even his parents home, he had apparently never come here. There must have been so many more belongings of his parents at the home where he lived. His father's family, as old as it was, should have left him all sorts of things. Photos, books, history. All the things that a child should have of their family, and all of it had been kept from him. Instead he was cast aside, forgotten.

Even returning to their world, all these wizards and witches merely told him how much he looked like his father, only with his mother's eyes. Hagrid had given him a photo album, which was nice in a way. But mostly it had made it just that more painful for him. The photos of his parents may as well have been strangers with how little he knew of them. Everything poured out of him till his sobs eventually ground to a halt. He felt empty yet also cleansed. It had been years since he had allowed himself to cry. He had decided long ago not to let the Dursleys get such a reaction from him. This had been cathartic though. It hadn't even taken that long- the record was still playing.

He pushed himself up off the floor and called for Dobby. "Well Dobby, what do you think of the place?"

"It's wonderful! So much work for Dobby to do!" Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend's excitement.

"Well, I'm glad you approve. Is there a place here for you to stay? I assume house-elves have to sleep like humans?"

"Yes Master Harry sir. House-elves like to sleep in cozy little places."

"Is there some place you'd like here?" Dobby led him to a linen closet in the hall near the bathroom.

"Dobby would stay in here."

"Are you sure that's enough room Dobby? You could stay somewhere bigger if you like."

"Its just right size for Dobby," he answered happily.

"Alright then Dobby," Harry said while looking around. The bathroom would definitely need work. "Why don't you start with the bathroom, then get the emptier bedroom & your closet ready for us to be able to sleep tonight. But first I'd like for you to check on Pansy. I take it she hasn't called for you today?" Dobby shook his head no and Harry continued, "then I'd like you to go to her as soon as she is alone and tell her that I've found a home and we will be working on cleaning it. Ask her if she needs anything but make sure no one sees you when you speak with her."

Dobby left and Harry went back into the living room. He turned the record over and went back to the desk in his mother's room. He made a list of things to accomplish this summer. He'd need new clothes, something that fit for once would be a nice change of pace. He'd need to go to Diagon Alley for a number of things. More spellbooks was at the top of his list, but he was sure that there would be a number of other things that would come in handy. He made a note to himself to ask if Pansy needed anything before he went shopping. He didn't know how much her parents might allow her to do and figured that she might want him to get her some items while he was out. Harry certainly had enough money that he could afford whatever the Parkinson and Potter criminal enterprise might need. He smiled at her demand that her name came first. He also thought about some of the things she had said and how much some of her suggestions might have been just in jest. He would need to find a solicitor to write up a betrothal agreement, just in case. Then he remembered her idea of sleeping with him to break the typical pureblood betrothal contract that her father might try to set up for her.

That was an idea that was suddenly more appealing than ever. It was just the night before that he had kissed her for the first time. And the dreams he'd had afterwards were like nothing he'd experienced before. He woke up to a wet bed but felt content. Dreaming of her was amazing. Harry wondered if she'd dreamt of him and then realized he needed to focus. He would need to study this summer a lot. Not just magic, but everything he could learn about women. He wanted her. He wanted her to be with him, but even more so, he wanted to make her happy.

He was free now, all thanks to Pansy. Her knowledge of the magical world, her willingness to help him, a simple conversation one afternoon- how little it took for her to save Harry's life. At least that's what it felt like to him. Another summer with the Dursleys, especially after the year he'd had, might not have been something Harry could survive. At least not without murdering those worthless bastards.

He shook his head to clear them from it and thought about the girl again. Was she his girl? A girlfriend? It seemed like it, although a part of Harry needed confirmation from her. Regardless, he might need to know a lot about women soon. There was no way he'd let her father sell her off to someone like Malfoy. That meant Harry might have to do something he'd only dreamt of and certainly had no idea how to do properly. And for Pansy, he would make sure he knew everything he could. He would make sure she enjoyed it as much as possible.

Of course, this could all be a pipe dream and not something that would come to pass, but Harry wanted to be prepared. If the knowledge wasn't needed in desperation soon, he knew that it would still be useful some day. He was determined that whenever the day did come, Harry would show Pansy just how much she meant to him.

Dobby returned and told Harry that Pansy was eating dinner when he tried to check on her so he would have to return later that evening. Harry hadn't noticed how late it had gotten. He went down the street and got a quick bite to eat at a fast food place before returning to meet the Brightwells. The tea shop was a bit busier than when he had come by earlier but not packed by any means. There was a young woman with brown hair behind the counter that Harry guessed was probably in her twenties talking to a customer. He looked around and spotted Mrs. Brightwell who was leading an older gent that he assumed was her husband over towards him.

"Mr. Potter let me introduce you to my husband, Mortie."

"It's a pleasure to meet ya," the old man said with a grin. "Come this way, the Mrs. said you wanted to chat with us."

"Thank you Mr. Brightwell," Harry said as he followed them into a back room.

"Just call me Mortie."

"Then please call me Harry. Mr. Potter always makes me think a teacher is about to start berating me."

"And you can call me Ruby, dear." The older woman led Harry to a chair in an office. "Now, what all can we do for you?"

"Well, I only recently became aware of this place. I found out that my mother had owned the building and apparently rented out the bottom floors that you've been using ever since then, is that right?"

"Yes. I hope that you aren't here to kick us out, lad," Mortie said with a chuckle.

"That wasn't my intention."

"Good, but if you want to talk about raising the rent, you should probably come back with a solicitor. The contract we had with your mum expired a long time ago but we've kept to it in the years since as we didn't know when we'd hear from you."

"I'm more interested in privacy than money at this time. If you can both swear not to tell anyone my whereabouts, I'd be pleased to continue with the same arrangement."

"Why are you so concerned about privacy?"

"Mortie, don't be a fool. I'm sure he gets quite enough of people staring at him or whispering about him. I can imagine that being the boy-who-lived would get a bit tiring."

"That it would, but this past year was particularly stressful so I'd like a chance to relax and have a peaceful summer."

"I'm sure you deserve it, Harry. Mortie and I aren't gossips, that's why people like to come to our shop. They know its a place where they can lay down their troubles. You have our word not to tell a soul."

"Thank you. I'll let you get back to work then; I've got plenty to do myself upstairs."

"Have a good night, deary, and let us know if you need help with anything."

The Brightwells showed him out and he went back to his flat. He looked around at what all had been done and thought that he would probably master the Scourgify spell this summer. Not seeing Dobby around but noticing that he had already started on the bathroom, Harry got his wand and went to work.

* * *

Pansy had finished eating and returned to her room that evening, hoping to get word from Harry, when she heard a pop behind her. She turned to see Dobby smiling at her. "Dobby has come to check on miss Pansy for master Harry." Dobby looked quite pleased at having a new master, officially.

"Did everything go okay at Gringotts today?"

"Yes, miss Pansy. The Great Harry Potter got his family magic ring. He took us to a new home. It's a wonderful place." Dobby had an awestruck look that worried her a bit with what Pansy knew of house-elves.

"What makes it wonderful Dobby?"

"So much work for Dobby to do!"

"Is it a large place then?"

"Not too large, but much work for Dobby. Dobby needs to get back home soon but the Great Harry Potter sir wanted to check on his miss Pansy to make sure she was alright. Dobby is to ask if miss Pansy needs anything."

Pansy smiled in relief that things went so well and was quite pleased at Dobby calling her Harry's miss Pansy. "I'm fine for now Dobby. If I write something for Harry, can you deliver it to him?"

"Yes miss."

"Good, I'll call you later when I'm finished. Tell Harry I'm doing well and will write him later. And good luck with the cleaning!" she added hastily as Dobby quickly left to get back to his work with glee.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry had been casting Scourgify for what seemed like hours on end. He worked on the kitchen sink and the counters. He opened the cabinets and drawers, casting it over and over again. He was avoiding the refrigerator, he hoped Dobby would be back to deal with it. If there were food left in there, who knows what could have happened in the fifteen years since his mother had apparently lived here.

"Master Harry!" Dobby yelled in surprise, and Harry flinched as he turned. "Master Harry is too good at cleaning, master must save work for Dobby to do!"

"Sorry Dobby, I just figured we had a lot to do to get this place livable," he answered and turned back to the cabinet he'd been cleaning. All of a sudden, he realized part of what Dobby meant. He must have set his wand down at some point, possibly to flex his fingers after repeatedly casting Scourgify, and that meant that for some time he'd been casting the spell wandlessly. That was supposed to be difficult from what he remembered, but he did joke that he'd probably master casting the spell. Maybe the practical experience of this afternoon had just pushed him harder than he'd thought. "Dobby, did you see me cleaning without my wand?"

"Yes, master Harry sir! Just like a house-elf! Master Harry is an even greater wizard than Dobby thought!"

"Can I see how you would do it?"

"Dobby can show master Harry sir!" the little elf happily proclaimed. He pointed his finger at a still dusty area of the cabinet, then snapped the fingers of his opposite hand and dust vanished from several inches of the cabinet.

"You don't need to say anything to use magic? Could I do that too?"

"Yes, master. Dobby just focuses on the magic needed and tells it where to go. Dobby knows the great Harry Potter can do the same."

Emboldened by his little friend, Harry tried to cast Scourgify without saying a word. He tried just thinking the word, but nothing happened. Then he tried thinking of the cleaning effect he wanted to produce and saw a small area of dust disappear. He reached for his wand and tried again to cast without saying anything. While using his wand, an even larger area of dust disappeared. "Dobby, do you mind if I work on these cabinets for awhile to practice this magic? I'd like to see how much better I can get. I have a feeling the refrigerator might need a lot more work- work that only the great Dobby can handle!"

Dobby agreed happily, and Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as Dobby opened the fridge door and squealed with delight. That squeal was more than a little bit worrying, but if Dobby was happy then Harry assumed he could just eat out for awhile. Harry went back to practicing casting Scourgify silently. He noticed that the more he practiced the spell, the more powerful the cleaning effect was, even without saying anything. After a few more minutes, he set his wand down. He focused on the effect and pointed with his empty hand but nothing happened. He tried again, but mimicked the wand movements this time and got a result. It wasn't a very large area, but there was definitely a bit of dust that vanished. He continued over and over while trying to also pay attention to how the magic felt as he was casting. After awhile, he stopped the wand movement and just pointed with his hand again. This time, Harry focused on the feeling of the magic and felt it flow out his hand and cause the cleaning effect to occur.

Harry shouted in triumph. Magic was so simple! It was all about willpower and concentration. The wand movements and words were mere tools to get the desired effect. Accidental magic was proof that they weren't needed. He understood now, they were steps in a process. Once you could master the steps, the process was obvious. The answer was obvious. He thought back to his muggle school days when he would get in trouble for not showing all his steps in mathematics. They were so simple that Harry often skipped writing everything out and his teachers would mark off for it. It was just as well really- it was always better not to out do Dudley by too much lest he suffer the wrath of his awful aunt and uncle. The idea that magic was just like math in this way would annoy the hell out of all the stuck up wizards that looked down on muggles and that pleased Harry more than he thought it would at first. He was becoming more disillusioned than he had realized with the magical world.

Harry picked the wand back up and tried an experiment. While he cast the spell using the traditional wand movement and incantation, his attention was on the sensation of the magic. This time, he could tell that the wand definitely enhanced the magic effect. That made sense, but the words used didn't seem to truly matter. The words must be to focus the concentration of the spellcaster to get the proper effect. But the wand, with its magical core, focused the effect itself and made it more powerful. This new understanding meant Harry had several ideas about how to practice magic this summer to become more powerful. Today was a great success.

"Master Harry sir?" Dobby looked over at Harry as he set his wand down.

"What is it Dobby?" Harry was sweating a bit and felt like he could use a break.

"Miss Pansy sent a message for master Harry," Dobby said as he handed Harry a letter. Harry had been so focused on his experiment that he hadn't even noticed the little guy leave. Harry thanked him and went to take a seat and began to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm happy for you. Dobby told me you have your family ring and a place to stay. Congratulations, but please be safe._

_I've had a bit of good news as well, my father is out of town and it sounds like he should not be back till next month. You might have seen my mother at the station; she seemed really pleased to see me, obviously._

_I am going to try to keep busy with summer school work. I've also been thinking of what I would want to take with me if I am able to leave. If you can get to Diagon Alley, you should buy some special school trunks. They have several options beyond the basic model with extra storage. Mine has two compartments, one for clothing and another for books and supplies. If we could get ahold of something larger, I could pack up a bunch of belongings in preparation for getting out of here. More clothes would be obvious, but my parents own a lot of books on magic that would be wonderful to take as well._

_I know of a couple of places that my parents stash valuables also. Depending on how I get away, I might be able to raid them as well. After all the crap from them I've suffered, I plan on taking everything I can get. Besides, we could probably use the money. They're bound to cut me off financially at some point and who knows how much I'll need to pay for school._

_I want to see you again as soon as possible. Clearly, the good luck kiss worked. And I bet you want to get lucky again don't you?_

Harry spit out the water he'd been drinking as he read this. She wasn't even here and she was embarrassing him. 'Alright Pansy, time for two to play this game. And you're damn right I want to get lucky again. As much as possible, as soon as possible.' He went back to reading the letter.

_With luck, my mother will pass out early one of these nights and maybe Dobby could bring you over. If not, you'll just have to dream of me._

_If you work hard and get things ready, maybe some of those dreams might come true._

_Sweet dreams,_

_Pansy_


	7. Summer Scheming

* * *

The next few days flew by as Harry and Dobby cleaned and organized their new home. They took time to shop as well, with a trip to Diagon Alley early on a Tuesday morning in an attempt to avoid crowds. Harry purchased three large multi-compartment trunks. One he used to store his mother's things as he slowly made his way through her old bedroom. He felt strangely detached from her still, which was at least helpful when he went through her old underwear drawer. He went through that drawer as quickly as possible though. Harry had enough issues to deal with already.

Pansy reported that her mother was showing too much decorum, sadly. She had done something similar the summer before, restricting her drinking and putting on a proper facade. Several other pure blood mothers and their children came by for visits, or occasionally she would take Pansy out. Pansy's letter after having to endure an afternoon with the Malfoys was particularly caustic. It might have been funny if Harry wasn't so horrified for her sake. Certain parts of the letter did get a few ideas spinning in his head though. Lucius Malfoy needed to pay for the Chamber of Secrets.

In the mean time, Harry blew through his summer assignments. He did not put nearly as much effort into them as Hermione would have liked but they all seemed like little more than busy work to him. And Harry had a lot of more important things to do. Namely, practicing magic as much as possible.

After his accidental discovery with the Scourgify spell, he decided to focus on only a few spells to start. Accio, a spell for summoning items, was at the top of his list. It was a general purpose spell that could be useful in a variety of ways, but after dropping his wand in the Chamber and having the Riddle ghost/spirit/whatever pick it up and use it, he wanted to be able to summon his wand back to him. With the disarming spell already taught in the single dueling club meeting last year, being able to get your wand back in your hand as fast as possible seemed like a particularly important skill. Especially as often as Harry was attacked. It took him a few hours to master the spell, but once he did so, summoning his wand back to his hand came almost instantly. Perhaps the wand choosing the wizard meant more than he originally thought? It certainly seemed to zoom into his hand as if it knew that it belonged there.

He also got to know the Brightwells a bit better. The older couple was quite pleasant, Ruby in particular seeming to want to dote on him as much as possible. She was always willing to chat with him or offering to cook him dinner. He learned that her son worked for the Daily Prophet as a reporter. They had a subscription through him and Harry took to looking through it second hand. It seemed useful to want to learn what he could of magical society, even though it was antiquated and apparently corrupt as hell. If the good guys like Dumbledore didn't do the right thing, then he worried what the rest of them were capable of. Even a month later, there was still no news at all of what had happened at Hogwarts. The Chamber of Secrets was going to be swept under the rug. At least Hagrid had been freed from Azakban, not that he had belonged there in the first place.

Harry also kept a look out for any references to himself. It seemed that he had freed himself with no repercussions so far. His paranoia mellowed a bit, but he kept glancing through the paper none the less.

He had also picked up several books on magic from Diagon Alley and had been going through them looking for things that would be important to learn. Spells used in combat were at the top of his list, and after mastering Accio, the shield charm was the next that he began working on.

* * *

Pansy's bad luck held for two weeks before her mother finally slipped into her usual routine of drinking too much and complaining about everything. Leddy was treated better than ever by Pansy and soon the house-elf was aiding her in keeping her mother inebriated and out of her hair. It was a warm Thursday night when she called for Dobby and asked him to bring Harry over.

Harry and Dobby appeared with a crack and Pansy was thankful that she had remembered to cast a silencing spell.

"That is quite a bit more pleasant than using a portkey," Harry said as he looked around her bedroom.

"Welcome to my humble abode."

"Nice room, even bigger than I had expected."

"Size isn't everything, or so they say." It was the first time in two weeks that he'd seen that smirk and Harry had missed it more than he had guessed he would.

"So, any bright new ideas for our little enterprise?"

"Not yet, but I've been feeling a bit complacent with my father away."

"Well, I've been quite productive lately. Practicing magic in the summer has been so much more useful than last year was."

"It's really not fair to people that have to live with muggles. I can practice all I want here."

"How come?"

"The ministry doesn't watch over old pureblood homes like this. People like my parents would never stand for it. The people in charge are almost all wealthy purebloods. They have no problems with subjecting lesser magicals to different sets of regulations."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Indeed. Want to show me what you've been working on?"

"Later," Harry said as he tried to nonchalantly check out Pansy. She wasn't dressed for bed yet, but was wearing a light blue dress that only came part way down her thighs. This showed even more of her legs than he'd seen before, and by god Harry loved her legs.

She coughed as she noticed him checking her out and he felt the need to look away for a moment while recollecting his thoughts. "I've had some ideas about dealing with Lucius Malfoy."

"Go on..."

"Your letter mentioned rumors of his improper behavior. If we could catch him being particularly naughty, maybe we could get him thrown in Azkaban."

"I'm intrigued, but this has been tried before. Malfoy would just throw some gold to Fudge. The minister is known for being in his pocket."

"That may be so, but what if the Daily Prophet just happened to be there when Malfoy was caught? And the story just happened to get out before Malfoy could start bribing everyone?"

"That is wicked enough to be worthy of a Slytherin, Mr. Potter," Pansy said with a sly grin. He thought for a moment that she might have been checking him out as well, but if so, she was much less blatant about it. "I guess you are working towards becoming my assistant in the brains department after all."

"Your glowing praise warms my meager heart, milady," Harry answered in a posh accent.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves though."

"Of course not. Dobby?"

The elf faded in to sight, suggesting to Harry that he had not left but merely hidden to give them some privacy. "Dobby is here."

"Dobby, can you still return to the Malfoy home?"

"Yes, but master Harry, please don't send Dobby back to the bad masters," Dobby said with tears in his eyes.

"I never will Dobby. That's not what I meant. Could you go there to see if the bad masters are doing bad things? Specifically if Lucius Malfoy is doing something bad. He tried to kill me and my friends last year. He should not get away with this. He belongs in prison so he can't hurt anyone else."

"Dobby can see what old bad master is doing."

"Okay, just be careful to not be caught Dobby." The elf disappeared. "Dobby told me about a secret door that leads down to the Malfoy dungeons and a hidden room where 'dark magic things' are kept. We just need to tip off the press and the aurors at the same time. Especially if we can get them there when Lucius has an unauthorized guest or two."

"Ooh, I love it. It will also humiliate Draco to see dear Daddy caught with his pants down. I can't wait to see the little shit squirm when he finds he can't just threaten to tell his daddy that everyone isn't kissing his ass any more."

"That almost makes me wish I was in Slytherin."

"Only almost?"

"Well most of your class mates seem fairly unpleasant. I did really like the look of the common room though. Those windows looking out into the lake and the murky light seeping in were beautiful in a dark, broody kind of way."

"When have you been in the Slytherin common room?"

"Last year at Christmas. Hermione brewed polyjuice potion so we could sneak in and interrogate Malfoy about the whole Heir of Slytherin business since he was strutting around. Ron and I disguised ourselves as Crabbe and Goyle and got him talking. Of course it turned out that Malfoy didn't know as much as he wanted to make people think, but clearly his father knew more. I just didn't find out how much more till the end of the year. And it only nearly cost me my life. You want to know something funny?"

"Your tone suggests this something isn't actually funny."

"Well, more of a black comedy type of funny. When I freed Dobby from Lucius, he tried to attack me. This was right outside of Dumbledore's office mind you, right after the headmaster let him go with a warning even though he told him he knew that Malfoy had been behind the Chamber of Secrets re-opening and the attacks. We were less than fifty feet outside his office and Dumbledore did nothing even though he supposedly knows everything that goes on in the school. I wonder if its from the portraits spying on everything for him."

"Could be the Hogwarts house-elves as well," Pansy offered.

"Or both even. I had nearly died in the Chamber, then get attacked by one of Voldemort's loyal followers right outside his office. Neither time did the almighty Dumbledore lift a finger to help me. At least his pet likes me though."

"Dammit Harry, whenever you tell me things like that it makes me worry more. Are all the adults in our world fools?"

"Hey, some of them are just outright evil instead. Or also."

"You don't need to tell me that."

"Right, sorry. So, how have you been?"

"I've missed you. Scheming is more fun with a partner. I like this idea about dealing with the Malfoys. Getting the great Lord Malfoy out of the way would help protect me from having something arranged with Draco, which would be the best part for me. Although sending him to prison for nearly getting you killed isn't too far behind in second place." Harry chuckled and Pansy joined him before continuing. "It's a step in the right direction, but we'll need to do more to to find a permanent solution."

"I'm sorry that there haven't been any near death experiences yet this summer."

"If only some magical creature would attack the manor and then you could rescue me. Perhaps a dragon could stop by for tea some afternoon. Mother might not even notice if he comes late enough."

"Maybe you just need some good luck. I haven't been around lately to help out with that," Harry said with an excited gleam in his eye.

"Are you propositioning me, Lord Potter?"

"Only if you are interested, milady."

"I guess I should check to make sure you haven't gotten too out of practice."

"Who says I haven't been practicing?"

"Has someone else been getting up to improper behavior with muggles? Or has Dobby been helping you out with more than I want to know?"

Harry shook his head with a laugh, "No, Dobby's not my type."

"And what is your type?" Pansy asked with a challenge in her voice.

"I like girls with a sharp edge and a sarcastic, even bitter, view. Dark hair is a plus, as are mischievous eyes that hint that I could get in trouble with her. And incredible legs are always a plus too," Harry said as he moved towards her. Pansy backed up a bit before bumping into the side of her bed. Then she was in his arms, and she slid her hands up his back and pulled him in for a kiss. It felt searing, her desire had grown more than she had thought since she had been with him last. Pansy also realized briefly that he must have had a growth spurt as he was now a bit taller than her. But all thought quickly melted away as she licked at his lips and his mouth opened for her. Harry's body pressed into her and she fell back onto the bed. With her arms still wrapped around him, he was pulled on top of her. He moved back for a second before kissing near her ear, then trailing down to her neck. His lips were soft but insistent as they moved down her neck to her collarbone, then changed sides and kissed back up her neck. She gasped in pleasure and instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Harry answered by moving one hand down and stroking her leg slowly. Pansy felt true lust for the first time and moaned into his mouth as his lips returned to kiss her again. Before she lost all control, she was able to pull away.

"Wait, wait," her breathing was heavy. "I don't need to break a betrothal yet."

"Sorry," Harry answered as he moved back, climbing off of her as she unwrapped her legs from around his waist. "I guess I got a little out of control."

"It seems you have been practicing."

"No, just studied a bit."

"Studied what exactly?"

"A little of this, a little of that," Harry answered with a sly grin. With the help of a glamour charm and a fake ID, Harry had begun his study into all things female. Erotica took many forms and Harry was eager to soak it up. His hormones greatly approved as well. But he was also looking into everything he could about women in general as well. He wanted to know everything to better understand Pansy. She was his partner after all. Even after spending two years hanging out with Hermione, girls in general baffled him.

"Well, keep on studying. I might have to become your assistant on the physical side of things after all."

"That sounds like a worth while goal," Harry said as he stood up. He was unable to look away from her though; her dress had slid up and he could see almost every inch of her legs. Pansy caught him staring and laughed.

"I do have incredible legs, don't I?"

"Yes," Harry answered simply.

"My face is up here, Lord Potter."

"True, but you are clearly a wicked temptress. You invite me into your room, then draw me over to your bed and wrap yourself around me. You are obviously trying to seduce me, and I, the poor naive young lord, am incapable of resisting your charms."

Pansy laughed. "That's good to know. I'll be able to run this partnership however I like then."

Harry forced himself to look away from her. She was stunning. He had seen a number of women in various states of undress recently, but none of them took his breath away as she did in this moment. He laughed to himself.

"I might still have some other uses, and you did say that I could be your assistant brain earlier."

"You are looking a bit healthier, so putting you in charge of the muscle was definitely a good idea."

"I've had a lot of work to do and Dobby has been keeping me very well fed."

"I'll have to thank him for that. Now before you are unable to control yourself again, why don't you show me what magic you've been working on."

* * *

The rest of that night passed quickly as Harry explained to Pansy his revelations about the nature of magic. How everything seemed to be built on concentration and willpower, and the use of the wand as a focus. He showed her how he had mastered the summoning spell and helped her through the process of trying to learn to cast it both without a wand as well as without speaking. Pansy was able to summon silently without too much work, but summoning without her wand was beyond her for the moment. Harry suggested she keep practicing it, as well as his reasoning for the importance of this spell- summoning your wand back to you if you lose it during a fight was obviously an important skill to learn. She realized that getting closer to Harry would likely lead to her being in more danger at times judging from all the trouble he'd been in during his first two years. Of course, she also had some ideas about how she could keep him from getting in so much trouble in the future. He wouldn't be of much use to her if she let him get himself killed after all.

Harry also gave her a repeat performance of the other sort of magic he'd been working on and she definitely approved of his studies of the physical side of things. They wished each other good night after a thorough snogging and both had incredibly pleasant dreams.

* * *

Another few days went by as Harry went through his list of spells that he was working on mastering. Pansy had offered a few suggestions as well, and he had Dobby help him practice the shield spell for an hour every day by magically throwing various things from around the flat at him. This also helped him with the Reparo spell, as he would often have to put things back together or in order after Dobby bounced them off his shield.

One evening, after a pleasant meal with the Brightwells- Ruby was a terrific cook, without being nearly as domineering as Mrs. Weasley- Harry returned back to his flat to find Dobby once again out. He sat down and read for a few minutes before Dobby popped back in, bouncing with excitement.

"Master Harry sir! The old bad master is doing naughty things again. This is what the great Harry Potter sir has been waiting for!"

Harry had a wicked grin as Dobby recounted all the naughty things Lucius Malfoy was getting up to and by the end of the little house-elf's story, Harry laughed almost maniacally. It was time for revenge. He got out several pieces of parchment and began to write.


	8. Hearing from Friends

_**Malfoy Caught with Pants Down!** _

_**Captive Muggles in Dungeon, Dark Art Artefacts Found in Manor** _

_by Simon Brightwell_

_Noted businessman and supporter of Minister Fudge, Lucius Malfoy was caught late last night with two young muggle men in a hidden basement dungeon at his family manor after an anonymous tip to both the DMLE and the Daily Prophet. Malfoy and the captive muggles were all found in the nude. The muggles had clearly been subjected to spells of some sort, although whether it was the dreaded Imperius curse or lesser spells is still to be determined. Coincidentally, Malfoy himself claimed to be under the Imperius curse at the end of the reign of terror caused by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_In a nearby secret room, several magical items relating to the Dark Arts were also found, any one of which should have been enough to see the owner thrown into Azkaban. While similar charges have been made against the slippery Malfoy in the past, with such obvious evidence, it is doubtful that even his close relationship with the Minister will be enough to protect him this time._

As Harry continued to read the front page story, he was more glad than ever before that he had met the Brightwells. Even though he had not personally been introduced to their son, the contact had led to this wonderful day. A couple of letters at just the right time had finally gotten that scum Lucius arrested. Harry did not have faith in the justice system after Hagrid had just been drug off to prison, apparently without a trial, last spring. But the fear of the press would hopefully get some sort of action. And if nothing else, the Malfoy reputation would surely take a hit. Besides, the cover photo of Malfoy trying to cover himself as he was led out in cuffs was awesome. Harry had Dobby go out and buy more than a dozen copies of the paper. He was going to have a couple of them framed, he might even send one to Draco as an anonymous birthday present.

* * *

In another part of the country, Pansy had to wait till the afternoon to get a chance to see the Prophet story that had obviously caught her mother's eye. She would normally not have been able to get a look at something like this, as the scandalous story was obviously not proper reading material for a young lady. But once her mother was distracted by her afternoon "tea" Pansy finally got a chance to look at the paper and had to run to her room before laughing so hard that she thought she might faint. Once she got her breath back, she sent a note to Harry via Dobby promising a reward for his successful and devious take down of the elder Malfoy. She could hardly wait to see Draco's face for the first time ever.

* * *

The next afternoon, Hedwig hooted angrily at Harry. She had been bored for most of the summer and had recently returned from the Burrow. He had written Ron a couple of times with little actual information but had yet to receive anything in return from his friend until today.

_Harry,_

_Did you hear about Malfoy getting arrested? It's brilliant! I can't wait to see Draco this fall. Maybe he'll even get tossed off the quidditch team._

_Also, where have you been mate? I tried to send a letter to you with Errol, but he flew around the yard for a few minutes and came right back inside. Thankfully, Hedwig waited this time so I could send something back with her. I know you've said you're doing well, but I hope you're not getting into too much trouble without me._

_The other day Dumbledore came by to ask about you. Did you run away or something? He said you didn't go back to the muggles this summer and was really upset about it. He wanted to know if I knew where you were. I told him I didn't blame you for ditching them after they had you locked up with bars on the windows last year. The twins and I showed him, Mum, and Dad the bars that had been ripped off the window last year- they were still out in Dad's shed. He never throws anything away._

_Mum went nuts once she found out about the bars. Dad offered to let you stay here if you need a place. Dumbledore got real quiet and had this look on his face like he was thinking real hard about what to do. He asked us to let him know if we heard anything more from you. He said he wanted to make sure you were safe, but if he really wanted that wouldn't he want to keep you away from the muggles?_

_Anyway, there's some more really great news. Dad won a bunch of money in a contest. We're gonna go to Egypt to visit Bill. Remember me telling you about him? He's my oldest brother. He works for Gringotts as a curse-breaker. It sounds like the type of thing we might do some day, eh? After all the danger we keep getting in, traps in old tombs and stuff should be right up our alley._

_We'll be leaving in a few days, so you might not hear back from me for awhile. We'll be gone for a month. So if you do get in trouble or need a place to stay, you'll have to get in touch with Hermione. Probably not nearly as much fun as you'd have here. She'd make you study or something I bet instead of playing quidditch. But I guess you'd be used to the muggle ways. I don't know if I would want to live with muggles even for a few weeks._

_Ginny keeps asking about you. I think her crush on you might have gotten worse after you rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets. I'm not supposed to tell you that though. She also keeps having nightmares, wakes up the whole bloody house screaming sometimes. Mum says she just needs some time to get over it but I'm not sure. Bloody hell, I've even had a few nightmares about Aragog and that awful night out in the forest. Don't tell Hermione I said that though. I get enough teasing from the twins about spiders, I don't need to hear it from her too. Especially since she'd probably tell me how there's no reason to be scared of spiders or something. She didn't see the size of those things!_

_Well, I better go as Hedwig looks like she'll peck my eyes out if I don't finish up soon. Have a good rest of summer mate. I probably won't see you till the train ride back to Hogwarts._

_Ron_

Harry immediately started wondering about Dumbledore after reading Ron's letter. He should probably give Hermione a call soon to see if the headmaster had been in touch with her as well. He would have to be more careful the next few days as well, just in case Dumbledore was trying to track him down. He would never go back to the Dursleys willingly. Now, he just had to hope that the old man wouldn't try to force him back anyway. Harry made a note to himself to get in touch with a solicitor as soon as possible.

* * *

Harry was able to get a recommendation from Vogruk at Gringotts. Samuel McKenzie was a half-blood with a muggle mother and had gone through non-magical law school which gave him the ability to bridge both parts of the world that Harry walked in. Harry guessed that he was in his sixties or so from his appearance, although that was sometimes hard to tell with wizards. He had plenty of grey in his dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes that Harry knew would be intimidating in a court room.

Sam, as he insisted Harry call him, was able to assure Harry that his emancipation in the magical world would hold up, as there were still several old laws that protected magical families and heirs from outside interference. Purebloods had shed enough blood over the years in their squabbles that there had been plenty of occasion for some of them to need legal and political protection from outsiders that might try to control or manipulate them, just as what Harry feared of Dumbledore. Harry remained a bit worried but tried to reign in his paranoia.

Sam's main task for the coming weeks would be investigating and potentially suing all sorts of people for the various Harry Potter products. Harry knew that this could be a daunting task but was so annoyed by the way many people treated him that he authorized whatever it took to get control over his name and likeness. The books describing his supposed adventures while he grew up in a bloody cupboard angered him the most, and Harry asked that they be targeted first.

For his part, Sam McKenzie was thrilled to become Harry Potter's lawyer. It would be an obvious coup for anyone to become connected to the boy who lived, but Sam felt it particularly keenly. Living through the Seventies had not been pleasant as he had worried for years about his mother becoming a victim of the Death Eaters until the deaths of Harry's parents. The fact that he treated the sacrifice of James and Lily Potter with respect won him major points from his new client. He insisted on giving Harry a special friends and family rate, and Harry was quickly coming to trust him. After all, money was a simple but effective way to insure loyalty. Plus, Harry realized that just as being his official solicitor would be good for Sam's business, it could also be terrible for his reputation if he did betray Harry.

Harry briefly considered having him go after the Dursleys in the muggle courts for the years of abuse but decided to hold off for the time being. For one thing, he didn't want to be even more in the spotlight once the news of his "childhood" got out into the press. Also, he wasn't sure yet what he wanted to do about the Dursleys. He deserved justice and they deserved to go to prison, of these things he was sure. But Harry also wanted revenge, and his anger towards them made it hard for Harry to decide what to do. He vowed to himself to wait till he could think through his options with as clear a mind as possible.

When he mentioned wanting a betrothal arrangement drawn up, Sam won even more of his respect by asking to check Harry for spells or potions that he might have been under. The test came back clean and Harry explained that, although he knew he was still young, he wanted the ability to get the girl in question before anyone else got to her first. Thankfully, Harry didn't have to lie about that part of the story as he was nervous as hell about the idea and was afraid that his anxiety could show. Sam seemed to take Harry's stress as a part of his young love and agreed to draw up a contract but strongly suggested that he read it through multiple times and make absolutely sure he wanted to do something this serious. He also insisted that Harry have a potential cancellation option of the betrothal in case his young client changed his mind. Harry agreed but wanted to make sure that Pansy's parents would not have a similar option, which seemed to amuse Sam quite a bit. "As if any girl's parents would turn down the option of getting the famous Harry Potter as a son-in-law," he had laughed. Of course, Sam didn't know of Mr. Parkinson's arm tattoo and he had kept his nose thoroughly clean over the last decade. Unlike the Malfoy patriarch, Edmund Parkinson had chosen to focus on making money instead of playing politics, but Harry knew that he could be just as dangerous regardless.

* * *

Although he had put it off for a bit, Harry eventually decided to call Hermione. While he was very fond of her, and in some ways she was a better friend to him than Ron, Hermione could be both bossy and nosy at times. And at a time like this, both of those things could be more than a little troublesome for Harry. But he also missed her quite a bit and therefore found himself in the Brightwell living room one evening. Ruby had insisted he use their phone as the top flat did not have a working phone and Harry had decided not to bother getting one set up just yet.

After a couple of rings, a pleasant female voice answered, "Hello, Granger residence."

"Hello, my name is Harry. I am a friend of Hermione's from school and was hoping to speak to her."

"Just a minute," she responded and Harry heard Hermione's name called out by who he assumed must be her mother. A moment later a breathless Hermione picked up the phone.

"Harry! Where are you? I've been so worried. Professor Dumbledore said you were missing and I haven't been able to owl you as Hedwig has never waited long enough for me to send anything with her. I tried a post owl from Diagon Alley but they said they couldn't get in touch with you either. What have you been doing all summer?"

Harry cut in before Hermione's endless string of questions could become more than he could remember. "I'm fine Hermione. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well. My family is preparing to go to France for vacation next week. But you didn't answer my questions. Ron and I didn't see you get off the train and now you apparently disappeared."

"Let me ask you something first Hermione. When you left the train station, did you happen to see a couple of incredibly unpleasant looking people waiting there?"

"What do you mean Harry?"

"One would have looked like a walrus, probably quite impatiently waiting for me to show. The son would have looked like walrus junior, although without the mustache, and the mother would have looked like a snobby giraffe, looking down her long neck at anyone that might seem like they were less than respectable."

"I guess I might have seen who you are describing. Is that your family?"

"Then you would have had the displeasure of seeing the Dursleys, my muggle relatives and some of the worst people you could ever meet."

"I'm sure they can't be that bad Harry. Please don't tell me you've run away from home. It's no wonder Professor Dumbledore is worried about you. Oh Harry, what have you done?"

"Hermione, who exactly is Dumbledore?"

"Professor Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He is also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. You know that Harry."

"He isn't a social worker. And he isn't related to me either. So, why exactly is it any of his business what I do outside of school during the summer?"

"Obviously, he's concerned about you. Don't be dense, Harry."

"If he were so concerned about me, he never would have left me with the Dursleys."

"Harry, the Professor-" Hermione started, but Harry cut her off.

"I didn't actually call to argue with you about Dumbledore, Hermione. I just wanted to talk to you."

"But Harry, if you've run away then Professor Dumbledore needs to know where you are. You know how unsafe your life has been, the Headmaster just wants to protect you."

"Alright, Hermione, when exactly has Dumbledore _ever_ protected me? Not when my broom was jinxed in the quidditch match first year, nor when the bludger attacked me last year. Not from the troll in the bathroom. Not from Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest; not from the acromantulas in the forest either. Not when we had to save the stone from Quirrel. Not when I had to go into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny."

"But Harry-"

"Our first two years, you, Ron, and I have done more to protect the school than the bloody Headmaster, so I have no interest in any phantom protection he might supposedly offer me during the summer either."

"Harry," Hermione began once again before Harry cut her off.

"Hermione, I'm serious that I don't want to argue with you about Dumbledore. Now do you want to talk about something else or should I just let you go."

"Harry, don't be like that. Will you at least tell me where you are? I've been worried about you."

"I appreciate that Hermione, I really do. I've got a new home that I assure you is quite safe. Do you remember me telling you about Dobby the house-elf?"

"Yes."

"Well he lives with me now and has been taking good care of me. Dobby seems quite thrilled to make sure that his Harry Potter sir is as well fed as Ron at a Hogwarts feast. So, if I get fat this summer, you can blame him," Harry said with a laugh. Hermione would probably be surprised when she saw him again, although it would be because of his growth spurt and exercise, especially considering that he wasn't being starved for once. Unknown to Harry, his ring was giving him even more of a boost as the Potter family magic was helping to correct his extraordinarily harsh early years and malnourishment. Dobby's excellent cooking skills were of great aid as well, and Harry was happy to give his little friend the credit for taking such good care of him.

"As thin as you are, Harry, I find it hard to imagine you fat," Hermione answered with laughter of her own. Harry was glad to hear it and hoped she would not try to steer the conversation back to an argument.

"Anyway, in other news, I've been doing quite a bit of studying of magic this summer."

"Oh, that sounds great Harry. I've always hoped you might study a bit more. You know, I don't actually enjoy always having to bother you and Ron about your schoolwork."

"I think you enjoy it a bit, my little bossy bookworm," Harry answered with a chuckle.

"Well, maybe just a bit. Ronald seems to need all the encouragement he can get and you shouldn't let him goof off so much."

"Yes mother." Hermione laughed at him and Harry continued,"I've actually made a couple of breakthroughs with practicing magic this summer and can't wait to show you what I've found this fall."

"But how can you practice magic? We aren't allowed to do that outside of school."

"Well, that 'rule' only seems to apply to certain people and certain areas. Apparently, the ministry only really keeps an eye on underage magic in muggle areas. The purebloods don't want their own children getting in trouble or being kept from learning early after all."

"That's totally unfair!"

"Of course it is. If things were fair, the Malfoys of the world would be forced to act like decent human beings."

"Speaking of the Malfoys, did you hear what happened?"

"I may have heard something. Couldn't have happened to nicer murdering scum," Harry said with a chuckle.

"It will be interesting to see how Draco behaves this fall. A logical person would be less likely to act like such a spoiled bully. However, Draco, I think, might be even worse."

"Wounded animals are more dangerous."

"Then we should be more careful around him next year."

"He should be more careful around me. Without daddy for him to complain to, there's less reason for me not to thrash the little ponce."

"Harry, you'll just get in trouble."

"And why is it that filth like Malfoy never gets in trouble?"

"I don't know. Life isn't fair."

"You're right Hermione. And if we want things to be better, then we have to make them better. No one else will do it for us."

"Is that what you've done this summer?"

"Something like that."

"Well, just be careful. Have you finished all your summer assignments yet?"

"I'm more than halfway done so far. I'm a little annoyed by it though. Pointless busy work. Personally, I've got better things to do than write a bunch of essays about witch burning in the 1400s."

"Harry, it's not pointless busy work."

"If they really wanted us to focus on something, it would be taught during term."

"Still, learning is never pointless."

"I assume you've got it all finished. Have you decided on which electives you're going to take?"

"I'd still like to take all of them."

"Of course you would. But from everything I've heard, Muggle Studies is a joke. That would make it extra pointless for people like you and me. I'm skipping it and Divination. I already know I'm not psychic."

"It could still be fascinating to learn about it. Personally, I think it might also be interesting to see what wizards teach about the non-magical world."

"Hermione, have you met Mr. Weasley?"

"Only briefly."

"Well, he's in charge of a department at the ministry of magic that has to do with so called muggle artefacts. And he can't pronounce electricity. That should really tell you all you need to know about how wizards see the rest of the world."

"That is a bit disturbing."

"I'm not telling you what to do, but those two classes seem pointless to me. I think Ron might take one or both of them though. You can be sure he won't be in Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. The idea of Ron taking one of the harder classes is absurd."

"You are going to take both of them though? That surprises me Harry. Are you becoming a bookworm like me?"

"Well, I figure that Magical Creatures will be necessary for me considering how many of the things I have to continually deal with in dangerous situations. Of the other two, Runes sounds a bit more interesting, but I figure I'll try both of them for at least a year. If I really dislike one of them, I could always drop it for fourth year and just take the two electives left."

"Are you sure your name is Harry Potter? That was surprisingly logical and well thought out. What have you done with the real Harry?"

"I might have grown up a bit while you weren't looking. You were busy being a statue for awhile there."

"I missed nearly a month of classes! Thank you for at least taking some notes for me."

"You're welcome Hermione. I doubted Ron would bother so I tried to do my best to live up to your lofty standards. I'm still not sure how you can manage to take more notes than what the teachers are actually saying. Unless you're just showing off to yourself?"

"I am not a show off Potter!"

"Of course not, miss Granger. You never want to impress anyone in class, especially not the teachers. Why aren't you in Ravenclaw again?"

"Obviously, because Gryffindors like you and Ron needed me to keep you in line and out of trouble."

"Thanks, mother. Anyway, I need to go in a minute. I've got a dinner date with a beautiful older woman."

"It sounds like you need me there to keep you from getting into more trouble."

"Nonsense, she's a great cook. Don't be jealous Hermione. I'm sure someday you'll have a younger man of your own to play with. Gotta go!"

"Harry, don't you dare hang up on me."

"Hermione, I smell delicious things coming out of the oven and haven't eaten since lunch. Enjoy France with your parents. I'm sure we'll both have plenty to tell each other when we see each other on the train."

"Alright, Harry, enjoy your meal. Please be careful, for my sake."

"Of course, Hermione. Tell your parents hello from me."

"Wish your dinner date well from me as well. Goodbye Harry."

"Bye, Hermione." Harry looked over at Ruby Brightwell who was serving up a roast. "That looks delicious, thanks for inviting me Mrs. Brightwell."

"You're welcome Harry, and I've told you to call me Ruby dear."

"Alright, Ruby dear."

"You're such a flirt. Was that your girlfriend?"

"No. Hermione's one of my best friends, but we're not dating or anything."

"You teased her quite a bit there, as if you might be interested in her."

"No, she's just fun to tease. Hermione can get far too serious for her own good if I don't look out for her sanity."

"So, is she like a sister to you then?"

"I'm not sure, I've never really had a family so its hard for me to say."

"Well, you're young still. But if you want a little advice from an old woman, a close friendship can go a long way when you do decide to date. And it sounds like you might need someone like her to keep you in line, youngster." Harry laughed along with Ruby; she always seemed to hit just the right balance between caring without smothering. While she would tell him things that he should do, it was always given as advice, never demanding or stern. Plus, she could be silly and make him laugh. They enjoyed a pleasant dinner together as Mortie was working that evening. His birthday was only a few days away, and so far this had been the best summer of his life. Now if only he could spend another evening with Pansy...


	9. Best Birthday Celebration Ever

* * *

Meanwhile, Pansy had been planning a birthday surprise for Harry. She had also been researching in her family's library, specifically from the type of books that her parents would not have wanted her to read. The Parkinson family made a portion of its wealth in the slave trade, and wizards had magical ways to control people. Ruthless, amoral wizards like her father were particularly fond of the family magic, which had made him an obvious choice for Voldemort to recruit.

But now, Pansy was looking into ways to subvert her father and she would not dismiss anything she could find, no matter how dark the magic might be at this point. With Edmund Parkinson scheduled to return in a couple of weeks, she was beginning to get desperate. Lucius Malfoy might have been out of the way, but her mother had commented on more than one occasion how Pansy was growing into a beautiful young woman- although she always said so with a healthy dose of disdain- and her father would use her physical maturity as a sign that she could soon be bargained away. In a way, she had to hope that he would still view the Malfoys as the most obvious (aka most wealthy) option, since that would mean he would have to wait till the next year for Lucius to get out of Azkaban. The strike against his reputation would be an opportunity for her father to get an even better deal out of Malfoy, and Pansy was both furious and ashamed to think of how she represented little more than a form of currency to her parents.

She had found a few things that could help tie her to Harry, either strengthening a bond that already existed or using a bond to protect her, but nothing to create a bond in the first place. At least nothing that could legally be used on a pureblood heiress like herself. Even if she could use the Imperius curse, magically compelling her father to sign a betrothal with Harry would not work as her father could easily contest it with the Wizangamot. And with what she knew of how corrupt it was, it would be quite possible for her father to buy a victory.

One the night of the 30th of July, Pansy gave up the search in the library and retreated back to her room. She knew her mother had gone to bed drunk a bit earlier than usual, and Leddy had agreed to help her tonight. While many purebloods treated house-elves as servants not worth noticing, Pansy had observed how Harry's much more benign treatment of Dobby had led to the elf basically worshiping the Great Harry Potter sir and being quite willing to go beyond the usual level of duty and obedience. As a true Slytherin, Pansy used this knowledge to develop a much stronger bond with Leddy this summer. Hopefully, everything would pay off well tonight. Pansy sunk into the hot water of her bath tub, letting the warmth soothe her frustrations away so she could give Harry a birthday worth remembering. Little did she know that the only birthday celebration of any sort he'd had was when Hagrid brought his Hogwarts letter.

* * *

Harry took a long nap that evening. Dobby had demanded that he work with his magic extra hard then rest after dinner. The little elf had been ready to dose his master's food with a sleeping agent if necessary, but Harry had gladly gone to his room after eating. Miss Pansy had told Dobby of the help she required to give his master a birthday surprise, and Dobby was delighted to help. Just saving him from the Malfoys would have been enough to win Dobby's loyalty, but Harry also treated him with kindness and respect. Any other house-elf would have adored Harry. Dobby swore to do everything to make his master's life as happy as possible, and if need be, he would gladly die to protect Harry. Dobby had already had more happiness in the last month than all the years of his life before. Dobby was quite happy that miss Pansy seemed to want to make his master happy as well.

Harry awoke feeling quite refreshed. Of course now that it was nearly eleven, he wasn't sure why Dobby had sent him off to bed so early since he now felt like he could stay up till dawn. But Dobby said little other than _suggesting_ that his master should take a shower and get changed. After getting clean and feeling even more refreshed, he found that Dobby had laid out a rather nice outfit, one that he had purchased earlier this summer once he finally had the chance to get a wardrobe of his own that consisted of something other than enormous hand me downs from the Dursleys. The house-elf was being strangely subtle, which made Harry nervous for a moment before realizing that Pansy must have given him some sort of instruction. On his own, Dobby would normally be bouncing off the walls, but Harry had learned that the elf definitely could keep secrets.

Harry read for a bit on the couch till Dobby came bouncing over to him. Looking up, he saw his friend looking at the clock on the wall approaching midnight before Dobby said, "Almost time to go master Harry!"

He was just able to set his book down and stand up before Dobby grabbed his hand and they popped away.

* * *

It took just a moment for Harry's eyes to adjust to the darkness before he recognized Pansy's bedroom. Only candlelight lit the room and as he turned he saw Pansy sitting at a small table with a birthday cake.

"Happy birthday Harry," she said in an unusually soft voice. Her eyes beamed at him and Harry was almost overwhelmed. He cleared his throat before answering her.

"Thank you."

"Come sit. I hope you like chocolate cake. Dobby said that you would like this and I had Leddy make it for you. Thank Merlin for house-elves as I do not know my way around the kitchen."

"I could teach you if you like. You seem to do pretty well in Potions, cooking is similar in a lot of ways."

"You know how to cook?"

"I was forced to learn at a young age."

"Why?"

"The muggles I grew up with treated me like a house-elf."

"Oh," she said, quickly trying to hide her surprised expression. "I guess that's why you treat Dobby so well. It's a little hard to believe... everyone always assumed you must have been well looked after."

"If only. And now that I have Dobby taking care of me, my years of cooking experience will go even more to waste. It's a shame that Snape is such a ridiculous idiot, I'd probably do very well with a decent teacher. From what little I've read, my mother seems to have been quite good at Potions when she went to Hogwarts."

"Have you read much of her diaries then?"

"Not too much. I started to really tear through the first one before I stopped myself. I realized I wanted to savor them. This is really the first I've ever learned anything of value of my parents."

"I think I understand. Well, make a wish and blow out your candles."

"So they do that in the magical world too?" As Pansy nodded, Harry looked at her briefly over the candlelight. He knew just what to wish for as he closed his eyes and blew.

"I wonder if there are any differences between magical and non-magical birthday parties?" he asked as Dobby cut rather large pieces of the cake. "I've never really been to either one before."

"You haven't?"

"I just missed Ginny's birthday last year when I stayed with the Weasleys for a couple of weeks."

"Well, I was hoping tonight would be your best birthday ever."

"It already is."

"Really? But we haven't gotten to the presents yet."

"You didn't have to get me anything. You already gave me my freedom."

"I might have something else you'll enjoy too, but let's eat first." The cake was truly delicious and Harry complemented Leddy's baking skills. Pansy looked curiously at Harry and she decided to risk asking him the upsetting question that was bothering her. "I'm guessing the muggles didn't ever celebrate your birthday?"

"No. I guess this must be the third time I've ever had any sort of celebration. I don't remember anything of the one that I assume my parents would have had when I turned a year old. When I turned eleven, Hagrid showed up to give me my Hogwarts letter. He also brought me a cake that he'd made. Before that night, I didn't know anything about magic."

"Your muggle relatives didn't tell you _anything_?"

"No. They told me my parents were unemployed drunks who died in a car crash." That made Pansy gasp. "Apparently they thought that they could beat the magic out of me. Once Hagrid showed up, Petunia, my mother's vile sister, let her nasty side out. She was jealous and bitter as hell at my mother. It's hard for me to believe they were related; I sometimes wonder if one of them was adopted."

"I'm so sorry Harry. My parents are awful, but I at least had a few decent birthdays as a child." Pansy had a couple of quick thoughts that she should make those awful muggles pay for Harry's childhood. But tonight, she had other plans and she refocused on making up for Harry's missing birthdays. Ideas for future birthdays also began to swim through her mind, and Pansy felt incredibly flushed. It was a good thing she decided to go with nothing more than candlelight- she could not let him catch her blushing. She had a reputation to protect after all, and Harry could not be allowed to know just how much he was affecting her. At least, not yet.

"It's alright. I just thought you should know so that you'd understand why I appreciate your help so much. Besides, if I can't trust my partner, then who can I trust? Any luck with new ideas on getting you out of here?"

"Sadly no. I assume you don't know much about family magic?"

"No."

"Well, magical families tend to pass knowledge down through the generations. Many of the old families have certain types of magic that they've focused on. Among my family's books, there are several about all sorts of bonds. There are many ways to create or strengthen bonds, whether they be between spouses, siblings, parents to children, even slaves or servants."

"Slaves? Are those still legal in the magical world?"

"Yes. Only in certain cases- wizards don't want to bring too much attention from the muggles. The Parkinsons made a fair amount of money from the slave trade a few hundred years ago."

"Interesting. I wonder where the Potters made their money?"

"There's probably something about that in history books somewhere. I'm glad you're not the type to hold my family's past against me."

"I'm sure some members of my family did terrible things generations ago too. If I believed in guilt by association, I'd have to hate myself for being related to the Dursleys. Besides, I want to get you away from your family."

"Anyway, there are a few ways I've found to create enslavement bonds as well. Unfortunately, those aren't of use in this case."

"Unfortunately?"

"The only ones I've found would allow me to enslave you but not vice versa." Pansy looked at Harry's stunned expression and continued, "Being your slave would be much better than being Draco's wife. At this point, I'm also worried that my father might come up with an even worse match. There are unmarried rich old men out there. Being _used_ " Pansy said with a shudder, "by some disgusting old pervert might even be worse than becoming a Malfoy."

Harry felt nauseous and prayed that his birthday wish would come true. He'd die before he let Pansy face such an awful fate. "I... er..." What the hell do you say to someone who would consider willingly becoming your slave? Harry found himself unable to look at Pansy, he felt ashamed to have ever complained about his own life. At least he'd never worried about being sold off to be someone's sexual play thing. "Pansy, I swear I..."

"Harry, don't. Let's just enjoy tonight. I..." Harry looked up at her and saw Pansy trying to calm herself. "I shouldn't have gotten us onto that topic."

Harry stood up, pulled her from her chair and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her taking deep breaths and he slowly rubbed her back, trying to soothe her and himself at the same time. Her face was a bit wet, buried against his neck, but Harry did not want her to realize that he felt her tears. Pansy was clearly trying to hold them in and he admired her strength; he would not make her feel weak.

"I guess I should suggest a new topic," he said, desperately trying to think of something to distract them. "Hmm, do you like quidditch?"

"Don't be such a boy, Harry," she answered with a chuckle.

"Sorry," he said. He had started to panic and couldn't think of anything at all, but her chuckle let him know that maybe this was working. "I guess that's why you're in charge of the brains department. But I did have a thought or two about quidditch. If you don't mind my pathetic boyish nature, that is."

"Alright."

"I assume you go to the quidditch matches like most people at school?"

"Yes, but I skipped a few. I've had to go to the Slytherin matches, obviously. I saw the match first year when you caught the snitch in just a few minutes as well. You should have heard Snape's rant that evening." Harry felt Pansy laughing against him and was thankful that this was working better than he had hoped.

"Well, next year, I hope you'll come to all my matches. I'd like to think of you rooting for me, even if you do have to sit among the Slytherins."

"If things go well, maybe I'll be sitting with your Gryffindor friends."

"That would be nice." He imagined Pansy's green scarf among the sea of Gryffindor red and felt delighted by the idea of her cheering him on. It also reminded him of something he wanted to ask her. "Pansy, will you be my girlfriend?"

She pulled back and looked up at him. Pansy saw an innocence in him, right next to his determination. She felt lighter than she could remember. Despite her worries, she realized that she was safe here with Harry. Tonight, she could just feel like a girl in love. And she admitted to herself that she definitely was falling in love with him.

"I thought I already was. You don't think I'd snog just anyone do you?" She smirked up at him with a raised eyebrow and he smiled back at her.

"I just wanted to make it official."

"And what does making it official mean exactly?"

"I guess it would mean telling other people. With Ron and Hermione out of the country though..."

"And it would not be a good idea for me to tell my parents about my new boyfriend either."

"I guess it won't be official till we go back to Hogwarts then. I'm still glad I asked you though."

Pansy smiled at him. "I'm glad you asked too."

Harry leaned down and kissed her. It was just as wonderful as the previous kisses, and she felt like she would never get enough. She made him stop though and said with a smile, "It's time for the presents."

Pansy walked over to the night table next to her bed. She bent over, and Harry stared hungrily as her dress slid up showing off almost every inch of her legs. Of course, Pansy knew exactly what she was doing and felt a thrill pulse through her at the idea of him watching her, _wanting her_. She took more than a few moments longer than necessary to retrieve a wrapped package and finally turned back around. Pansy was delighted at the desire she saw in his eyes.

As she handed him the present, Harry felt the need to sit down on the side of her bed. "I hope you like it. I couldn't very easily sneak off to go shopping for you, so I had to improvise a bit."

He carefully undid the wrapping paper and inside a fairly flat box, found a framed picture of Pansy. She was wearing the same light blue dress from their first snogging session earlier this summer. The photo Pansy was particularly flirtatious and kept hiking her skirt up or bending over. "I love it." Harry said with a smile.

"Well, it's also charmed so it won't be quite so fun if you have company and even stops moving if muggles are around."

"That's brilliant. I haven't heard of charm work like that."

"Well, part of it is simple, but I had to do a bit of research to find out how to get it to not move in the presence of muggles."

"Thank you Pansy. It's wonderful. You're wonderful."

"Show me how wonderful you really think I am," she said in a breathy voice as she pulled him onto the bed with her. Their hands were grabbing each other in a frenzy as they began to kiss. Pansy rolled Harry over onto his back and climbed on top of him, kissing and sucking at his neck. "I have several rituals and spells I've found that mean we'll need to wait before doing certain things. But, there is something I can do tonight."

Harry groaned as he felt Pansy reach down and begin to undo his pants. He leaned up and kissed her, then she pulled down his pants and felt him through his boxers. He heard a husky murmur come from Pansy before she pulled down his boxers as well. Both teens were more excited than anxious, and Harry moaned as she began to stroke him. He saw her looking down in fascination and lust at what her hands were doing to him and this turned him on even more than the actual physical act alone. Before long, he felt himself approaching his climax and he forced himself to watch her face. As much as a part of him just wanted to close his eyes and revel in it, another part needed to see Pansy. As he came, he saw her expression become almost feral, a grin that was both hungry for more yet satisfied with her success.

After struggling to catch his breath, Harry managed to gasp out, "Wow" before falling back against the pillows.

Pansy chuckled and he heard her cast a quick charm to clean them up. She lay her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his right arm around her.

"That was your other birthday present."

"That was amazing." Harry panted for a moment before asking, "When is your birthday?"

"December 21st," she answered with a giggle. It was a surprisingly sweet sound from her, and it reinforced all the ideas that had been swimming through his head for the last several weeks about everything he wanted to do for her. As much as Harry wanted to rescue her from her parents, he also wanted to try to save her from the pain she'd carried with her, the pain he'd recognized in her eyes on that very first day. Everything in his own life was so much better since she came into it; he felt incredible when he thought of her, as if he could fight off a family of basilisks if he needed to. More than anything, he wanted to bring joy back to her.

"I'll have to come up with a really great present for you."

"Yes, you should. I guess you can tell that you haven't been the only one studying this summer. The family library tends to look rather dignified, but that facade crumbles if you look at the right shelves."

"It sounds like you should bring those shelves with you when you leave here."

"I'm already planning on it."

"Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome. Sadly, we can't do anything more tonight, as there are a bunch of rituals that could be very useful in the future."

"Sex rituals? I _love_ magic," Harry said with a throaty rumble that made Pansy laugh.

"Of course. There is power in all of the old pagan ideas: sex, blood, death. Pain and pleasure. Love, even."

"I'm glad I found you to be the brains of our little enterprise."

"Damn right you are, Potter." He shifted over her and kissed her.

They snogged for nearly half an hour but Pansy convinced Harry to put off doing anything further sexually with the promise that when the time came, the rituals she had in mind would make it worth while. She assured him that even if they did have to have sex in an emergency to protect her from a betrothal, there were still magical options that could help them. Eventually, it grew late enough that even their arousal and enjoyment of each other began to lose the battle with the need for sleep. Harry muttered something about needing to go home but he recognized that he wanted to stay there, with Pansy in his arms. And Pansy felt the same.

"I want you to stay. Stay the night with me, Harry. I've arranged for the elves to wake us early and to make sure we aren't caught. Dobby can take you home in the morning. Hold me," Pansy almost begged. Harry saw the reflected need in her eyes, the same need he felt to hold her, and he gladly slid under the sheets next to her. "Thank you."

He cupped her cheek and looked deep into her eyes, "Thank _you_. You've already made this birthday beyond amazing. I think all the ones I've missed were worth it for tonight. And I want nothing more than to stay here with you."

She kissed him once more, then lay her head down and snuggled against him. She sighed in contentment and quickly fell asleep. Harry's hand stroked softly up and down her back just a few times before he too drifted off.


	10. Harry Learns About Sirius Black

* * *

The next morning came earlier than either of them wanted, but Harry forced himself to leave once Leddy told them that Mrs. Parkinson was awake. Once he got back to his mother's flat, Harry went back to bed. He had unfinished dreams about Pansy that were calling to him. He smiled to himself as he drifted off, realizing that he had a girlfriend. The Dursleys had been wrong about yet another thing- apparently there was a girl out there that would want a freak like him. His dreams of lying in bed with Pansy shifted into them traveling to Surrey and gloating over how wrong the bastard relatives had been, with him now having wealth and a gorgeous girl on his arm. Harry wanted Little Whinging to burn with envy, to know just what the supposed delinquent actually was and what lying scum the Dursleys truly were.

* * *

Pansy's dreams, on the other hand, were the most pleasant she'd had all summer. Recently, she'd been dreaming of Harry and all sorts of naughty things she planned to do with him one of these days. However, she was also occasionally plagued by nightmares of her father selling her off to various awful husbands to be. One night it might be Malfoy, the next Zabini, the next some faceless old lech. She would inevitably wake from these nightmares feeling nauseous and tear through as many books as she could, researching for anything that might help. Sadly, she kept coming back to the need to owe Harry a life debt to permanently break from her family. To make sure it would not be contestable, she would need impartial witnesses as well. A couple of wild ideas came to her, but they were very dangerous. Plus, Pansy didn't want Harry to resent her for forcing them into a life or death situation, although that option felt more likely as the summer went on. But that night, and long into the next day, she dreamt only of how right it felt to be in his arms.

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed in a blur as both teens researched, practiced magic and finished their summer assignments. Pansy had added another spell for both of them to learn and attempt to master, Arresto Momentum. It was designed to save someone from a fall of a great height, and after the unusual amount of danger Harry had already encountered during quidditch matches, he agreed with her rationale for needing to learn the spell.

On one of these days, he also read a very interesting story in the Daily Prophet, one that had him desperately needing to speak to Pansy. He had come to trust in her advice, and the story shocked him so badly that he knew he needed a second point of view before he could figure out what to think of the escaped criminal, Sirius Black. Thankfully, her mother went out that afternoon and left Pansy home. Harry had Dobby take him there as soon as she was alone.

Pansy noticed immediately how upset Harry was, but she had not seen the paper yet. "What's wrong?"

He handed it over to her and let her read while he paced around her room, trying (and failing) to calm himself down.

"Had you heard any of this before?" she asked as Harry continued to pace.

"No."

"Crap." She took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess I should fill in the back story as I know it. Sirius Black was close friends with your father when they went to Hogwarts. The Black family were the sort of purebloods that flocked to the Dark Lord. Blood supremacists, muggles haters, etc. Supposedly, Black rejected that type of thinking; he was in Gryffindor after all. I didn't know this part about him being the secret keeper, but I had heard that he betrayed the Potters. I knew the part about him killing the muggles and Pettigrew, but from what I've overheard, Black must have been a spy as he was not known to be a Death Eater before your parents were killed."

"And no one would ever bother telling me things like the fact that my parents were betrayed. Of course not, why should I be on my guard against betrayal? It certainly hasn't ever happened to the Potters before, has it? I fucking hate wizards!"

Pansy pulled him into a hug, forcing Harry to stop pacing. "I'm sorry Harry. Someone should have told you all of this before." As angry as he'd been, she was surprised (and quite pleased too) at how quickly he seemed to relax in her arms. "What can I do to help?"

"I just..." he started and stopped, letting out an angry growl. "I can't think clearly about this. What should I do?"

"For now, you should just let the ministry work. If the Dementors catch him, he'll face a fate worse than death."

"Good, he deserves it." She could feel his anger as he shook even as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"I agree," she said while thinking that Black deserved all the pain in the world for hurting Harry, forcing Harry to grow up with those abusive muggles. She would not let anyone hurt him again. Harry was quickly becoming everything to her- first a partner, someone that wanted to run away as much as she did, then a boyfriend, as their hormones drew them together in an interesting new way she'd not really considered before. But now, she could admit to herself, he was her love. It hadn't taken long, but she knew that his kindness and nobility had drawn her in, just as she could feel their similarities in his pain and sarcasm. When he said that he would do anything he could for her, she saw in his eyes just how much he meant it. She saw his devotion, and even though neither of them had the courage to say the words yet, she was sure that he loved her too.

Lost in her thoughts, Pansy didn't notice that Harry had wrapped his arms around her as well. For several minutes, they just held each other. Harry breathed in her scent and let his feelings for her calm him. Even after years of abuse and isolation, he was starting to understand his emotions and knew that seemingly everything good was now tied directly to Pansy. He closed his eyes and let her wash over him, forgetting everything but the wonderful girl in his arms.

"Do you know much about Dementors?" she asked after a few moments.

"Only what I read in the paper." He chuckled to himself and said, "I guess I should start researching how to deal with them. I'm bound to run into problems with them this year. God forbid, Harry Potter have a normal year at Hogwarts."

"You're probably right," Pansy grinned against his neck and began to nuzzle against him. "Hopefully, it won't be too unpleasant this year."

"Well, I do have a year with my girlfriend to look forward to."

"Oh. You think I'll keep you around all year?" she teased.

"I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to convince you," he said as he lifted her face to his and began kissing her. Surprisingly to Pansy, he was more delicate than she expected. He kissed the corner of her mouth, down along her jaw, over to her ear. She happily recognized that this was not just a boy with hormones running rampant. She grabbed his wild hair, moaning as she felt his lips against her neck, and soon they were on her bed, happily lost from all stress and worry.

* * *

Half an hour later, she lay against him and had to agree that he would be able to convince her to keep him around all year. She remembered why Harry was here though, and thought again about what to do about Sirius Black. Harry was right. Knowing his luck, he would almost certainly run into the Dementors sooner or later. Aware of the abilities of the horrible creatures, she thought that they both would be in trouble if they were exposed to them.

"There's a spell that drives Dementors away," she told him.

"I guess I should probably learn it."

"We both should. Dementors force you to relive your worst memories, I don't think either of us wants to experience that."

"Definitely not. Do you know what it's called?" Pansy summoned the paper over to her and flipped through it. "Wandlessly, well done."

"I've been wanting to show that off. Are you proud of your apprentice?"

"No. I'm proud of my partner." He kissed her deeply and she felt just how proud a part of him was.

"Good, but let me read for a second." He grinned as he watched her intensely searching through the Daily Prophet. "Here it is, 'the Patronus charm is the only known method of dealing with the Dementors. Stay away from the creatures and let ministry personnel deal with them as they search for Black.' It seems like it is a fairly tough spell to learn."

"Great," he said with a snort. "I better start working on it immediately. I'll teach it to you as soon as I get it down."

"I'm glad you're confident you can learn it."

"I don't have much choice, do I? It's not like I can count on Dumbledore or McGonagall or any other of the teachers. As much as I love Hogwarts, sometimes it feels like the whole place is a death trap for me."

"No dying for you on my watch, Potter. I can't run this partnership very well without a partner."

He kissed the top of her head and said, "Yes, dear."

Regardless of the joking tone, she wanted him to know just how much she meant it. She was not going to lose him. Harry was going to be her hero and she would move heaven and earth to keep him. If she could, she would force Black to face all the pain he'd caused her love. She now had another name added to her list of people that needed to feel her wrath. And that wrath was most keenly focused on those who hurt Harry.

"Thanks for this," Harry said as he started to stir. "I should probably get back home before your mother returns."

"You're welcome."

"Any word on when your father will arrive?"

"I know that I'm supposed to go to Diagon Alley with just my mother next Thursday as he won't be home yet by then."

"That's good I guess. I might just have to swing by the alley that same day."

"I'd like that, but we'll have to be careful about how we act."

"I will. I'll start work on the Patronus charm tonight."

"Have you got Arresto Momentum down?"

"Mastered it yesterday. Dobby's been so busy throwing things around the flat that I think I might start playing darts with him. Although he would be disappointed at the lack of a mess darts make compared to breaking things against my shield. I'm pretty sure both of us could cast Reparo in our sleep by now."

"Well, you boys have fun." She straightened her clothes as he put his shoes on, preparing to leave. She grabbed him for one last kiss. "I'll miss you."

"We'll have to talk our elves into helping us out for another evening rendezvous."

"I didn't know you spoke French."

"You've already experienced all the French I know," he said, waggling his eyebrows with an amusing gleam in his eyes.

"Well, you've learned that much well enough. The French _tongue_ does seem to suit you," she said with a smirk. "I might have to teach you the language too."


	11. Mum's Diary

* * *

On a remarkably pleasant day that August, Harry sat in the park near his mother's flat. It was not yet a place that felt like home, but it was certainly better than Privet Drive ever had been. Children played around him, and Harry didn't notice how odd it was that he considered them children. He certainly didn't look like a child anymore- he'd grown several inches that summer and put on almost two stone in weight. Between Dobby's cooking, puberty, and magic itself fixing the years of neglect and abuse his body had been through, Harry now certainly looked like a teenager. He still used glamours when he went out in public but more so just in case he ran into someone magical than needing to look older.

He was once again reading from his mother's diary.

_October 31, 1971_

_The Halloween feast was amazing. I hope I never get used to magic. If floating jack-o-lanterns ever become normal to me, I'll obviously have forgotten the real world. It still shocks me at times to wake up in a castle and remember that I'm a witch. I hope Petunia is doing well back at home. I'm afraid what this separation will mean, especially with us now being different in this way._

_Sev acts strange at times. I think he doesn't likes being in Slytherin. Some of the older members seem pretty awful. There are rumors of dark wizards and violence that I've heard a bit of and if there were any of them at this school, they'd almost certainly be Slytherins. One of the girls there called me a mudblood with a sneer. I had to ask someone what that was supposed to mean. It certainly isn't the worst insult I've heard, not that I'd ever tell mum & dad that. Sev's neighborhood is pretty rough, and some of the teens there swear like sailors. I doubt he brags about living in a muggle neighborhood to the rest of his house or that his father's a muggle too. But, his father's also a total jerk from what I can tell._

_Classes are pretty interesting so far. Potions is in some ways the easiest and the hardest at the same time. It reminds me a bit of science lab back in regular school mixed with cooking. Then you throw in weird ingredients and voila! I partner with Sev in that class and we get some pretty awful looks from a lot of people. I'm not sure why Gryffindors and Slytherins are supposed to hate each other. You'd think they wouldn't want more fighting in a school full of people learning magic, but it almost seems like everyone just expects it of us. It's sad to think that a hat decides which eleven year olds will be enemies for the next seven years._

_Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn don't act that way at least. If the heads of house can get along, why can't the students?_

_As for my own house, the other girls are pretty nice. None of them are muggle born like me, so they tend to ask a lot of questions about the real world. I still think of it like that; sometimes it feels like they think only the magical world is worth being a part of. But the non-magical world is just so much bigger. I can't imagine giving it up, just to live in a few small places like Diagon Alley. Yes, it was amazing to see everything there, but it was only a tiny little speck compared to London, which seemed endless._

_The boys in my year are mostly Potter & Black's little gang of hooligans. They goof off a lot but somehow still get their work done, which is hard for me to believe. I think the kids that grew up with magic certainly have an advantage when starting here. Those two seem every bit as spoiled and arrogant as the Slytherin purebloods, but at least they don't sneer at me for who my parents are. Sev really seems to hate them though. I think part of it is jealousy. He grew up poor, and I think his father might have hit him. Black seems to not get along with his family though, and his cousin Narcissa (a Slytherin girl) seems to really hate him._

_Potter and Black like to flirt with the girls. Most of them seem to like it, but I think they're a bit annoying. Their friend Lupin seems much more the quiet sort, but he does get into trouble with them sometimes. He's a bit sickly though. Little Pettigrew follows them around like a puppy. I think he might just be happy to have a group of friends that let him join in._

_I don't think Sev has made many friends in Slytherin. I know I haven't gotten close to anyone else yet either. The other Gryffindor girls think it strange that I'm friends with him. But they don't see that he isn't just another Slytherin bully like the older years. I hope that he doesn't learn the bad habits of his house mates. There was a seventh year Slytherin suspended last week till the next term. The rumors say he attacked a girl and only a couple of prefects kept him from hurting her badly. It makes me worry about wandering the corridors at night without anyone else around._

_The teachers really should do more to stop bullying and violence. The upper years have learned some pretty powerful spells- there was a fight between a couple of sixth years that nearly punched a hole in one of the walls. It is a bit scary to realize that our wands are deadly weapons. I hope I never have to fight with mine._

Harry set the diary aside for a moment and reflected on the thought that Sirius Black was apparently friends with his father all the way back to their first year at Hogwarts. Could he have been faking all that time, or did something happen to turn Black evil? Harry tried to imagine Ron growing up to become a Death Eater, fighting on Malfoy's side, and struggled to see how that could be possible. Admittedly, he was starting to see Ron's flaws more clearly after having to rescue Pansy from him at the end of the year, but Ron having moments of being an arse are still a big step away from joining murderers. What could have made Black change like that?

Harry was also trying to deal with the idea that his mother had once been friends with Snape. He might vomit if he ever finds that they'd dated. So far at least, she does not see him in any sort of romantic light. He wondered if maybe that was part of Snape's problem. From the photos he'd seen, he knew Lily Evans was a beautiful girl. It seemed quite likely that Snape would have had a crush on her. That could explain why he was so hated by Snape- he looked a lot like his father, and if his father got the girl that Snape had a crush on, he could transfer that jealousy and anger onto Harry. It still didn't explain why he hated children in general and refused to act even the slightest bit like a professional though. Snape must not have been a complete bastard when he was a kid. His mother would not have befriended that type of person.

Sadly, more than twenty years later, the house rivalries of Hogwarts still bled over into bullying and violence. Even after the end of the war against Voldemort, the children of his followers were still acting like total bastards in the school. That Snape let them get away with it was one thing, but why didn't people like Dumbledore or McGonagall do anything to stop it? Did they want another generation of dark wizards to grow up to cause yet another war? Draco had called Hermione a mudblood last year, just as someone had insulted his mother all those years ago. It seemed like the magical world was waiting for Harry to step up to save the day yet again. Maybe he should start by punching the little ferret's face in?

Harry closed his eyes to try to relax. He'd come over to the park to take a break from magic. He'd put in so much work this summer that Harry thought he would almost certainly be the most powerful student in his year. He didn't realize that he already was at the top of his class and was now on par with much older students. Of course, no one else from Hogwarts spent the last week working on the Patronus charm. It was beyond even the NEWT Defense lessons, yet Harry was determined to have it down as soon as possible. Little did he know that he would need it before he even reached the school...


	12. Encounters at the Alley

* * *

Finally, the day arrived when Pansy was scheduled to go to Diagon Alley with her mother. Harry had already decided to go as well. He wanted to be able to watch over her, just in case some unknown trouble might present itself. His desire to protect her was such that he didn't even think anything of it, his instincts once again leading him. In this case though, magic, and the Potter family ring's magic in particular, were driving him to care for Pansy. She was a potential mate, and there were possible futures with her as mother to the next generation of Potters, which meant that Pansy must be protected.

Harry was unaware of this deeper layer of magic calling him to Diagon Alley that day, though. More than anything he just wanted to see his girlfriend again, even if he had to act as if they were not together yet. For once, Harry felt like a normal teenager, longing for his girl instead of worrying about danger. This brought a smile to his face as Dobby transported him to a quiet corner of the alley while under his cloak. He still was a bit wary of showing up in public, but knew that Dobby would stay close by if a quick get away was required.

This public appearance would be a bit different from his previous ventures into the magical world anyway. He had an actual wardrobe for one thing, with clothes that fit him for the first time in his life. He had a new pair of glasses for the first time in several years, and the updated prescription helped a lot more than he would have thought. He also had a set of contacts, but didn't want to reveal that little secret just yet. For this reason, he had a second set of glasses with clear lenses for when he was feeling paranoid. With all the battles for his life that he kept getting into, losing his glasses in the middle of one of them was far too dangerous and Harry was not interested in trying to fight while nearly blind past a certain distance.

The alley was fairly busy, but not as packed as it had been last year. Of course, school was still almost a week away, so both the early and late rushes to get school supplies were not going on right now. He did see a few students with their parents making their way to the various stores, but Pansy was not among them yet. A crowd was gathered at Quality Quidditch Supplies though, so Harry made his way over to see what was going on.

There, in the window, was a new broom on a special podium. A sign announced it as the brand new Firebolt, the top of the line broom that made all previous brooms look like toys by comparison. Faster, sleeker, more maneuverable, it sounded like a dream come true for a quidditch player like Harry. But the sign also revealed that the price was available only on request, and Harry was pretty sure that meant it would be insanely expensive. Harry's Nimbus 2000 was good enough anyway, and he had made Malfoy look like a fool last year even though he'd had the year newer model.

Regardless, it was doubtful that the Malfoys could bother spoiling Draco any further at the moment, what with Lucius in Azkaban for the next several months. Sadly, Harry's lack of faith in the justice system was proven partially correct. Whatever spells Lucius had used on the muggles were hard to determine, and the fact that they were locked in a dungeon below his manor was sadly not as harsh a crime as it should have been. In the end, he'd only been sentenced to 6 months prison time. The numerous dark items found did lead to a stiff set of fines, though. Hopefully, that would at least lead to Malfoy being less able to throw bribes around. Harry was worried that Fudge might go right back into his pocket once he got out.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts by a face he recognized in the reflection off the store windows. There she was, walking slightly behind her mother who looked as grumpy as ever. Pansy was scanning the crowd and he saw a flash in her eyes as she saw him. Harry forced himself to clear his head and watched her walk into Flourish and Blotts. Waiting a moment, he turned and followed them into the store.

Pansy was at the counter, reading out a list of the books she required to an employee who scowled when she mentioned that she needed a copy of the book in the window display. _The Monster Book of Monsters_ was apparently as ferocious as its title suggested, with copies fighting each other. There was a cage separating them from the rest of the store. As the man grumbled while walking over towards them, Harry felt like this was a good opportunity at discreet interaction. Plus, it would only be the polite thing to do.

"Excuse me, sir. You might want to grab a second copy while you're at it as I need one of those too."

Pansy's mother looked over at him with a harsh, judgmental eye. Thankfully, his new clothes did not draw any disapproval from her. As always, her eyes eventually glanced up to his scar. Harry felt the negativity seeping out of this woman and it peaked when she saw who he was, but then a smile came to her face as she walked over to him.

"Well, if it isn't Harry Potter," she said as her gaze continued to size him up. Noticing his family ring, she added, "Or is it Lord Potter now?"

"I have taken my place as head of House Potter, yes madam. I don't believe we've been properly introduced, though I do recognize your daughter Pansy."

With a harsh look from her mother, Pansy walked over and introduced the Lady Dahlia Parkinson to him and he bowed kissing just over her hand, showing the proper etiquette that he'd learned for such an occasion. The skill of hiding his disdain that he'd learned from years with the Dursleys came in handy at this moment, and he forced a pleasant smile on his face as he said, "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Parkinson."

"My pleasure as well, Lord Potter. I've heard you were in my daughter's year at Hogwarts. What other electives are you taking this year?"

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as well."

"Good choices. Pansy is taking the same. You must be fairly ambitious to take the harder classes. I know many children your age choose the softer options of Divination or Muggle Studies," she said, and Harry noticed the note of disgust with which she said the word muggle.

"Divination seems like it would only be useful to those who have such unique talents. I doubt any of my class mates do though, so I'm not sure why the school wastes time and money on the class. As for Muggle Studies," he said, mimicking negative her tone, "I've already learned plenty as I was forced to live among them for many years."

"Oh really? That's interesting. Most believed you to have been whisked away to some hidden castle after your parents untimely deaths."

"That belief is quite wrong, sadly. It sounds like it would have been a much more interesting life that I could have lived."

"It is a shame that our great hero was raised among muggles. But at least you're taking up your proper place now it seems," she said with a slight sneering tone that Harry was still able to catch. The typical pureblood distaste for muggles was very strong from Pansy's mother and he wondered briefly how much of that attitude might have seeped into Pansy, even subconsciously.

'If she only knew that it was all thanks to her daughter' Harry thought as they continued to chat while the salesman rang up their purchases. 'How would a Death Eater's wife react to her daughter aiding the boy who lived? Probably not very well,' he thought darkly. Thankfully, the summer was nearly over and Pansy would soon be off to Hogwarts with him.

Before they could make their way outside, they encountered Draco and his mother, whom Mrs. Parkinson greeted with a measured amount of polite enthusiasm. After all, these were proper pureblood contemporaries.

"Narcissa, darling, wonderful to see you again."

"Dahlia, a pleasure as always," Mrs. Malfoy replied politely but with an obvious bit of nerves as well. She was an attractive woman in her mid thirties with long blonde hair but seemed quite a bit uptight as well. Her expression betrayed the stress that her husband's misdeeds must have caused her this summer. Something in Harry's instincts suggested that maybe this woman wasn't as evil as her husband and son but at the same time he wondered if he looked at her with less scorn just because she was a beautiful woman. Hormones don't always make the best judges of character after all.

"Might I introduce the Lord Potter to you?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow and turned to look him over with more of an interest than he thought she would. He could only guess what she might have heard of him from her husband and son- nothing good he assumed.

"Lord Potter, the proud hero of Hogwarts, I've heard," she said as she offered her hand graciously. Harry took it courteously, kissing just above her knuckles with much less disdain than he'd felt towards Pansy's mother just moments ago. He noticed her perfectly manicured nails and the softness of her skin and smiled at her as he looked up. The fact that Draco could be seen scowling in the background made it hard for Harry not to smirk at him, and he decided to be a bit flirtatious just to irritate the little bastard.

"What do you mean about him being a hero?"

"Oh, hadn't you heard Dahlia? Lord Potter here saved the school after the Heir of Slytherin supposedly attacked several students last year."

"I certainly hadn't heard anything of the sort. Were you aware of this Pansy?"

"There were rumors, mother, but Professor Dumbledore never announced exactly what happened."

"That doesn't surprise me," Narcissa answered. "The old wizard never did like to share information."

"Where did you hear about this Narcissa?"

"Before Lucius' _indiscretions_ ," the disgust was clear in her voice, "there were all sorts of rumors going through the board of governors. He never said outright what happened, but when he returned from the school near the end of term, he said that it was the boy who lived who once again saved the day. Tell us, Lord Potter, just what did happen at Hogwarts last year?"

"I'm not sure what I should say about it," Harry began, cautiously. "I assume Professor Dumbledore has his reasons for keeping parts of the matter private."

"Yes, but who knows what those reasons are," Narcissa replied. She was digging for information here, but Harry was unsure what her motives were. Maybe Lucius had hidden things from her?

"I could say that there were several students attacked and left petrified," Harry said, without mentioning how close he was to one of the victims. No matter how pleasant Mrs. Malfoy seemed at the moment, he knew he had to be suspicious of her. "There were all sorts of rumors about what could have been the cause. I was even blamed for a time."

"Why would they blame you?" Mrs. Parkinson asked.

"Because Potter is a Parselmouth," Draco spouted with a sneer. "Not such a golden boy once that came out."

"Don't be boorish Draco," Narcissa said, scolding her son. To Harry's delight, Draco appeared quite flustered at being shamed by his mother. "Especially considering Lord Potter is once again seen as the hero, you should show your manners. What if you or one of your friends had been attacked?"

"Ha! The Heir of Slytherin only attacked mudbloods," Draco said before being silenced with a slap. He stared in shock at his mother.

"Your father might have tolerated that word at home, but I will not have you swearing like some loutish commoner. Please forgive my son's rudeness Lord Potter."

"I'm sure it must be hard on him dealing with his father's absence. A boy needs a good man in his life as a role model." Harry doubted that he was able to completely keep the smirk from his face but made the attempt anyway. Surprisingly, Narcissa responded with the hint of a grin.

"Go get your books, Draco. Perhaps when you return you'll be able to converse properly with the adults," she said, dismissing her son.

"Why don't you help Draco, Pansy? I'm sure you could be a good influence on him," Dahlia said, sending her daughter away. She shot Harry a brief look of distress before following the annoying little ponce away. Harry hoped Draco would amuse her with his childishness. After his mother's chastising, even Draco couldn't be enough of a fool to cause himself more problems in public.

"Now, would you continue your fascinating tale, my Lord?" Mrs. Malfoy certainly wasn't going to stop this interrogation, but Harry had had enough time to figure out what he would reveal at the moment: little more than she could have learned from her son or husband anyway.

"As you wish, my Lady," Harry said with a slight bow. He smiled at her and continued, "I was blamed for the attacks by some at the school once my unusual ability was discovered. Later, the groundskeeper Hagrid took the blame. In both cases, it was irrational fear that led people to the wrong conclusions."

"Fear does make people do foolish things," Narcissa agreed with a look that suggested to Harry that she was thinking of something in particular, and he found her even more intriguing.

"Indeed. In my case, it was clear that I could not be behind the attacks when one occurred as I was preparing for a quidditch match with my teammates. When the final attack happened after Hagrid had been wrongly dragged off to Azkaban, he obviously could not have been behind it either."

"Was the culprit caught?" Mrs. Parkinson asked.

"The one to blame sadly escaped punishment," Harry answered.

"What do you mean by that, Lord Potter?" Narcissa noted his cryptic answer, and something in her eyes suggested she knew at least part of her husband's guilt in the matter.

"Did you know that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened once before?"

"No."

"It would have been many years before either of you beautiful ladies was born," Harry said, letting the charm out with a grin. "A student who was the last descendant of Slytherin opened it and a girl died. He was never caught."

"It seems strange that this wouldn't be more well known," Narcissa said, prodding once again for more knowledge.

"True. The original attack does not seem to have been attributed to the Heir of Slytherin. I believe he may have cast blame on someone else at the time."

"Fascinating. How do you know all this?"

"More than a bit of research, I can assure you." Harry noticed that Pansy had returned with Draco still scowling. "I can even reveal the identity of the Heir of Slytherin."

Pansy looked surprised that he would disclose this to two people that he knew were wives of Death Eaters but Harry thought this would be an interesting experiment. Plus, it would be really funny to see Draco's reaction. Besides, he had been mulling over whether to reveal this secret for a time and could not come up with any reason to keep it hidden. He'd pondered for hours why Dumbledore himself hadn't ever said anything, since it was clear that he knew as well.

"How could you of all people find out who the Heir of Slytherin was?" Draco's denial almost made Harry laugh at his idiocy.

"Probably the same way that I was able to stop the attacks. I am the proud hero of Hogwarts, after all, at least according to your mother." Harry smiled at Narcissa and Draco turned a delightful shade of purple in his indignation; it reminded Harry of Vernon, which made him feel the need to be even nastier to the little shit. "His name was Tom Riddle. He was a Slytherin Head Boy back in the 1940s. You can look up his records, he even has an award in the Hogwarts trophy room."

"I've never heard of a Tom Riddle before. Surely, such a wizard would be more well known," Narcissa said, and Harry's instincts told him that maybe she did know of Tom Riddle.

"There aren't any wizard families named Riddle. You don't expect us to believe a muggle born would be the Heir of Slytherin?" asked Mrs. Parkinson.

"His father was a muggle, I assume his mother was a witch. The reason you haven't heard his name before is that he decided he wanted a new name, one that didn't connect him to his father."

"You mean..." Pansy's mother looked stunned. Harry turned slightly and used his wand to draw the letters in the air just as Riddle's shade had down in the Chamber. The letters rearranged themselves and Harry was amused to hear several gasps.

"The Dark Lord was not a half-blood!" Draco shouted in anger.

"Of course he was. He hated muggles because he grew up in a muggle orphanage. I'm guessing he used the whole blood supremacy issue as a tool to trick purebloods into following him." Harry smiled at the seething look Malfoy was giving him and watched the two wives of Death Eaters have very different responses. Dahlia Parkinson looked so angry that it seemed amazing she was able to control herself; Narcissa Malfoy, on the other hand, looked contemplative.

Draco growled in anger and began reaching for his wand before his mother grabbed his arm. Harry watched with as passive a face as he could manage, and Narcissa asked, "If this Tom Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin, how did he re-open the Chamber of Secrets fifty years later?"

"Voldemort left behind many curses," he answered, ignoring the gasps at the dreaded name. "Even twelve years after he's gone, there are many that still bear scars from his reign.

"In this case, I was able to drive back the darkness once again. It seems my fate to have to defend against the Dark Arts. Hopefully, this year we might have an actual teacher for the subject instead of that worthless fraud Lockhart."

Narcissa laughed cheerfully, breaking the moment of tension. "It's good to meet someone else that saw through that pitiful excuse for a wizard."

"Oh, yes, I actually got to see his mask slip. He tried to Obliviate me at the end of the year, to claim that he had found the Chamber of Secrets. He admitted to stealing the memories of better witches and wizards, Obliviating them, and then passing the deeds off as his own. Of course, some of the things in his books were just completely ridiculous and impossible, so I assume there were plenty of stories he made up entirely. A magical backlash from a failed spell looks to have taken all his own memories away, which seems a fairly decent punishment for his crimes."

"Indeed. So what did you have to do to 'drive back the darkness' this time?"

"I killed the monster that lived in the Chamber."

Draco snorted, "Why should we believe you? If you really killed some beast, Dumbledore would have thrown you a celebration."

"And yet there has been no mention of it in the paper, no investigation into what lead to the attacks nor who caused the problem in the first place," Harry answered confidently. "It's almost as if someone didn't want this looked into too deeply." He noticed Narcissa looking at him shrewdly and Draco paling. "No matter what issues some may have with him, no one would think the headmaster would try to attack muggle born students.

"It would more likely be someone who believed in blood supremacy. Probably someone with wealth and connections too, if they were able to keep the ministry from digging to deep. Someone like your father possibly," Harry said as he carefully watched both mother and son for reactions. Draco appeared ready to burst, while Narcissa gave him a calculating look.

"My father-" Draco began before Narcissa cut him off with a nasty glare.

"Well, this has certainly been a fascinating conversation," she said. "You are quite interesting, Lord Potter. I've heard much of you of course, but it was a pleasure to meet you 'in the flesh' as they say.

"However, I believe we all have other business to attend to today," she finished and headed towards the door to the alley. Harry stepped in front and held the door open for her, which made her flash him a smile at his gentlemanly behavior. The others followed, with Pansy at the rear and he winked at her briefly as she gave him a brief smile. Harry really couldn't wait to be alone with her again, even though he knew she'd have questions about why he decided to reveal all this about Riddle to his audience.

As they all began to go their separate ways, an angry voice yelled out, "There's the pervert's wife!"

"And pervert junior!" a second said.

In a flash there were things flying towards them, and Harry instinctively drew his wand and shouted out "Protego!"

Narcissa Malfoy had flinched at the shouting and was stunned to see Potter's wand flash to his hand and shield her. What appeared to be rotten fruit now fell harmlessly to the ground instead of ruining her silk robes. The young man was becoming more intriguing every moment. Despite his obvious enmity with her husband and son, he treated her with respect and even a bit of flirtation. It amused her to think that she could attract such attention from the boy who lived of all people. This display of magic, however, was all the more interesting. He'd cast a spell at least two years more advanced than he should have known and done so with breathtaking speed. Clearly, Draco's disparaging opinions of Potter were based in his own delusional envy. Lucius had turned the boy into an arrogant fool, and she was dismayed to think that she may not be able to mend the damage before he returned from Azkaban. Perhaps, she could arrange a few family outings on weekends this fall.

Looking over at her son, she saw that he was far enough away that he had not been protected and had been hit by a couple of what appeared to have been tomatoes. He had red staining a large portion of his chest as well as a bit in his hair. She had to stifle a laugh at his furious expression- maybe a few more incidents like this could shock his system into curbing his ego. She had been proud to be a Slytherin, but in the last twenty years, the house had become infested with brutes and bullies. It distressed her to see her son so rash and rude. The cunning thing to do would be to ingratiate yourself with someone as clearly powerful as Potter, yet he seemed to be unable to stop himself from being constantly antagonizing instead.

Turning her head to scan for the philistines who would attack her so, she saw three men quickly fleeing down the street. Apparently, even oafs knew better than to strike against the boy who lived himself.

"It seems I am in your debt, Lord Potter," she thanked him.

"It was my pleasure, Lady Malfoy."

"Such a shame that not everyone is as respectful or polite as you are."

"I do not believe in guilt by association. I am sorry if your husband's problems have caused you pain this summer."

"Well, at least it was a bit less pain today, thanks to you," she smiled and turned away, helping Draco with a cleaning charm. They walked away towards the apothecary, while Pansy and her mother went towards Madam Malkin's.

Harry noticed Pansy giving him a curious look as she left. He sadly realized he could not follow her without drawing too much attention to himself, so he went looking for a spot to hide away. A few minutes later, he was able to slip on his cloak and went back into the alley. He found Pansy still being measured for a new robe and he silently watched her. For the next hour, he followed her from store to store. While nothing else of note happened, he found it quite pleasant just to be near her. It had been more than a week since he'd been able to see her for more than a few moments. They had gotten in the habit of kissing goodnight since her mother was most often already passed out before they went to bed, but the last time they could truly enjoy being together for very long had been when she had calmed him after learning of Black's escape from Azkaban. The train ride back to Hogwarts could not come soon enough for Harry.


	13. Summer's Painful End

* * *

It was two nights later before Harry was able to visit Pansy once again. As soon as he appeared, he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

Pulling away, she said, "Not that I don't appreciate the enthusiasm, but what's got you in such a good mood?"

"I missed you. I didn't really get to spend any time with you in the alley, other than trying to shock your mother and the Malfoys."

"Well, you definitely succeeded in that at least. Mother was almost pleasant for the rest of the day because she couldn't seem to get her head around the idea that the Dark Lord was actually the son of a muggle."

"Sorry I didn't tell you that I was planning on revealing it in public. I went over and over it in my head before deciding whether to tell people. The thing is, I know that Dumbledore has known that truth for years, so why hasn't he ever told anyone?"

"I have no idea. The headmaster may be getting too old. A lot of his decisions lately don't make much sense. Why did he hide a philosopher's stone in a school full of children as part of a trap for the Dark Lord? Shouldn't he at least try to act like he cares about student safety?" Pansy sighed in annoyance. "Why didn't you warn me though?"

"Well, once I realized that there was no good reason to keep it a secret, it was close to the time I knew we'd be going to the alley, and I figured that if I did say something about it that it would be best if you didn't have to fake surprise. Even though you already knew the secret, me telling your mother in public should have been shocking enough to give you cover at such a revelation. Besides, the chance to see how the wives of two Death Eaters would take it was too intriguing to pass up. Plus, I knew it would aggravate Draco."

"Maybe you should have been in Slytherin, Potter," Pansy chuckled. "You certainly made Malfoy look like a fool."

"In front of his mother too," Harry answered with a laugh of his own. "Her slapping him was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"It was amusing to see you flirting with his mother right in front of him while he just fumed."

"I thought it would infuriate him and boy was I right."

"Yes, it was surely infuriating."

Harry might have missed her annoyed tone at first, but he quickly caught on.

"I hope I wasn't making you angry too," he said looking away and feeling a bit ashamed.

"You were more than just faking courtesy. It isn't good manners to flirt with another woman right in front of your girlfriend, you know?"

"I'm sorry." Harry turned and kneeled before her, kissing her hands and looking up at Pansy with his most repentant expression. "Forgive me?"

"I suppose I will this time," she said with a huff. "I'm honestly surprised that you were able to be so pleasant to her considering her family."

"Well, there was something about her that..."

"That what?"

Harry looked uncomfortable and said, "... that reminded me of you."

"What?"

"I imagined that maybe she was what you could end up like if you were trapped in an arranged marriage to some bastard like Malfoy. She certainly didn't seem to be too happy with either her husband or son, which also made me think of you. I hate the thought of you ending up trapped like that, and it made me pity her a bit. Despite the Malfoy wealth, she didn't seem particularly happy with her life."

"That could be because of her husband's humiliation this summer."

"Maybe, but it seemed a bit deeper than that to me. Anyway, it made me more determined to get you away from your parents. Your father hasn't miraculously died by any chance has he?"

"No, and he will apparently be making an appearance the day before we go back to school. No doubt to lecture me about how I should behave this coming year. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it."

"Damn. Well, I haven't really been able to practice the confundus charm anyway. I did get a betrothal agreement written up by my solicitor just in case though."

"You did?" Pansy said with a pleasant jolt. Harry's willingness to rescue her still amazed the insecurity deep inside her.

"Of course I did," he answered with a smile. "He seemed amused by my eagerness, once he confirmed that I wasn't under the influence of a love potion or spell of some sort. He also insisted that I had a way to opt out of the arrangement if I changed my mind but I made sure that your parents would not have such an option. He found that funny; apparently there are a lot of people that would kill to get me as a son-in-law. He wasn't thinking that there would be people that would kill me as a son-in-law as well."

Pansy snorted, "You might want to get a better lawyer then."

"No, I think Sam's generally pretty insightful. He's been good about taking down the people making money off me."

"I did hear about the Harry Potter books all being pulled off the shelves."

"Yes, that was a priority for me. I fucking hate those things," Harry snarled. Pansy already had some ideas about his awful childhood and understood why he was so angry that people thought he lived some fairy tale existence. She gave him a quick but deep kiss.

"Congratulations then." Harry calmed as she kept her hands around his neck. "Did you get much financial compensation from the authors?"

"That is still in the works, but it looks good. And more money will certainly help in our future schemes."

"Indeed." Pansy pulled him closer and their lips met. They stumbled over towards her bed. "To future scheming..." she purred.

* * *

Four days later, her father returned.

* * *

Edmund Parkinson stormed through the entry hallway of the Parkinson manor over to his private study. He set aside his briefcase full of business papers and yelled for his house-elf. Leddy appeared at once and bowed deeply as she had learned the hard way not to get on his bad side.

"How soon will dinner be ready?"

"Half an hour master."

"Good. Tell Dahlia and Pansy not to be late. Go!" The little elf disappeared while he went through several drawers at his desk. After a few minutes, he called for Leddy again and told her to pack two more outfits as he would be leaving later that evening. He quickly got several documents in order and poured himself a drink. While he loathed muggles in general, they did have their uses- the wide variety of alcohol they created was one of them. He walked back into the hall and shrunk his briefcase down and put it inside the small suitcase Leddy had packed for him before striding over to the formal dining room. Taking his seat at the head of the table, one would almost think that his brusque manner suggested that he didn't enjoy spending time with his family. The truth was that neither of the female Parkinsons mattered much to him at all. After Pansy's little brother had been still born nearly a decade previously, Dahlia had been unable to bear any further children. That made her useless to her husband.

Pansy, on the other hand, could still be profitable to him if he found the proper match for her and she was able to control her husband. Even better if her father-in-law could be removed from the equation, leaving him as the family patriarch. The Malfoys were now the obvious match, as Lucius proved to be no longer untouchable and his son had shown to be a blustering fool.

Pansy and Dahlia entered moments later and greeted him respectfully. He knew both of them feared him and trusted that he would not have to remind them why, although Pansy had always been more willful than her mother. Dahlia had lost what little spine she had after the stillbirth. His daughter still needed the occasional warning not to disobey him.

The meal was eaten with no more than minor conversation. Once they were finishing, Dahlia spoke up.

"We had an interesting encounter at Diagon Alley last week. Narcissa and Draco were there, as well as the young Lord Potter."

"So the boy had his ring then?"

"Indeed."

"Tell me of him."

"He was better dressed and more respectful than I had expected. It seems someone had finally taught him some of the ways of the world." Pansy had to repress a smirk at that comment. "He also seemed to find muggles a bit distasteful; apparently, he was raised among them."

"That would be just like Dumbledore to hide the boy away from our world."

"We met him at the bookstore. He is apparently taking the same electives as our daughter."

"I expect you to study him," he ordered Pansy with a harsh look. "I want to know more of this boy. It seemed Lucius already made the mistake of underestimating him. I will not make the same error."

"Yes father," Pansy said with her head bowed. She had to keep looking down for a few moments as a part of her mind nearly betrayed her. She planned to study Harry Potter a great deal over the coming school year, but definitely not in a way that her father would approve of.

"That wasn't the most intriguing thing about the boy though," Dahlia continued. "Narcissa helped pry a great deal out of him. Apparently she had heard from Lucius some of what had happened last year at the school. Potter supposedly discovered who the Heir of Slytherin was and killed his monster. He did not say what the creature was, but according to him the heir was a Slytherin Head Boy from fifty years ago named Tom Riddle."

Pansy looked up as her mother paused. She wondered if her mother would tell her father the rest of what Harry had revealed, and if she did, she feared how her father might respond. She did not realize that she was holding her breath.

"That name sounds vaguely familiar," her father said. He looked intensely at her mother, pressing her to continue.

"The boy claimed that Riddle was the real name of the Dark Lord."

A tense silence hung in the air. Pansy cautiously glanced at both her parents. Her mother must have had a fair amount of wine with dinner to become this chatty.

"He also claimed that Riddle's father was a muggle." Pansy felt goose bumps begin to form.

"Did he now? What else did the boy have to say?" Her father's tone was unmistakably fierce.

"He also insinuated that the attacks on the students had something to do with Lucius, that it would take someone with his wealth and influence to keep a full investigation from occurring."

"So the boy is smarter than rumors have said."

"Narcissa certainly seemed to find him charming," Dahlia said with a grin. "He seemed to enjoy flirting with her and it definitely offended young Draco."

"I've heard that they are something like rivals at Hogwarts."

Pansy thought to herself that only in Draco's wildest fantasies could he consider himself being in Harry's league, let alone his rival.

"Regardless," her father continued, "Pansy, this year you are to become more familiar with Draco. He is a likely match, and with the recent troubles of Lucius, there may never be a better time to come to an arrangement between our families."

"Father, how am I to study Potter without Draco interfering?" Pansy asked and found herself becoming infuriated with her father's orders. She thought that she might have hate enough in her now to cast the killing curse. 'I will die before I become Mrs. Malfoy' she thought darkly.

"Use your cunning little mind; I know I've raised you better than the Malfoy brat."

"And yet you want me to marry the Malfoy brat!" Pansy's anger got the better of her and she exclaimed this before she could stop herself. Her father rose from his seat and stepped towards her. She saw his wand in his hand and knew that it was too late.

_"Crucio!"_

She was held under the spell for only a couple of seconds, but she found herself on the floor gasping for breath. It had felt like every muscle in her body was screaming, every inch of her skin on fire. Pansy was unable to look up at her father and the hate that would have been in her eyes would have only increased her pain.

"If I thought that you were capable enough, I might have considered the Zabinis instead. A ruthless daughter, a daughter I could look on with pride, would be able to control the son while I dealt with the mother. But all I have to work with is a disappointment."

Pansy felt his shadow looming over her and involuntarily flinched.

"You should reconsider your attitude. If not, you will receive further discipline.

"I suggest you remind your daughter of her place in this house," he told her mother and Pansy heard him walking out before slamming the front door. A louder than usual crack told her that he had apparated away.

"I thought that you knew better than to question your father's authority by now," her mother complained. "Leddy!'

"Yes mistress?" The house-elf appeared, and now that Pansy could look up, she saw that the little creature was distraught at what she saw.

"Take Pansy up to her room. She will need plenty of rest before tomorrow. We leave at 9 AM."

* * *

Harry enjoyed an early dinner with the Brightwells that evening before returning to the top flat and packing for the return to Hogwarts. Shortly after finishing, he felt a stabbing pain coming from his ring and he instinctively shouted for Dobby. His small friend appeared with concern on his face.

"Something is wrong," he groaned. "Go find Pansy, see what has happened to her."

"Yes master Harry!" Dobby shouted and left with a crack. Harry felt worse than since he'd been bitten by the basilisk. He looked down at the scar on his forearm and forced himself to stand. He grabbed his wand from the table and retrieved his cloak from the trunk.

Dobby re-appeared with tears in his eyes. "Miss Pansy is hurt," he cried.

"Take me to her."

With a crack, they appeared in Pansy's bedroom. Leddy was shaking on the floor and Harry looked over, hearing Pansy moan from her bed. He immediately ran to her.

"Pansy?" He leaned down over her. She was pale and curled into a ball. Her eyes fluttered open at his voice.

"Harry? Are you really here?" There were tears in her eyes. She grabbed him desperately and pulled him onto the bed.

"I'm here." She was crying into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, then kissed the top of her head. Harry had never felt so helpless. He was supposed to save her. He had failed.

"What happened?"

Pansy was still crying. Leddy answered in a quivering voice, "Master punished young mistress."

"Dobby, I need a potion for pain, the strongest you can find." The male elf left and Harry turned to look at Leddy. "Is your master still here?"

"No miss Pansy's Harry. Master goes away for work. Master goes away for work a lot."

"What about Pansy's mother?"

"Mistress is in her room."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"Leddy put up quiet magic on miss Pansy's room. Leddy knew miss Pansy's Harry would come."

"Thank you Leddy." Dobby returned holding a large flask.

"Master Harry sir, this is the best pain potion that Dobby knows of. Miss Pansy should take two swallows now." Pansy was still shaking in his lap and Harry worried that she wasn't hearing what was going on around her. He leaned down right next to her ear.

"Pansy, sweetheart, can you sit up?" he whispered to her. She turned a bit and looked up at him.

"Help me Harry."

He shifted his arms and, as delicately he could, helped raise her up. "Two swallows, okay?"

She nodded and Harry tipped the potion to her mouth. She coughed a bit after she drank and lay back down in his lap.

"The potion will help miss Pansy better after she sleeps for a bit master Harry."

"Alright Dobby. Can you help me?"

"Don't go," Pansy whimpered.

"I'm not going anywhere. Dobby's just going to help us get a bit more comfortable so you can rest." Leddy joined Dobby and soon they had their humans floating up above the bed. Harry's shoes were removed and they were under the covers in just a few moments. "Dobby, hand me my wand. Leddy, can you let us know if anyone comes to Pansy's room?"

"Leddy can."

"Thank you Leddy." Harry was reclining in the bed and Pansy was lying mostly on top of him. He had both arms around her, but he still held onto his wand. Pansy was burrowing her face down into his shirt and her hands were still clenching him tightly. "It's alright now Pansy. I'm here. Try to sleep; you'll feel better."

"Harry," she muttered. "Don't leave."

"I'll never leave you Pansy."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She settled against his chest and he felt her hands relax. After a minute or two, he could tell she had fallen asleep. Her breathing had softened. He looked down at her face and saw that, despite tear tracks, she looked at peace now. Over the last three months, he'd seen her angry, laughing, happy, and even afraid, but never before had he seen her weak. That her own father had done this to her made him furious. Edmund Parkinson was a dead man.

But Harry also was angry with himself. How many times had he said that he would protect her, that he would do whatever it took to get her away from her family? When she needed him, he wasn't there. He should have kidnapped her weeks ago.

As his mind raced with recriminations and all sorts of thoughts of what he should have done, Harry at first didn't feel his own tears falling. He had failed her. But he swore to himself that he would never fail her again.

'I'm going to learn the Imperius curse,' he thought to himself. 'I'll force her father to sign the betrothal right before I kill him.'

Harry didn't realize he had tensed up till he felt Pansy shift against him. He took a deep breath to calm himself. In twelve hours, they would be on the train back to Hogwarts. 'Then we'll have a completely different set of problems.'

Harry focused on thoughts of the coming school year. He could have Dobby keep an eye on Pansy when they were apart. They should have roughly half their classes together. He assumed he'd have Potions with her as they had been with the Slytherins both years so far. It would be interesting to see Snape's reaction to them pairing up in the class- he would certainly not like that.

He went through all the classes in his mind. Herbology he found to be a chore, far too reminiscent of being forced to work in Petunia's gardens. He doubted Pansy would enjoy the class either, although he wasn't sure why. They had never discussed it before. History of Magic could be fun with her. The class was such a joke that they would have plenty of time for anything else, even if it was as simple as taking a nap together. That reminded him of where he was, with his girl sleeping in his arms, and despite the reason why, Harry smiled to himself.

Transfiguration and Charms would both be good to have together. They could get the spells down quickly before having time for other pursuits. Scheming together, as Pansy would say. Charms would probably be better though, as Flitwick was much less stern than McGonagall.

That brought him to Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class that he really had no idea what it would be like this coming year. He had little hope of anyone competent teaching the class. After all the dangers he constantly faced, Harry had bought several extra books about defense and magic to use in combat, both against creatures as well as other wizards. If nothing else, he would teach himself. Pansy would probably want to learn whatever he found most useful as well and he would definitely want to help her. Still, it would be nice to have a good teacher in the class for a change. But Harry was not going to get his hopes up.

Finally, he came to Astronomy. He wasn't sure what the point of the class was really. Learning about the planets in the night sky didn't really seem to have much purpose. Maybe it could have been related to Divination or rituals of some sort, but so far, it seemed like nothing more than a poor reason to lose sleep once or twice a week. He supposed it could be nice to watch the stars in the sky with Pansy- romantic even- but not so much in a class setting. Especially with people like Malfoy there.

Going over them all, Harry figured that History and Charms would probably be the most enjoyable to share with Pansy.

Suddenly, it dawned on Harry how little he'd been thinking about Hermione and Ron lately. How were they going to deal with his new girlfriend? Ron was going to be a problem, but maybe Harry could get him to come around. At least he hoped so. He shook his head and just put Ron aside. Hermione shouldn't be too much of an issue, although she would absolutely want to know everything about their relationship. That's just how she was. Harry was going to have to start drawing some boundaries with her. His and Pansy's privacy would require stopping Hermione before she worked up a head of steam. Still, he wasn't worried about her reaction. At least not until Pansy insulted her, which Harry recognized would happen sooner or later. Hermione was still too much of a stickler for authority and believing everything she read in books- the fiasco of Lockhart's classes last year proved that as she fawned over the buffoon all year long. As much as he liked her, Hermione was too stubborn and narrow-minded. It had been obvious that Lockhart was a fraud for months, but Hermione refused to see reason.

It was sad, really, that his friend who was supposedly so brilliant and logical could be so easily fooled by a smile. If Voldemort came back as handsome as the teenage Tom Riddle had been, Hermione would be doomed.

As Harry stifled a chuckle at this thought, he felt Pansy stirring against him.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Almost midnight," he answered as he checked his watch.

"You stayed."

"I promised I would."

"Yes, you did." He felt her hands pull away from under his sides as she climbed up towards him. He set his wand down as she kissed him. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I should have done more. I should have kidnapped you weeks ago."

"Shh. Tonight wasn't your fault, Harry," Pansy said, taking his face in her hands. She forced him to look at her, "I knew better than to argue with my father, I just lost my temper."

"If I had stolen you away from here-"

"They would have come after me and it could have been even worse."

"Do you... do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Father told me to become more familiar with Draco as I was bound to end up with him. I argued with him.

"He used the Cruciatus curse on me." She looked away from him with tears in her eyes, and Harry felt his heart break. Edmund Parkinson wasn't just a dead man- Harry was going to torture the bastard for hurting Pansy.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"It wasn't the first time. I didn't take his orders before starting school seriously enough and he made sure that I remembered how I was supposed to act. When I leave here in the morning, I'm never coming back."

"Good, I didn't want to let you come back here anyway."

"Well I guess it's a good thing we agree," she said with a chuckle. "I need to get up."

"Are you sure you feel alright?"

"I need to do a few things before leaving. I'm going to raid this place."

"What can I do to help?"

"Grab the trunk from the right side of my closet." Harry got up to do what she asked. "Leddy?"

"Yes, miss Pansy? Are you alright?"

"Much better now. Is my mother asleep?"

"Yes."

"My father hasn't come home either?"

"No miss Pansy."

"Good. Thank you for all your help this summer. We're going to do some packing. Can you come tell me if my mother wakes up?"

"Yes miss. Miss Pansy isn't coming back is she?"

"No Leddy, I'm not."

"Leddy will miss her Pansy," the little elf hugged her legs and wept softly.

"I'll miss you too. But I have to go."

"Leddy understands," she said, and as she looked up, Pansy saw love in her eyes, not unlike the way Dobby looked at Harry. "If miss Pansy needs help, Leddy will come to miss if she can."

"Thank you Leddy. I hope mother treats you better once I'm gone."

Leddy disappeared and a thought came to Harry. "Could you free her by giving her clothes?"

"No. While she belongs to my family, my parents are her owners. Children are unable to free house-elves. That much power is only given to adults."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"What were you thinking?"

"If you could free her, then I could bond her to me and have her watch over you."

Pansy nodded, "Too bad that won't work." She found her wand and cast muffling charms on their feet. Harry noticed her wince a bit and grabbed the potion.

"Have another swallow."

"I didn't know you were a healer," she said, as her attempt at a laugh turned into a cough. Harry wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted the potion towards her face. She reached up and took a swallow. "I am feeling better, you don't have to look after me."

"I'll take care of you tonight anyway," he said as she leaned against him. "It will make me feel better if you'll let me."

She murmured an agreement into his chest and Harry realized that he did feel better as she held onto him.

"When I am well, maybe we can play Healer Patient."

Harry laughed and said, "That sounds fun but only if you don't dress like Madame Pomfrey." Pansy laughed in response.

"What would you have me wear then?"

"Well, in the muggle world there is the idea of a sexy nurse outfit."

"And would you like to see your girlfriend wearing one of these sexy nurse outfits?"

"God yes!" Harry looked down and saw a smile on her face.

"Well, maybe if you continue taking such good care of me, you'll need to be rewarded by a grateful girlfriend." She gave him a brief kiss. "Bring the trunk and follow me. Our little criminal enterprise has work to do tonight."

Harry followed her down the hall with the trunk floating ahead of him. She led him into a library and told him to open the third compartment then quickly began floating books over to him. The trunk thankfully automatically sorted them, so all Harry had to do was drop them in, which was good as Pansy was quickly sending him books by the dozens. Half an hour later, roughly a quarter of the library shelves were empty and they moved to another room.

Over the next hour, Pansy led him through the house taking all sorts of things. She liberated a hidden safe full of gold from one room and a different hidden safe full of a variety of magical items from another. They raided the family potion supply. Harry was nervous when she led him to her mother's room but she just asked to borrow his cloak and wait in the hall for her. After a couple of tense minutes, she returned with a bag full of jewelry. When they returned to her room, she explained that her mother wore a couple of pieces daily but what Pansy took was hidden deep in a drawer and only came out for formal events.

Most of what they were taking would not be missed for some time. Harry asked about the library and Pansy responded that her mother had her own library downstairs that was full of 'plebian fiction for bored wives' and only she and her father frequented the upstairs library. With luck, he might be away on business for weeks or months more before finding their handiwork. Dobby was a great help as they stripped most of her room and closet of belongings. He took the filled trunk away, leaving little more than her outfit she planned to wear in the morning, her school trunk, and her bed. Pansy suggested they even have Dobby take the bed itself after she left in the morning, and as large and comfortable as it was, Harry agreed. They were clearing out everything of Pansy's anyway; her parents would notice her room being stripped of most of her belongings so they might as well take the furniture as well.

Dobby told Harry that he would not have room in either bedroom for the bed, but Harry just told him to put it in the living room of the flat till they could go there and start arranging things. There was a chance that they might not even decide to stay there. He had mostly chosen that property for his summer as he hoped that it would be the most discreet place. If people (i.e. Dumbledore) had tried to track him down that summer, Harry figured they would start with the known Potter properties. His paranoia at being found this summer had mostly waned, but the attack on Pansy made him want to be damn sure that wherever they stayed in the future would be as hard as possible for the Parkinsons to be able to find. He was going to have to figure out what all wards and defenses he could have set up for their future home also.

Eventually, Pansy finished up everything she wanted to accomplish and climbed back into her bed. Dobby handed Harry a potion and he quickly downed it.

"Now what potion is my healer taking right before bed?"

"An energy potion. I told you I'm going to watch over you tonight. I meant it." He climbed into her bed, but sat up next to her, with his wand in hand.

"Harry, you don't have to do that," she said as she cuddled into his left side.

He kissed her forehead and replied, "Yes, I do. Get some sleep."

"You need to rest too."

"Maybe I'll get a nap on the train. If not, I'll just call it an early night after the feast."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Good night, Pansy."

"It is now," she murmured as she lay her head down, using his stomach as a pillow.

"Sweet dreams."


	14. Escapes on a Train

* * *

A few hours later, Pansy began to stir shortly after light crept into the room. She smiled as she felt the warmth of her pillow- Harry's slowly breathing chest. Looking up, she saw his tired expression immediately shift into a grin.

"Good morning beautiful."

"After last night, I doubt either of us looks very good."

"You wound me, milady," he answered with a chuckle. "Are you suggesting that exhaustion and worry can diminish my good looks?"

"You look like crap Harry."

"Well, I still say you look beautiful." That earned him a kiss and neither of them seemed to mind terribly the morning breath.

"What time is it?"

He looked to his watch and replied, "Nearly seven."

"Then we've got plenty of time. I'm going to take a nice long shower, have Dobby pop you back home and do the same."

"I don't think I should leave you alone here."

"Leddy?"

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"Father hasn't returned has he?"

"No miss."

"Is mother still asleep?"

"Yes miss."

"Good," she said as she turned to Harry. "Relax Harry, we're almost away from here."

"I still don't want to leave you, not after last night."

"If anything happens, anything at all, I promise I'll call Dobby and get out of here. Besides, you can't follow me into the shower," she said with a smirk.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a sly grin. "You never know what evils might lurk in your bathroom."

"You may be my boyfriend, but you're not allowed to follow me into the shower just yet." Pansy laughed as Harry got a ridiculously goofy but dreamy look on his face.

"I'm only going to focus on the not yet part of what you just said."

"Fine, but go home, eat something, and get cleaned up."

"After that, I'm coming back. I'll hide under my cloak, but I want to make sure your mother doesn't do anything before we get to the train. And if your father comes back..."

Pansy saw the look of hatred on his face. She had seen his anger and frustration come to the fore several times, but she had never seen this. It excited her on a deep, primal level. Harry wouldn't find out for quite awhile just how much she loved that he hated her father.

"Don't worry about that Harry. Business is much more important than family to him."

"Better safe than sorry."

"Alright, go home, get cleaned up and eat, then come back and follow me around under your cloak. We should be some of the first people to the train. I've never been so happy that mother wants to get rid of me as quickly as possible."

Harry called for Dobby and they were gone. Pansy went into her bathroom and spent a long time luxuriating in the soothing hot water. Even more time was devoted to enjoying herself as she thrilled at her thoughts of Harry. It was one of the longest showers of her life.

* * *

The next hour slipped by quickly for her as she dressed and took her school trunk downstairs. She might not have admitted it to him, but she was delighted by Harry's over protective nature as he followed her around under his cloak, even as she felt him watching her eat breakfast. For so long, no one had ever protected her. Harry going to this seemingly unnecessary extreme was like a bonfire in the middle of a blizzard. She was going to have to reward him for this, and she had plenty of ideas how after her time spent in the shower.

At 9 AM sharp, Pansy and her mother arrived at Platform 9 & 3/4. The train was waiting and there were only a couple of other families that were there already. One of them was wearing a prefect badge and robes that identified her as a Ravenclaw. They would be the type to be overly punctual. She held in a snort and bid her mother goodbye while grabbing her trunk and heading for the train.

As soon as she reached the door, she saw Harry waiting for her. He grabbed her trunk with a smile and they walked towards the rear of the train, where Harry had already claimed a compartment. With her trunk stowed, she began to snog his lights out. They paused only to breathe and both had enormous smiles on their faces.

"We're free!" She answered Harry's cheer with laughter.

"Not quite for good, but don't worry; I've got a plan for dealing with my parents."

"Are you sure?"

"Leave it to me, Harry. I am the brains of our partnership, remember?"

"As you wish, milady," he chuckled. She could see that Harry was clearly exhausted from last night. Hell, she was emotionally drained after everything as well, but at least she was able to sleep with him watching over her. Pansy embraced him and she could feel his tired body sag a bit into her. "You need to get some rest."

"As much as I want to argue and snog more, a nap would be a good idea."

Pansy sat down by the window and patted her lap. "You were my pillow last night; it's my turn now."

Harry cast a notice-me-not charm at the door and stretched out. He lay his head in her lap and she began to run her fingers through his hair.

"Dobby?"

"Yes miss Pansy?"

"Can you keep an eye out for Harry's friends- Hermione Granger and the Weasleys?"

"Dobby can do that miss."

"Good. Let us know when they get here, Harry needs a nap in the mean time." Dobby's disappearance was unusually quiet, but looking down she saw why. Harry had already fallen asleep.

She absent-mindedly continued running her fingers through his hair as she thought over the plan she had decided on. It would certainly be dangerous, but she now had absolute faith in Harry. Or at least she hoped she did. He had proven his character and she was quite sure of at least one of his skills that would be needed. From what she had seen of his magical abilities, she was fairly confident in those as well. Getting away from her parents permanently was always something she wanted, but after last night, her conviction was stronger than ever. If everything went according to plan, she would even have a way to deal with annoyances like Malfoy and the rest of her classmates.

Getting closer to Harry would be a wonderful benefit as well of course. Staring at the young man sleeping in her lap, she realized she was sure of what she wanted. Even now, he had his wand in hand, ready to fight to protect her. Still, it felt strange to put her trust in another person completely as she knew she was going to do. All her life, other people had been disappointing, at best. Her year mates in Slytherin were all awful. The rest of the school immediately distrusted her because of her house.

She had little faith that Harry's friends would treat her any better, but honestly, she didn't care. Weasley was a lazy, jealous, thick-headed fool. She truly didn't see why Harry was friends with him. She knew a confrontation would come there sooner or later and had confidence that Harry would choose her. After all, the redhead wouldn't be able to compete with a girlfriend, especially not a girlfriend that would do the things she was going to be doing to Harry very soon. She smiled to herself at the thought of ridding Harry of the arsehole but recognized that she would have to be careful not to upset Harry at the same time. Getting him to focus more on learning magic was already a success; making sure he didn't waste too much time goofing off with the bottomless stomach shouldn't be much of a challenge for her.

Granger, on the other hand, could be more of a problem. Pansy didn't have too much issue with the muggleborn girl, but she was definitely more formidable than Weasley. Thankfully, she knew that Harry saw her only as a friend, and Pansy had already figured out that the bookworm's tendency to be both bossy and nosy at times irritated Harry quite a bit. At least she wouldn't hold him back the way Weasley might. Still, she would have to keep an eye on Granger, just in case she started getting romantic notions about her boyfriend. From last year, she knew that Granger had a crush on Lockhart, so maybe she just had terrible taste in men. That would explain why she hadn't seemed interested in Harry yet.

Little Ginny Weasley, on the other hand, was very interested. Harry found her obvious crush a bit ridiculous, a view Pansy shared. Being unable to speak in his presence might be amusing to witness. Besides, the little redhead had just turned twelve and was an immature twelve at that. Pansy would be fourteen before the end of the year, and any immaturity had been stripped away years ago. Ginny didn't stand a chance against her. If she did muster up the courage to try anything, Pansy would make sure that Harry had no need of any female attention other than her own.

These thoughts brought her mind back to several rituals that she hoped to perform with Harry fairly soon. In truth, a small piece of her was a bit frightened by some of what she wanted to do, but a much greater part of her was buzzing with excitement. She was sure of her chosen partner and that made the rest of her much more confident. Looking down at him again made her even more positive of her decision. Harry had grown several inches and filled out nicely this summer. The short, scrawny boy that she'd first seen two years ago was now fairly tall for his age. Pansy did not yet know about his years of malnourishment and occasional starvation that the Dursleys had inflicted upon him, but once she did, there would be one hell of a reckoning.

* * *

Harry did not wake till it was nearly eleven. Dobby had used his magic to make sure his master had been able to sleep peacefully for as long as he could. Master Harry had needed it after staying awake to watch over his miss Pansy last night. Protecting your family was something that the house-elf could understand, but seeing how devoted Harry was to miss Pansy touched a deep part of Dobby. The bad muggles had treated the Great Harry Potter badly, just like the bad masters had treated Dobby. Even after that, master Harry was good and cared for his miss Pansy. Dobby had never heard of a wizard that acted like a house-elf. The Great Harry Potter had suffered the burden of a house-elf but still tended to his family. It made Dobby prouder than ever to have found such a wizard.

* * *

Eventually, Harry's nap ended as he heard the compartment door opening. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Pansy wink as she looked down at him. He began to sit up.

"Don't say anything about me being your girlfriend yet," she whispered, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. He nodded in agreement.

"What's she doing here?" Ron nearly shouted as he stopped in the doorway. Ginny bumped into him. Harry merely stood and helped Hermione put her trunk away.

"It looks like she's sitting down to me, Ron," Harry said as Hermione gave him a hug. He hid the amused grin on his face in his best friend's bushy hair.

"Why is she sitting with you?"

"Well, I was being used as a pillow," Pansy snorted. "I might have to charge you for that Potter- 1 galleon an hour for lap rental fees."

"You've got an expensive lap, but thankfully I can afford it," Harry answered with a chuckle. Hermione had a pet carrier that held a large cat with a squashed face that was asleep. Ron was still standing in the doorway, mouth agape. "Are you going to come in Ron? It looks like a line is forming behind you."

Ron grunted and stepped inside. Harry helped the two Weasleys stow there trunks; Ginny blushed as she stuttered out her thanks. Harry was glad that Hermione had sat on his other side on the one hand, but now Ron was sitting directly across and staring angrily towards Pansy. Ginny didn't look pleased to see another girl in the compartment either. The silence had just begun to get uneasy.

"Why were you needing a nap before we even get to Hogwarts, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he did have a busy night, didn't you Harry?" Pansy responded. It was hard to keep his face neutral as he saw his friends' shocked faces.

"Only part of it was actually busy, but I still missed out on quite a bit of sleep," he teased.

"Harry, into what sort of trouble are you getting yourself now?" Hermione seemed excited to get to start lecturing Harry already.

"Just a minor criminal enterprise or two."

"Criminal?!" Hermione yelped.

'Here we go,' Harry thought. 'All aboard the Hermione Granger outrage train.'

"Harry you promised me you were being safe and careful this summer. Becoming a criminal is a far cry from being safe and careful. Knowing your luck, we'll be arrested in the middle of the train ride. You were supposedly working hard this summer. If you get hauled off to jail, who is going to help me keep Ron in line this term?"

"Oi, Hermione-"

"Oh shush, Ronald," Hermione quickly dismissed the blustering redhead. "Well, I'm waiting for answers Harry."

"How do I look?"

"You look really good Harry," Ginny answered before looking away, blushing madly again.

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said as he looked to Hermione.

"You look like you've had quite a growth spurt this summer, but you definitely aren't fat, Harry."

"I'm not skin and bones either, which is a great improvement let me tell you."

"You're still not answering my questions."

"Alright, well to start with, Ron's a big boy, whether or not he keeps himself in line is on him."

"But-"

"Nope, sorry Hermione. I've met his mother. Ron doesn't need someone else to smother him. How Ron elects to change as he grows up is his choice. Not yours or mine."

"Whether or not I agree, that wasn't my main question, and you know it Harry," Hermione said with a disgruntled huff.

"Okay. I have been safe and careful this summer. No one has tried to kill me in three whole months."

"That's not funny, Harry. What's this about criminal enterprises then?"

"You can't take a joke, can you Granger?" Pansy interrupted. Harry could only briefly look towards her without smirking.

"So, how was everyone's summer?" Harry asked.

"Don't go changing the subject, Harry," Hermione scowled at him.

"Alright fine, burglary, kidnapping, trespassing, conspiracy to commit murder, and, my favorite, stealing hearts," Harry said with a raised eyebrow and an over the top leering expression. He grabbed Hermione's hand, leaned over and kissed the back of it. Looking up, he asked, "Is it working, my darling?"

"Harry, wha, what..." Hermione stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

"I'm not sure if you've stolen her heart or just knocked her for a loop, Potter," Pansy said with a chuckle.

"Any time you can leave Hermione speechless is a win, Pansy."

"I'll keep that in mind." Harry noticed Ginny seemed jealous of his treatment of Hermione, regardless of the joking nature.

"How was your summer Ginny?"

"It, it was good," she mumbled.

"I heard from Ron that your family was going to Egypt. That must have been pretty interesting." Ron was finally jarred from his grumpy silence.

"Oh, yeah, we saw loads of cool stuff. Pyramids and tombs. Bill's a curse-breaker. He's my oldest brother; he works for the goblins. The best part was when the twins tried to lock Percy up in one of the tombs." Ginny laughed, Pansy snorted, and Hermione was aghast.

"Locking up someone in a tomb is not funny Ronald!"

"It is if it's Percy! You didn't have to be around him this summer. He's Head Boy this year, and ever since he found out, he's been even more of a pain than ever before."

"The twins charmed his badge to make it say 'Big Head Boy' this morning. I hope he hasn't noticed yet," Ginny added.

"Hermione, we must respect the family's wishes," Harry said before Hermione could interrupt. "Clearly clan Weasley does not want Percy to let this make him even more pompous. We must heed this decision and work to keep Percy in line this term. That can be a new project for you: how to keep authority from being abused by the pretentious via measured out levity and flippancy."

"What?" Ron asked.

"We prank Percy when he gets annoying."

"Oh. Yeah, good idea Harry. Fred and George will be glad to know you're on their side."

"Well, last year they were two of the only people on _my side_ so that seems fair." Harry noticed Ginny pale a bit after mentioning her first year. Obviously, she was still having issues with what had happened to her. This was not a surprise to him. A family vacation might have relieved some stress, but he was pretty sure that Ginny needed something more like therapy to deal with being possessed by teenage Voldemort's diary spirit thing. That made him think that maybe he should try to figure out what sort of magic could have possibly created something like the diary. First, though, Harry needed to figure out how much of an eye he might need to keep on the youngest Weasley. Possession couldn't be good for you, and he suspected that getting over it wouldn't be easy either. If she had any further problems this year, it would just doubtless fall to Harry to fix whatever nightmare might occur.

"Hermione, how was France?" Harry knew that getting the ball rolling would lead to her going off on a detailed monologue, and for the next half hour, that's exactly what they got. He and Pansy shared a couple of conspiratorial looks but he mostly focused on watching Ron and Ginny for any more indications of how they might treat Pansy. Thankfully, the Weasleys didn't say anything else to or about her for quite awhile; Hermione's rambling stories of museums, art, and all sorts of tourist attractions left little room for Ron's rudeness to show itself again. Eventually, Ron told somewhat more detailed stories of Egypt. Ginny didn't add a lot to the discussion, she was clearly still struggling to be able to talk to Harry without blushing or stammering. It was no surprise that Ron talked quite a bit about the exotic food. Apparently only the spiciest dishes were able to bother his stomach- Ginny did get to make fun of him a bit about the one time that Ron had to spend an evening running back to the toilet. Thankfully, that part of the discussion ended almost an hour before the food cart came by and they all got some snacks to tide them over for the rest of the journey.

Hermione's inquisitive nature ultimately got things focused back on why Pansy was in the compartment with them.

"So, why are you and Pansy Parkinson friendly all of a sudden?" she asked.

"Well, really it is all thanks to Ron."

"What? How is it my fault?"

"You did introduce us after all."

"What are you talking about, mate?"

"You don't remember attacking her with the twins? Something about how she was just an evil snake, the same as Malfoy, and it was somehow her fault that Ginny nearly died in the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said all this with as neutral a tone as possible, while trying to watch Pansy's face. From his periphery, he could see she was scowling slightly at Ron, who looked more incensed than ashamed. Ginny paled at the mention of the Chamber and Hermione looked shocked that Ron had bullied Pansy just for being a Slytherin. While she may have had problems with some of them herself, Hermione's sense of justice was outraged by Ron's behavior. Harry was pleased by this- he hoped that he could get her on his side about his new relationship with Pansy and perhaps she would be able to help him get Ron to come around as well.

Ron tried to sputter something out but couldn't come up with anything to say.

"You were picking on her, Ronald? I can't believe you would turn into a bully!" Hermione huffed.

"But she's a Slytherin!"

"Not everyone in Slytherin is like Malfoy, Ron," Harry said as Pansy snorted.

"Being in the same house as him, I have more reason to hate Malfoy than any of you. I have to be around the annoying ponce a lot more. Believe me, none of you hate Malfoy more than I do." Harry knew the reason why she loathed him so much and thought to himself that he hated Draco a lot more than he once did, just for Pansy's sake. In fact, the idea of his girlfriend being forced into a marriage with that scum briefly made his anger flare up before he was reminded of the conversation going on around him.

"Why should we believe you?" Ron asked angrily.

"I don't care what you believe, Weasley," Pansy answered with derision.

"Harry, you can't be friends with a snake!"

"Why not Ron? I am a Parselmouth, after all. That suggests that I should be _very_ friendly with snakes," Harry said with a chuckle.

"But, they're all evil. You can't trust her."

"Let's get one thing straight, Ron. I will trust or befriend whomever I choose. You don't get to decide how far my social circle extends."

"But-"

"This is not up for discussion, Ron." Ron sat down and looked mutinous, but as Harry refused to back down from his glare, he just turned to look out the window.

"So..." Hermione tried to get back to her initial line of questioning and Harry had to stop himself from laughing at how well he knew her. She peered around him to talk to Pansy. "I'm guessing that Harry stood up for you and you two became acquainted?"

"Something like that," she answered. Harry was unable to stop his snort. Just as Hermione's curiosity would make her pry, he knew that Pansy would be secretive and mysterious.

"And then what?"

"Well," Pansy said, looking pensive for a moment, as if she was trying to decide how much of her story to tell. Harry knew better and thought that she was both drawing this out to annoy Hermione as well as probably choosing the most ridiculous thing she might be able to get them to believe. "You know how he mentioned a criminal enterprise. Potter did trespass against me as well as robbing me- that's why I need to charge him for lap usage, obviously. I don't think he is planning my murder though. Are you planning my death, Harry?"

Pansy's teasing made him smile and he also noticed Hermione trying to decipher what she had said. "If I were planning your death, it wouldn't be very wise of me to tell you, now would it?"

"No, but you are a Gryffindor, and it would be brave of you to put me on notice before trying to kill me. And after all we know about the mythical boy who lived, your bravery is always the first trait mentioned."

"Then I guess it is a good thing that the myth of the boy who lived is finally being put to rest."

"What do you mean, Harry?"

'More knowledge for Hermione to discover!' he thought to himself before answering her. "If you haven't heard, the books written about me have all been pulled from the shelves. I'm currently suing the hell out of all the people involved in the boy who lived fairy tales."

"Fairy tales?" Ginny asked with a squeak.

"I haven't read any of them personally, but I can guarantee you that any story about my life after the death of my parents is nothing but lies."

"Oh," the little redhead said before looking away ashamed.

'That's right,' Harry thought to himself, 'your hero that you're obsessed with is fake.'

The conversation ground to a halt for a moment and Harry realized that something was different about this train ride.

"I'm a bit surprised Malfoy hasn't come by to annoy us yet," he said.

"Maybe his mother threatened to publicly humiliate him again if he tried to bother you."

"I wish I could have heard her lecture him after they went home from Diagon Alley."

"She did seem to be trying to break him of some of his arrogance, although from what I've seen, his father's influence is much too strong. Draco is bound to be a pompous loudmouth until he angers the wrong someone and gets crushed." Harry noticed Pansy get a wicked gleam in her eye, and he knew that she was coming up with some new scheme. He had a feeling that they were going to be the ones doing the crushing of Draco. Harry smiled slightly to himself at this and hoped that Pansy would have some good ideas for dealing with the father as well. Six months in Azkaban was not nearly enough for someone that would unleash a basilisk on a school full of children.

"What are you two talking about?" Ron asked. His displeasure with Pansy's presence was not enough to distract him from the idea of Draco being humiliated. Harry let Pansy lead the telling of their encounter while shopping a week ago. Even Hermione was pleased that Narcissa had slapped Draco for using the word mudblood in public. Hermione and Ron were both shocked at learning the true backstory of Voldemort while Ginny merely shrank back into her seat with a dark, fearful expression. When Pansy mentioned how infuriated Draco had been at Harry flirting with his mother, she seemed much less bothered by this than she had originally been. Ginny, on the other hand, was obviously not amused. Hermione approved of Harry's good manners even if she mostly ignored the romantic overtones. However, Ron once again found the idea of even being polite to someone from Slytherin repellent- Harry recognized that Ron was too immature to understand. Of course, Ron also still had no interest in girls. Ginny's presence annoyed him, and he really only treated Hermione somewhat well when it was time for him to once again require her help with an assignment.

As they spoke, the weather outside worsened. It had been raining for the last hour or so of the journey north, but now it was truly storming. Lights had come on inside the train, and howling wind could be heard during lulls in the conversation. Harry noticed that the train was slowing down, but checking his watch, he saw that they should still be close to an hour away from Hogwarts. Ron started to say something about wanting to get to the feast as soon as possible when suddenly the train slammed to a halt.

Harry stood and opened the door to try to see what was going on. He noticed that there were several other students peering out into the hall when the lights went out. He drew his wand and cast the light spell just as Neville stepped into the doorway.

"Hi guys, do you know what's going on?" the round faced boy asked. Harry guided him to sit by Ginny and Ron.

"Does anyone else have their wand handy?" Pansy drew hers and helped light the compartment as Harry stepped near the door.

All of a sudden, he felt a ghastly chill. A dark cloaked figure floated towards them and Harry knew that his terrible luck had once again kicked in. Behind him, he heard moans, and off in the distance somewhere, a woman was screaming. The darkness increased as Pansy's Lumos charm fell and Harry could have sworn that he saw a flicker of green light. He felt a weight in his chest. Just before he lost control, he lifted his wand.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

He thought that he had shouted it out, but the others would later tell him that he said it in a soft groan only a few steps removed from a whisper. Regardless, a glowing mist erupted from his wand and held the foul creature at bay. After all the work he had put in this summer, Harry's magic was stronger than ever. Still, a dozen seconds of trying to keep the Dementor from getting any closer left him very drained. Behind him, he heard Pansy whimpering in pain. To his left, he saw Ginny was sobbing. And somewhere else, he heard a woman's voice screaming. The light flashed green again. Harry tried to hold on to his happy thoughts of snogging Pansy but the woman's voice kept getting louder and louder. She was screaming, pleading, terrified. Harry had to go to her, to help her. The green light flashed again. He could no longer hold his wand up. Harry sank to his knees, out of breath, as the darkness enveloped them.

A bright light flew towards him, but Harry was already slipping into a dream. The woman's voice was begging someone to spare her son. He saw her red hair stretching in front of him, taking up almost his entire view. A second voice hissed something he didn't understand and the green flash of light was there once again. The ocean of red hair fell away and a shadowy figure loomed over him.

Somehow, the dream felt familiar.

A moment later, fingers were brushing through his hair. He knew this touch. He opened his eyes to Pansy cradling his head as he was slumped on the floor. Her eyes were a bit watery but there was also what looked like pride in them. He smiled softly at her and noticed his wand still clutched in his hand.

Looking around, the lights had come back on. The train was moving again. Everyone else looked miserable to varying degrees. Ginny still had tears on her cheeks but Neville looked nearly as bad. Hermione was quite pale and only Ron seemed to be shaking off the Dementor's effects very well. The door slid wide open to reveal a rather haggard looking man in worn robes. His brown hair was starting to grey, making him appear older.

"Is everyone alright?"

"I think so," Harry answered as he sat up. He and Pansy climbed back onto their seats. He instinctively put his arm around her. Hermione leaned against him, and soon she too had an arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"What was that thing?" asked Hermione in a small, frightened voice. It was very unlike his friend, and he was glad that she was taking some comfort against him. On his left, he felt Pansy burrowing into his chest. If not for the cold sweat that had broken out, and the fact that he badly needed a twelve hour nap, he would be ready to skip the welcoming feast to spend the next hour in a broom closet with her. This thought made him feel a bit better.

"That was a Dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban prison," the man answered. "For some reason, they seemed to think that Sirius Black would be on the train.

"Here," he said as he passed around pieces of a chocolate bar that he had broken up. "Eat up, it will help you all feel better."

Pansy immediately ate hers, so Harry did as well. The sick sensations melted away as he swallowed the chocolate.

"I take it you were the one trying to drive off the Dementor, Harry?" The man was looking at him rather intently.

"Yes."

"Well done, very well done."

"Who are you?" Ron asked.

"Remus Lupin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"A pleasure to meet you, Professor," Hermione said, perking up. Between the chocolate and getting to meet a new teacher, Hermione was feeling much better and Harry released his arm from around her as she sat up.

"Thank you," Lupin replied pleasantly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to speak to the conductor."

He left and the room became quiet.

"Well, I guess you were right Hermione," he said as he turned to look at her. "I never should have become a criminal; they did try to arrest me in the middle of the train ride."

Pansy snorted as Hermione gasped before trying to laugh but was too nervous. Ron chuckled.

"Harry, mate, only you can't even ride the train to school without getting attacked."

"What was that spell you cast?" Hermione asked.

"The Patronus charm. It is what you have to use to fight off Dementors. I read about them in the paper when I heard about Sirius Black's escape. Naturally, a year can't go by without danger seeking me out. I figured that I had better start preparing, so I've been working on learning that spell. It's a lot harder to do when you have the real thing pressing against you."

"I'd like to learn it, Harry."

"Of course you would, Hermione. Is there anything you don't want to learn about?" he asked with a sly grin.

"I don't want to learn what happens if one of those things gets a hold of you."

"They suck out your soul," Pansy said.

"Too late," Harry grunted.

"Your soul?" Hermione squeaked. "Then we know for a fact that there is such a thing as a soul?"

"Well, from what I've read, they certainly suck out something like a soul. Someone who has suffered the Dementor's kiss is still alive but they are like a shell. They still function but they have no personality, they don't speak or move. Whether or not you want to call that a soul is a discussion all of its own." Of course, Pansy knew quite a bit about such a dark subject. Harry would have smiled but was so tired that he just rested his chin on top of her head. He barely registered Ginny's frown.

The rest of the trip passed in relative quiet as no one had much to say. Harry dozed off, but not for long as Pansy shook him awake.

"We're at Hogwarts."


	15. Leap of Faith

* * *

For the first time, Harry rode the carriages up to the school drawn by the strange, winged, skeletal horses. He shook his head as he slid into a seat next to Pansy and tried not to show any discomfort as Ginny sat on his other side. She pressed a little closer to him than necessary but he kept quiet. Thankfully, the storm had ended by the time the train had reached Hogsmeade. The ride up to the school was silent as everyone was still a bit upset by the Dementor's appearance.

Before long, they had reached the castle. Pansy gave him a brief smile as she separated from the group before reaching the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall pulled Hermione and Harry aside. As an unforeseen, but thoroughly welcome, perk of taking up his head of house, Harry would have his own quarters. This was pleasing on a number of levels. Having a bit of privacy was going to be an obvious plus. Not hearing Ron's awful snoring (or Neville's for that matter) was going to be even better. It would also give Harry a place to meet with either Pansy or Dobby without anyone else knowing, and that could be very important, especially until he was able to have other plans in place for keeping Pansy safe.

He was shortly dismissed by the professor as she had more to discuss with Hermione. On the way to the Great Hall, Harry called for Dobby once he was alone and told the little elf to follow Pansy after the feast was over and make sure she was safe.

He made his way over to a spot next to Ron, ignoring the empty seat next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table. It would have been across from Ron anyway, and Harry had learned that eating with him was a lot easier when you only saw his atrocious manners in your periphery.

The sorting was already underway. Harry clapped politely for the new students, even the Slytherins, of which he noticed Ron did not seem to approve. The last student was a girl named Romilda Vane, who joined Gryffindor. Dumbledore warned everyone about the Dementors stationed around the school and Harry had to force himself not to shake his head at the foolishness of the magical world. There were apparently dozens of these monsters surrounding the school, all to catch one man who shouldn't even have a wand. When, not if, a student was attacked there would hopefully be outrage at whichever moron in the government decided it was a good idea to have soul devouring monstrosities anywhere near children. Unfortunately, Harry knew that his luck meant he would more than likely be the target- the train ride had already proven that- and Harry had absolutely no faith that anyone would care about the next time he was placed in mortal peril. They hadn't cared any of the other times, after all.

He snuck a look over at Pansy, who rolled her eyes at Dumbledore's pitiful warning to avoid the Dementors. He was glad to see her seemingly back to her normal caustic self. It had been a dreadful twenty four hours for her, and Harry was relieved at seeing how she looked now. He would be a lot more relieved if she were in his arms again tonight, but he would have to take what he could get for now. He briefly remembered how much he needed to kill her father but those thoughts were put aside as Dumbledore announced there were two new teachers joining the staff.

Having already met the newest Defense teacher, he noticed Snape scowling even more than usual at Professor Lupin. Harry wondered if there might be some history there as this was clearly much more malice than what he'd seen towards Quirrel two years ago, or even Snape's disgust towards Lockhart the fop last year. The big surprise, though, was that Hagrid was becoming the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

Harry was quite pleased for his very large friend. However, he briefly wondered at how Hagrid could have become a licensed teacher. He'd been expelled as a third year student and didn't even have a wand- legally at least, although Harry knew he could do some magic with his umbrella. Then again, was it really any surprise that there might not be such a thing as a teaching license or credential in the magical world? Certainly, Snape had no teaching ability whatsoever. Lockhart had been completely useless. The less said about Binns the ghost, the better.

Finally, the food appeared and Harry found he was much hungrier than usual. Of course, this year he hadn't been nearly starved by the Dursleys. Plus, trying to fight off the Dementors must have worked up an appetite. He was unaware of just how much this summer had changed him. Between Dobby's care, the Potter family magic pouring into him from the ring, and all his hard work, this Harry Potter was much different than the one who had finished his second year. He had gained nearly half a foot over the summer and put on quite a bit of weight. His magic was the real change though. He would learn that soon enough.

Eventually, the feast ended. Harry watched Pansy leave with the rest of the Slytherins and got a knot in his stomach. He hoped that Dobby would be able to protect her. After last night, he was unable to hope that she wouldn't be attacked. His mind wandered as he walked towards the Gryffindor common room. When they finally arrived, he sank into a chair and stared into the fire. He hadn't noticed Ron and Hermione trying to talk to him. He looked up as Hermione was shaking his shoulder.

"What?"

"What's wrong Harry? You've been really out of it since the feast," she said.

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'll call it an early night. See you guys tomorrow."

Harry walked over to a portrait in the corner of the common room. The well dressed wizard raised an eyebrow at him till he raised his hand, showing his family ring. Ron and Hermione were watching him, wondering what was going on, as Harry disappeared through the doorway that the portrait had hidden.

The room he entered was similar to the Gryffindor common room, although obviously smaller. A fireplace was on the wall to his right as he entered and a couch sat in front of it. He saw a large window and a door leading to what appeared to be a balcony on the wall opposite him but ignored it as he found a door off to the left led to a bedroom. His trunk was already inside, so Harry quickly undressed and got ready for bed.

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw Dobby waiting by his bed.

"How's Pansy?"

"Miss Pansy is fine master Harry sir. Miss Pansy went to her room. Dobby set up wards around her bed, in case any bad witches try to bother miss Pansy."

"Thank you Dobby. I'm worried about her."

"Dobby knows sir. Dobby will watch over master Harry's miss Pansy."

"I'm going to sleep Dobby. You should probably get some rest too. We've both had a stressful couple of days."

"Good night master Harry."

* * *

Harry slept like a rock thanks to his exhaustion. The next morning, he enjoyed the privacy of his own bathroom and was earlier than usual to breakfast. Hermione had been up too but she wanted to wait for Ron in the common room. Harry was hungry (and secretly hoping to get a few minutes alone with Pansy if possible) so he told her he'd save them places in the Great Hall.

Once they joined him there, Harry was almost finished eating. Pansy had made it to the Slytherin table earlier than usual as well and he had already snuck a few glances her way. She looked a bit tired, which made him wonder if she didn't sleep well although he also knew that she wasn't much of a morning person either. His thoughts were broken by the class schedules that were being passed out. His first class was going to be Arithmancy, a subject he still wasn't sure about, but at least he'd be in it with Pansy.

Ron grunted something about having Divination first thing in the middle of several bites of food but was too busy eating to notice Hermione's overly full schedule. She seemed to be taking three different classes this morning at 9 AM. Maybe the teachers were even crazier than he thought. He hoped that it wouldn't rub off on his best friend- her brain had helped keep him alive and he really didn't want to lose one of the only people he could rely on.

He excused himself from the table as soon as he saw Pansy getting up to leave. He followed at a discreet distance up the stairs till they were in an empty hallway. Then he ran to her as she spun around and they quickly crashed into a broom closet. She was in his arms, he was kissing her, and all was right in the world.

"I think we might be the first couple in a broom closet this year," she chuckled.

"Are you alright?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "You look kind of tired this morning." The look became a glare. "I, I mean, I was just worried about you last night and hope no one bothered you in the dorms or anything."

"I didn't sleep very well," Pansy said with a chill in her voice.

"I'm sorry."

"Yesterday, you were smart enough not to say I looked tired in the morning."

"You look beautiful this morning too, but last night I didn't get to watch over you. I hate having you so far away here in the castle."

"It would have been nice to sleep in your arms again," she said with a sigh. "I had a nightmare last night."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"No, don't worry." Harry noticed she had a secretive look once again. "Don't let anyone know about us yet."

"Why not?"

"I have something planned."

"I thought we were going to scheme together this year?"

"It's only the first day. I'm the brains, remember Harry?"

"As you wish, milady." He kissed the back of her hand and was rewarded with a giggle before she pulled him into another kiss.

"We shouldn't scheme today anyway. Might need to pay attention to our new classes after all."

"What do you have after Arithmancy?"

"Herbology with the Ravenclaws," she answered with a tone of disgust.

"My condolences. Nothing against Professor Sprout, but I hate gardening, whether its magical or not."

"Me too."

"I've got Transfiguration. I might scream if McGonagall gives us an assignment on the first day."

"I'll be listening for your scream then."

"I'm a bit worried about Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon."

"Why?"

"Well, I like Hagrid a lot, but he has some strange ideas about magical creatures."

"I was surprised when they made him a professor. I know he's your friend but..."

"Yeah, but how is he qualified to teach? I mean, he was expelled from Hogwarts as a third year but now he gets to teach. He doesn't even own a wand. The bigger worry, though, is that I've already seen the types of creatures that Hagrid keeps as pets. Just be ready to get behind me whenever one of his beasts tries to kill us."

"How gallant of you, Lord Potter," she said with a snort.

"I am supposed to be the hero, so I should act like it. Especially towards my girlfriend."

"Well, your girlfriend says we better head towards class before we end up late on our first day."

Harry accepted with a grumble and they soon arrived to Arithmancy a few minutes before the class started. It was mostly Ravenclaws, but Hermione was at an empty table where Harry and Pansy joined her. Professor Vector started the class by going through some basic geometry and algebra, which thankfully Harry mostly remembered. It seemed a strong math background would be helpful and his non-magical math lessons were not so far removed. He wasn't surprised by Hermione's obvious skill but did wonder about how well Pansy seemed to take to the lesson. He would have to try to remember to ask her what sorts of schooling magical children had before coming to Hogwarts.

There was more than enough work in Arithmancy that they wouldn't have had time to scheme even if Pansy had been so inclined that day. The time flew past and soon Harry was off to Transfiguration while Pansy was heading outside to the greenhouses.

* * *

If Harry had paid closer attention to Pansy's work, he might have noticed some extra calculations she seemed to be working on.

As she went outside, she looked up at the main sections of the castle. The astronomy tower, one of the highest points in the school, loomed over the third greenhouse.

Her plan was almost ready. She had now decided on the perfect impartial witness to bring it all together.

* * *

It seemed that every other Gryffindor in his year was taking Divination, which made Harry shake his head. They were all gloomy when they reached McGonagall's class, something she quickly moved to remedy. Ron's death omen would only be accepted as an excuse for not turning in his assignments if one of Trelawney's predictions actually came true, something McGonagall assured them had never happened before. Harry noticed that Hermione also seemed to have taken the class, which made him start to worry.

Dobby passed him a note before lunch from Pansy asking him for a meeting later in the afternoon, once classes were over for the day.

Care of Magical Creatures started off fairly interesting, as Hagrid introduced hippogriffs. Harry's impromptu ride on Buckbeak was even pretty fun. Then, of course, Malfoy had to screw everything up in his typical obnoxious manner. He began screaming bloody murder about what appeared to be a fairly minor injury, at least by Harry's standards. Before the class could start to panic, Harry's instincts once again kicked in.

"Malfoy, would you stop screaming like a baby and get up? The hippogriff barely touched you, you pussy." He threw in a sarcastic smirk for good measure. And of course, the fool rose to the bait, leaping to his feet.

"How dare you Potter! I'm twice the wizard you are!"

"Well, twice the fool at least. Thank you for proving that you were faking with that pitiful performance." Harry continued to smirk as Draco's face showed the realization that his temper had betrayed him. He began to say something before stopping himself, and Harry was almost certain the first words would have been 'When my father hears of this.'

Hagrid still sent him off to the hospital wing to have Pomfrey check on his scratch, and Harry was quite pleased that the rest of the class had no further problems. Harry knew that Hagrid had dodged a bullet and he stayed behind to warn the large man that Malfoy would almost certainly try to cause problems in the future.

He had surreptitiously watched Pansy during the class, noticing her speaking a bit to the other Slytherin girls. Standing in the far back of the students, she had smiled and winked at him when he dismounted Buckbeak, but otherwise she remained distant in the class. He had to assume this had something to do with whatever she had planned, but he still didn't like it.

Leaving Hagrid's, he made his way towards the greenhouses, wondering why Pansy had picked that spot to meet.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," Professor Sprout said, bringing Harry's mind back to his surroundings.

"Hello Professor."

"I heard you had an encounter with a Dementor on the train. Nasty creatures, shouldn't be anywhere near a school full of children," she said as she shook her head. Harry was amazed, here was a witch with some common sense!

"I couldn't agree more. The ministry must be full of idiots to bring those things here. They should have just brought some aurors in. Black doesn't even have a wand, yet they send soul-devouring monsters to where the children of this country learn magic."

"Too true, Mr. Potter"

Their conversation was interrupted by Dobby's sudden appearance.

"Does Master Harry sir have sir's wand?"

"Yeah, I've got it with me," Harry answered pulling it out.

"Good. Dobby brought master's broom."

"My broom. Why?" Harry began looking around. 'Pansy should have been here by now.'

"Someone's up on the Astronomy Tower," Sprout said, drawing Harry's attention upwards.

"Oh God no." The breath went out of him as he grabbed the broom, blasting off as fast as he could.

* * *

Pansy saw Dobby's appearance and smiled. The little elf had followed her plan precisely, as she saw him coaxing Harry to draw his wand. She waited until she saw the group look up at her.

"I'm never going back." Harry was already in motion. She jumped.

* * *

It was the longest few seconds of his life.

" _Arresto Momentum!_ " he yelled and the amount of magic he put into the spell could have slowed an elephant.

But Harry had no time to notice how much of his power had exploded out to catch Pansy. He ripped through the air, urging his broom to go faster than he ever had before. He changed his angle slightly, going up a bit more. He took both arms off the broom.

* * *

The air whipping past her felt amazing as she fell. Here was her freedom filling her outstretched arms. Some small part of her mind knew that she was away from her father now, even if Harry failed. But she knew he wouldn't. Harry had promised her. And that promise filled her with joy as she saw him reaching out to catch her.

* * *

Pomona Sprout had spent decades at Hogwarts as either a teacher or student. She knew that Harry Potter was an amazing flyer, but what she saw that day was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a girl leap from the tower. But before she could react, even to scream in terror, the boy who lived was zooming through the air, determined to make sure that this girl would live too.

* * *

He saw her smiling. Every single cell in his body had screamed out in terror, and there she was smiling at him. In the middle of the fall even. But that terror ended as she was once again in his arms. They felt quite a bit more bruised than they had earlier due to the mid-air collision of the two speeding teens.

This time he hadn't failed her. And all was once again right in the world.


	16. Claiming Her

* * *

"You scared the crap out of me." The adrenaline still burning in him kept him from either yelling at her in anger or sobbing in relief.

"I had it all planned out. You just call in this life debt I now owe you and Father can go to hell."

"How can you be so calm?"

"I had faith in you."

"I'm glad one of us did."

"Listen quickly before we land and Sprout can hear us."

* * *

Professor Sprout had led them to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey then treated the bumps and bruises and forced Pansy to take a calming draught, which Harry realized that he probably needed a lot more than Pansy. It both thrilled and terrified him to know the amount of faith she had placed in him. Unfortunately, he had more work to do.

The two teens quietly pretended not to observe as Sprout took a potion to calm herself as well. When she left to fetch their heads of house, Harry told her that Lord Parkinson would need to be contacted immediately as well. He missed the look she gave the two of them, but Pansy did not.

Pomfrey remained nearby, so they had no chance to rehearse what would happen next, but Harry had thoroughly studied life debts and felt he had the situation in hand. He was more than a little surprised when Dumbledore didn't arrive with the three heads of house. McGonagall looked quite a bit upset; Snape had his usual sneer of contempt. Before the conversation could truly begin, an angry dark haired man strode into the hospital wing. Harry had never seen him before but knew immediately who this monster was- now he just had to keep his temper in check. He wondered briefly how Mr. Parkinson had arrived there so quickly.

"What is going on here?" Pansy's father demanded.

"Your daughter leapt off the Astronomy Tower. If not for Mr. Potter's reactions, she would have died," Professor Sprout answered.

"You did what?" He looked at Pansy with rage in his eyes. Harry was now even more sure that this bastard needed to pay for how he had treated her.

"Professor Sprout," Harry interrupted before the father could start, "though you witnessed the event, it may be simplest to check to see that a life debt now exists between House Potter and House Parkinson."

Snape and McGonagall were both surprised by Harry's statement but Sprout used her wand to verify for all to see that Pansy definitely did owe him her life. He forced himself to look directly at Edmund Parkinson, trying to hide as much of his contempt and hatred as possible.

"Do you acknowledge this life debt owed to House Potter, Lord Parkinson?"

"What do you want boy?"

"In payment, I claim the life I've saved. Pansy shall serve House Potter." The Hogwarts staff all gasped. Harry Potter, of all people, calling in a life debt in such a manner was not what they expected. Parkinson's eyes seethed with fury.

"This isn't over." He sharply looked to Pansy, then turned and stormed off.

'You're damn right this isn't over' Harry thought to himself.

"Do you realize what you've done, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked. She looked concerned but also displeased with him.

"As Pansy now belongs to House Potter, she is now my responsibility. She will reside with me. I assume there will be some paperwork that I will need to go over with you as well." Harry saw Snape fuming at him and could easily imagine his inner monologue about his arrogance. 'No way in hell am I leaving her in your clutches, you slime.'

"That is true." McGonagall's usual stern demeanor returned. "We will need to discuss a few things, I suggest we meet Saturday afternoon. I should have everything ready by then.

"Dinner is already served. Why don't the two of you head to the Great Hall? I will have a house-elf move her things to your quarters, Lord Potter."

"Thank you Professor."

* * *

Once they had turned down an empty corridor, Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"You know, the hard part is still to come." He turned to her.

"Saving your life then staring down your father were the easy parts?"

"Yes," she said with a look of worry. "Now you have to deal with how everyone will respond to this. The boy who lived taking an innocent pureblood heiress as a slave is going to shock people."

Harry laughed. "Are you seriously calling yourself innocent? Regardless of what you said on the train, you were the one who robbed your parents."

"Well, since you still haven't paid for the lap rental, you technically robbed me of a couple of galleons."

"I'll pay you when we get back to my quarters." Harry chuckled to himself. "I guess they're our quarters now."

"Aren't you even a bit worried?"

"After everything I had to deal with last year, I find it hard to care about how people see me."

"Well, I'll need for them to see you as strong, powerful."

"To make sure you're protected, you mean?"

"I am now your property. They must respect you enough to not try to interfere with House Potter's affairs."

"Or fear me. That's how they acted last year, after all. Maybe I should get a pet snake?"

"We'll have to figure out how we want to deal with all of this."

"Let's wait to scheme till later. This life debt business has left me pretty hungry."

"Please don't make me sit by Weasley."

"As long as you're a good girl."

"I'll show you just how good later." She gave him a lecherous grin. They were nearing the entrance to the Great Hall. "Alright, Lord Potter, are you ready to deal with the stares of the unwashed masses?"

Harry schooled his features as best as he could. "How's this?"

"Not bad, although you could be a bit more arrogant."

"I was going for casually haughty."

"I'll have to teach you a better haughty later."

They entered the Great Hall together. This was what she had fantasized about just a few months ago. Her Slytherin classmates stared at them, even the few that did have a bit of cunning like Greengrass. It was just too strange, the savior with the daughter of a Death Eater. Oh, how she wanted to laugh at them. Harry strode down the aisle more confidently than she had expected. She noticed the empty place near Weasley and Granger where he was headed and inwardly groaned. This was going to be the hard part for her- putting up with his friends. At least getting rid of the weasel shouldn't be too hard.

"What's she doing here?" Said weasel was already being annoying. Harry moved to sit down, and thankfully Weasley would be on the other side of Granger and Harry from her.

"She's with me. Pansy," Harry said as he turned to her and offered her his hand.

"My Lord," she answered more formally than really needed, but she wanted to try to get through the thick Gryffindor skulls around her.

"Why is she with you? There's more than you would tell us on the train, isn't there?" Granger asked.

"And why isn't she sitting with the rest of the snakes?"

"You only have to sit at your house table during feasts and whatnot, Ron. I'd also like to know about that room you went into last night. You told us earlier you would explain things, Harry."

"Let me eat something first Hermione. Besides, I might want to speak about my private life later. Perhaps in a more _private_ setting."

Harry easily ignored the stares and mutterings, and Pansy felt quite amused. She wished she could read minds, to know some of the things people must be thinking of seeing her of all people with Harry. She briefly remembered that there was a type of magic that dealt with that sort of thing, but she couldn't remember what it was called. It was something for her to research later. She was surprised at how much she ate as well. Escaping her father's control had pulled a weight from her chest. Harry staring her father down and _claiming her_ had left her hungry in more ways than one.

* * *

The group made their way upstairs after eating. Pansy at first was worried that Harry might be leading them to the special room they had discovered together, but they eventually veered off towards the Gryffindor tower. Harry stopped and led them into an empty classroom nearby. Granger looked ready to burst and Pansy rolled her eyes as she turned away and found a place to sit down.

"What's going on Harry?"

"Well, to start with, let me show you my ring." He held his hand out and Pansy waited as his friends looked at it- she could get a better look later.

"That's the Potter family ring, right?"

"Exactly Ron. Hermione, since you and I didn't grow up in the magical world, we wouldn't know about them. In fact, I didn't know anything about this until just a few months ago. As the last of my family, I am now formally Lord Potter, head of House Potter."

"But aren't you too young?" Pansy smirked as she knew that Granger would have a thousand questions. Hopefully, Harry wouldn't take too long. She wanted to get him alone as soon as possible.

"Normally, I would be. However, as the last of my line, I should have claimed my family ring when I turned eleven. No one told me anything about this. Regardless, there are apparently a number of laws on the books to protect old magical families. There have been feuds and bloodshed over the years that have left others in similar situations to mine. The Potters are a very old family, and pure bloods have always protected their power and influence as much as possible."

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

"A number of things. I am effectively emancipated. I have the rights and responsibilities of an adult. This is one of the reasons I now have a solicitor. There are a lot of legal issues I will need to deal with."

"So now I'm supposed to call you Lord Potter?" Weasley's jealousy was no surprise and Pansy had to force herself not to laugh. Getting rid of this buffoon might be even easier than she thought.

"Well Ron, only if you expect me to call you Mr. Weasley. In other words, it would be used in particularly formal settings."

"Does this mean you are nobility, Harry?"

"No, Hermione. The head of any pureblood family would be called Lord. It doesn't mean you own land or anything like that. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the non-magical world either."

"That's right," Pansy jumped in, just to try to get this wrapped up quicker. "It only had to do with the magical families. It is patriarchal, passed down from father to eldest son. For instance, in the Parkinson family, my father is the Lord. His uncle is not because he was the younger brother. When my grandfather died, it passed to my father. Weasley's father would not be a Lord either as there are so many of them."

"Is that right, Ron?"

"Yeah, Hermione. I think one of my great uncles is the head of the family. I never really paid much attention to that stuff. It's not like I'll ever be the head anyway."

"So, what else does this mean?"

"Well, it is the reason why I have my own room. Apparently, the head of a family has to have their own quarters. I didn't know that either, not till we arrived last night. I'm not going to complain though; now I don't have to listen to Ron's snoring."

"Hey!"

"Or Neville's for that matter."

"That explains the room, but what is going on with you and Pansy?"

"He is my Lord." Granger looked at her oddly.

"Wouldn't that be your father?"

"Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because she owed me a life debt. Which I collected by claiming her for House Potter."

"What do you mean _claiming_ her?"

"I am now a servant of House Potter." Granger looked horrified, which was so amusing to Pansy.

"She's your slave!" Pansy snorted but was unheard over Granger's yelling. "How could you do that, Harry?"

"Oh no." The weasel paled and Pansy smirked at his realization. "You aren't going to claim Ginny, are you?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Harry said with a laugh.

"Harry James Potter! This is no laughing matter!"

"Hermione something Granger! Yes it is."

"My middle name is Jean, just so you know." Granger gave Harry a look that she must have thought was furious, but it only made Pansy chuckle to herself. 'What a silly, bossy little girl.'

"Then, Ginny would owe you a life debt because you rescued her from the Chamber. Does that mean I owe you one too?"

"For the troll, you mean?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Probably."

"But I saved you too. At the quidditch match."

"That might have canceled it out."

"It wouldn't," Pansy interjected. "Granger was in no danger and even if you would have fallen, at that height, and with the enchantments on the quidditch pitch, you would have survived."

"Oh."

"So Hermione owes me one too!"

"No she doesn't." The weasel looked angrily at Harry.

"Why not? I saved her."

"Two reasons Ron. I was the one who jumped on the troll. You were not in serious danger like I was."

"But-"

"Also, why was Hermione there in the first place?" Weasley went red and Pansy wondered at what Harry was talking about. He'd told her about saving Granger from the troll, but not why she was in the bathroom.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Granger looked a bit embarrassed, which made Pansy even more interested.

"You were in that bathroom because of Ron."

"I know, but what does that have to do with a life debt?"

"If someone is in danger because of something you've done, saving them does not put them in your debt. It just balances things out, so to speak." Harry looked briefly over at her and Pansy knew that he was still a bit upset about earlier.

"There is a spell we could use, if you really wanted to check," Pansy offered. Harry wasn't the only one who had studied life debts intensively.

"Yes, please." At least Granger could be polite. Pansy thought she might be able to stand her if she could just learn that Harry wasn't her responsibility, especially not anymore.

Pansy cast the spell, which revealed that Granger did owe Harry a life debt.

"Don't worry about it Hermione," he said reassuringly.

"How can I not worry about it? You just claimed this poor girl as your slave." Pansy snorted again. "Why is that funny to you?"

"You're supposed to be a smart girl, Granger. Figure it out for yourself. Can we wrap this up? I'd like to get my things sorted."

"Sounds good to me. Any more questions Hermione?"

"I guess not. For now at least. Besides, I need to start working on the Transfiguration assignment."

"But that's not due for a week." The weasel whined as if it mattered that Granger was obsessed with schoolwork. Pansy just got up, shaking her head.

"Shall we go my Lord?" She ignored the two bickering behind her.

"We shall."

Harry led her to the Gryffindor common room, where there were even more surprised faces staring at her as she walked in behind him. She was thankful that Harry wasn't in the mood to socialize. He said good night to Granger and Weasley and Pansy followed him in through the door that led to his personal quarters.

More than a little gossip started that night.

* * *

Pansy looked around the sitting room as Harry flopped down on the couch. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What should we do now, my Lord?"

"Come here," he said as he pulled her onto the couch with him. She laughed, then reached down to take her shoes off. "You don't have to keep calling me that you know."

"Maybe I like it." He kissed her neck and she moaned, "I like that too." She sat up and looked at him. "Besides, you need to get used to it. We both do. In public, we'll need to make people see what we want them to see. I belong to you, everyone needs to know it. And they need to see you looking powerful. That you know you own me and that that is how things should be."

"So you're going to train me to be more arrogant?"

"If I need to, yes." Harry groaned. "Don't you think I'm worth it?"

"Of course, you're worth it."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I was taught to be the exact opposite of arrogant when I was growing up. It's going to be a bit hard to change, I guess."

Pansy leaned down and kissed him. "I'm sure I can make it worth your while."

* * *

_Several minutes of snogging later..._

"As much fun as this is, we should probably make sure we're ready for tomorrow. You did say you needed to get your things sorted. Assuming you weren't just trying to get away from my friends." Pansy growled into his chest but sat up.

"You're being a bad influence on me with all this responsibility."

"Hey, I'm the one who is now responsible for you. Legally or whatever. So I probably should be a bad influence on you, at least a bit."

"I wonder where my things are." The answer came with a pop, as Dobby appeared.

"Dobby made sure all miss Pansy's things are here. The Hogwartsies elves put your chest in the second bedroom, but Dobby made sure to check that nothing was missing."

"Thank you Dobby." Pansy got up and followed him into a bedroom on the opposite wall from a door that she assumed was Harry's room. "Harry, can you come here please?"

"What's wrong?" he said as he came in behind her.

"I've noticed a little problem."

"What?"

"Someone seems to think I need my own bedroom," she answered with a smile.

"There's more room for your things at least."

"True."

"So, tomorrow we have Potions and Defense together. After that, though..."

"Don't worry, Harry. I looked up the rules for this sort of thing. My schedule will be changed so I'll have all my classes with you."

"Oh. That's good. Less work for Dobby at least."

"Master Harry sir?" The little elf looked despondent at this thought.

"Don't worry Dobby, I'm sure we'll be able to find plenty of other things for you to do. I just won't need for you to follow Pansy around protecting her as often since she'll be with me all the time."

"Are you sure you won't get sick of me?"

"I can't imagine that I would. Let's hope you don't get sick of me either."

"No chance, my Lord," she answered, throwing her arms around his neck and drawing Harry in for another kiss. They stood there in quiet for a moment, just resting in the comfort of being together. Harry finally broke it.

"I could use a shower."

"Yes, you could," she agreed with a laugh.

"Forgive me for working up a sweat saving your life, milady."

"You're forgiven, just this once."

"How kind of you."

"There's one good thing about the extra room- a bathroom of my own. Go on, Harry. I'll see you in awhile when we both feel refreshed."

Harry had to spend a bit of extra time in the shower as he kept thinking about Pansy being in the other bathroom. Eventually, he put on some pyjama bottoms and waited on the couch. It was still warm enough that he could skip a shirt or socks, so he felt like taking advantage of it for the short time he could. He started getting uncomfortable as he thought of what Pansy must be doing as she took quite a bit longer getting ready for bed. She finally came out wrapped in a thick bath robe but looking grumpier than he expected.

Pansy sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder with a groan.

"What's wrong?"

"Cramps."

"Huh?"

"My time of the month seems to be coming a bit early."

"Oh." This was not how Harry was expecting the night to end. What was he supposed to say? He knew he should have read more about women this summer. "I'm sorry."

"The timing sucks."

"Yeah, it does." So many thoughts of what they could have been doing were quickly disappearing from his mind. 'Dammit!' Thankfully, Harry's instincts were more noble than just his hormones would have been. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Let's just go to bed. Tomorrow's going to be challenging enough, dealing with people without also being tired."

"I'm kind of worn out from the last few days anyway." This was true, and it helped soothe his hormones a bit.

"It's been a stressful few days for both of us. I think that's why I'm feeling like crap right now."

Harry stood and held out his hand to help Pansy up.

"Your room or mine, Harry?"

"Lady's choice."

"Yours then." She led him to the bedroom and removed her robe. Harry tried not to stare at the nightgown she wore, but everything about her was sexy to him. He climbed into bed and she crawled over next to him. She soon felt his excitement pressing into her thigh. "I could take care of that for you."

"No."

"No?"

"I'd rather wait till we can both enjoy things. Besides, even if you did, I'm pretty sure I'd just end up poking you again with it later tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Pansy turned away from him, but reached back with one hand.

"Snuggle up behind me." Harry did as she asked, moving to spoon against her back. She placed his hand against her stomach then chuckled when he reacted, pressing even a bit more against her.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'd probably be insulted if you were less excited about sleeping with me. But leave your hand right there. It feels nice."

"Okay." Harry moved a little closer and kissed the back of her neck. "Good night Pansy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So Chekhov's Gun has fired it's first shot. I am going to elaborate a bit on my view of life debts here- while one cannot be responsible for endangering someone else and then gain a life debt from rescuing them, what Pansy did here does create one. Was it manipulative and devious as hell? Yes, but so is Pansy. And here are the two key factors- she would have died if not for Harry's actions and Harry was in danger himself from the mid-air collision. The over-charged Arresto Momentum spell saved them both a lot of pain and injury. Hence why Harry had to re-adjust his broom's trajectory up, he slowed her down a lot with that spell.
> 
> While Rowling's basic idea of a magical bond forming due to saving someone's life was interesting, she completely dropped the ball with the execution. Wormtail's fate was ridiculously anti-climactic. What is even worse is that according to her, only 2 life debts ever occur in the series- when James saved Snape from Lupin and when Harry spared Wormtail's life. Maybe life debts only occur in the Shrieking Shack in canon?
> 
> The fact that JK also said that Ginny didn't owe Harry one from saving her very soul in the Chamber of Secrets is just mind-blowing to me. Obviously, I disagree.
> 
> As I hinted in the introduction, I am trying to do different things with the general independent Harry story idea. For example, I will state flat out that there is no such thing as a magical guardian in this story. I understand why people came up with this idea to explain the how/why of Dumbledore's ridiculous control over Harry's life in the books. But there is no such thing in canon (officially at least), and it doesn't exist in this story either.


	17. New Paradigms

* * *

When the next morning came, Harry awoke feeling better than he had in a very long time. He could definitely get used to waking up next to Pansy. He certainly had slept a lot better than the night before, when he had been worried about her being down in the dungeons out of his reach. His right arm was still around her and he breathed in the smell of her hair. This made her begin to stir. She touched his hand that was idly caressing her stomach and turned over.

"We really did it," she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes, we did."

"I can hardly believe it's true. Getting free from my bastard father was just a dream for years." She looked in his eyes, seeming to search for something.

"Guess we won't need that betrothal contract anymore."

"I guess not. We don't have to worry about how to kill my father and trick my mother into signing it either."

"Well, what will we scheme about now?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something." She smiled and rolled away, climbing out of bed. "Don't take too long getting ready; I need to go over several things with you about the rules for this sort of thing. We have Potions after breakfast."

"And Snape would be certain to try to push my buttons to see what he can get away with." She nodded at him. "I won't be long."

Harry was quicker than Pansy in getting ready so she had him wait, listening outside her door while she went over the rules for their situation that she'd already looked up. He wasn't surprised that she had planned this far out. While the sorting hat may have thought Harry could have been a Slytherin, Pansy was leagues more devious than he was. Snape was bound to try to see how far he could push Harry, so Pansy made sure that he knew exactly what to do. Harry thought her predictions were a pretty good guess so he agreed with her and suggested that she discreetly touch his arm or something if he started to rise to Snape's bait. Seeing a Slytherin sitting with a Gryffindor in his class would almost certainly cause the bastard to try cause problems. Harry just had to hope that he could keep his head.

Pansy gave him a kiss for luck and to suggest why he should make sure to do things right. It was a good positive reinforcement.

Breakfast was a little awkward as many of the Gryffindors were still unsure about how to deal with Pansy sitting amongst them. Harry paid them little mind. Surprisingly, Ron didn't even bother mentioning her, although that might have been because he was too busy on his third plate when Harry and Pansy left the table.

They took a slow leisurely path down to the dungeons. Harry thought it would be a good idea to try to be as calm as possible before reaching the greasy bat's domain and Pansy walked quietly along beside him.

They were still two of the first to make it to the class room and Harry led Pansy to a table right at the front of the class. Normally, he wouldn't want to be this close, but for today's purposes, it would be necessary. As the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin students filled up the room, there were more than a few mutterings going on. Hermione and Ron sat at the table behind them. Before they could say anything, Snape swooped in to the front of the class.

"Miss Parkinson, what are you doing sitting with Potter?"

Harry was only just able to keep from smirking at the predictability of the git's sneer.

"I think you're confused professor. There is no Parkinson here, sir," she answered with a small grin. Harry was impressed by the layer of politeness that he knew was covering Pansy's actual scorn for the Slytherin head of house. House Potter was now Pansy's true house and Snape just had to try to poke his enormous hook nose in. "I am Pansy of House Potter, though a reminder is understandable at the moment until you get used to my new status."

"Regardless of your _status_ ," the sneer was overwhelming, "you are still a member of Slytherin. Sit with the rest of your house!"

"Excuse me, professor." Harry was _so happy_ to interrupt. "Your request would be interfering in the affairs of House Potter. Neither the law, nor I, will allow you to separate my servant from me."

"Ten points from Gryffindor, you arrogant brat!" Harry merely sat down with a nod. 'That's Lord arrogant brat to you,' he thought to himself and stifled a chuckle. Snape stared angrily at the couple in front of him for a moment while the rest of the class was silent. Eventually he turned away and barked out his typical "instructions are on the board" and everyone got to work as the slimeball refused to do even a tiny amount of actual teaching.

The air was tense for awhile as everyone started brewing Shrinking Solutions. Once Snape was able to get his arrogant attitude back to its usual level of disgust and hatred towards students, he spent most of the rest of the period berating the other Gryffindors. He seemed to ignore Harry and Pansy almost completely. He focused his bile towards Neville, his second favorite punching bag, and went so far as to threaten Longbottom's toad. In other words, the usual nastiness from everyone's least favorite professor.

* * *

Finally, the class ended and Pansy followed Harry to lunch. She whispered in his ear that she was proud of him as they sat down in the Great Hall. No one noticed that over the din of so many people grabbing plates of food. Harry responded with a wink. Pansy knew that there would be a lot more gossip now as she had publicly outed herself to the other Slytherins in her year. But she wanted to do so on her own terms, even if there was a good argument to keep things vague for as long as possible. A bit of Harry's bad influence was rubbing off on her- there was a small bold part of herself that was happy to announce that she belonged to him.

"I guess she's here to stay then, huh?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

"Great." The redhead muttered something about stinkin' snakes and Pansy just smiled to herself as she saw Harry's annoyance with the fool. It might take awhile, but she would eventually be rid of the weasel. A nicer person might have thought twice about pushing away one of Harry's closest friends, but not even Harry would ever accuse Pansy of being _nice._

"Was that confrontation with Professor Snape really necessary, Harry?" Granger's obsession with authority confused Pansy after hearing about all the things she'd experienced during their first two years. 'I guess she's not nearly as smart as she thinks, especially if she's clinging onto some sort of respect for _Snape_ of all people.'

"I think it was, yes. Things could get worse if I didn't draw a line in the sand, so to speak. As I said, the law is on my side, so he needs to get that through his head now before he makes things worse for himself."

"He's a teacher, he could make things worse for _you_ , Harry."

"I have a lawyer to help deal with things like this for a reason, Hermione. Imagine what could happen to Snape for harassing a noble house, especially if I just happen to make a public complaint. For two years, I've dealt with that petty tyrant's cruelty. I don't believe for one second that no one else has ever complained about that bully's utter lack of teaching ability, which makes me think that Dumbledore must be protecting him for some reason. Well, he can either learn to leave me the hell alone or deal with the consequences."

Granger looked aghast at Harry and Pansy rolled her eyes. Pansy decided to speak up at this moment, mostly because she didn't want Granger to become even more annoying, especially during a meal.

"I wonder what this year's Defense professor will be like."

"Good question, I am very curious about him myself." This Harry said, but he kept to himself his questions about Lupin, a man who had apparently been friends with his father and at least known his mother as well. He'd need to do some research, digging through his mother's journals. While the teacher had introduced himself, briefly, on the train, he made no mention of knowing Harry's parents.

"He can't be worse than last year," Ron said, amazing Pansy with his ability to speak an entire sentence during a meal. He didn't even spit anything at her.

"I don't know, Ron. Hermione seemed to really like last year's Defense lessons _for some reason_ ," Harry said, smirking at the bookworm who blushed deeply.

"Oh Merlin, don't tell me she was one the fraud's fangirls?" Pansy snorted. Granger looked outraged, which made Pansy smile all the more.

"Do you still have the Valentine he sent you?"

"No!"

"I forgot about that, Harry," Weasley said with a laugh. "Lockhart sent her a card and she tried to hide it from us."

"Because I knew you would make fun of me," Granger pouted angrily.

"Well, you were fawning over a moron. That's hardly our fault," Harry answered.

"I thought you liked to read, Granger. You always seem to have memorized most of the textbooks when I've shared a class with you." This would be a fun little test, to see how far and how hard she could push Harry's brighter friend.

"What's that supposed to mean? Everyone knows I like to read."

"Didn't you read all of his books then?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you notice all the glaring errors and outright lies. There were three different cases of him supposedly doing multiple things at the same time, depending upon which book you were reading. Plus things that are flat out impossible, like how he claimed to have cured a werewolf. Some of the higher year Ravenclaws were writing a thorough debunking of that con man's claims. I guess now I know why you weren't sorted in with them."

"Why is everyone picking on me?"

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said as he patted her hand. "Next time you get a crush, just pick a better guy please." He smiled at her and Pansy noticed that Granger seemed to cheer up a bit, but she didn't melt the way a lot of girls would if Harry gave them a smile like that. This brightened Pansy's day quite a bit- the bookworm had no romantic interest in Harry, for some strange reason. Which meant that Pansy would have less reason to try to drive her away, assuming she could just be a bit less annoying. The weasel would still have to go though.

* * *

That afternoon, they had a practical lesson in Defense as Professor Lupin led them to the staff room where a boggart was located. Snape sneered and insulted Longbottom, which made Pansy stifle a laugh. She didn't like the boy who seemed to be little more than a squib, but Snape's utter loathing of him was almost amazing. True, he was a total bastard to most students, even some of the Slytherins, but he seemed to truly despise Longbottom and Harry. At least in Harry's case, she had an idea of a possible reason.

Granger did her usual teacher's pet routine, throwing her hand up as high and as fast as possible to try to answer every question. It was really bloody obnoxious, and if Pansy was going to have to be around the girl, she'd have to try to get her to at least rein it in a bit. Even Harry looked aggravated by her behavior when Lupin asked him a question and Granger was bouncing on her feet next to him. Did the girl think that it was a crime if any student other than her knew an answer for once?

As Lupin had the class start to line up to take on the boggart, Pansy quietly led Harry to the back of the queue. He seemed eager to try facing the boggart, which reminded her why he was in Gryffindor. On the other hand, she didn't want anyone to know what either of their greatest fears might be. Thankfully, Harry followed her lead.

The class seemed to do well, learning the Riddikulus spell to deal with the boggart, but the teacher appeared to not want the boggart to focus on Harry. Lupin interrupted the line when it should have been his turn. Pansy was glad to be behind him but she could tell that Harry was bothered by this.

Afterwards, Harry told his friends he'd see them later at dinner as he needed to find something back in his quarters. Pansy followed him, noticing how upset Harry was, but waited till they were alone back in their rooms before trying to find out what was the matter.

As they entered their common room, she asked, "What's wrong? You aren't just mad that you didn't get a chance at the boggart, are you?"

"Not just that, no," Harry said as he went into his bedroom and opened his trunk. "Did it seem like Professor Lupin intentionally kept me from facing the boggart to you?"

"Yes, I noticed that too." Pansy was glad that he caught that.

"That seemed strange to me. Why would a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher specifically stop me from the practical lesson? Especially me of all people. He saw me having to deal with that dementor on the train."

"But that's not all..."

"No, it isn't. I didn't tell you much about what I'd read in my mum's journals. I have only made it part of the way through her first year, but even in that period of time, she mentioned that my father had a group of friends- hooligans, actually, she called them- that included Sirius Black as well as Remus Lupin."

"He knew your parents..."

"Apparently they were all in Gryffindor, same year even."

"So, you're looking for what exactly?"

"I'm going to do a bit of research, see if I can figure out more about just how well he knew them."

"Do you want some help?"

Harry looked down at the journal in his hand and thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Not right now. I think I want to check part of this myself."

"I understand. They're your mother's journals. I won't pry, but..."

"But?"

"If you want me to help, let me know. I'm here for you, Harry."

"Thanks."

* * *

For more than an hour, Pansy tried to work on her essay about boggarts. She found it hard to not keep looking over at Harry though, who was rifling through several volumes of his mother's journals. Eventually, after a particularly angry grunt, she gave up trying to finish her work.

"So, what have you found?"

"He definitely knew them, both of my parents."

"How well?"

"Pretty damn well. I didn't read everything, obviously. I was just skipping through looking for the name Lupin. Apparently, he was one of my father's best friends for basically all seven years at school. He became close friends with my mother in their later years. They were prefects together in their fifth and sixth year. One of the last entries mentions how a group of several of them were all going to be working with Dumbledore after graduating in the war effort against Voldemort. The group included my parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin."

"He was one of their best friends." Pansy could see that Harry was barely controlling his emotions.

"So where the hell has he been? Two of his best friends die and their orphaned son is abandoned and he never bothers to check up on what happened. If a decade from now, Ron betrayed Hermione and her kids were left without any parents, I would make damn sure they were taken care of. Not left to grow up in a bloody cupboard!"

Harry realized what he had let slip in his anger. He had heard her quiet gasp and knew it was too late to take it back. He found himself unable to look at her.

"Harry," Pansy said quietly as she reached out and softly squeezed his hand. "I'm yours. You can order me not to tell anyone about any of this and I never will. You can tell me anything."

He let out a sigh and said, "Give me a minute," as he went into his room. She heard him digging through his belongings and a few minutes later he came the room. "Do you remember getting your Hogwarts letter?"

"Yes."

"I assume it was addressed to your bedroom." She looked down at his outstretched hand, which held an envelope. It clearly said that he lived in a cupboard under the stairs. Pansy understood now even more what Harry had meant about being treated like a house-elf by those damn muggles. She felt herself grinding her teeth. _How dare they!_ She forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. Pansy reached over to him and pulled Harry down onto the couch with her. She softly kissed him and guided him to stretch out, with his head in her lap. She began running her fingers through his hair to soothe him.

"That explains why you're so kind to Dobby."

"Yeah, he's sort of like a kindred spirit. I never had to iron my hands but..."

"But they hurt you." Harry didn't answer her, he only stared off into the distance. He had never seemed so vulnerable, so ashamed. She knew that she would have to tell him more of her own past to try to get him to let her help him.

"My father only struck me once, but wizards tend to use their wands, not their fists. I can't count how many times I felt a stinging hex, whether it was for not acting properly, not working hard enough, not sitting up straight enough, and on and on.

"I told you that he had used the Cruciatus curse on me twice. The second time, you were there to help me. Let me help you, Harry."

The moment stretched out in silence before he responded.

"I don't remember the first time one of them beat me. Actually, I'm not even sure which one of them it was. Probably my cousin, I guess. Kids hitting each other never stands out. Of course, I was never allowed to hit back. If I ever did, something worse would happen."

Harry had to take a breath before he continued.

"I can't remember a time before I had to do all of the chores. Dudley was too precious to ever lift a finger. Vernon and Petunia were just glad they wouldn't ever need to pay for a maid or a gardener or a chef. By the time I was five, I had to cook all the food. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had been allowed to eat with them. But I was lucky to get something I might have burnt or a few scraps left over. There were a lot of nights when I was too hungry to fall asleep, or if I did sleep, it was only after passing out from exhaustion."

Pansy was glad that he was looking at the fire as she felt tears streaming down her face.

"My cousin was the biggest, fattest, meanest kid around, either in the neighborhood or at school. So of course, he was the leader of the bullies. And that meant that I was the favorite to be picked on. I never had any friends before I came to Hogwarts. It would have been too dangerous to be my friend. Who would want to make themselves a target for the bullies?

"Besides, I was also supposedly really stupid. The first couple of times I did well in school, they hit me for doing better than their perfect little Dudley. So, I started turning in half-finished work or answering wrong in class intentionally. Instead of getting hit, they would just tell me how stupid and useless I was. That was better. Anything they ever said to me was about how awful I was. You hear something over and over enough and eventually it doesn't even register anymore.

"My uncle would always blame me for anything that went wrong. Bad day at work? It's the freak's fault! Too much traffic on the way home? Give the boy a good thumping. Usually, he would avoid hitting me in the face or anywhere that could be seen. That just meant bruised or cracked ribs instead of black eyes. The worst would be in the summer. If I didn't have to go to school, then there would be less chance of anyone seeing, not that anyone ever did. The summer I turned nine, he broke my arm when I didn't do a good enough job washing his car. Of course, it was only my left arm, so that I'd still have my good one to do all the cooking.

"I always healed pretty fast. I guess it might have been accidental magic fighting to keep me alive. I'm still surprised I somehow fell asleep that night. The next day when I woke up my arm was fixed. That made him angry- another unnatural thing the freak had done. So he broke it again and locked me in the cupboard all day.

"Again, it healed over night. Somehow, my aunt was able to keep him from breaking it for a third time. She kept me far away from him for the next few days, but I think she just didn't want to have to get rid of my body if his temper got any worse.

"She wasn't as bad as they were, at least not physically. I mean, she did hit me in the head with a frying pan a couple of times, but that seems so minor now. Mostly, she would just tell me how worthless I was. Just like my worthless parents. And how everything I did was wrong or not good enough. And she'd look at me with such loathing in her eyes.

"You know something funny? Snape reminds me of her. With his sneer and his constant look of disgust. I bet he'd love to hear how similar he is to such an awful muggle. They even knew each other years ago. Snape grew up in the same town as my mum. They knew each other before Hogwarts and were friends, at least at the beginning. I have a suspicion that he had a crush on her. That he hates me so much because I look like my dad, the man who my mother fell in love with. It's hard for me to imagine why she would have even been friends with him though since he's such a miserable bastard.

"And he has the fucking gall to call _me_ spoiled. All the while praising the poncy little ferret. Unbelievable."

Pansy tried to breathe deeply as Harry became quiet. Her tears were slowing while her mind began to think about how these Dursleys, these muggle scum, would have to pay. And pay dearly.

"There's no justice in the world, Pansy. My parents were supposedly heroes but they died. Your father was a Death Eater, but he's alive and free. You and I end up suffering in both cases. Who was there to help me? Even as the bloody boy who lived, there was no one. Who has ever helped you?"

"Only you."

"Exactly. All those years I was abandoned to be abused by muggles. Finally, a girl I barely knew tells me how to get away from them." She looked down at him as he smiled up at her. "You've done more for me than anyone else."

"So have you. For me." Harry sat up and wiped away the last of her tears. Pansy grabbed him and kissed him. She felt utterly spent. They sat there for a moment, both with eyes closed, foreheads resting against each other.

A growl from a stomach broke the quiet.

"Was that you or me?"

"I think it was both of us."

"I don't feel up to dealing with the Great Hall right now."

"Me neither. Dobby?" The house-elf appeared with a pop.

"What can Dobby do for master Harry sir?"

"Can you get some dinner for us? Pansy and I want to eat alone here tonight."

Dobby was overjoyed to be able to cook for master Harry and miss Pansy. He disappeared with glee.

Harry pulled Pansy onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, kissed the back of her neck, and laid his head upon her shoulder. She remembered complaining about how scrawny he had been and felt more than a little guilty, understanding now the years of near starvation he had suffered. Oh yes, those Dursleys were definitely going to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: In a lot of romance stories, Harry's saving of (insert damsel here) leads to a life debt being paid by becoming engaged/betrothed/married in a sweet, fairy-tale like fashion. Obviously, I am doing something a bit different here, and the whole servant thing will lead to interesting things to come.
> 
> Also, just for a stylistic point, I am going to try to avoid rehashing book events as much as possible. Or at the very least, blow through them quickly. I assume everyone reading this has read Prisoner of Azkaban, so I shouldn't have to quote several pages of it as I go through the entire boggart lesson, for example.


	18. All Fun Till the Paperwork

* * *

Pansy noticed several things in those first few days of the new school year. For one thing, Harry had had a more noticeable growth spurt over the summer than she'd originally realized. He was now one of the taller boys in third year, as well as no longer being rail thin. No one would ever call him stocky, but he now had some muscle and flesh on him rather than the waif-like appearance of years past. She would have to remember and thank Dobby for taking such good care of him over the summer.

There were quite a few girls who had given Harry very appreciative glances as well. Because of his fame, there were bound to be plenty of girls who grew up with crushes on him. Many purebloods would have looked at him as a prospect just for access to his family's influence and wealth anyway. The fact that he was now no longer just a cute little boy but becoming a very handsome young man would draw so much more interest. A part of her was worried by this, as any other girl he could get involved with would cause her huge problems. She didn't think Harry would be interested in anyone else, but revealing that she was his girlfriend could cause huge problems. Hiding in plain sight as his servant was a rather rash plan, now that she realized. That last night with her parents had driven her to acting in a way that might not have been the best idea. But for the most part, she was very happy with the results. Sleeping in Harry's arms had quickly become one of her favorite things. She remembered when he had teased her about being a romantic at the end of last year, but Harry was more right than he had known. That hidden part of her, buried for so long, she was now starting to let free.

She would soon have an even bigger advantage over any other girls anyway. She had been more than a little disappointed with her body's bad timing, but she was then very pleasantly surprised by Harry's decision to wait for any physical pleasure until they would both be able to enjoy it. When he did things like that, it was all that much easier to feel just like a girl in love. Her plans for keeping him _pleased_ sounded even more fun now. She was resolved that he would never have any need of other girls, not with what she'd be doing to him.

Strangely enough, she also realized that Harry didn't seem to notice any of the looks various girls were giving him. At first, she might have thought that he was just a typically clueless guy. After what she'd learned of his childhood though, she decided it was much more likely that he'd been so badly mistreated that he didn't truly understand that he deserved love as much as anyone else, or more so even. Pansy herself had been taught that she deserved whatever she could get by the means available to her. Harry had been raised to believe that he deserved nothing. He was her Lord now and this absolutely infuriated her. She felt more like a Gryffindor than she would have ever thought possible. For the first day after he had confided in her, all she could think of was slowly torturing those muggles to death. Her self-control was badly drained till that night when Harry told her to relax. And then helped her to relax with his wonderful hands massaging all the stress and tension out of her neck and shoulders.

Harry's behavior had changed only a bit since the night of his confession all about what she refused to call a childhood. There were a couple of times when he looked at her briefly with worry, always looking away quickly if she noticed. It tore at her heart to think of how long he had suffered and that even now a part of him seemed to fear that she would reject him. That Dumbledore had caused this by leaving him with those muggle scum made her want to rip the old bastard's beard off and claw his damn twinkling eyes out.

Finally, she also noticed how much time Harry was spending with her, even to the detriment of his other friends. They had only spent about an hour in the Gryffindor common room, and the weasel was still clearly not happy with her presence. Granger was so focused on her work that she didn't bother Pansy for once. The squib made a minor appearance and she was disappointed that Harry wasted time speaking to him. Little Ginny Weasley was the most annoying one though. She watched him like a hawk. A disappointed hawk. She clearly wanted to gain Harry's attention, and Pansy could tell that thoughts of repaying the little redhead's own life debt off were spinning in her head.

The quidditch team, on the other hand, was fairly inoffensive. They were all polite enough but not overly friendly. The three female chasers had all clearly classified Harry as the team's little brother and had no obvious designs on him, which was surprising in a way, especially as Bell was only a year older than him. The captain Wood was way, way too obsessed with the sport and was already starting to talk about scheduling practice. She briefly thought about just how much time she might be willing to spend at the quidditch pitch. Watching Harry would be a lot more fun this year, but if the maniac keeper was serious about the amount of training he wanted to do, she thought she might have to develop a new hobby.

The Weasley twins were a lot more welcoming than she expected. Harry had told her how much they had supported him in the past, but she still needed a bit of time to get over what had occurred last May. They did seem truly apologetic at least. Subconsciously, she might have been a bit more willing to forgive them since their actions had led to her relationship with Harry.

Of the rest of Gryffindor, she thought she might be able to get along with Patil at least a bit. She certainly wasn't any worse than the girls she'd left behind in the dungeons. The other boys were mostly forgettable, although if that damn Creevey kid got his camera out again, she was going to hex him into next week.

* * *

Late Saturday morning, Sam McKenzie arrived and joined them in Harry's personal quarters. Today was one of the reasons that private quarters were available to someone in Harry's situation. Pansy eyed him a bit nervously at first but he quickly put her at ease.

"I guess we won't be needing that betrothal contract I wrote up after all," he said with a laugh after Harry introduced her to him. "You, Lord Potter, are quite the interesting client. We'll have a couple of things to quickly work out after lunch with the staff but I don't foresee any difficulties. We do have a separate issue to deal with that requires the headmaster. Hopefully everything shall be well in hand by the time the afternoon is over.

"In what I hope is good news, the Harry Potter books are a thing of the past. The defendants are willing to settle out of court, assuming this figure will work for you." He handed Harry a piece of paper that she could not see. She noticed that he didn't seem too fazed by whatever the amount must have been.

"How much more do you think could be won if it went to trial?" he asked.

"At most, I could see winning twice that much if everything went just right. However, with this settlement would also come a very public statement of apology which I thought would mean even more to you. I have a draft written up for you to look over." The older man pulled out a parchment that he handed over for Harry to read.

He spent a few minutes on it then handed it to Pansy. "Tell me what you think of that."

"This meets my approval, my Lord," Pansy answered after reading it through. The authors and publishers all agreed to be very contrite and she knew that the lies the books represented mattered more to Harry than the money. She, on the other hand, might have wanted him to pursue more money anyway.

"The good thing about settling in this case would be that this should make the other lawsuits that much quicker to resolve. The quidditch jersey sales, for example, are looking like they might give you a higher rate than even the biggest professional stars. The fact that they started selling without permission and while you were still a minor really has them over the barrel. Since you are even now famous as the youngest player to make a Hogwarts team in a century, they really want to keep selling and this has a potential for years of easy income."

"And me being a big quidditch buff, you knew that I'd probably be willing to make a deal with them."

"Exactly. I've prioritized as per your instructions. Additionally, there are a few things that either already have or soon likely will be making less money off of you. For example, as you are now getting older and no longer are such a fairy tale character, there are fewer little girls buying Harry Potter dolls. A decade ago, they sold like crazy. A decade from now, its likely they will be little more than a memory.

"Beyond issues like that though, a strong but fair stance now will make any future business dealings that much smoother to negotiate. Mostly likely, they'll also make you a lot more money in the long run as well."

"Fair enough, Sam." Harry thought for a moment. "Make sure that the statement won't be buried in the press and I'll accept this bargain. Get me a figure on the quidditch jerseys, I'm inclined to agree to that proposal as well.

"On another matter, I wish to slightly revise our relationship. I want you to be the solicitor for House Potter instead of me personally."

"Legally, there is no difference right now."

"True, but from what I've read, this would mean that attorney-client privilege would extend to all of House Potter," Harry said as he looked over at Pansy. "Even as a servant of House Potter having few rights, this would help protect her."

"I can easily agree to that. Is there anything I can do for you, miss?"

"Other than what we should be dealing with today, no. I may write you in the future if I need anything."

"It will most likely be the same owl anyway, Sam. I just want to make sure that you will take care of anything for Pansy too."

"Not a problem, Harry." Sam and Harry shook hands, then the lawyer reached back for his briefcase. "Vogruk asked me to deliver this to you. Once we get the mail issue resolved, this shouldn't be a problem, but he wanted you to have that as soon as possible."

"I'll have to thank him later for this." Harry set the envelope aside. "It's almost time for lunch."

"Yes, I'll meet back up with you at 1 PM. We should have just a few things to sign with Professor McGonagall then we'll be off to see the wizard."

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," Harry said with a laugh that Pansy did not share. He looked at her and explained, "It's from a famous muggle story that I'll show you some time."

* * *

Lunch passed quickly. Harry's friends, especially Ron, were annoyed that he would likely be unavailable for at least part of the afternoon. They were hoping to enjoy the weather outside with him. He just said that it was all part of the business of being the head of House Potter. "Being an adult sounds fun until you have to do the paperwork, " he told them with a chuckle. He did say he would try to meet them later if possible but he didn't know how long things would take.

Before long, Harry and Pansy were outside McGonagall's office as Sam joined them. The stern professor invited them inside.

"Professor McGonagall, I'd like to introduce you to Sam McKenzie, solicitor for House Potter."

"Mr. McKenzie, a pleasure. I have a couple of forms for your client to sign that I assume you'll need to look over." She slid a few pieces of parchment over to Sam and turned to Harry. "In short, Lord Potter, there is a form for you to sign that you understand the responsibility you have for your servant while at Hogwarts. There is also a Hogsmeade permission form as well. Since she is officially no longer miss Parkinson, her old form is no longer valid. As well, there is a form that will now send all school materials related to her to you.

"Finally, there is the form dealing with her tuition. This term has been paid for when she was still miss Parkinson, but next term and future years will be your responsibility to bear. Unofficially, I should warn you that Lord Parkinson could try to contest the full payment for this term."

"That should not be a problem, professor," Sam stated. "I began a cursory investigation into that possibility and he would have a hard time winning such a case. Regardless, my client will deal with that if necessary.

"Everything looks in order," he said as he handed the forms over for Harry to sign. Harry took up the quill and began signing all the paperwork. He was thankful that the stack wasn't any larger than it was.

"Speaking of mail, by the way," Sam said as Harry finished up, "I trust our meeting with professor Dumbledore has been arranged?"

"I am to escort you to see him once this business is concluded."

"Excellent, professor," Sam answered as Pansy noticed that Harry was being rather quiet. She was pleased that he was letting his lawyer handle as much of this as possible. For one thing, it showed some wisdom in letting an expert deal with things that Harry did not have enough knowledge of, but she was also pleased that it made him look that much more important and powerful. A head of house should have someone skilled to deal with this sort of thing, and Sam had impressed her so far. She hoped that he continued to do so once they had to face off with the headmaster.

"Professor, I wanted to check on a couple of rules with you."

"Certainly."

"First of all, from my research, about any possible detention or punishment handed out to Pansy-"

"Anything of that sort would be dealt with by either the headmaster or myself. With the two of you technically being in different houses, taking things to two different heads is out of the question."

"And I would be allowed to oversee any such punishment."

"Yes, Lord Potter, although may I ask why you bring this up?"

"I just want to make sure that no one tries to take advantage of Pansy. Especially since professor Snape has a well known bias against me and has already tried to interfere in the affairs of House Potter."

The older woman had an unusually sour look after he said that. "I'm sure professor Snape was not intentionally interfering with-"

"Professor, if I may," Pansy interrupted. "Professor Snape tried to force me apart from my Lord. He then called my Lord an arrogant brat and took away 10 points for no discernible reason, unless you want to count stopping the professor from breaking the law. I can assure you from two previous years of Potions classes that he has always treated Lord Potter with a quite unreasonable amount of scorn and derision in a manner that is thoroughly unbecoming of a professor. His bias against all non-Slytherin students is well known, but his treatment of my Lord goes far beyond even that. If you were to look up the records of points that professor Snape has given, this would be quite clear. I still remember our very first class, in which the professor asked my Lord questions that no first year student had any way of knowing without having read several _years_ ahead while also insulting him."

Harry was overjoyed at hearing her stand up for him, ripping into Snape. He was surprised that she still remembered Snape's atrocious behavior from that first lesson. All he had actually learned that day was a hatred for the class. Sam then joined this part of the conversation and Harry was briefly overwhelmed at the fact that he now had people on his side for once in his life.

"While there are inner school issues that you deal with as need be, any interference in House Potter's affairs, intentional or not, will be dealt with harshly. I realize there have not been many Lords at the school in recent times, but that does not excuse anyone from breaking the law. I will remind the headmaster of this once we speak to him."

McGonagall seemed taken aback by this, but soon recovered and led them upstairs to see Dumbledore.

Harry and Pansy were mostly quiet on the trip to the headmaster's office. Sam was reminiscing about his time at Hogwarts and chatting fairly pleasantly with McGonagall. The password to get the gargoyle to open up was another magical candy, and Harry briefly wondered if magical people got diabetes.

"Ah, welcome Minerva, Mr. McKenzie, Harry, miss Parkinson, please come in," Dumbledore greeted them.

"Professor Dumbledore, thank you for taking the time to meet us today," Sam answered, while Harry merely moved to take a seat. He noticed that Pansy looked a bit annoyed but she was remaining quiet. He knew she wished people would stop calling her Parkinson, but he figured that would be a very minor thing to quibble with Dumbledore over right now. He turned his head as his lawyer continued. "Hopefully, our business today shouldn't waste too much of your time. I believe Gringotts has already contacted you to lay the ground work, so to speak."

"Yes, of course, about the mail ward I had set up around young Harry years ago."

"Indeed, and I assume Lord Potter should have quite a bit of correspondence that he has never seen because of it. A dozen years of Gringotts statements, for one. Probably a fair amount of fan mail as well."

"Yes, I can have you taken to where it is in storage shortly. If I may make a suggestion, it might be best to have some sort of new wards put up, lest Harry begin receiving a large amount of daily post."

"We already have plans to take this into account."

"Well then, if I may," the headmaster said as he pulled out his wand. Sam and Harry both nodded in agreement. He then drew a complex pattern and canceled the ward. "Now, is there anything else I can do for you today Harry?"

Harry looked over to Sam with a nod who spoke up.

"There is one other matter Lord Potter wished to bring up. There has already been one attempt by your Potions Master to interfere in the affairs of House Potter by forcibly separating my client from his servant, which is illegal as I'm sure you know. I suggest you may wish to speak with him to make sure that no further issues occur as I would hate to have to charge one of your professors with a crime."

"I'm sure Severus merely made a mistake, but I will speak to him to avoid future problems."

"I strongly doubt it was a mistake," Sam said angrily. "Snape is well known as a bully who has been making a mockery of this school for more than a decade. Your lack of control of his behavior is also well known. Don't assume that people haven't noticed what that Death Eater has been doing under your supposed watch, headmaster. If you can't bring him under control, be sure that we will do so."

"I don't see the need for such hostility, Mr. McKenzie."

"Then you shouldn't allow such hostility to flourish in your school. Animosity has been rampant for years, largely because of the head of Slytherin's atrocious behavior, not to mention his abysmal lack of any teaching ability. There are plenty of people who have noticed the enormous drop in Potions NEWTS. St. Mungo's and the DMLE are both becoming more and more understaffed. I suggest that you get your boy in line, Dumbledore, before he ends up in Azkaban where he belongs."

"Professor Snape does not belong in Azkaban, and I resent such an accusation." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was replaced with anger for once, but Sam continued on.

"Then maybe he shouldn't be intentionally ruining the potions education of an entire generation. One could argue that the lack of skilled healers and aurors his behavior is creating is tantamount to treason." Dumbledore paled at that statement and Sam continued. "I doubt you would want me to make such an argument before the Wizengamot."

"We shall have to agree to disagree on this matter, but I will speak to him about avoiding future problems with Harry. Minerva, if you could, take them to the third floor of the north east wing. Former classroom 314. A house-elf will meet you there to unlock the room."

Sam and Harry gave their thanks a bit frostily while Pansy merely followed them out as McGonagall led the way once again down the many stairways and corridors of the school.

"I am a bit surprised by your conversation with the headmaster, Mr. McKenzie," she said as they walked.

"Professor McGonagall, certainly you've seen Snape's ridiculous bias. Why exactly do you think Slytherin had won the house cup for seven years in a row? Do you remember how many Potions NEWTs this school produced last year?"

"Not as many as I would have liked, certainly."

"Only four. Three of them were Slytherins. Stocking the aurors full of the children of Death Eaters is treason, and Dumbledore has been letting him get away with it for years. If the old man can't pull his head out of his ass, we're going to be at war again one of these days with the deck stacked against us. I've lived through two too many Dark Lords trying to destroy the world. You can be damn sure I'm going to do everything I can to make certain we don't have to a third war on our hands any time soon."

The transfiguration teacher pondered his lawyer's words the rest of the way to the third floor. Harry looked over at Pansy with a smile and a nod towards Sam. She grinned in return. Eventually they reached a door with a waiting house-elf, who opened it for them. Harry stood agape at the stacks and stacks of parchment stretching to the ceiling.

"Well, I guess Dobby will have something to keep him busy now."


	19. Mail, Paranoia, and Leddy's Warning

* * *

Dobby looked in awe at the task that lay before him. He had known that the Great Harry Potter would be a wonderful master but was now even more astounded at what a treat Harry had given him. Twelve years of unanswered mail. Letters, fan mail, birthday cards, packages, and gifts of all sorts. And Dobby got to go through it all.

He would check for dark magic first- curses, poisons, and the like that people like the old bad masters might have sent. Then all sorts of other magics would need to be checked for- tracking charms, love potions, and various other nasty things wizards could get up to that would be bad for master Harry.

Even his own levitation spell had gotten master Harry into so much trouble and pain. Dobby still cried at times for the things he'd done to Harry, trying to save him, that Harry had forgiven him for. Good wizards and witches might not abuse house-elves the way the old bad masters had done to Dobby, but so very few would ever treat one the way that Harry did. And forgiveness for magical attacks from the servant class? Never.

Now, Dobby had so much work to do. And such fun work it was. Sorting out the bad things was easy enough, and miss Pansy had told Dobby that he should set them aside for mister Sam to look through. Dobby really liked mister Sam. Mr. Sam looked out for the Great Harry Potter and that made him one of the best wizards in the world to Dobby. Dobby hoped mister Sam could get bad wizards sent to jail if they tried to hurt master Harry. Dobby had greatly enjoyed helping send the old bad master away for the Great Harry Potter this summer.

And so, Dobby the house-elf spent much of his time for the next few weeks on this most fun project. Harry would sometimes check in, offering to help (which Dobby always refused with a smile.) Dobby would give him a stack or two of things to look over every day and Harry was very grateful that Pansy taught him a couple of spells to make answering so much correspondence easier.

* * *

Thankfully, Sam had suggested and written up a press statement to be released informing the magical world that Harry had not received any mail until very recently. This helped buy Harry time to try to answer at least some of it. Reading through so much though gave him a myriad of emotions to have to process. On the positive side, there were the birthday cards clearly made and sent to him by other children. Even in recent years, he was still getting plenty of them. Unfortunately, after years of no response, there were also those who had written him plenty of nasty hate mail as well. There were even a few howlers mixed in, but Dobby had taken care of the obnoxious magic of those things.

There were bittersweet letters for him also. Grieving widows, parents who had lost children, a few orphans like himself that had written to him. While they thanked him for stopping you-know-who and expressed their condolences at losing his parents, they also told him of their pain, their loss. It was like they were using him as some sort of confessional, pouring out their emotions to a mythical child savior. What made this strange and funny in an odd sort of way is that the vast majority of these types of letters were written to him when he was still a baby.

Then there were the bequeathals.

The first of these came in early 1982 from a Mrs. Althea Pounds. Surprisingly, she was a muggle. Her husband had served in the Great War, something only those who had lived for many years before World War II came along to rename that disaster as World War I. In the late 1920s, they had married and had a son, who turned out to be a muggle-born wizard. Her son, who she had named Charles, would eventually marry a muggle-born witch named Josephine. They had given her two wonderful granddaughters, who were both witches. The old woman's handwriting worsened badly at this point of her letter and the blotches made Harry think that she had been crying when she wrote their names.

On May 1, 1971, Death Eaters had killed them all.

Her son had been an auror, which put him directly in the line of fire against Voldemort. His wife and daughters, though, were civilians. It would have been understandable if he had died in battle. But that is not what happened.

Somehow, their home had been found. Their wards had been penetrated. The bodies were discovered all laid out in the living room. Her granddaughters and their mother had been raped before having their throats slit. Her son was found tied to a chair. They had made him watch. Then they had tortured him to death. She could not describe what had been done to her son.

Left behind was one of the first known sightings of the Dark Mark.

Her husband died of a heart attack less than a month later.

Althea held on for a decade. Ten lonely years, crying in an empty house. Every night, she would pray to God for justice. For someone, anyone, to avenge her family that had been so brutally wiped out by some of the most vile monsters ever to claim to be human beings. And for a decade, she received no answer to her prayers.

Until Halloween, 1981.

Althea might have been the only muggle receiving the Daily Prophet at that time. Her son had gotten her a subscription years and years before so she could try to understand the magical world that most of her family lived in. So it was that she read of the deaths of James and Lily Potter and the survival of Harry, the boy who lived.

Between her husband's pension, life insurance, and her magical family's vault, she left him over one hundred thousand pounds. She said she would personally thank God for delivering him, the miracle babe who had finally put an end to the war that had taken everything from her. She could now die in peace.

There were many families like the Pounds who were devastated by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, several nearly or even completely wiped out. And more than a few of the survivors left something to Harry, the orphan who had lost his family just as they had. Once he contacted Gringott's about accepting them all, he was going to be pretty rich.

* * *

Unfortunately, Harry also began to question just what Dumbledore's game was in keeping all of this from him. It was one thing to do so while he was hidden away in the muggle world, but why had this not been dealt with two years ago? Was the old man going that senile? Or was there maybe a darker, more sinister reason? And if so, what the hell could Harry possibly do against a wizard with seemingly unlimited magical and political power?

That was before Harry got around to wondering at how Dumbledore had placed Harry with the Dursleys in the first place. What gave him the right to play god like that? Surely there must have been someone else, anyone else, that could have taken him in. The Potters were an old pureblood family, and from what he'd learned from Pansy as well as his own research, those families were very inter-related as there were not that many of them that existed in the first place. Shouldn't that have meant that he had some cousins out there somewhere, even if they weren't named Potter? Harry was going to have to take up genealogy now to try to get some answers, as if he didn't already have so much else to deal with.

His paranoid wondering about Dumbledore also made him replay the recent meeting over and over again. The headmaster had certainly seemed pleasant enough, for the most part. Except for when Sam had threatened Snape, but even then Dumbledore had only defended the bitter, twisted man. He hadn't said anything to Harry since. Not even a harsh glance in the halls or at meal times. So, Dumbledore didn't seem like he was out to do Harry any harm. Maybe Harry's problems and awful life with the Dursleys were truly all just a matter of accident and neglect. But could he afford to assume that Albus Dumbledore of all people was simply careless?

Wouldn't it be better to assume he was evil and be pleasantly surprised by mere dementia? Well, maybe not for Harry's nerves, but if it kept him alive, wouldn't his paranoia be worth it? Especially now that Pansy was counting on him too.

And that led to even more of Harry's paranoia. Because ever since that night when he had told her of his past, a part of him was terrified about what she must think of him. He kept watching her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She could now see the truth, that the myth of Harry Potter was really all a joke. He wasn't a hero. He'd been nothing more than an abused slave. She must be cursing her luck at signing her life away to him. Him of all people. Someone so... unworthy. He had already failed her this summer. How much worse would it be the next time?

* * *

Pansy was becoming more than a little stressed out. Harry was working himself into a wreck, and when he wasn't, she kept seeing him unable to look at her. Oh, he tried to hide it well, never looking for too long with that pained expression she kept getting glimpses of when he would turn away. But it was really getting on her nerves. Not that she could truly blame him, after all the hell he had been through, but enough was enough.

* * *

That night, Harry was once again going through a stack of letters that Dobby had sorted for him. Pansy had a red book with black lettering in her hand as she quietly walked into the sitting room of their quarters. Harry glanced at her briefly then went back to yet another letter that he was reading. She set the book down on the table and walked over right in front of him.

"Harry."

"Hmm?"

"I believe we agreed that I was the brains of this partnership."

He grunted in agreement. She responded by snatching the parchment out of his hands and throwing it over her shoulder.

"It is time for you to listen to me so we can get back to the important things. Lean back on the couch."

"What sort of important things?"

Pansy climbed onto his lap, straddling him. She grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to look at her. Then she kissed him. The past few days of worry and doubt had been more than she could bear. It was time to snog his lights out.

* * *

Several refreshing minutes later...

"Those important things. Your humble servant has been feeling neglected, my Lord. I trust you won't neglect me so in the future?"

"Definitely not," he answered with a pleasant sigh. The mess of papers they had kicked all over the floor did not matter at all anymore.

"Good." She adjusted her position, scooting up so that they were face to face, laying sideways on the couch. "Let me remind you of a few things.

"You are my Lord. I am yours. I am not going anywhere. We are partners, remember? So, stop bottling things up and let me help you.

"I've seen how stressed and worried you've been ever since you told me about your past. Then things with the massive backlog of mail. Please, Harry, let me in."

"I just..." Harry stumbled over his words. "I'm trying to, I'm just not sure how."

"Start by telling me what you've been so worried about." She stroked his cheek and smiled at him. She looked into those oh so green eyes of his and saw his stress finally begin to wain.

Harry did as she asked. How could he not? He rambled, then ranted, about everything he had read in the massive amount of letters people sent him. The good and the bad. The weight so many of them seemed all too happy to place on his shoulders. He told her of his worries and fears about Dumbledore. He poured everything out, or at least most of it. Then...

"And, on top of all that, you've been worrying about me. Or more specifically, how I would react to you telling me about your past." He looked away and only answered with a nod. She once again grabbed his face and kissed him.

"Stop worrying about that. We'll just have to make sure that Dobby keeps me from killing the Dursleys." That finally got an amused snort out of him. "I think I have something that can help ease all the stress you've been under lately."

"If you just keep snogging me, I'll probably be alright."

"Maybe, but this," she said as she picked up the book from the table, "can do even more."

"What is it?"

"Remember when I told you about magical sex rituals?" Harry perked up nicely at that, and she felt his excitement pressing against her. "I think you will find this to be a very interesting read. I've even marked a few pages for you to focus on."

"You are officially the best secret girlfriend in the world."

"Yes, I am." She got up from the couch and helped him to his feet. "It's time to go to bed, my Lord."

"It's still a bit early."

"We're not going to sleep," she said with a lecherous grin. He laughed and began to follow her to his bedroom.

"Thank you for reminding me why you're the brains."

"You're welcome. Now why don't you remind me why I put you in charge of the physical side of things?"

* * *

A crack awoke them some time after midnight.

Harry grabbed for his wand and rolled from the bed. He cast Lumos and looked around the room. Pansy, the heavier sleeper, was sitting up and fumbling for her own wand. The light from Harry shone on a small bloody figure collapsed on the floor.

He quickly moved across the room and Pansy gasped as he turned the small body over. It was Leddy.

"Dobby!" The house-elf appeared and ran to his master's side. "Help me with her."

"Is she?" Pansy asked.

"She's alive but-"

"Give Dobby a few minutes master. Dobby will make Leddy feel better."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just let Dobby work master Harry."

"Alright."

Pansy straightened herself up and found Harry's pyjama pants. As warm as it was lately, he had been sleeping only in his boxers. She led him from the room and suggested he put them on. He hadn't even noticed what he was wearing, paying attention only to the elves. That was just like Harry. She would have to advise him a bit more in the future, so that he'd look good while doing his usual heroic deeds. She went to their little kitchen area of the main room and started making tea.

A few minutes later, Dobby floated Leddy out into the sitting room. She looked a lot better but was still unconscious. In a whisper Dobby said that she should probably awake soon.

They sat down to wait with Leddy stretched out on the couch. Of course, she was small enough that Dobby and Pansy still had room to sit next to her. Harry quietly started a fire then sat down in a chair off to the side. Pansy noticed that he still had his wand out and was keeping an eye on the door to their quarters. She grinned to herself at his protective nature as she poured them all some tea.

Dobby normally might have said something about being served tea by a witch, but he was quickly learning just how different and wonderful it was to be a part of the Potter family. Miss Pansy wasn't as kind and powerful as master Harry, but then again no one was. She was still much nicer than even his former mistress had ever been.

The minutes ticked by slowly. Pansy would idly stroke her former house-elf's head as they all sipped on their tea and waited.

Leddy began to stir, then shot up from the couch in a fright. She looked around with wide bulging eyes before seeing where she was and throwing her arms around Pansy and beginning to sob.

"Leddy, it's going to be alright now. You're safe here. What happened to you?" Pansy asked as she tried to get her to calm down.

"Master came home so angry. Master was away on business. Master came home and..." she sniffed and took a breath before she could continue.

"Master was yelling about miss Pansy. Master yelled at mistress, said mistress was a bad mother and miss Pansy was a bad girl. Master said a lot of mean things and was casting nasty spells around. Master went upstairs and found that miss Pansy's things were all gone. Master destroyed what was left in the room. Then master found the library and yelled about miss Pansy stealing things. Mistress went upstairs to see what master was yelling about. Master yelled even more and hurt mistress. Then master yelled at Leddy and hurt Leddy. Master used dark magic on Leddy. Leddy thinks master used it on mistress too.

"Leddy thought.. Leddy thought master was going to kill mistress and Leddy. Leddy fell asleep from pain. When Leddy awoke there was blood everywhere and master and mistress were both gone.

"Leddy had to come. Leddy had to warn miss Pansy. Master will kill miss Pansy. Master is so... _so mean!_ " Leddy collapsed against Pansy, weeping terribly. Harry looked over at them as Pansy stared into the fire with a dark angry look on her face. As long as they were here at Hogwarts, they should be safe. But he was going to have to do something about Edmund Parkinson. He'd had a couple of angry thoughts before, but nothing definite, no real plans. It was time for that to change.

"Leddy, you can stay here with us as long as you like," Pansy said, trying to console her.

"Master or mistress will call for Leddy sooner or later. Leddy will have to go home. But Leddy had to warn miss Pansy first."

"Why don't you rest here for tonight, at least as long as you can," Harry said softly. "Dobby, can you get a blanket for Leddy?"

"Mister Harry is a good wizard. Leddy is glad miss Pansy is with a good family now." Dobby appeared and covered her with a blanket. "Leddy will rest a bit."

She was clearly still exhausted and probably in pain, but the little elf soon fell asleep. Harry motioned for Pansy and Dobby to follow him into his bedroom.

"What can we do for her?"

"Other than letting her rest here, probably not a lot," Pansy answered.

"Dobby, you would know more than either of us. I know we can't free her, but is there anything else we can do to help Leddy?"

"Leddy will have to go back to the Parkinson home and family. If Leddy's master and mistress are asleep, Leddy can sleep here. But in the morning, Leddy will have to go whenever Leddy's master or mistress calls."

"Can she come back here to see us? I know you did a year ago, but you said you had to punish yourself. I don't want Leddy to be hurt."

"Leddy will have to stay away for the most part. If a master or mistress needs a house-elf, the house-elf must go."

"So she could probably only visit us when they are asleep or busy, something like that?"

"Yes, master Harry."

"I guess we'll just have to let her sleep. Dobby, do you mind watching her tonight, in case she needs anything? You could rest tomorrow while Pansy and I are in class."

"Dobby can do that easily."

"Thank you. Wake me if you need anything. Otherwise, Pansy and I need to try to get some more sleep tonight."

"Good night master Harry and miss Pansy. Don't worry. Dobby will take good care of Leddy."

"Thanks Dobby," Pansy said softly as she went off to the bathroom. Harry sat his wand on the night stand and tried to calm down and relax. Pansy came back out a minute later, and crawled into bed joining him. She curled up against him as Harry wrapped his arms around her.

"We're going to have to do something about Father."

"I know, but try not to worry about it tonight. We're safe here at Hogwarts."

"For now. But what happens when we leave here? At Christmas break, or next summer. We'll have to hide from him."

"Shh," Harry murmured. "I promised to protect you, and I will. You'll be safe with me."

"Not if he kills you," she whispered and Harry felt her tremble slightly.

"Then I'll just have to kill him first."


	20. Evil Twins and Good Ideas

* * *

Leddy was gone in the morning when they woke. Dobby told them she had slept through the night but could tell that Mr. Parkinson was awake and she had to return home. They could only hope that his rage had subsided and Leddy would not be in any more danger. Needless to say it was hard for them to concentrate on classes for the next couple of days.

But the days did pass, and life went on as normally as it ever did. Harry was still spending a bit of time each night going through some of his old mail. Ron complained about Harry not hanging out as much as he used to, whereas Hermione just tried to make sure he was doing all his assignments on time before going back to the mountain of schoolwork she was already beginning to get buried under. Harry was a bit worried about her.

Oliver Wood was soon talking about starting up practices for quidditch. Pansy groaned to herself at the seventh year's fervor and decided that she might as well start doing some of her work from the pitch as she'd need to keep an eye on Harry. To be fair, the last physical danger he was in was her fault, but still, she wasn't going to trust anyone else to look after him. Although she wouldn't say that out loud for fear of upsetting Dobby.

Pansy had noticed the gossip seemed to have slowed as fewer people were staring at her and Harry now. From what she had learned, mostly by over hearing the conversations of Patil and Brown, there were a few popular ideas going around about them. The first was that Harry, the perverted teen, was using her sexually and thus explained her rather subdued demeanor. Pansy wasn't surprised that it was mainly Slytherins and a few other older pureblood students who espoused this theory. That's what many of them would have done after all.

The second idea was that Harry had decided to build a harem, with at least one girl from every house, and that Pansy was merely the first Slytherin he'd been able to ensnare. Brown seemed to like the scandalous nature of this and decided that Harry must still be trying to pick a girl from Gryffindor. It looked like she might be hoping to catch Harry's eye. When Patil had asked her why Harry hadn't chosen either Granger or little Ginny Weasley, Brown responded that Granger obviously wasn't attractive enough, as well as being too uptight, while Ginny was too young. Patil joked that Brown would need to do something to draw Harry's attention before Ginny grew up.

The third idea, which Patil liked the most, was that Harry and Pansy were star-crossed lovers and that claiming her as a servant was the only way he could find to get her away from the nasty Slytherins. This wasn't as far off as Pansy would have liked, but Brown and other skeptics argued that this couldn't be the case as Harry and Pansy did not act in any way romantic, at least not in public. If they were really dating, then they would not be able to keep their hands off each other according to Brown.

Finally, the idea that amused her the most but seemed to be the least popular was that Harry just wanted someone to do his homework assignments for him and she happened to be available. Granger would have been a more obvious choice for such a role, but Pansy was pleased that at least a few people considered her to be a strong enough student to be the boy who lived's own personal schoolwork slave. She jokingly played along with this by always making sure to turn his assignments in with her own, double checking certain things with teachers, and generally making herself as helpful as possible to Harry in class, especially during the more theoretical parts.

Due to this, she began to notice how Harry treated his classwork. Specifically in the classes where they actually used their wands, Harry was always top of the class during practical work. On the other hand, he did not put much effort into writing the endless string of essays that they were assigned. McGonagall particularly seemed to be bothered by this. When Pansy asked him about it, he merely said that he found all the pointless busy work to not be worth his time. To Harry's point of view, if he could cast a spell properly- and his spells were both more precise and more powerful than any of his classmates- then writing two feet of parchment about the spell was unnecessary.

Well, no one ever said he should be in Ravenclaw.

Pansy at first wondered if this was still the fault of the horrible way the Dursleys had treated him as a child. But she soon recognized that Harry worked very hard at the practical side of magic because that was what he had to turn to in all of the dangerous situations he was thrust constantly into. Once she saw that, her mind soon found another reason for his seemingly bipolar work habits- his reputation as a mediocre student would lead others to underestimate him. If others saw him as lucky instead of talented, then he might have just that bit more of an advantage against his enemies. And from her own experiences, she knew that he definitely had plenty of those.

* * *

One afternoon, when their class on Runes was ending for the day, Pansy followed as Harry quickly got Granger to stop into an empty classroom before she could head off to the library or back to the common room. He cast locking and privacy spells that Pansy had taught him. She was curious to see just what Harry was going to do but he hadn't bothered to tell her his plan. Yes, this annoyed her quite a bit.

"So, Hermione, I've been thinking things over."

"That doesn't sound like something you would do. What is on your mind?"

"I'm trying to decide if you're the good Hermione or her evil twin."

"What are you talking about Harry?"

"I realize that many of the witches and wizards we interact with are fools with nothing even remotely resembling the ability to be reasonable or logical." Pansy snorted at what could possibly be Harry's understatement of the year. She was still shaking her head at the idiocy of stationing one hundred dementors at Hogwarts to try to capture one unarmed wizard. Thankfully, Harry had started teaching her the Patronus charm almost immediately, and after the incident on the train, she was very motivated to learn it. Besides, the need for strong positive memories to fuel the spell made the process much more enjoyable for both of them. It could be very tiring though.

"Regardless, I'd like to think that you don't think of me as one of the fools. So, my question is whether or not you are my friend or her evil twin. This would be a lot easier to figure out if you were a man because the evil twin would obviously have a goatee."

"That doesn't make any sense Harry."

"What doesn't make any sense, _possibly evil Hermione_ , is how you can be taking multiple classes at the same time. My first guess is some sort of spell to create a second body like a clone, or an evil twin if you will."

"There's no such spell like that that I've ever heard of."

"And you have read more of the library here than anyone else our age, I'm sure. But there are certainly spells that you haven't heard of. Besides, if you are the evil twin, then denying everything or trying to confuse me would be the way to go anyway."

"I'm not an evil twin, Harry."

"Ron and the others might let this sort of thing go without comment. But they were raised in the magical world, which is full of nonsense. I..." Harry paused for a moment and Pansy noticed his brief discomfort and looked over at Granger, who was nervously fidgeting with some sort of necklace. "I lived in the real world and am not willing to let ridiculous things just go by without trying to make sense of them. I've been a bit busy this year, as have you, but I am worried about this. I saw your class schedule and was disappointed to see that you refused to listen to my advice to skip Divination and Muggle Studies. However, I was much more worried to see that you have multiple class periods where you are somehow taking two, or even three, classes at the same time.

"You have been one of my best friends. Even if you are an evil twin, I still care about whatever is going on with you."

Pansy let Harry finish his ridiculous tangent before finally breaking down in laughter.

"She isn't an evil twin, Harry."

"I already admitted that she could be some sort of clone instead."

"She's not a clone either, whatever that is," Pansy snorted. It both pleased and surprised her that Harry could be so silly and playful at times.

"The fact that sci-fi doesn't exist in the magical world is one of the sadder things about it."

"Whatever, Harry." What is sci-fi and why does Harry think it so important? She'd have to find out later. "She has a time turner."

Granger gasped and dropped her hand away from the chain around her neck.

"A time turner? As in time travel?"

"Yep." She looked at Granger who appeared frightened and confused.

"Hermione, please don't tell me that you are using time travel just to be able to take a couple of extra classes. Even worse, extra classes that are almost certainly a waste of your time."

Granger stammered for a moment. "They aren't a waste of time."

"Oh no, it's worse than I thought. You're not the evil twin, you're the illogical twin."

"The classes are still fascinating."

"God help us." Harry let out a sigh.

"I think you're right, my Lord. Someone in the government must be completely out of their mind to give a thirteen year old a time turner, just to take some extra lessons. Maybe it's someone in the same department that decided to send the Dementors to Hogwarts? The Department of Terrible Ideas?"

"It'd be great if that were true," Harry said with a smirk. "It would be so much easier to get rid of government morons if they all congregated together in one little group like that. One nice big target for some enterprising young witch or wizard."

"Harry, please," Granger looked upset and worried. "You can't tell anyone about this. I'd get in so much trouble with professor McGonagall. No one is supposed to know about it."

Harry sighed again while Pansy just shook her head.

"I agree with one condition."

"What?"

"You have to agree to use this time turner thing to give yourself extra time to rest, sleep and whatnot. I know you, Hermione; you work harder than anyone else at all your assignments and research. You're likely to badly over-stress yourself. Promise me that you'll take care of yourself and not just use this as an excuse to work yourself into the ground."

"Alright, I promise." Granger looked relieved but also a bit curious. "But I want you to promise me that you'll start teaching me the Patronus charm soon."

"Fair enough." He was already teaching it to Pansy anyway.

"By the way, since when did you become so responsible, Harry? Isn't that my job?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe nearly dying in the Chamber of Secrets changed things."

Pansy thought to herself that he might have changed, at least to some extent, for her. After all, he was now responsible for her life and her welfare. Of course, it was hard for her to judge how much he might have changed since she really didn't know him at all until a few months ago.

As she was pondering this, she noticed Granger giving Harry a hug after he unlocked the door. Harry smiled at his friend as she left- to go to the library of course- and turned around to Pansy.

"She means a lot to you."

"She does. She's one of my best friends."

"You're closer to her than Weasley."

Harry gave a sad shrug.

"This year, I just can't seem to get along with him very well. He moans and grumbles about you being around. Then he complains that I don't spend enough time with him. I guess he hasn't gotten it through his head yet that you aren't going to disappear just because he refuses to like anyone from Slytherin.

"Plus, I have a lot more to deal with now. New, harder classes. Going through all the mail."

"And taking care of me," Pansy interjected with a smile. She reapplied the privacy spells and kissed him.

"That's my favorite part of this year."

"Mine too." He kissed her back as they embraced. For a moment, they stood there contentedly.

"Weasley is immature. You're an adult now, in a lot of ways other than just legally. You heard about the Dementors, so you decided to learn to be able to defend yourself from them. Do you honestly think he would ever do something like that?"

"Probably not," he answered. "It bothers me that he doesn't understand that my life isn't normal. I don't know that it ever could be. Ron is happy to just goof off and enjoy his time as a kid. I tried to do that too for awhile, my first couple of years here, but things are constantly trying to kill me. I can't afford to be immature."

"But he still can. That's not your fault, Harry. You're growing apart because of it."

"Yeah, we are." He sighed again. "He was my first real friend. It sucks that I don't know if that friendship will last."

Pansy stroked his back as they continued to embrace. Some small part of her felt a tiny bit guilty about how happy she was that the weasel might be gone sooner than she hoped for Harry's sake. But a much larger part of her smiled at the idea of not having to hear his bitching about her presence or sit anywhere near him when he gorged himself like a pig at meal times.

She would gladly put up with Granger for awhile longer if the weasel was out of the picture.

* * *

"We should talk about a couple of things."

It was a warm Friday night. They had opened the door to the balcony to let the breeze in. Harry had been more eager than usual to get back to their quarters after dinner.

"Alright, what's on your mind?"

"Well, first I've been thinking about things your father might try to do to us."

"Not the most pleasant topic."

"No, but I wanted to get it out of the way so that we could eventually get to more fun things later. From what I've read, the Death Eaters were known for their willingness to throw around the unforgivable curses like crazy. For all the idea of the esoteric nature of the Dark Arts, it doesn't seem like that many of them truly searched for anything too unusual. Other than Riddle, of course. Two of them you can pretty much only hope to dodge or try to use physical cover to block them.

"The Imperius curse, on the other hand, can be fought off with a strong enough will. If your father were to try to use it on either of us, we could, theoretically at least, break free of it."

"Yes, but..." Pansy looked at him shrewdly and realized what he was getting at. "You want us to cast it on each other, so that we can learn to fight it off."

"That was my idea, yes. We know your father is willing to use it against us. I know it's illegal, but I'd much rather have your help learning to defeat it here, safely, than have to learn the hard way when someone uses it against me to try to do something much worse. Besides, we obviously trust each other."

"You trust me that much?"

"Of course I do. And after how you decided to earn a life debt from me, you must have a lot of faith in me."

"I do." Pansy looked around the room. "We'll have to be careful though. We can't afford to have anyone find out about this."

"I know. Even though there aren't any portraits in here, I had Dobby check the room for any other ways that someone might be able to spy on us. We should be fine in here."

"How do you want to do this?"

"I was thinking we could just use simple commands against each other. Sit down, stand up, walk across the room, that sort of thing."

"You weren't thinking of using this as an excuse to do anything more fun than that?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

"No, fun would be later."

"Alright. Who should go first?"

"You probably should. I've read how to do it from one of your books, but I'm guessing you might have read even more than that."

"Fine. Why don't we make sure that we both know how to cast it first?"

So they began to practice.

Unfortunately, they soon ran into two very different problems.

Harry's Imperius was so forceful that Pansy was completely unable to resist. On the other hand, she was unable to get him to even start to do any of the actions she tried to force him to do. After nearly half an hour of failure, Harry suggested they take a break.

"Dobby?" The little elf appeared and Harry asked him for help. "Pansy and I are having a problem. I assume you know what the Imperius curse is?"

"Yes, master Harry. The old bad master used it a lot, then lied about being under it."

"I'm not surprised by that at all," Harry snorted. "Anyway, Pansy and I need to be able to fight the spell off in case any evil wizards try to use it against us. Unfortunately, we are not having much luck yet and I wondered if you can give us some advice or help figure out what we're doing wrong."

"Specifically, I can't resist Harry at all and he resists me without even trying," she added.

"Of course, miss Pansy. Dobby knows just what is wrong." He had a huge smile. Dobby was so happy to be able to help.

"You do? Is it something obvious we've missed?"

"Dobby knows because of the bond. Miss Pansy is bound to master Harry. Miss Pansy cannot harm master Harry any more than Dobby could. And miss Pansy has to obey master Harry."

"Crap," Harry groaned and sat down. "But we aren't actually trying to harm each other. We're just trying to learn about magic and how to protect ourselves. Isn't there some way for the bond between us to recognize that?"

"Dobby might know a way. House-elves believe that magic is alive. That magic knows and thinks. Master Harry would just have to talk to magic."

"To explain what we wanted to do, you mean?" Dobby nodded. "How do I talk to magic?"

"Master Harry is always talking to magic. That's how wizards and witches cast spells."

"You could try talking to the bond itself, Harry," Pansy said as he looked over at her. "Tell me, or maybe even order me, about what we are trying to do, and it might help the bond realize that we are working together to protect it."

"Making the bond stronger by keeping others from breaking or damaging it."

"Exactly."

"Okay let's try this again. Dobby, would you stay and watch? If you see something we are doing wrong, let us know."

"Dobby is happy to help."

"Great. Pansy," he looked forcefully into her eyes, "I want you to cast the Imperius curse at me with as much power as you can safely use."

She raised her wand and this time, the spell washed over him and his mind began to relax. 'Sit down,' her soft voice crooned into his mind. He felt his knees bend as he began to sit but then his will refused. He physically shook his head and the magic failed.

"I think that worked. I could hear your voice telling me to sit down and I had to fight the spell off that time."

"Great job master Harry sir!"

"Thanks Dobby." He looked over to her. "How do you feel?"

"Fine. I could tell that time the spell felt a little different. It was like a power shifted between us, like I was pushing it into you."

"Okay, now we need to try it the other way around then." Harry took a deep breath then looked into her eyes again. "Pansy, I need you to fight off my spell this time. Fight to protect yourself. Fight so that no one will be able to use this against us."

"I will my Lord."

He raised his wand and cast the spell against her again. He told her to go into her bedroom. She took a step towards it but then he saw her body slow as she seemed to be fighting it. Harry looked into her eyes and could see her will struggling against the curse. He forced himself not to cancel the spell or use it to tell her to resist. He had to let her fight on her own now. Helping her would only make her weaker.

And fight she did. Her left foot lifted, barely a few inches off the ground, then she forced it back down. She grunted angrily and Harry could feel the magic falter as Pansy succeeded in throwing off the curse. She sat down on the couch and he saw a bead of sweat roll down her cheek.

"You did it," he said with a smile as he sat next to her.

"I did," she said as she panted out a breath. "That was even harder than I thought it would be."

"I'm proud of you. I know that couldn't have been easy, especially with the bond between us making you want to submit to me." Pansy sighed as she rested against him.

"Dobby, do you have any advice for us?"

"Master and miss both did a good job."

"Thanks, Dobby. Could you make us some tea? I think we both could use a bit of rest and we need to talk about a couple of things anyway." The house-elf happily made his way over to the little kitchen area and started boiling a pot of water.

"I guess we learned something new tonight, my Lord."

"Yes, we learned that my claiming you might not have been the best idea after all."

"I'm still safer and happier with you than I ever was before," she said as she snuggled against his side.

"I'm glad but now we have complications that I didn't know we'd have to deal with."

"I'm not too surprised. I knew I would be submitting myself to your authority; I did tell you this summer that I'd rather be your slave than married to Malfoy, remember? That magic has made the bond between us stronger is a good thing."

"Unless I used it to hurt you."

She laughed at that.

"Harry, do you really think you would hurt me? I've seen how you look at me. You care about me, you want to protect me, and you desire me. Even when I've upset you, I've never seen anything in your eyes that would make me afraid of you.

"Besides, you having power over me might be a bit of a turn on."

"I'll have to keep that in mind," he chuckled. "I'm still worried though; I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you to do anything."

"I'll tell you if you ever do, or at least if it's something I don't want you to force me to do.

"For example, if you were to force me to spend the rest of the night in bed with you, I definitely would not be opposed."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, but it does bring something else to mind." He pulled a book from the table and she smiled when she saw what it was. "I've read the whole thing, not just what you had marked for me. And after we learned more about how our bond acts tonight, I'm not sure if it's a good idea."

"You're wrong, all of those rituals I marked are great ideas."

"Why do you say that? You'll be binding yourself to me even more so. I wanted you to be my girlfriend, not my slave."

"Don't be so melodramatic, Harry," she sighed. "Look at me. First of all, as long as you treat me the way you do, I am your girlfriend. Even if everyone else thinks I'm just your slave, I don't care. What matters is how we act together. You need my brain to keep this partnership working smoothly, although I do admit that learning to fight off the Imperius was a good idea.

"But more importantly, the first ritual I marked for you will protect me even if you can't. You didn't grow up knowing about the Death Eaters. I guarantee you that every magic-raised witch fears the return of people like that, even daughters of Death Eaters like me. Don't think for a second that loyal followers weren't at times punished or their daughters given away to vile brutes. I have no intention of being raped. So we will complete that ritual. Every part of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright," he exhaled.

"See, this is why I'm not worried about you abusing the bond, Harry. I'm having to force you into doing a magical sex ritual because you're so concerned about how you're treating me. You are a wonderful master who is also secretly my very caring boyfriend. I assume you have less of an argument against the other ritual?"

"Only that it might be a bit dangerous if we screw it up, or you know, if you..."

"If I got pregnant? Don't worry about that part, I've been calculating the timing for it. The full moon just before Halloween should coincide nicely with my cycle."

Harry quickly raced over to the calendar on the wall. "October 29th will be the best day of my life."

She laughed. "I think we should start things tonight."

"You're not nervous? I mean..."

"I've been thinking about this for a couple of months now, Harry. I want to have all of this done before we leave school for the holidays, just in case my father tries something. Are _you_ nervous?"

"I think I'm too excited to be nervous. I just want to make sure everything goes right and that you enjoy everything as much as possible." He smiled at her and it melted her heart even a bit more. They had been living together for a few weeks now and he always seemed to think of her first. He had taken such good care of her; well, now it was her turn to take even better care of him.

They discussed the details about the rituals they were going to use. The beginning would be tonight, and the biggest step would still be a month away. Other parts would come at some point, but Harry left it open for Pansy to decide when they would do everything. While most of the point of all of this would be protecting her, she knew that it would also bind them together in a new way. This may worry Harry's noble side, but it excited Pansy. One of the few things her mother had taught her was that she should some day learn to control a man through sex as much as possible. Of the more recent years, when her father had been much more frightening, Pansy realized was likely due to her parents' waning sex life. That was a bit disturbing to think of at the moment. So instead, she thought more of the rituals, and specifically how much pleasure she was going to get from them. Harry was sure to make everything as wonderful as possible for her, and his protective side seemed to turn her on more and more lately. She still shivered when she thought of Harry saying he would have to kill her father.

"I'm going to take a shower. Why don't we both get ready for bed? Dobby, can you make sure the things I laid out for the ritual are ready in Harry's bedroom?"

"Yes, miss Pansy."

"Thank you, Dobby."

* * *

They looked at each other briefly as they both went to their rooms to bathe and prepare. Although, to be fair, what was officially Pansy's bedroom didn't get a lot of use. They'd slept together every night in his bedroom.

Harry went into his bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. This was really going to happen. He took a couple of deep breaths. He had done some heavy petting with her the last few nights, and often woke up with a hand caressing one of her breasts, but this... this was going to be a much further and much more fun step.

Of course, he'd need to draw more than a few runes as well but they were simple enough and thankfully, it turned out that he found runes came fairly naturally to him. Drawing them would certainly be a lot easier than carving them anyway. As runes were originally just used for language before becoming magical, many of them were very easy to draw. It was the rituals and ingredients that more often than not brought about the magical effects.

He would need a steady hand. He would need to not be too excited. That meant he would need to relax. Well, Pansy usually took a bit longer to shower than he did anyway. Might as well make good use of his time and calm his raging libido down a bit.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, he was waiting by the bed for Pansy. He wore only his boxers. The sheets were turned down. A small glass bowl, a knife, and a fresh quill all lay on a tray on one of the nightstands.

She came into the room wearing a very thin silk robe that came to just above her knee. It was loosely tied at the waist and the top of it was open enough to show a hint of cleavage. Her hair was still wet as she clearly didn't want to wait any longer than he did. My god, she took his breath away.

She slowly walked across the floor. She had the sexiest smirk on her face. He wanted to tear the robe off of her, throw her on the bed and just take her. But he also found it hard to move as he watched her.

"Are you ready, my Lord?" She purred at him, grinning the whole time. She knew just what she was doing to him.

"If you tease me too much Pansy, I might lose control." He actually was having trouble breathing. "And that would make me fuck up the ritual."

"Alright," she sighed. "But when we don't have any rituals to do, I am going to tease you till you can't take it anymore."

"And then, I will take you till you can't tease me anymore." She was now standing right in front of him. She threw her arms around his neck and leaned in towards his ear.

"Promise?" she whispered. She nuzzled his ear and he growled in response.

"Yes."

She pulled her arms back and smiled. Then she suddenly tickled his sides. He laughed and fell back onto the bed.

"Why did you do that?"

"I had to stop the teasing some way. Don't pout. I promise I'll make it up to you. And you need to be able to focus enough to draw the runes."

"You're right." He grabbed the tray and sat it across his lap. He gave her the knife and held his hand above the bowl.

"Are you ready?" He nodded and she cut across his palm. Blood splashed into the bowl for a few seconds before she healed the cut. She returned the still-bloody knife to him. "Remember not to clean it."

"I know."

"My turn then. Do it, Harry."

He cut across her palm and watched her blood mix with his. "That should be enough."

He healed her hand and sat the blade aside. He moved the tray out of the way for a moment and stood up.

"Lay down and I'll draw the runes."

She untied her robe and let it fall to the floor.

His brain went into overdrive taking in every inch of her, every curve. Her breasts sat high and firm on her chest, with dark pink nipples poking out. He was only able to tear his eyes away from them by looking further down. The space between her legs glistened a bit from what he could see of her labia. She had no pubic hair, although he was expecting that as he had to be able to draw runes there. It took every last drop of his willpower to stop himself from just ravishing her.

He forced himself to look up at her face and she was flushed with excitement.

"On the bed before I lose control." She climbed up and lay flat on her back while he got the tray in place and dipped the quill into their blood. He noticed her holding her breath as he drew runes around her lips. He quickly moved onto the runes for her breasts. He moved further down and took a breath to steady himself before drawing the runes just below her navel. That step excited him in a way that he hadn't really thought of before.

Finally, she spread her legs before him and Harry saw the most beautiful thing in the world.

His mind and body had stopped and he was completely still for a moment.

She looked down at him and smiled lustily. If they'd had enough time to prepare, she would have gladly shed her virginity this month instead of next. She had a feeling that tonight's activities were going to help her learn the Patronus charm much quicker. But first, she needed to free her boyfriend from his stupor.

"Harry." He didn't respond as his eyes looked a bit glazed over. Who knew she had an Imperius curse between her legs? It was good to know of the power she held over him; it eased whatever tiny doubts she might have had of giving herself to him.

"Harry," she spoke a bit louder and more firmly and he looked up. "Finish the runes so we can have some fun."

"Yes, mistress," he said with a goofy smile.

He moved the tray a bit closer and knelt down between her thighs. They were both holding their breaths now. He drew runes on the insides of both her thighs. She let out a small whimper and Harry smiled as he thought he saw the glistening of her sex increase a bit. He let himself exhale and she moaned as his breath blew between her legs.

"Try to relax. I'm almost done," he told her. Her eyes were closed, but she nodded in agreement.

Harry leaned in even closer and drew the night's final runes.

"Finished."

"Thank God."

Before she could say anything else, Harry's mouth was on her. She gasped. He was kissing and licking at her most private place with abandon. And it was utter bliss. She briefly thought of how good it was that the magic of the runes was sealed immediately as otherwise they would all be smudged. Her thighs squeezed around his neck. His mouth was doing things to her that even her fingers had never quite managed before. His tongue ran up and down and her excitement began to peak. As he moved back up, he found her clit and licked it. She grabbed his hair and held him firmly in position. He began suckling at the little nub and soon she was screaming out in pleasure.

Harry felt her body spasming beneath him. She shuddered and her legs slowly began to release him from their embrace. As much as he was enjoying himself and her delicious taste, he decided to slow to a stop to let her catch her breath. There was plenty of time tonight anyway. He had a feeling they were going to be missing breakfast.

He looked up at her with his wet face and smiled.

"That was amazing."

He answered her by kissing her stomach as he gradually moved up. There was a small droplet of sweat that he watched slide down into her belly button. He licked at it and she moaned once more. Soon, he was kissing and suckling at her breasts; first the right, then the left. He would caress one as his mouth was on the other. He was much gentler with her breasts than she thought he might have been, especially considering how wildly he had dove into pleasing her. She shuddered again and realized that he was probably trying to keep from over-stimulating her. It was working, but just barely. She cradled his head as his mouth moved over to her right breast while his fingers softly circled around her left. When his thumb traced the underside of her breast, she moaned out again.

Harry thought to himself that he was going to have to remember every little spot that triggered such a reaction from Pansy. Erogenous zones, he believed they were called. He wanted to discover every single one of them that she had.

She grabbed him and kissed him hard.

"You are amazing." He smiled in response. "I am very thankful for whatever studying you did this summer."

"Well, after you suggested losing your virginity to break a betrothal agreement, I wanted to learn everything I could so that it would be good for you. I'd heard that the first time would be painful, and I wanted to make up for that by learning what I could that you might enjoy."

"You are the best secret boyfriend in the world."

"Happy to serve, mistress," he said with a smirk. "Maybe I should make sure that first time wasn't just a fluke though. Practice makes perfect after all."

"You're going to spoil me, my Lord."

"That was the idea, yes."

She chuckled at him. "I think it's my turn to spoil you. Lay down."

Soon Harry was on his back and she was crawling over him. He had been hard for so long now that he knew he wouldn't last. That was before watching her naked body as she moved down towards his groin. As soon as she wrapped her hand around him he felt like he could explode. Then she leaned down and licked all the way up his shaft and took him into her mouth.

"Oh my god," he moaned. Her eyes gleamed in either amusement or pride as she looked up at him with only the crown still in her mouth. Then he felt her tongue swirling around the underside of his cock and within seconds he was cumming as hard as he ever had. She paused only briefly in surprise at beginning of his orgasm before continuing to suck on him. Finally, Pansy looked up at him with the sexiest smile and then swallowed in a slightly exaggerated manner.

"I love you," he said as he panted. She giggled and laid her head on his chest.

"I had no idea it would be so easy to get you to say that."

"Hmm. I guess I hadn't actually told you that before."

"Nope."

"Well, I do. That's not just the brilliant oral sex talking. I love you Pansy."

"I love you too Harry."

They lay there together quietly as their breathing slowed. They were both sweaty and content.

"I am a little disappointed though," she finally said.

'Oh shit, what did I do wrong?' he thought but forced himself to only ask, "Why?"

"It was far too easy to give you a blow job," she said as she sat up, smirking at him. His brain started to relax from the brief moment of terror, then he stared goofily at her boobs. She smiled as she saw the look on his face as her breasts made him into a happy fool. She raised his head up with a hand under his chin and he blushed as she forced him to look away from her body. Her chest was only moderately sized and she wondered just how much brain damage she could cause if she were larger. But since Harry was happy with what she had, her ego was pleased as well.

"With the word job in it, you would think I would have need to do a bit more work. You were much too easy, Lord Potter."

His brain kicked back in as she was all but laughing at him.

"First of all, I think you'd find that pretty much any teenage guy would be pretty easy. Secondly, I'd been getting more and more excited for the last, like, hour, so of course it didn't take long.

"Thirdly, that sounds like a challenge to my honor."

"A challenge?"

It was his turn to grin lustily at her.

"Oh yes, I think it only fair to see which of us is easier to please. I suggest a race."

"A race?" She looked at his smirking face and thought that this would be fun, whatever Harry had in mind.

"Yes, we see who can make the other cum faster."

"We are not going to have Dobby time us."

"No. We'll start at the same time," he said as he sat up and lifted her off him, then laid her back down going in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I think I like this. Two great ideas in one night." His arm went around her waist and began fondling her bum as he slid into position. She shivered in anticipation and briefly considered calling him out for cheating. But the race would be more fun than an argument, even a playful one.

They would both be winning regardless of who actually finished first.

Pansy beat him, but Harry made sure she reached the finish line too.

Afterwards, he suggested a best of three.

By the end of the night, it was hard for either of them to count.


	21. Hogsmeade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: For people wondering about the Imperius curse scene, it was easier for Harry and Pansy to throw off the curse because neither of them are truly evil/dark/whatever enough yet to use the spell the way a Death Eater would.
> 
> I chose to reveal the time turner early because that was something that I found to be really stupid in the books. Especially considering we know other people have somehow gotten 12 OWLS- both Bill Weasley & Barty Crouch Jr.- it makes one wonder if they regularly give out time turners to teenagers. If so, the ministry is even more moronic.
> 
> In any case, I couldn't have Harry be that brain dead for months on end to never figure it out. Plus, Hermione is not some master spy who would never get caught.
> 
> I am also changing something about Hogsmeade. In canon, it seems that there are only about 3 or 4 Hogsmeade weekends per year, as needed for plot purposes only. This doesn't make sense to me on a number of levels. For one thing, its not like the teachers actually supervise the students. For another, several of the businesses in the town seem like they depend to a large extent on the students- the candy and joke shops for example- so having so incredibly few visits doesn't make sense. For the purposes of this story, Hogsmeade visits are going to be more common and the first one occurs at the beginning of October, not on Halloween as in canon..

* * *

"Good morning, beautiful."

It was more than a bit late Saturday morning, but they had been up very late into the night. Pansy was just stirring awake in his arms as she looked up at Harry. He had that goofy smile on his face again.

"What's that look for?"

"I'm pretty sure that was the best night of my life. And I might be kind of hoping that we could just spend the day in bed.

"Or we could try the couch.

"Or the bathroom."

"We probably should have taken another shower before we went to sleep but it seemed like you were trying to wear me out, my Lord."

"I accept full responsibility for being unable to control myself around my gorgeous and thoroughly naked girlfriend. I promise to be equally out of control in the future as well.

"So, should we take a shower this morning?"

"I think we should _each_ take a shower this morning."

"But that would be a lot less fun."

"More likely to actually get done though, if you aren't in there to distract me. I am starving this morning, if it even is still morning."

"We've still got almost fifty minutes of morning."

"Plenty of time to be ready for lunch then."

"If you insist." He shifted a bit on the bed and she could hear him smelling her hair.

"I can't imagine that I smell good, Harry. Last night was probably the sweatiest I've ever been."

"Sweaty Pansy makes me think of Sexy Pansy, so you smell wonderful to me."

She chuckled and snuggled against him. She was surprised that she didn't find his odor to be too unpleasant either.

"You know, you actually tasted better than I thought you would. From what I'd read, I expected it to be more bitter and salty. I'd even found a charm to make the taste more enjoyable. I guess I won't need it now."

"I've been eating differently lately."

"You mean all the fruit?"

"Yeah, and I've cut back on all the heavy fatty food. In the muggle world, eating lots of meat and salty foods leads to a lot of health problems. It's got to be part of the reason my uncle and cousin were so fat.

"Making me taste better for you just sealed the deal."

"Plus, it means more bacon for Hedwig."

"Yeah, I've got to keep her happy."

"Is that why you took out a subscription to the Daily Prophet?"

"In part, yes. I wanted her to have something to do since almost all of my mail is now routed through the wards Sam helped me set up. And I don't want her to get mad at Postmaster Dobby."

"The little guy really does seem to love sorting all your mail."

"As long as it makes him happy." They shared a chuckle and relaxed together, neither really wanting that badly to get up. Dobby would be all too pleased to bring them food, but Pansy knew that Harry was already spending a lot less time in public. His friends had noticed, and Granger was going to be nosy again one of these days. But first, she wanted to ask him something.

"Speaking of taste..."

"I'll let you get up soon, I promise," he said as he stroked her back. "I'm getting hungry too."

"Not that. I was wondering how I tasted to you."

"Oh. Well, there's not a very strong taste at all really. Once we'd been going at it for awhile and you were getting all sweaty, it was slightly tangy and salty."

"Did it smell?" There was something unusually frail in her voice.

"Pansy, why are you acting so insecure this morning? I'd think that last night would have proven that I find you delectable. You taste and smell delicious. If it were possible to get nutrition, I would just eat you for breakfast," Harry said with a good-natured laugh.

"I know, it's just..." she sighed and took a moment to continue. "A couple of years ago, I overheard my parents fighting one night. I think it might have been one of the last times my mother tried to get him to have sex with her. He called her a worthless drunken slut and said...

"He said she had a smelly, nasty pussy."

"Damn. That's awful."

"It gets worse," she shivered a bit in his arms. "He said that it was no wonder his son had been stillborn from her poisoned twat. He called her all sorts of terrible names. There was so much venom and hate in his voice. It traumatized me a bit, I think. I just worried that maybe I inherited something from her, something that would have made me, something that..."

"Shh," he crooned into her ear as she started to get upset. "Pansy, I promise you that nothing could be further from the truth. You can't really think that considering I went down on you for, what, two or three hours last night?"

That got a laugh from her.

"I know. It's just an old irrational fear."

"Well, I will gladly help fight it off if you don't mind being late for lunch."

"Thanks, Harry. But I am really hungry."

"And you don't want to share a shower either?"

"Didn't you get enough last night?"

"I think if I ever get enough of you, that will be the saddest day of my life. And I've had more than a few sad days already."

"You say the sweetest things at the right times," she said as she started to sit up. She leaned down and kissed him. "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too. I still think we should shower together though." She laughed at his exaggerated pout.

"Just think of it this way- we'll make sure that when we do try that out we'll have all the time we want."

"Next weekend then," he leered at her. " _All next weekend_."

"We'll see, my Lord."

* * *

They did make it to lunch that day, and only a few minutes late too. They ended up spending most of the weekend outdoors. The weather was still nice and warm. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny spent several hours with them. Neville joined them for awhile Saturday afternoon. The twins made a boisterous appearance as well. And Sunday afternoon, Pansy followed Harry to the pitch as Wood put the Gryffindor team through its first truly grueling practice.

The good news was that Pansy had finished most of her assignments for the next few days by the time the quidditch practice came to an end at dinner time.

The bad news was that she was finding it much harder not to hate his friends.

Harry had been in an unusually good mood and the girls wanted to know why. Nosy Granger was blunt and Harry responded by deflecting, saying he'd gotten a lot of work done on a couple of long term projects. She pushed for more, Harry refused, and she complained until Weasley told her to knock it off so that he could enjoy his weekend. The redhead was a bit rude about it, and Pansy for once approved of his behavior.

Little Ginny Weasley, on the other hand, merely watched Harry and Pansy closely. Very closely. She might have thought she had some idea of why Harry was so happy and care free, but Pansy doubted the younger girl really knew much. She seemed quite innocent, despite what Harry had told Pansy of her previous year.

A vindictive part of Pansy wanted to drag the little ginger girl off and tell her exactly why Harry was in such a good mood. She could just imagine the look of shock. Instead, she hid a small smug grin and buried the thought. Better to keep people guessing for as long as possible.

As for the boys, well, they were just boys. Annoying boys. And quidditch practice was much more boring than watching a game, even when Harry did blast around the field chasing the snitch. By the time they went to bed Sunday night, she was almost glad to be going back to class. At least a couple of them were interesting.

* * *

Harry did not get to spend the next weekend showering with Pansy for hours on end. But he did get to go to Hogsmeade.

* * *

It had been a month now, and people seemed to mostly have gotten used to Pansy and Harry being attached at the hip. She called herself his shadow as a joke that Brown overheard and more than a few people now called her that in whispers when they didn't think she was paying attention. Pansy was pretty much always paying attention though.

Except when she was daydreaming, _I mean scheming,_ about her future with Harry. She certainly wasn't thinking of just how much fun they had at night together. And there was no chance that anyone ever noticed her staring off into space with a mostly vacant look on her face.

She looked fairly normal that Saturday morning, although Harry seemed to be pouting a bit. Her cramps were much better since she'd been with Harry. She smiled to herself briefly- if not for her period, she might not be going to Hogsmeade this weekend. Harry apparently wasn't joking when he said that he wanted to spend all weekend showering together. He was just going to have to cope with second prize.

That meant she was going to have to cope with his friends as well. At least little Ginny Weasley wasn't going to be able to follow them around today. She was pouting a bit too.

Her brother was being his usual disgusting self, with a second plate full of food piled high. Granger had an Arithmancy book at the table; she needed to study even during meals on the weekend. It was rude, but it meant less of her bossy voice nagging away. She did have the decency to chew with her mouth closed though, so she was still miles ahead of Weasley.

Patil and Brown had taken to sitting near her occasionally and they were sometimes amusing. Today, they were discussing their outfits, which they had put a lot of thought and effort into judging by how much they rambled on about them. They were both also wearing more make up than many older students. They had to look their best for their first visit to Hogsmeade, obviously. It was kind of silly, but Pansy did at least give them a point about making a good first appearance.

By comparison, Granger looked downright terrible. Her hair was her usual mess, her jumper was a size too big and an awful color for her, and her muggle jeans were neither stylish nor form fitting. Of course, she didn't have much of a figure yet, even though she was one of the older girls in their year. This was a very good thing, as she was clearly Harry's second favorite girl. Pansy was pleased by how little competition she had for his affection.

Especially considering how attractive the other two Gryffindor girls were becoming. Brown, for her part, had developed quite a bit. When the pig finally paused before his third plate of breakfast, he blatantly stared at her chest. Brown took it as a compliment even as Patil called him a rude jerk. Pansy might have been the only one who noticed how angrily Granger glared at him as well. Hmm, _that_ was interesting.

Patil was more slender and still somewhat short. But she had very attractive features, as well as a dusky exotic beauty that a lot of men would appreciate. Plus, Pansy had seen her give Harry a look on more than one occasion. She would need to keep an eye on that one.

They were eventually all heading out together on the path to the gates.

"Do you two want to join us on the ride to town?" Pansy offered. There was enough room for six comfortably in the carriages and she didn't want to have to ride with any of the mongrels- that being most of the Gryffindor boys.

"Sure, Pansy, assuming the rest of you don't mind," Patil answered.

"Oi, Harry, they're gonna have us out manned."

"So?"

"Don't tell me you actually want to hang out with a bunch of girls?"

"It is always a pleasure to be surrounded by beautiful women," Harry said as he sat down next to Pansy. Patil and Brown were both slightly blushing and smiling at Harry, whereas Granger was bright red as she climbed in. "If you aren't going to join us, I might be able to get another lovely lady to sit next to me."

Weasley stammered and turned an awful color that clashed atrociously with his hair but sat down on Harry's other side. The worst thing about the Weasleys, other than being incredibly annoying, and how many of them there, and their terrible manners, was that they were all gingers.

"Consider yourself lucky Ron. We'll put up with you for Harry's sake," Brown said as she giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at Harry. Okay, maybe Pansy was going to have to keep an eye on both of them.

"Ron, if you haven't noticed, I spend most of my time hanging out with Pansy and Hermione. Not to mention half my quidditch teammates, the attractive half- no matter how highly Fred and George think of themselves- are females. So, no, I clearly don't mind hanging out with a bunch of girls."

That finally shut the moron up.

The girls spent the next few minutes chatting about what they were most interested in seeing once they got to Hogsmeade. Not surprisingly, Brown and Patil were headed for Gladrags first off, while Granger wanted to go to the book store. Shocking, right?

The weasel wanted to hit the joke shop. Could he get any more obnoxious? Pansy quickly banished that thought because the answer was most assuredly, yes, he could get a lot more obnoxious.

Once they reached the village, Weasley jumped out of the carriage as soon as he could. Granger followed him. Harry, ever the gentleman, helped Brown and Patil climb down. Pansy followed them out with an annoyed snort even as she took his offered hand. He chuckled at her, and she was going to make him pay for that.

She noticed him stop at the front of the carriage while the others started to walk off.

"Can you see them?"

"See what?" Harry's hand was moving through the air strangely.

"The creatures that pull the carriage. I saw most of the others walk right past them."

Pansy frowned at this. He better not be joking with her- Pansy wasn't in the mood.

"Here, give me your hand." He didn't wait for her reply and she found herself stroking something she could not see.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. They look sort of like very thin horses, only they have wings on their backs."

"And you can see them but I can't. That's very strange."

"Yes. I suppose I could ask Hagrid what they are."

"Harry, come on!" Weasley and Granger were waiting for them. Pansy walked in front of him for once as Harry took a last moment to pet the unnamed invisible creatures. She could feel his eyes watching her- there was a reason she wore this blue dress today. It looked good on her, and she knew Harry loved it. It was just a tiny bit shorter on her now too. He deserved to be teased by her, especially after she put up with Patil and Brown smiling and giggling at him. That was totally his fault- stupid, charming Potter.

Honeydukes was one of the first stores they came upon and all of them were interested. Harry and Granger, not having grown up in the magical world, were examining everything as the weasel rambled on about all the different candies. Pansy went straight to the chocolate.

"My Lord, wouldst thou be good enough to buy your humble servant something?"

"Of course, milady," he answered with a smile as he walked over to her. 'Dammit, stop being so charming you handsome idiot!'

"A gentleman should learn this, Harry, that women love chocolate. But at certain times, they love it even more," she told him in a low voice and gave him a meaningful glare.

"Are you saying I should buy you half the store?" he whispered with a wink.

"Are _you_ saying that we should sleep in separate rooms tonight?" She whispered angrily at him.

Needless to say, he bought her the damn chocolate.

Before he bought anything else though, he called Granger and Weasley over.

"If anyone wants to buy something to take back to the castle, I suggest we come back later. As warm as it is, I don't want to carry a bag of candy around all day, especially if some of it might get all melty and sticky."

"Good thinking, Harry. I'll have to be careful not to spend too much at Zonko's."

"Can we go to the bookstore next?"

"We should probably do that later too. Unless you really want to carry around a dozen pounds of books all day."

"I'm not going to buy _that many_ books, Harry."

"You might," he replied with a grin. "I'm not even saying you shouldn't buy that many, let's just go there this afternoon instead. I might want to buy something as well."

"How about Zonko's then?"

"Fine with me. Pansy?"

"If we must."

The weasel chattered on and on about the place before they even got there. The running commentary kept up as they wandered through the store. It was all juvenile and annoying, just what a Weasley would like. They also had the misfortune of running into the older twin gingers there. Pansy stood behind Harry, as far away from the discussion of dung bombs and other assorted nonsense.

"I'm definitely going to get some dung bombs. What about you, Harry?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"I know, there's so much cool stuff in here. It's hard to pick, right?"

"Actually, I was thinking that I wouldn't want any of you to know what I might buy in here."

"Why not?" the ginger whined.

"Because I want plausible deniability."

"Huh?"

"He means he doesn't want anyone to know it might have been him that pranked them, Ronald." Granger often seemed to use his full name when he was bothering her with his stupidity. Pansy was surprised it wasn't much more often.

"Oh. Well, you can still buy some stuff. Hermione will keep people from seeing what you get, won't you?" The bookworm responded with a nicely done glare and huff combo. Times like this made Pansy almost like her.

"I might come back later." Harry said as he gave a little wink to Pansy.

"But why?"

"Don't worry about it Ron."

"Fine."

As the other two got in line, Harry led Pansy into an empty aisle and threw his invisibility cloak over them. He put a finger to his lips and they quietly snuck outside. Harry led her around the side of the building to a small empty alley. It was a nice cool spot in the shade. He pressed her up against the wall and began kissing her hard and fast. It was passionate and unexpected and Pansy thoroughly enjoyed it, in spite of her cranky mood. She grabbed the back of his head as he began to suck on her neck and soon she let out a moan of pleasure.

Just as suddenly, he stopped.

"We should go back inside," he said and she growled in response.

"You'll pay for that."

"You're the one who's been teasing me all day," he snorted. "And I didn't get my weekend long shower, so I'm extra frustrated. So, you can just join me in the boat of frustration."

"This boat's going down."

"God, I hope so."

"You're incorrigible."

"And you love me for it."

"Maybe." She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she was going to tell him that. "Your friends just came out. Shall we sneak back inside to get something to prank them with?"

"Was I that obvious?"

"To everyone but your pal Weasley, yes."

When they went back in, Harry considered getting something called Frog Spawn Soap, but Pansy suggested that most of the guys he knew didn't bathe regularly enough for that to be a good idea. They settled on Bulbadox powder, a nasty little trick that would cause boils. She was not so secretly thrilled at Harry picking something a bit more mean than she expected.

Pansy followed Harry as he hurried out to catch up with his friends. Surely, he wouldn't mind if she borrowed just a bit of the powder for her own nefarious purposes.

They had a slightly late lunch at the Three Broomsticks once the weasel's stomach started growling louder than their voices.

Professor Sprout gave her a little smile as she sat down next to Harry. The Herbology professor had been nicer than usual to the two of them, and it worried Pansy to no end. But she made no other gesture, and soon headed out of the tavern.

As they ate, Granger started a conversation asking what everyone thought of the elective classes so far. She loved Arithmancy and Runes. Seemingly everything was just _so fascinating_ to Granger. It was really too much for Pansy.

Weasley didn't like Divination and complained mightily about it. Even the bookworm had trouble coming up with anything good to say about the class. Harry smirked at Pansy and told her how glad he was that they weren't wasting their _time_ with that class. Granger frowned as he glanced at her.

Pansy wasn't that impressed with any of them yet, but Harry was really loving Runes. Since he had such fun practical experience with them, he had taken to reading a lot more about them.

In fact, when they went to the bookstore that afternoon, Harry bought two books about runes. One of them focused specifically on warding, and Pansy hoped he would find everything they might need to know about defending whatever place they chose to call home in the future. Part of that process might have to wait till the summer though, as Harry had inherited several properties and wanted her input on deciding what to do with any of them.

Granger bought a stack of books just as expected.

They swung back by Honeyduke's at the end of the day, and Harry bought Pansy even more chocolate. So, maybe he wasn't in as much trouble. He even bought chocolate bars for Granger and the Weasley girl. Pansy wasn't as pleased by that, but she knew why Harry was trying to keep an eye on her after what she had been through last year. Pansy understood, logically, why he needed to make sure his best friend's little sister didn't have any further problems after being possessed by the Dark Lord's old diary. That was kind of funny in and of itself. _The Dark Lord's Diary._

_'Dear Diary, today I decided to intimidate a bunch of brainless purebloods into following me on my quest for power. They will, of course, all pay for everything as I grew up in a muggle orphanage. Also, I hate my daddy because he was a muggle. I hate everyone else just because I'm kind of a prick. Also, I totally love purebloods. But if they don't support my special brand of idiocy, then they are blood traitors! That's right, I get to decide who is the right kind of pureblood. Not that I am one, but, shh, don't tell anybody that.'_

It made Pansy wonder a bit at why so many people like her father would bow to that maniac.

She was brought out of her musings by an interesting sight.

Just across the road, Narcissa Malfoy was approaching her son.

* * *

Harry's day had been at times frustrating (the lack of sexy shower time with Pansy), at times a lot of fun (exploring the shops of Hogsmeade), and at times just confusing- as tall as Ron was, he had to have at least started puberty. So why did he still have such an attitude about girls? He was pretty sure that he'd seen Ron checking out Lavender's cleavage earlier, but then he nearly threw a fit about riding in the carriage with her. It made no sense to Harry. As a horny teenage guy, he would gladly be around as many girls as possible. Not that Pansy needed to hear that little particular thought, especially not with her mood today.

Despite that surliness, Harry was definitely in love with her. He didn't mind how she teased him, and he hoped that she enjoyed it in a similar way. Grumpy Pansy was still Pansy. He was even amused by her insulting comments about his friends at times, especially when Ron and Hermione started arguing about their pets. Which was often lately. Ron's useless lazy rat that probably pissed everywhere and Hermione's ugly fat cat that seemed to get under foot or in your way at all the most annoying times. That was probably a metaphor, if Harry really wanted to think about it.

Harry put all of these thoughts away as he saw Draco and his mother. _This_ could make today so much better.

He didn't notice the looks on the faces behind him as he walked across the road towards the Malfoys. He would have seen Ron's disgust and Hermione's slight annoyance. And he might have been a bit afraid of the wheels clearly spinning as Pansy began scheming a new plot.

"Greetings, Lady Malfoy," he said pleasantly. Draco scowled as Narcissa turned around and favored him with a smile.

"Lord Potter, what a pleasure."

"I hope you've been well since we last met." Man, he really loved the sheer loathing on Draco's face right now. His mother's amusement was pretty lovely too.

"I have no complaints. I heard from Draco that you have a new member of your house," she said with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Hello, Pansy. I trust Lord Potter is treating you well?"

"My Lord is most gracious, Lady Malfoy."

"I'm glad to hear it. I haven't heard from Dahlia in some time. I hope she's not taking it too hard." Harry thought once again of Leddy's warning and wondered if he might be able to contact her.

Pansy's expression barely flinched. "I have not heard from her, but I assume she's dealing with it to the best of her ability."

Harry didn't miss the flat manner of her speech. He knew it must have been a bit hard for her not to be more sarcastic and full of scorn. She had told him that her mother was probably just drinking her days away as usual. Harry thought that Pansy might have been too hard on her, that maybe she did miss her daughter. But she could just have easily been right. It's not like Harry had much experience with Dahlia Parkinson.

He was worried about which might be harder on Pansy in the long run- if her mother did miss her once she was gone, or if she didn't truly care.

"That's too bad, my dear. I hope you are able to speak with her soon, even if you are no longer a part of House Parkinson."

"Perhaps, Lady Malfoy," Pansy said with a neutral tone.

"May I ask what you are doing here, milady?" Harry asked, getting the attention away from Pansy.

"You may. I decided that Draco could use a little mother-son bonding time, so I came to bring him home for the evening."

"I wasn't aware that was something parents could do, but I wish you all the best in your endeavor. I'm sure Draco could use a mother's guidance and wisdom. They say that adolescence is one of the most trying times in life."

"Indeed. You seem to be coping admirably with your own trying times." There was that smile again. It might have just been in his head, but it seemed like Narcissa enjoyed flirting with him just as much as he did. "You certainly seem well enough, and I imagine a backlog of years of correspondence would be difficult to deal with for anyone. Not to mention what I've heard of your solicitor's heavy business."

"That's true, milady. House Potter has had a lot of catching up to do, but we'll work at it till the job is done."

"I am glad to hear it."

"Mother," Draco huffed, trying to draw her attention away from Harry.

"It seems your son needs your attention, so I should let you go. A pleasure as always, Lady Malfoy." She offered her hand, and he took it graciously. It was just as soft as he'd remembered, and as he leaned over, she raised her hand so that he kissed her knuckles.

"Farewell, Lord Potter," she said with a hint of a smile as she turned away. Harry barely noticed Draco's sneer before he followed after her.

* * *

His friends were mostly quiet until they were in a carriage riding back to the school.

"Now that I've seen it, I'm actually a little more amazed at you flirting with Draco's mother, Harry."

"A gentleman should always treat a lady with respect, Hermione."

"I've noticed that you smirk a lot more since you've become such a _gentleman_."

Pansy snorted at that. Harry thought he probably did it a lot more because of her to be honest.

"I don't get how you can do that, mate."

"Why?"

"She's a Malfoy!"

"Well, she wasn't born that way," Harry chuckled. "Everyone makes mistakes. I think hers might have been her choice of husband."

"That's not a mistake, that's a catastrophe," Pansy added.

"True, which is why I should be courteous. It would be rude to add insult to injury." 'Especially to a beautiful woman,' he added only in his mind.

Pansy looked at him skeptically. Surely she couldn't have heard his thoughts? He stared back at her, refusing to flinch from her glare. 'I bought you tons of chocolate even though I didn't get to share a shower.'

She didn't seem to read _that_ from his mind.


	22. Practice, Innuendo, and Confrontation

* * *

"Harry!

"Yes! Faster!

"Yes, oh yes!

"Ow... oh, no, no, stop," she gasped as Harry lifted up his head.

"What's wrong?" He had a slight smile on his face, and just a hint of red on his lips. She loved him even more then. This didn't disgust him- _she_ didn't disgust him. But he also loved her and respected her. She said stop and he stopped. She knew that he could use their bond to force her to do probably anything he wanted. In spite of this, he always listened to her and almost always did as she asked. And really, when they got up later than she might have wanted, it wasn't because she wasn't having fun. Harry was right- starting the day off in a good mood made everything better.

She got her thoughts in order as the pain faded and her heavy breathing slowed.

"It was nice, but..."

"But?" He smiled at her as his hand was caressing her stomach.

She could feel her blush. Why did he have to be so damn good at this?

"Pansy... are you _embarrassed?_ " He asked in a faux whisper, and she wanted to glare at him, she really did.

"I told you this was going to be a bad idea."

'It didn't seem like it to me."

"Well, it wasn't at first. When my orgasm hit, it triggered a cramp." There he was smiling at her again. Then he just had to go and kiss her navel, and despite her annoyance, she felt like purring.

"I'm sorry."

"Men are supposed to find that gross."

"A little blood? Pshh, those men clearly aren't made of very stern stuff." She groaned while he chuckled.

"Harry, I love you, I really do, but let's just wait another day or so before next time."

"If you insist, milady."

'Part of me does, at least.' Another part of her, though, was thrilled that he wanted her seemingly all the time.

"But I insist that we spend a majority of next weekend in the shower."

He really was incorrigible.

* * *

Hermione had finally agreed on a night to set aside all of her other work to join Harry and Pansy as they worked on the Patronus Charm. They stopped at an empty class room after dinner one night, and Hermione immediately pulled out a book, quill, and parchment. Harry and Pansy only had their wands with them.

"Alright, Hermione, it looks like you decided to read up," he said with a grin. "I assume you know the basic idea. Wand movement isn't important. The incantation is _Expecto Patronum_. But the most important thing is the emotion behind this spell. A Patronus feeds off a positive memory. And the memory needs to be strong. Deep. Significant."

Hermione was taking notes about what he said and Harry had to smile.

"I'm not going to ask for an essay on this, so you might as well just grab your wand and give it a go."

"That's it?"

"I'm much more of a practical, hands on teacher."

Pansy smirked to herself. Sometimes it was harder to get his hands off of her long enough to cast the spell when they practiced. Of course, she had plenty of positive memories now and was able to consistently conjure a misty shield. Her guardian was still to come, and while it was usually some sort of creature, she thought that hers might end up being a wizard with messy hair and intense eyes.

Hermione stood and walked to the middle of the room. In a firm voice, she said, " _Expecto Patronum._ "

A bit of white mist came out, but the spell quickly faded.

"That's a good start," Harry said as his friend looked discouraged.

"Barely anything came out."

"This is a very advanced spell you want to learn. You can't expect to get it perfect immediately."

"Yours was more powerful than that on the train."

"I also had been practicing the spell for about three weeks by then."

"Yes, but you were able to force the Dementor back."

"Hermione, this isn't a contest. I'm not here to grade you on how quickly you learn the spell. Just relax.

"Take a deep breath.

"And try again."

Hermione cast the spell again, and the light was a bit brighter, but once again, she was unable to hold it for more than a couple of seconds.

"That's good."

"It didn't seem very good to me," Hermione grumbled.

"Hermione, this is a really hard spell. If you want to get better, you just have to practice it a lot. The more you do it, the longer you'll last and the more powerful it will feel."

"That's all there is to it?"

"You didn't really think I was going to tell you to read half a dozen different books to learn the theory, did you?"

"I expected a bit more than just being told the basics and then repetition." She looked a bit put out to Harry, and he frowned at her for a second. Obviously, he and his friend learned this sort of thing very differently.

"If you want a bit more advice, I'd recommend trying to use different memories. Find one that feels particularly strong and the spell should feel more powerful as well. Don't be afraid to use a whole bunch of them."

"What do you mean?"

"As logical as you are, I'd guess you would probably focus on one or two that might seem like the most significant to your mind. You need to turn that part of your brain off and follow your heart. Emotions aren't logical."

Pansy watched as Hermione tried again. Harry had admitted to her that he was thinking of snogging her when he tried to fight off the Dementor, but the next time he tried practicing the spell, he found it was much more powerful when he thought of the joy and relief of boarding the train with her. She had some of her own best luck when she thought of seeing Harry's arms outstretched as he caught her. It was no surprise that both cases focused on the two of them being together.

The third time, Hermione's spell faltered even faster than the second.

Harry noticed she seemed a bit dejected, so he quickly told her, "Good work." When she looked at him ready to scoff, he asked, "That was a different memory, wasn't it?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Good, then it seemed that one didn't work as well. Put it aside and try another."

Hermione tried a couple more memories with similar results before Harry called for a stop. By then, she was sweating and panting a bit.

"Alright, that's good for now. This brings me to my final two things for you to learn tonight. First, this spell takes a lot out of you, so don't try to cast it over and over too many times or you will feel very drained. Second, don't practice this alone. If you overdo it, you're likely to cause yourself to pass out. I learned that the hard way."

* * *

Granger didn't pass out, but she did end up riding piggyback on Harry the last couple of floors up to the Gryffindor tower. He was amused by it. Pansy had to carry the other girl's bag and was feeling pretty annoyed. Did she really need to lug around half a dozen books with her on a day when she had only three classes?

When they reached the common room, Harry marched in cheerfully still carrying his passenger. This earned more than a few laughs. When he carefully set her down and they saw how sweaty and tired she was, people were giving her interested looks. Then Harry, of course, had to make things worse.

"Hermione, you look terrible. What have you and Harry been doing tonight?" Ron asked. Harry noticed that Pansy was once again overlooked.

"I was giving her some private tutoring," Harry said with a cheeky grin. He got a whistle in response. "It was a very hands on lesson."

Fred and George started throwing out rude remarks. Hermione was too tired to argue, especially over how loud it got.

"I had to help her find a _very_ happy memory." There were more laughs. She groaned, but even more than she wanted to stop him, she just needed to sleep.

"I think I might have worn her out."

Thankfully for Harry, Hermione was starting to doze off.

He walked across the room to where Parvati and Lavender were giggling at his antics.

"Excuse me fair ladies, might I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course, good sir," Parvati answered all too quickly, her eyes smiling.

"Dear Hermione needs help getting up to bed. As it seems I am not allowed to carry her up there myself, I was hoping that you would be able to lend a hand."

"I suppose we must. If we left her down here, who knows what you might do to her while she sleeps."

Several people laughed at the Indian girl's comment, but Pansy was watching her intently.

"I assure you, milady, that I am a gentleman."

"Are you really?" Parvati held out her hand. As Harry leaned over and kissed it, Pansy saw the flush come over her. This would not do, _not at all_.

Pansy looked around the room at various reactions. The sound all dimmed out for her as her mind focused on her targets. The weasel was red and looking more than a bit angry. His jealousy was going through the roof, although whether that had to do with the exhausted bookworm or merely with Harry's ability to flirt with girls was hard to tell. His sister had looked hurt that Harry might have been paying that sort of attention to Granger but now was staring daggers at Patil. Brown looked amused but there was a hint that she wished she had thought to engage Harry in playful banter first.

Patil, though, was the primary target. The girl was far too attractive and far too pleased with herself for flirting with Harry. She took his arm and walked across the room, loving the attention from the room, but mostly from Harry. Pansy knew he wasn't really interested in her, but she was not willing to let even a crack form that might cause her problems in the future.

Moments later, after Granger was led upstairs, Pansy went into their private quarters. She heard Harry following her while people were still joking in the background. Once the door was closed, she grabbed him and took him directly to the bedroom.

She spent the next couple of hours taking her frustration and jealousy out on him. All told, it was a truly wonderful night for Harry.

* * *

The next morning, both Weasley and Granger were late for breakfast. This left Harry and Pansy sitting alone for once. Their quiet meal was soon interrupted though, as Parvati and Lavender came bouncing down the aisle with mischievous looks on their faces.

"Harry, do you mind if we borrow Pansy for a bit? Pretty please?" Parvati asked with her eyelashes all a flutter.

"Umm..."

"It's nothing serious, we just need her for a bit of girl talk," Lavender added.

He looked past them at Pansy, who rolled her eyes but dismissed him with a motion of her hand. Harry actually felt a little lost at having to separate from her.

"I guess I'll just go talk to Neville then."

As he walked away, he already could hear whispered voices and giggles. It was the strangest thing, but for some reason the sounds from the three teenage girls were a bit frightening.

"Hey, Neville, mind if I join you?"

"Sure Harry. Why aren't you sitting with Pansy?"

"Girl talk, apparently."

"What does that even mean?"

"Nev, if I ever find out, I'll let you know."

"Okay, umm..." Neville looked unsure of something. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What happened to Hermione last night?"

"Oh, that. She wanted me to try to teach her the Patronus Charm."

"What's that?'

"It's the spell used to drive off the Dementors."

"You mean like what you used on the train?"

"Exactly."

"Why did she pass out?"

"It's a pretty advanced spell and it can take a lot out of you. I thought I had stopped Hermione from practicing it too much, but I guess not."

"Oh. People were talking and joking about, you know...

"That you two were doing something else."

Harry laughed.

"No, no, nothing like that."

"But, you were saying last night..."

"I was just goofing around," Harry said as he shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, Hermione's cute and all, but she's not my type. Besides, she's my best friend. I don't think she''d be safer with any other guy in the school than me."

"I understand," Neville nodded and Harry started to wonder.

"So, Neville, let me ask you something.

"Why are you so interested in whether or not I left Hermione's virtue intact?" Neville grew pale as Harry's eyes looked at him fiercely.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"So, Pansy, we were wondering..." Parvati began.

"Since you are Harry's shadow," Lavender said, unable to stifle a giggle.

"Just what happened last night? And more specifically, what did he do to Hermione?" Parvati looked absolutely ravenous for this information.

"You expect me to spill all of my Lord's secrets?" Pansy said with disdain trying to mask her amusement.

"Well, after what he hinted, is it really a secret?"

"Tell you what, ladies," Pansy couldn't help but smirk. These two gossips were pretty fun sometimes. "Let me hear the theories already going around first and I may be persuaded into spilling the beans."

"Ooh, great," Lavender said with a squeal of delight. "Well, one idea is that Harry had his way with her and he was simply too much man for her."

"And look at him," Parvati said, with a longing glance down the table at Harry. "He's definitely too much for Hermione."

'Too much for you too, bitch,' Pansy thought.

"Right, but you were there too," Lavender continued. "So maybe both of you had your way with her."

Pansy raised an eyebrow at that. She was not considering any threesomes, Harry was _hers_ dammit. But if she ever did, she would certainly pick someone of much higher quality than _Granger_. Ugh.

"Anyway, I don't like either of those ideas," Parvati said. "Everyone knows Harry and she are best friends. I think maybe she's starting to realize that her appearance is not the best. She is too proud and stuck up to come to us girls, so she went to Harry to have him help her get in shape. You know, shed the baby fat so she could start trying to turn some poor boy's head.

"But if she really wants to do that, she should really come to us, because her hair, the way she dresses, really, everything just needs so much work."

At times, Pansy really wanted to hate Patil, but in this case, she was absolutely right. Pansy pitied whatever guy might end up dating the uptight bookworm.

"That does sound reasonable, actually," Pansy said. Parvati looked gleeful and Pansy put a stop to that immediately. "Too bad it's not correct, though."

"Oh, well..."

"I told you that wasn't it," Lavender replied. "It's more fun to come up with wild ideas anyway. The gossip is so much better if people think Harry is a stud and Hermione is secretly a total slag for him. They say it's always the quiet ones, you know."

Lavender laughed and Pansy joined her.

"Fine, then," Parvati huffed. " _Lavender's_ favorite theory is that Hermione was auditioning for Harry's harem."

Her friend looked scandalized that she would reveal this.

"And since you are already a member, Hermione had to measure up to whatever Harry's standards might be. Or be willing to do just as much, if not more, than you are," Parvati finished and looked critically at Pansy.

"Then why would only Granger be sweaty and worn out?" Pansy asked, not liking the way she was being looked at suddenly.

"Strip tease," Lavender answered.

"What?"

"Harry made her do a strip tease. You know, a sexy dance where she takes all her clothes off," Lavender said.

'That could actually be pretty fun,' Pansy thought. The other two girls looked a bit flushed, and Pansy sadly realized that they were both probably thinking of taking their clothes off for Harry too.

"Sorry to disappoint you girls, but thankfully for me, I did not have to see Granger naked last night."

"Oh." They both did actually looked disappointed at that.

"So, no harem then?"

"No."

"But, you'll tell us if he does start one, right?"

* * *

Several nights later, Hermione talked Harry into a second practice session for the Patronus Charm. He chose a class room much closer to the Gryffindor common room and had her stop quicker than he had previously. Thankfully, this time Hermione required no assistance getting back to the common room or the girls' dorm. She still looked sweaty and tired though, and Harry noticed more than a few snickers as they came back that night.

Once he and Pansy turned in for the night, he asked her about it.

"Please tell me you set them straight about the Patronus practice?"

"Now where would the fun be in that?"

Harry groaned.

"Just so you know, I told Neville exactly what happened that morning."

"You're no fun sometimes."

"I don't need Hermione getting mad at me for people gossiping about me taking advantage of her."

"Look, Harry, if I'm going to have to be around Granger, then you're going to have to let me get her to loosen up. She could do a lot worse than people thinking that she's secretly getting snogged by the great boy who lived. Hell, people could think she does something like that with Weasley when you're not around.

"And let me tell you, _that_ would do some serious damage to her reputation."

"Please, don't make me imagine that," Harry whined.

"Why not? Jealous?"

"No, come on," Harry looked down at her and saw that she was clearly enjoying this. "They may be two of my best friends, but that doesn't make me an idiot. They argue all the time, and not in a cute way either. They would make a terrible couple. The only question would be whether Ron would make her cry or punch him first."

"That's true," Pansy said as she rubbed her head against his chest, trying to get more comfortable. He responded appropriately, by wrapping an arm around her. It was so easy to get Harry trained just right.

"Just to take my mind off that terrible image, I've actually got a little gossip for you."

"Really? That's surprising. You haven't been talking to Patil and Brown while I wasn't looking, have you?"

"You're the one they borrow for girl talk, not me."

"It would be odd to see you gossiping with them."

"Yeah.

"Anyway, the interesting thing happened when I was talking to Neville. He was more than a little curious about what I was doing with Hermione. Me thinks young Mr. Longbottom might have a little crush on dear Hermione."

Pansy at first wanted to say something mean, but she held it in. Granger and the squib might actually sort of work as a couple in a gross, pitiful way. As long as she didn't have to see them doing absolutely anything physical, that is. That thought might turn her stomach. The chubby little weakling and the bossy know-it-all mess. Yuck.

But, it might get the weasel to act even worse, and that would be wonderful. One of these days, she would be rid of him.

"I guess she could use something to distract her from trying to work herself to death," she finally said in response.

"That would be nice."

"I still hope one of these days we can find the ministry's Department of Terrible Ideas."

"And blow it up?"

"With all the morons in it."

"I love you Pansy."

* * *

"Harry, would you stay behind please?"

It was October 15th and Harry was literally counting the days. Two weeks till the full moon. Pansy made him re-read from the ritual book every night before they could have fun time, but it was going to be so worth it.

Today, however was once again Defense with Lupin. He was becoming most people's favorite teacher, and Harry grudgingly admitted that the practical portions of the class were far better than the two previous years of nonsense. But he still was nothing but distant with the man, and staying after class was not going to be pleasant.

As everyone else filed out, minus Pansy of course, Harry gathered his things and tried to take a deep breath to calm himself. Thankfully, it was the end of the day, so hopefully Pansy would help him relieve the oncoming stress he could already feel building.

"What can I do for you, Professor?"

"Hermione told me that you were teaching her the Patronus Charm."

'Of course she did,' he thought.

"She asked me for advice and I offered to help tutor her on it. I wondered if you needed any help yourself. Perhaps you could show me how far you've gotten with the spell and I might be able to give you some advice, or arrange extra practice."

Normally, this would have been useful and Harry would have been thrilled to accept. But it just had to come from Lupin of all people. Only Snape would have been worse.

"No thank you, Professor."

"Come now, Harry. If you're serious about learning this spell, I would be glad to help."

"Why?"

"What do you mean? I'm your teacher, that's why." Lupin looked confused, as if he assumed Harry would jump at this opportunity.

"None of my other teachers have ever offered me extra lessons."

"Well, after the train, I thought you would be interested."

"That was a month and a half ago."

"Yes, but I didn't know you had been practicing all this time. Your practical work in my class is excellent, although your written assignments are merely mediocre. What I've heard from the other teachers is that this is typical for you. I'm curious. It seems like you could do much better in your grades. So why don't you?"

'Are you supposed to be my guidance councilor now?' Harry held his tongue at that, but it was a close call. Instead, he decided he'd had enough of this conversation.

"How well did you know my parents?"

That threw him for a loop.

"I know you went to school with them."

"Yes, I did, Harry," Lupin's voice was low. He seemed to be struggling with what to say. He eventually sat down behind his desk and let out a sigh.

"I knew them both very well. Your father was one of the best friends I ever had. He was like a brother to me. Your mother was a singularly kind and generous person. They were both outstanding people." The teacher looked sad and lost in a memory.

"Then I guess you knew me as a baby too?"

"Yes, I did. We were very close friends. It was a wonderful thing when you were born, even in such a time of darkness."

Harry saw Pansy approaching him. She could tell he was upset, and he knew she probably wanted him to stop what he was saying, but he couldn't.

"So then what happened?"

"It was a terrible loss. When your parents were killed, I..."

"You knew Sirius Black too."

"I thought I did," Lupin sighed. "First the loss of your parents, and then he killed my other friend, Peter.

"Within a day, they were all gone."

"But you weren't gone. So what happened?"

Lupin looked up at Harry, and saw his scowl. "Harry, you have to understand, I..."

"Twelve years." Harry stood, his voice full of an icy rage. "The only child of your supposed _best friends_ was left an orphan. And for twelve years, you didn't care.

"So don't pretend to care now. It's too late for that, you fucking bastard."

Harry didn't look back as he stormed out of the room. He could feel Pansy following him and a blast of angry accidental magic slammed the door shut behind them.


	23. Virgin Sacrifice

* * *

The next Defense Against the Dark Arts class was not something either Harry or Pansy was looking forward to. Harry had avoided Lupin for days, refusing to even look towards the prematurely aged teacher. Pansy had seen the professor sadly watching Harry, which was both a relief and a worry for her. She was glad he didn't seem to want to throw Harry in detention for his angry words but also knew that Harry was not interested in anything the man might want to say or do to make up for abandoning him all those years. Especially considering how miserable she knew Harry was all that time.

Harry was cringing at the thought of having to interact with Lupin at all. He knew that this wasn't over. But Harry's respect for authority or adults was dead and gone, and now he only looked at them as annoyances that he might have to avoid or counteract as need be.

They showed up at the last minute and sat in the far back of the class room. That day's lesson was on a creature called a kappa. It looked like a humanoid turtle and lived in parts of Asia. Its most notable feature was the bowl like shape on the top of its head filled with water. While it may have ordinarily been an interesting lesson, the professor's normal enthusiasm was missing.

Harry kept his head in his book and made a few scant notes. Pansy's focus was split between the actual topic and how both teacher and student were acting. Harry's anger and stubborn refusal to acknowledge his father's old friend were not surprising, but she hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to get him to set aside this mood once they were finished here. Other people noticed professor Lupin's attitude change and Pansy was dreading what might happen if news of Harry's confrontation with him got out. She could just imagine the pain of having to deal with McGonagall or Dumbledore lecturing Harry about treating Lupin with respect. God forbid, if they tried to talk him into forgiving the bastard.

Having lived most of her life without any close friends, she didn't feel anger in quite the same way that Harry did towards the man's disloyalty. However, that didn't lessen the fact that he still abandoned Harry and left him to suffer at the hands of those filthy muggles. Oh, what she wanted to do to them. Her mind was still so enraged by the thought of them that she could not yet come up with a viable plan- she skipped devious and went straight to torture. No matter how fun that might be, getting caught (and separated from Harry) made it not worth the cost.

Maybe if Lupin would slaughter the Dursleys for her, she could talk Harry into visiting him in Azkaban?

It was an amusing thought, but as the class ended, she saw Harry angrily leaving as quickly as possible. She followed him as he headed for the privacy of their quarters. He was silent the entire way but the scowl on his face said everything.

Pansy sat down her school things and threw off her outer robe.

"Oh Harry," she said in her most sultry voice. He turned to her as she began walking towards the bedroom. "I need your help getting out of all these clothes."

Harry grinned happily, dropped his bag and leapt over the couch after her. She giggled at his response. The (incredibly fun) things she did for love.

* * *

The next week, Harry was in a much better mood. It was October 29th. The full moon was tonight. He hadn't paid much attention to anything going on around him all day. When they got to Defense that afternoon, he was actually sort of pleased to see Snape for once. Not having to deal with Lupin was a nice surprise.

Of course, the grumpy bat was as rude as usual. Still, he had been basically ignoring Harry for the last month. Dumbledore must have warned him off. Harry was enjoying it while it lasted as he had no doubt the petty man would eventually slip back into his awful behavior towards him.

Hermione lost points for acting "like an insufferable know-it-all" as she tried to argue with Snape about what he was going to teach that day. Harry shook his head at that- he loved her, but Hermione never knew when to shut her mouth. Ron's temper and loud mouth got him a detention as well. Pansy rolled her eyes at his friends and Harry stifled a sigh. Snape was such a childish bastard who seemed to get off on provoking and attacking students. Whoever thought it was a good idea for someone like that to be a teacher must have been completely out of their minds.

They skipped ahead a couple of hundred pages to a lesson on werewolves, and Harry reluctantly admitted that Snape finally did teach something for the first time in his three years at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he also assigned a stupidly long essay on werewolves, focusing on how to recognize and kill them.

Reading through the material, it was obvious what Snape was up to. Of course, not everyone would have been paying attention to the phase of the moon like Harry was. He knew that Hermione would figure it out, and he wondered if Pansy would catch it too.

Harry ditched his friends before dinner by claiming he wanted to take a nap. Pansy thought he might have been serious till he sat down on the couch and asked her what she thought of Snape's werewolf lesson.

"It was certainly more interesting than his usual shout of 'instructions are on the board' and insulting everyone as he tries to get people to screw up their potions. Then again, almost anything would be a step up from that garbage. Why do you ask?"

"Did you catch the point he was trying to make about werewolves?"

"Hmm, give me a minute to think about it." Harry sat stroking her arm while waiting for her. It was more than a bit distracting but she eventually looked at him with a furrowed brow. "Today is the full moon, and Lupin is sick."

"Right."

"He was sick a month ago too. You don't think...

"Would Dumbledore really hire a werewolf?"

"Considering he already hired a fraud who stole people's memories and a man possessed by the spirit of Voldemort?"

She groaned. "If he's sick next month too, then you must be right."

"It's got to be his parents' fault anyway."

"What do you mean? Lycanthropy isn't inherited."

"I mean that they shouldn't have tempted fate like they did. Do you know the story of Romulus and Remus?"

"No."

"It's a muggle myth. I don't remember it exactly, but it goes something like this. Roughly three thousand years ago, two twin brothers were abandoned as babies in the woods. A female wolf found them and suckled them at her breast. She raised them as her own children. When they grew up, they went on to found the city that became known as Rome.

"Now add on to that the fact that lupine is the Latin word for wolf, and his name may as well be Wolfy McWolf. Fate couldn't look at something like that without being tempted to make him live up to his name."

"That's... really strange. And ridiculous."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, my Lord, I think we should take a nap now. We want to have plenty of energy tonight, don't we?"

"Absolutely!"

* * *

Harry ended up being too excited to sleep. So instead, they made sure all their preparations were ready for that night and then headed to the Great Hall for an early dinner.

* * *

Pansy was watching as Harry drew the runic circle around the bed. Times like this, it was good that he had taken such an interest in runes. She was glad to not have to do the grunt work; drawing runes hunched over the floor for half an hour was not her idea of fun.

Besides, he would want her fresh and energetic for the rest of the night anyway.

"A virgin sacrifice ritual," he chuckled to himself. "There are muggles who would rant and rave about this 'evil' sort of witchcraft. That it was all the devil's work and we would burn in hell for our sins. The Dursleys might drop dead from the _freakishness_."

Pansy noticed that he was in such a good mood that mentioning his awful relatives didn't faze Harry.

"There are a number of rituals that use the blood of a virgin for power. Most of them are pretty dark, as far as I know. This is one of the few that isn't. Like I told you Harry, there is power in the old pagan ideas. The gift of my virginity, the blood sacrificed, will tie us together and strengthen our magic. I'm probably getting the better end of the bargain actually."

"How so?"

"If you haven't noticed, your magic is more powerful than anyone else in our class."

"I guess you're right. I haven't paid that much attention to how I compare to others."

"I'm not surprised by that," she snorted. "Look at it this way, Harry. We aren't even supposed to learn the summoning spell until next year. You learned it this summer. Then you learned how to do it wandlessly and silently. I'm not sure if any of the seventh years can do that.

"The ritual is supposed to increase our magical power, but I'm not sure just how much of an increase either of us may get. Most theorize that it is a proportional increase. For instance, I might gain half as much power as you have and you might gain the same from me. But there is still some argument between arithmancy scholars over the exact details."

"So, Pansy, how widely known is this ritual anyway?"

"Hmm, I would guess it is fairly common, to most purebloods at least. From what I know, most pureblood girls are taught to save themselves for marriage for just such a purpose. It wouldn't do to help increase a wizard's power only for the wizard to cast them aside. Especially since the witch can lose the benefit."

"That part of it isn't very fair."

"Life isn't fair," she replied. "I don't know why you would expect magic to be any different. Besides, it was probably a wizard who came up with it."

"True enough."

"Regardless, that is why it is usually done only once a couple is bonded and committed to one another. It's one of the reasons that divorce and annulment are so rare in the magical world, or at least the pureblood part of the magical world.

"Now that I think of it, this might be part of the reason for some of the bigotry against muggleborns, and half-bloods too to some extent."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, those not raised in the magical world wouldn't know about something like this. It's not a secret that witches who aren't purebloods are much more likely to have sex outside of marriage."

"I guess the magical world hasn't had the sexual revolution that happened in the muggle world."

"No, what is that?"

"About thirty years ago or so, sex slowly became much less taboo. Sex outside of marriage, for one thing; homosexuality, bisexuality, and whatnot too. The seventies were a decade of hedonism- narcotic drugs lowered people's inhibitions- and more people started having a lot more sex. Swingers clubs, for example; couples would go to a party and trade partners.

"The AIDS scare of the eighties put a damper on things, but the idea of sex being less hidden away stuck around."

"Right, anyway... since a witch that is no longer a virgin would not be able to do this ritual, that sort of witch would be a much less attractive choice as a bride. A pureblood wizard would basically be giving up a chance at greatly increasing his magical power."

"So, why wouldn't people just tell all the witches about this to keep promiscuity down? For example, I doubt the staff of Hogwarts wants to deal with a bunch of teenagers having sex here."

"Some do find out, especially if they have good friends among the purebloods. But others are excluded if they don't. Besides, it makes sense to cut down on the competition. If Granger and I were competing for your affection, do you think I would tell her about this? Hell no."

"Well, you definitely don't have to worry about that." Harry paused and looked up. Pansy could tell that he was almost done with the runes. "I hope you don't mind, but some day, I probably will tell Hermione about this. She should know before she has sex."

"As long as you aren't planning on actually doing the ritual with her, I don't care."

"Ha! No chance. Hermione is so not my type."

"I'm slightly surprised you don't think she's attractive."

"It's not about her looks. I mean her personality isn't my type. She's a good friend, but can you imagine me dating her?"

"Not unless you want me to vomit."

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "My point was that Hermione would drive me nuts. She's a good enough friend that I can recognize her flaws, and more importantly, I can see how they would clash with my own. She is stubborn and pushy and I am far too independent to put up with that. It would not work."

"Good, then she can stay firmly in the friend only category."

"I think everyone else can stay in the friend only category."

"That's what I want to hear."

"Pansy, you really don't need to be jealous, especially not tonight. I love you, and we're going to have sex. There is no way in hell any other girls are going to be on my mind."

"Good," she knelt down next to him and kissed him. "Let's keep it that way."

"Sounds like a plan."

"How soon till you're finished?"

"Just a minute or so."

"I'll get everything else ready while you do that."

* * *

Soon, Harry got up from the floor after double checking his work. The tray with bowl, blade, and quill were back again.

"This part of the ritual should be simpler this time."

"And you've had a lot more practice with the runes."

"Yes. Are you ready?"

"Of course. You're the one still fully dressed, Harry." She was clad only in that flimsy silk robe again, smiling at him coquettishly. Harry quickly stripped, causing Pansy to chuckle at him. In a flash, he was sitting on the bed in front of her as she set the tray on his lap. Once again, she slashed at his palm and he bled into the bowl before trading places and repeating the process. As soon as they were finished, Harry set the tray aside.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, while his right hand slid down her back to the bottom of her robe then underneath it and squeezed her bum. She growled into his mouth and ran her fingernails down his back. He stepped back briefly to undo the tie on her robe and let it slide to the floor. They climbed onto the bed together while still kissing, neither willing to let go of the other. As usual, Harry's hands could not get enough of her, one caressing her breast as the other slid down between her legs.

Pansy grabbed his wrist, although she was torn between making him stop or making him finish what he had started.

"The runes, Harry," she finally was able to moan. "Quickly."

"Right," he said as he sat back from her. She stretched out in front of him while he grabbed the tray. He dipped the quill into their blood and traced the runes just below her navel as Pansy moaned. She shivered briefly and he hoped that she wouldn't need to do that again for a few moments. Then he shifted lower and was delighted at the sight of her legs splayed out before him. He stifled his desires with a deep breath and, as calmly as he could, began to draw runes once again around her glistening sex. He felt like a part of his brain was shut off and he focused what was left on the magic, the blood, and the runes.

Thankfully, it took him only a few strokes before he was done. Then he took in the sight before him, her body slightly quivering with anticipation, her labia only inches from his face and the delicious pink within. He kissed and sucked at her slit, drawing another moan from Pansy. She was already wet as he began to lick her and he felt his own excitement as his erection twitched of its own accord. His lips moved up and down as her legs wrapped and squeezed around his neck. When he felt her hands grabbing his hair, he moved up to her clit and licked and suckled on it until her orgasm hit. He didn't stop until her moans of pleasure and _yes, yes, yes_ finally abated.

Her legs relaxed and he lifted them off his shoulders and then Harry climbed up the bed till he was directly over her. Her eyes fluttered open as Pansy felt him above her.

"If any other witches learn how good you are at that, I'll have to hex them by the dozens to keep them away from you."

"Practice makes perfect. Aren't you glad how often I practice?"

"Ohhh, yes," she said as she pulled him down to her for a kiss. "I'm ready, Harry."

He nodded and returned her kiss. Harry sat back and moved himself into position. Pansy reached down and spread herself open to him. He placed his cock right against her lower lips and looked down for a moment. She was glorious and she was about to become his. He wanted to burn this into his mind forever.

"Slowly at first," Pansy whispered and he heard her take a deep breath. He pushed inside of her and was instantly glad he was taking this slowly. Otherwise, he would be ready to burst as she felt so warm, so tight, and so incredibly wonderful. As much as he liked it when she sucked him off, it did not compare to this.

He soon reached her barrier and her whole body tensed.

"Give me a second, Harry."

"Tell me when." She nodded in response and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Okay, do it."

He pulled back slightly and pushed harder. She hissed as her hymen broke and he paused. She felt even tighter to him just then, and a few more strokes would have sent him over the edge.

As Pansy moaned softly, Harry felt a warmth spreading throughout his own body. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he felt as if a soft breeze blew all around him. The ritual was working.

"It feels wonderful, so wonderful," Pansy whispered. Harry bent down and kissed her. She responded by pulling him close and attacking his mouth with her tongue. He pulled back and pushed into her again, deeper, harder this time. She moaned into his mouth. He thrust into her again and again, deeper, harder, building up speed. Her right hand grasped his hair and held on while her left clawed at his shoulder blade, pulling him into her closer, closer, as close as she could. Her legs were wrapped tight around him, her heels hooked behind his thighs, drawing him in even more.

Harry could feel his oncoming release. The magic in the air seemed to magnify everything. His heart was hammering in his chest. He leaned down and sucked at her right breast while he cupped the other with his hand.

"Yes, Harry, oh yes," she whimpered. Pansy felt even tighter now as her arms wrapped around him. His thrusts were becoming frantic. Her walls were squeezing him, and as they pulsed, he realized she was cumming. It sent him over the edge, and Harry spurted over and over inside her as Pansy's orgasm squeezed every drop from him.

Drained and out of breath, Harry was barely able to keep from collapsing on top of her. He was gasping for breath, and he could feel her chest rising and falling against his just as fast.

"That was amazing," he said before kissing her her breasts again and slowly moving back up. Her eyes were closed, but the smile on Pansy's face was sheer bliss.

"Yes, it was," she agreed. He kissed her lips softly and she looked up at him. "My God, Harry. I can't believe how good that was."

"I know. That was the best orgasm I've ever had."

"I wonder..." Pansy took a couple of breaths. "Maybe between the rituals and my bond to you, everything sort of spiked the feelings up to more, more than what... ummm..."

"More than what would have been the usual. I think it was something like that. I felt the ritual take effect just after your hymen broke. It was like magic spread this warmth all through my body."

"I felt that too. Then it was like goose pimples, and it was..." Pansy shivered against him and Harry felt himself, still somewhat hard within her, twitch in response. She chuckled and Harry felt her breasts move against his chest. "Mmmm, that felt good."

"Everything feels good right now," he answered and leaned back down to suckle at her breasts again.

"That's nice," she said as her hands stroked through his hair, cradling his head to her bosom. He agreed with his tongue and fingertips and the briefest of nods which made Pansy just purr in reply.

"You'll have to pull out of me one of these days though," she eventually managed to say. Harry's erection finally gave up and he slid from her a moment later.

He laid beside her and caressed her stomach with his right hand. Pansy snuggled into his side and he wrapped his left arm around her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "There's a dull ache but it's pretty minor compared to what I expected."

"Maybe the magic helped that as well."

"Then magic is definitely the greatest thing in the world."

"I don't think so. Sex is the greatest thing in the world. Magic just made it better."

"A lot better."

"Fine, a lot better," he huffed. "No other time has magic ever felt anywhere near as powerful or wonderful as that though. At least it hasn't to me. So I still say sex wins."

"Oh my, what a shock. The teenage guy thinks sex is the best thing in the world," she snorted.

"In this case, I'm happy to live down to your expectations."

They rested in a peaceful silence for a few minutes.

"So...

"Want to do it again?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a few people have commented on the early age at which they are exploring their sexuality. In my experience, most of the people I knew as a teenager started anywhere from 13 to 15. Harry & Pansy are on the early side for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is that they don't have the obstacles that most people would- no parents to worry about, a lot more privacy, no peer pressure telling them to wait- along side the fact that their childhoods have left them desperately jumping into the deep end at the first sign of someone actually showing them love.
> 
> The discussion around the ritual used in this chapter was my attempt at showing a valid reason for purebloods to dislike muggleborns and those who don't follow magical traditions. Far too often, everything pureblood is just evil and wrong in all ways, which to me is really lazy and frankly, boring. Also, I tried to give a good reason for magical divorce to be rare without using the cop out of magic making it permanent forcefully. Especially since divorce is a British invention over 400 years old, making it impossible doesn't work for me.
> 
> Since magical society is a century or more behind the muggle world though, it should be pretty uncommon.


	24. Halloween

* * *

The next morning, they both had to force themselves to get out of bed and go to classes. Harry would have been happy to spend the next month or two having sex. There was nothing at Hogwarts that interested him nearly as much as enjoying Pansy.

However, she was a tiny bit sore and had to walk a little slower that day. She probably shouldn't have let him talk her into a round two or three. And round four was definitely a mistake. It had all felt so amazing last night, though. Still, she had never had anything inside her like that, and Harry was larger than average from what she had learned. Which was just another thing she didn't want any other witches finding out. Pansy felt the need to be extra guarded- she didn't want to tip off Patil and Brown, who both seemed to have special instincts for sniffing out gossip.

Needless to say, they were both pretty distracted throughout their classes that day.

And with Halloween being only a day away, Harry was thinking even less about his classes. He stopped by McGonagall's office that afternoon.

"Professor, may we come in?" he asked when she answered her door.

"Certainly, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you," he answered as Pansy followed him inside and sat in a chair in front of her desk. "I recently discovered a few things regarding the rules."

"Oh, such as?"

"Well, I learned that adults can take their children home over the weekend."

"Provided the staff has been made aware, yes that is true."

"And students of age can have similar leave."

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"Then, as I am legally considered of age, I wanted to let you know that I am planning on a trip away from the school tomorrow, and as Pansy's guardian, I will be taking her with me."

"May I ask just what sort of trip are you taking this weekend? This is unexpected and a bit sudden."

Harry could see the reluctance of the stern teacher. The rules were clearly on his side, so why did she not want to let him go?

"You do know what tomorrow is, professor."

"Halloween." After a moment's pause, she paled a bit and her expression softened.

"I did not learn how my parents died until two years ago, nor that it happened on Halloween. I did not know where they were buried, and I have never been to their graves. The muggles I grew up with told me nothing but lies about them."

"I told Dumbledore they were the worst sort of muggles," McGonagall said with a shake of her head. "I tried to talk him into taking you somewhere else all those years ago."

"You should have tried harder." She did not miss the tone of his voice. "Regardless, I intend to go to Godric's Hollow tomorrow. Halloween has been bad luck here at Hogwarts for me, between the troll attack and the Chamber of Secrets opening. I think it might be for the best if I give it a miss this year."

"I understand, Mr. Potter. If I had known you'd never been, I would have gladly taken you years ago. But do be careful. There is a killer on the loose after all."

"True, but if Black is supposedly headed to Hogwarts, then any other place should be safer than here. Not to mention being away from the dementors."

"Yes, I heard about your encounter on the train."

"Then I hope you'll be on your guard in the future, professor McGonagall. Those monsters have already tried to attack students once, don't be surprised when they try again."

"Quite, Mr. Potter," she agreed with a sigh. "I assume you will leave via Hogsmeade with the rest of your class?"

"That seems like the easiest way, professor."

"Very well. I wish you the best for your trip. Be sure to return Sunday before curfew."

* * *

Harry was lost in thought for most of dinner when he wasn't being distracted by conversations with his friends. Pansy, however, noticed McGonagall speaking to Dumbledore at the head table, followed by the headmaster looking over at Harry. 'What was the old man up to now?' she wondered.

* * *

Pansy was worried that night about Harry. She knew that going to his parents graves for the first time would be hard on him, but she wasn't sure how he would react. He'd told her of his frustration at how little he knew of them and how the teachers such as McGonagall and Flitwick seemed unwilling to talk to Harry about them. Sadly, Lupin would probably be the best bet to learn about the Potters, but Harry wanted nothing to do with _the traitor_ as he called him.

Her cramps began that night and were much lighter even than the previous two months. That was a small blessing, but she still didn't feel well enough to have sex with Harry, which was unfortunate. It would have certainly helped his mood. Not to mention relieving some stress for both of them. And, well, it would have just been a lot of fun also.

* * *

Halloween came and they made their way down to eat breakfast as Harry's pensive mood remained.

"Hey, Hermione, Ron, I wanted to let you know that we're leaving from Hogsmeade for the day."

"What do you mean?" Granger of course wanted to know Harry's personal business. It was possibly the main thing that Pansy disliked about her.

"After finding out about Malfoy spending part of the weekend with his mother, I discovered that I had the same ability due to being emancipated. As it is the anniversary of my parents' murder, I'm going to visit their graves."

"Oh, Harry," she leaned over to hug him and Pansy scowled. "I wish I could go with you."

"I'll have Pansy with me," he answered quietly.

"Will it be a long trip?"

"Not with the help of magic. We won't be back until tomorrow though."

"But mate, you'll miss the Halloween feast."

Of course the weasel and his stomach were thinking only of food. Pansy could not be more disgusted by the boy and his crass insensitivity.

"That's kind of the idea Ron."

"But why do you want to miss the feast?"

"Well, think of the last two feasts. First we had the troll attack, then we had the chamber's opening. Halloween is bad luck for me."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Besides, Ronald, Harry might not feel up to something like that after visiting the grave of his parents," Granger hissed. She was annoyed by the oblivious ginger and Pansy smiled for once at the bookworm. "Do be careful, Harry. Sirius Black is out there somewhere, after all."

"True, but according to the paper, he's supposed to be trying to head here to Hogwarts. That means that anywhere else should actually be safer. Not to mention not having to be around those damn dementors. So really, I should be warning the two of you to take care.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you both know, as I won't be at Hogsmeade for very long today."

* * *

Almost all of the teachers were watching as Harry left the Great Hall that day. His trip to Godric's Hollow stirred their memories. Many of them had lost loved ones to the Death Eaters. Several of them had taught James and Lily Potter, and the couple had been well loved by their teachers.

Minerva had been both saddened and alarmed to find out that Harry had never been to their graves and thought again of his comment that she should have tried harder to talk Albus out of leaving him with the muggles. There had been a hard edge to his words that worried her. It made her think of just how and why he had taken up his head of house status and with it his emancipation. There were enemies out there that could try to take advantage of him, although she remembered his solicitor, who was obviously very protective of the young man. Thinking of that made a part of her ashamed. Was there more that she should do to protect him?

Two beady black eyes watched with a flood of emotions hidden behind them. Hatred, pity, scorn, regret, disgust. He ground his teeth and swallowed them all down.

Another man watched with only sadness and regret.

And one witch watched with a smile on her face as Pansy followed Harry out the doors...

* * *

When they reached the village, Harry led them to a flower shop. Hermione happily helped to pick out a bouquet to take. He'd never been to a cemetery or a funeral before, so he was grateful for her help. All he knew was that he wanted to take some lilies, as cliche as that seemed in his mind.

Ron didn't say much. Harry could tell that his friend was uncomfortable but was thankful for his presence none the less.

Pansy picked out her own bouquet. She gave him a small smile when Harry looked over at her.

Eventually when they were all finished, they paid and left the shop.

"Are those for me, Lord Potter?"

Just as Harry had stepped outside, he had walked nearly right into Narcissa Malfoy. She was as beautiful as ever, with that flirtatious smile once again.

"Lady Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise," he said as he noticed Draco scowling off in the distance and heading off in another direction. Perhaps the boy was avoiding his mother? "I assume you are here to visit your son again. If so, he seems to be trying to slip away."

He pointed where Draco was about to head into Honeydukes' and Narcissa immediately called him over. Harry smirked at the pouting ponce.

"Sadly, milady, I and my flowers are otherwise engaged for the day."

"I see," she said with a sad smile on her face. He could see the recognition in her eyes. "I wish you well on your trip then, milord."

"Thank you, milady."

As she walked off, Harry could hear Draco muttering complaints to her. He felt something odd as he watched her go- the wife of a death eater seemed truly sad for his loss.

"Well guys, I guess this is goodbye for the day."

"I'll be thinking of you," Hermione said as she crushed him in a hug. He noticed tears in her eyes once she let him go. She turned to Pansy. "Take care of him.

"Stay safe, Harry."

"I will Hermione," he said with a smile, then he turned to his other friend. "Ron, don't have too much fun without me."

"Yeah," Ron grunted as he awkwardly patted Harry on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

With flowers in one hand, he offered his free arm to Pansy and used the Potter family ring's ability to travel to Godric's Hollow.

* * *

"Disgusting."

It was his first glance at the home of his parents. Pansy shivered a bit at the angry tone of his voice. The building had been preserved ever since that night, with a sign proclaiming it the site of "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's Downfall." They couldn't even use the name on the sign, for crying out loud. There was still a hole in the roof and one side of the upper floor.

"According to Sam, I could reclaim this place from the ministry," he said quietly. "Not that there's much point at the moment, but it sickens me how they've made a monument to my parents' murder."'

"I'm sorry, Harry," she said as she gave his hand a squeeze. Being away from school, she felt she could be open for once with him. "Not that its an excuse, but I think so many people were just glad to have their own skins saved, that they didn't stop to think about what it cost you. If it meant not worrying about any more of their family members being killed, they were willing to celebrate regardless. I've heard they had to call in every Obliviator to deal with the wizards throwing parties that night and alerting the muggles.

"Of course, the way I heard it was mostly about how my father wanted to kill everyone." Harry chuckled at that.

"It seems angering your father has always been something I've been good at," he said. His plan would be ready soon, but he didn't want to say anything to Pansy yet. "You know, I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is how few Death Eaters he actually had. From everything I read it was only a few dozen, never even as many as one hundred. There are thousands of witches and wizards in the country. How could so many worthless cowards let so few terrorize them like that? Even the aurors didn't use lethal spells for years while those scum were murdering, torturing, and raping anyone who got in their way. What complete bullshit."

He turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "If you ever get attacked, if they ever come back, I want you to fight to kill Pansy. The Death Eaters never held back and had no qualms with murdering children."

"I won't hold anything back."

"I know that it might not be an easy thing to do, to actually kill someone," he said as he looked away, over at the broken building once again. "It was strange dealing with it when I killed Quirrel. I certainly didn't get any help from anyone. If it comes to it, Pansy, I'll help you. I'll also protect you as part of House Potter with everything I am."

"I know you will."

"Good," he turned back to her and smiled. "I guess we should go find the cemetery then."

They walked through the village for a few minutes towards a church that could be seen off in the distance. Once they got closer, they could see the cemetery nearby. In front of it, there was a memorial to soldiers lost in war that shifted as they approached into a statue of Harry as a baby with his parents. Pansy stopped to look at it briefly and Harry noticed they had walked all this way hand in hand. It was a nice change to not have to hide.

"What a cute baby you were," she teased. "Or at least this statue suggests you were."

"I don't think it's a very good likeness actually."

"Why not?"

"The hair isn't an untamed mess."

She laughed with him. They walked on and came to the gate of the cemetery, where she once again pulled him to a stop.

"They call this a kissing gate," she said with a gleam in her eye, "and you know what that means."

"Yes, I do." He answered by turning and kissing her deeply. A passing old woman tutted at them, and Pansy stopped from the all out snogging they had begun. "I guess it's not really the most appropriate place, huh?"

"It seemed very appropriate to me."

"Then your bad influence is rubbing off on me, because I think we didn't kiss enough either. It is our first kissing gate, after all," he said with a chuckle.

"Well, maybe we should at least try to be careful with the flowers."

"Good idea." Harry turned to look inside at the rows of graves. "I guess we should go in already."

She noticed his moment of reluctance and took his hand in hers again.

"I'll be right here with you the whole time, Harry."

"Thanks."

They walked in silence for several minutes, looking at the names on the graves, searching for his parents. They saw the names of a few magical families before eventually they found the marker.

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." He looked at her strangely. "I wonder who decided to put that nonsense on the gravestone. Let's not mention that they were parents who left behind a baby, or that they were unfairly cut down barely into their twenties, just some cryptic garbage that almost sounds like a Death Eater slogan."

"Yes, the Death Eater thought occurred to me as well," she replied. "I think it's a quote from the Bible though."

"I wonder if they went to church here." He looked over at the nearby building. "Was your family religious?"

"No."

"How did you recognize the quote then?"

"I'm not sure, I think I've heard it before somewhere."

"Oh."

They stood there for a moment awkwardly.

"Do you want to say something to them? I can give you privacy if you want."

"I'm not sure."

"Well, why don't I start then?" Pansy stepped over in front of the graves and set down her flowers.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. My name is Pansy. You wouldn't have met me before as my parents were on the other side of the war when you were still alive. I'm here with your son, Harry. Even though you didn't get to raise him, I wanted to thank you for creating him. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me. He saved me from my family. I love him. I can't even imagine how much better he could have been if he'd lived with you.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Potter, but your sister is a bitch. She and her muggle family didn't do right by your son, but that's all over. Harry's with me; I'll take care of him from now on. And one of these days I will make those muggles pay for hurting him. I promise you that.

"I don't know what it would be like if we could meet. Maybe you wouldn't like me because I'm a Slytherin, or because I can be a bitch," she heard Harry laugh a little too loudly behind her. "Your son seems to like me though, so maybe he got that good taste from one of you.

"Anyway, I guess I don't really know what else I should say to you. Rest in peace, wherever you are."

She stepped back over to Harry and took his free hand in her own again.

"It might be hard for me to top that," he said with a chuckle. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and knelt down at the grave site.

"Hi. It's Harry. Sorry I haven't come by before, but as Pansy mentioned, Petunia is an awful bitch and her husband is even worse. So that's not really my fault I guess. I'm a third year now; I'm the Gryffindor seeker ever since first year, which I guess would make dad proud. I haven't lost a match yet, although I missed the finale first year and the season was canceled part way through last year because of a basilisk. A basilisk which I had to kill by the way. I wonder if Hogwarts was such a death trap when you guys went there.

"This year, there are dementors just outside the school grounds because your old friend turned traitor Sirius Black broke out of prison. He's supposedly after me now, but the dementors are a much bigger threat so far. They already attacked me on the train to school. I'm learning the Patronus charm to deal with them. I'm teaching Pansy too, and my friend Hermione. Pansy's further along, but I can't tell Hermione that as she'd probably work herself to death to catch up. Some idiot at the ministry has given her a time turner to let her take every elective, which is completely mental. She's a muggle born and she's still taking muggle studies for fuck's sake. Not to mention Divination, which she's almost admitted to being a waste of time already.

"Thankfully, I had Pansy to talk me into taking the other three electives instead. Arithmancy doesn't thrill me so far.

"Care of Magical Creatures is taught by Hagrid now. It's not bad, but his idea of interesting creatures means they are probably a lot more dangerous than what we should be dealing with as third years. I'm not complaining though, as it almost certainly will come in handy for me since I've already come in contact with a unicorn, a basilisk, a cerberus, a dragon, a troll, and about a thousand acromantulas. I'm hopefully less likely to die with Hagrid around.

"Now, Runes, on the other hand, is great. Really interesting, plus it has all sorts of things you can do with them. And let me tell you, I've had some really great practical experience with them. Although, if you're watching over me, you probably already know that. Which is gross, as no one should watch their son's sex life.

"Anyway, changing topics immediately, I'm emancipated now thanks to Pansy, who told me all sorts of things that Dumbledore or someone should have told me a couple of years prior. And that means I never have to go back to the Dursleys, although I think Pansy might want me to take her to pay them a visit. I'm not going to though, as I'm responsible for her now, and I don't want her to go to Azkaban.

"What else should I say? I've got a house-elf named Dobby now, who I freed from the Malfoys. He's pretty great and he's done a lot to take care of both Pansy and I. I've got a lawyer too. His name's Sam McKenzie and he's done a lot to help me too.

"Oh, and I met the Brightwells, mum. I stayed at your old flat last summer. I think we might go spend the night there later.

"That reminds me- I guess I haven't explained, but Pansy lives with me now. I claimed her from her family through a life debt. A life debt which she basically created because she's really devious, which is one of the things I love about her. It got her away from her father, who's a total bastard. He's a Death Eater, and apparently the ministry was completely incompetent and corrupt as he never went to Azkaban. I'm going to protect Pansy from him."

He paused for a moment, but Pansy didn't see the blazing look in his eyes.

"I met one of your other friends this year. Lupin. I'm not sure where the hell he's been my entire life, and honestly, at this point I don't care. He's the Defense teacher. I... I kinda yelled at him the other day. He tried to act all concerned about me, twelve years too late...

"They call me the boy who lived. They stare at this stupid scar on my forehead. I'm not even sure why they think I survived a killing curse. It's not like there was an eye witness. You're both dead, I was a baby, and Voldemort is some sort of spirit. I doubt he told anyone what happened that night. Despite all this, people decided to write books about me, sell dolls of me, and all sorts of other crap. I have no idea how they knew what I looked like as I was dumped on the Dursleys' doorstep like a fucking newspaper.

"Sam's suing all those bastards anyway. House Potter is doing a lot better now, financially at least. For the moment though, it's just Pansy, Dobby, and I against the world."

He stopped and looked around the graveyard. He seemed to be searching for something, but Pansy couldn't tell what it might have been.

"There were times that I hated you," he said in a low voice. "When they left me battered in the cupboard, starving, and in too much pain to sleep. I hated you for dying and not taking me with you. For leaving me with the fucking Dursleys. Couldn't there have been anyone else, anyone at all?"

Harry was shaking with anger and loss, and Pansy knelt down beside him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her shoulder in response, then he kissed her forehead.

"I guess that doesn't matter anymore. It's been twelve years now, and finally my life is getting better. It's often still ridiculously dangerous, but that's usually not my fault. Assuming I survive Hogwarts, I think one of these days I might move away. Live a quiet life somewhere with the girl I love. I deserve some peace one of these days.

"Maybe that's what you have now. It must suck to have to die to get that though.

"I..." he trailed off and looked down. Pansy let him be as the silence stretched on.

"I don't know what else to say. Goodbye, I guess."

Harry climbed to his feet and helped Pansy up.

"Let's get out of here."

* * *

"What do you want, Lupin?"

They hadn't made it out of the cemetery when Harry spotted the professor. It was probably the last person Harry wanted following him here.

"I wanted to make sure you were safe, Harry."

"Why? Black's supposedly going to Hogwarts- that's why we have all those damn dementors there. We're a long way from there."

"You were right, I should have been there for you during your childhood-"

"Save it, _werewolf_. I'm not interested."

Lupin paled and backed away a couple of steps. Harry stepped in front of Pansy and pulled his wand out.

"How did you know?"

"I'm not a moron. Someone gets sick every full moon- I wonder what that could possibly be? Plus, Snape taught us a rather informative lesson on werewolves while you were out the other day. I think he doesn't like you.

"Whose bright idea was it for you to follow me? Yours? Dumbledore's? It seems like the type of thing he might think up."

"The headmaster thought it would be a good idea to make sure you were safe here."

"And he sent you. Probably hoping I would forgive you. That we could bond over my parents' graves or some such nonsense. That's not going to happen."

There was a moment where they just stared at each other. Lupin broke the silence.

"I guess you two are together then? You're certainly more affectionate here than you are at school. I don't understand why you think you need to hide it."

Pansy tensed behind Harry.

"Trying to throw me off guard, Lupin? I wonder why? Maybe you're working with your old buddy Black? That could explain why only now do you show up, once he's broken out of prison."

"I wouldn't work with that traitor!"

"Really? As far as I'm concerned you betrayed my family just the same."

"Harry, please..." the teacher looked rather worn and pitiful as Harry scorned him. "I'm sorry-"

" _Petrificus Totalis! Obliviate! Confundo!"_ Harry was a blur as he attacked the Defense professor. Pansy could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"You followed us to Godric's Hollow. You watched us at the grave. You didn't see anything out of the ordinary. You didn't try to confront me. You saw us leave."

Harry turned to Pansy as he pulled his invisibility cloak out of a jacket pocket. She stepped close to him as he threw it over them.

"Quietly now," he said as they moved away from their teacher. Once they passed out the gate, he whispered a _Finite_ at Lupin. Harry removed and enlarged a shrunken pack.

"Hold onto this," Harry said as he pulled out a silver chain. He activated the portkey and they disappeared.


	25. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

* * *

Harry ended up introducing Pansy to the filling yet somewhat disgusting muggle wonder known as fast food after they left Godric's Hollow. If he had the foresight to have had more muggle money on him, he probably would have taken her somewhere better. Really, pretty much anywhere would have been classier than McDonald's. But it was already nearly three in the afternoon and they were starving. Despite the mediocre quality, fast food is thankfully _fast._ He could always take her out somewhere fancier in the future, which he thought of later that night. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind- they'd had a trying day after all.

He showed her the flat where he'd stayed for the summer and went over the wards surrounding the place, which he had a better grasp of now thanks to Runes and the books he had been reading. They were pretty secure here, although Harry had a couple of ideas that could make it better if they decided to stay there in the future.

Pansy's queen size bed was still sitting out in the middle of the living room, after Dobby had taken it there just before they got on the train two months ago. It hardly seemed like it had only been two months. Harry now felt like his life was divided in two, before and after Pansy came into it. They spent most of the evening just talking, relaxing and listening to some of his mother's albums. Pansy started the process of teaching Harry how to dance. It was fairly embarrassing, but Harry feeling like a fool did at least lighten the mood after the events at the cemetery. He was able to avoid stepping on her toes for the most part. Her smile and laughter made it worthwhile.

Harry considered, but eventually discarded, the idea of introducing her to the Brightwells. Better to wait was his eventual conclusion. Besides, his paranoia decided that he didn't want them to know that he could come here when he should be away at school. They didn't expect to see him until the Christmas holiday break. That should give him enough time to have things taken care of and then he could introduce Pansy without worrying as much about someone finding out where she was.

* * *

They ended up sleeping in the next day until Dobby woke them with smells of the breakfast he was cooking. He had been surprisingly quiet since his work went on only about ten feet from where his humans slept. It made Harry realize once again that the talents of house-elves were clearly under appreciated. They ate, showered, and changed into fresh clothes that Harry had packed the day before. Once they were done, Dobby took them back to Hogsmeade.

They made their way through the village largely ignoring the students around them. Harry and Pansy were each scheming in their own minds. Dobby had revealed that he could have taken them directly to their personal quarters at Hogwarts. After getting over his surprise, Harry had refused, not wanting anyone to know that. It seemed that while you couldn't apparate directly into the castle, the house-elf ability was not hampered as it was, technically, not apparition. He wondered how few magical people must not realize this, as these humble creatures they all looked down upon had a powerful loophole that could get around anti-apparition wards. This could make all the difference for the future.

For her part, Pansy was now starting to spin an idea or two about how to deal with the Dursleys. Dobby could be a great help. She had no doubt that the elf would be willing to help her get revenge on the nasty muggles who had hurt the Great Harry Potter sir. The question was just how much she could trust him to not tell Harry everything. Keeping a surprise for his birthday had worked well over the summer. A secret like this would be a much bigger deal. She decided to scheme on her own for awhile. No need to make Dobby hide something from Harry for any longer than necessary.

Soon enough, they were entering the Great Hall just in the middle of lunch. There was a larger than expected amount of people still in the castle, and Harry immediately noticed the quiet that fell over the room as he strode down the aisle towards Hermione and Ron. There were a lot more stares than usual.

"So, what did we miss?"

* * *

Harry felt like screaming _'I told you so!'_ as soon as he heard about Sirius Black breaking in to Hogwarts. Halloween was officially cursed as far as he was concerned. Pansy was able to convince him not to gloat only by suggesting they return to the seventh floor where they had met. She wanted to see if they could find that special room again.

The door was missing when they arrived, but after Pansy paced trying to remember what happened to cause the room to appear. A moment later, there it was.

"That's still a neat trick," Harry chuckled. He followed her inside and found the room looked just as he remembered it from five months ago.

"I remember how the room was different the second time, when we needed a table to sit at," and as Pansy said that, the room shifted and a table appeared in front of them. "Okay, how about a room to practice spells?"

Once again, the room changed around them. It grew a lot larger, leaving them plenty of room.

"Wonderful, now I want to try something out. Let's see if we can tell how much the ritual might have strengthened our magic."

"Good idea. We need to find the right type of spell though," Harry wondered aloud and several targets appeared across the room from them, all of them holding replicas of wands. "Disarming, I guess?"

"The physical effect should be noticeable enough to see a difference," Pansy said as she walked over next to him, drawing her wand.

"Ladies first," he said as he stepped back.

" _Expelliarmus!"_

The wand was blown out of the target's hand and the dummy flew back a few feet.

"It's too bad we didn't try something like this before hand, just to have an idea of where we were. Did it feel different?"

"A bit more powerful, yes. Not enormously so," she answered as she looked thoughtful. "I guess its possible the ritual's magic might still be working, although I hadn't read anything that suggested much of a delay."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, "I hope you're not too disappointed."

"No, it was definitely more powerful, just not... amazingly so." She looked over at him with a grin. "I think that night was pretty wonderful anyway."

"Me too," he said as he stepped over and kissed her. "I guess it's my turn."

Harry lazily flicked his wand and fired the disarming spell at a target about twenty feet away.

A moment later, the splintered remains of the dummy slammed into the far wall, at least twenty feet from where it had been.

He stood there in an awkward silence as she turned to look at him.

"I assume that felt more powerful to you?"

"Uh, yeah... a bit."

"Just a bit?"

"Well," Harry looked over at her, somewhat embarrassed. "More than a bit."

"Can you be more precise, Harry? This is important. You have a lot of enemies out there.

" _We_ have a lot of enemies out there."

"It's hard to say," he shrugged and saw her look of annoyance. "It's not like I've cast this spell recently. I'd say it was a lot more powerful than a year ago at the dueling club. How much though? I'm not sure. Twice as powerful, maybe. But I've been practicing magic a lot since then, so..."

"So, you're not sure how much of it might be from the ritual."

"Yeah," Harry admitted. But then he looked back at her, "I have an idea. We should try spells we have practiced lately."

"Such as?"

" _Imperio!_ "

Pansy felt a calm presence wash over her. She could feel Harry's magic pulsing through her and it was wonderful. He called to her, to come to him, to embrace him, to kiss him. She didn't think she could have resisted, even if she wanted to.

Seconds later, the spell ended and she whined as he stopped kissing her.

"Do it again," she growled at him.

Once again, the spell completely overwhelmed her, and once again she was in his arms.

"I don't think you're trying to resist," Harry said with a grin as she felt him release her once again.

"Harry..." she took a deep breath. "That was definitely a lot more powerful. I could feel the spell, not just telling my mind what you wanted me to do. It was like my whole body felt it. And..."

"And?" He prodded as she blushed.

"It felt really, _really good_. I know the curse is supposed to make you feel good when your willpower falls away, but this was a lot more than just that. It...

"Actually, it felt a bit like the ritual itself did, when the magic was coursing through my body."

"Oh, well I think I want to try this out then. Hit me with it."

Pansy took a deep breath to calm herself and pointed her wand at him.

" _Imperio!_ "

Harry could tell the magic was different. Pansy was more powerful and with it she called to him to come to her this time. He wanted her, and the magic wanted him to want her. He knew then what she meant about it being reminiscent of the ritual a few nights ago. He stepped over to her and took her in his arms. But once he felt her, he easily shook off the spell.

He kissed her anyway.

She tried pulling away from him, and he could feel her ending the spell, but he kept on kissing her. Pansy dropped her wand and threw her arms around him. They collapsed onto a bed that appeared nearby and snogged as if their lives depended on it.

* * *

A few minutes later, Harry finally sat back and smiled at her.

"So, that definitely did feel different from when you'd cast it on me before."

She smiled back at him and pulled him down to lay beside her. "Was it harder to resist?"

"At first, yes."

"Only at first?" she smirked at him. "It seemed like you did the opposite of resist."

"As soon as I touched you, I threw it off completely. The rest was just me doing what I wanted."

She laughed.

"We were supposed to come here to get some work done, you know. We can do _this_ ," she stroked his cheek and her lips were on his again, but only briefly, "when we get back to our room tonight. Now get up."

She climbed off the bed and Harry reluctantly followed.

"Time for the next test. Let's see how our work on the Patronus charm is going."

"That is certainly something we've practiced a lot lately. Alright, Pansy, let's see what you've got." She kissed him then stood a few feet away after finding her wand on the floor. She winked at him.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

The light that burst out of her wand was bright, probably brighter than ever before, and it seemed to fill the room. It didn't take a shape just yet, but Pansy did not seem to be having any trouble maintaining the spell. On and on it glowed before she lowered her wand.

"I could tell that was more powerful. How do you feel?"

"Not nearly as drained as before," she answered. Her breathing was only mildly heavier, a far cry from the panting that came after the first couple of times she was able to produce a shield even a third as powerful as what he'd just seen.

"Good."

"Your turn."

Harry stepped into the center of the room.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

White light exploded and they both had to shut their eyes.

Pansy held a hand up to shield her vision as she blinked to try to get the spots to go away. Then she looked up to see it. Harry's Patronus. It was enormous. And powerful. She could feel his magic, his joy seemed to fill the air. It felt just as wonderful as his Imperius curse had, only slightly different. More pure, somehow. She saw his smile.

"I guess I've got this spell down now."

* * *

The next few days were nerve-wracking. Pansy was worried what Lupin might have done after following them to Godric's Hollow, but thankfully, it seemed to have just depressed the man even more. There was no further sign of Sirius Black, but the mood in the castle in general was more tense. With the first quidditch match coming up, Wood the maniac had scheduled practice almost every night- and to make matters worse, the weather was alternating between cold and stormy. Thursday evening, it was both and Harry looked absolutely miserable when he got back to their quarters, soaked to the bone and his teeth chattering.

Pansy knew just the way to fix him up. She had made sure to have the contraception spell memorized backwards and forwards by now. One shag in a nice warm shower later, Harry was as good as new.

* * *

Saturday morning, it was hard for both of them to get out of bed, despite being woken early by the crashing thunder outside. For one thing, they were both still tired from the night before as Harry was seemingly insatiable and Pansy put up little resistance besides the occasional remark that there might be more to life than sex. She wasn't really going to argue that point with much conviction though as she was just having way too much fun letting Harry prove otherwise.

But more importantly, at that moment they were far too warm and content to get up. They stayed under the blankets, snuggled up as Harry tried to decide if he wanted to reveal his contacts today.

"It would be much better to not have to deal with glasses in that mess," he said as he gestured towards the rain beating against the windows.

"True, but it would let one of our secrets out of the bag as well. Maybe you could wear them with the clear lens glasses instead?"

"That wouldn't help that much. I'd still have water blurring things for me."

"If the visibility is bad enough, you could take the glasses off once you get on your broom. You're often flying around fast enough that it might not be easy to spot, especially in this weather."

"That's a pretty good idea. I think there's a charm that might help too. I was looking into this early this summer, but then other things started taking priority."

"Other things?" She had an amused look on her face.

"You know, pretty girls and monsters. What else would a teenage wizard be distracted by?"

"What other pretty girls are distracting you?"

"Oh, are we feeling jealous, my dear?"

Pansy answered with a growl.

"You mean you haven't noticed all the other naked girls in my bed?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Fine, I won't. I need your help finding a charm to keep water off my glasses. Oh, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry?" The elf popped in happily as usual.

"Can you get our copies of the Standard Book of Spells for Pansy and I? Unless you know a way to keep the rain from causing me problems with my glasses."

"Of course Dobby can do that!" he excitedly shouted. He closed his eyes in concentration and a moment later snapped his fingers. "Master Harry's glasses will stay clean for the next week."

"And by staying clean, that will keep the water off, or keep them from getting fogged up?"

"Yes, master Harry!"

"Brilliant, Dobby!" Harry laughed. "Wait a minute, if house-elves have a way to keep things clean for a week like this, then..."

"Please don't tell master Harry," Dobby whispered. "It's a secret."

Harry and Pansy looked at each other, puzzled.

"Alright, Dobby, we will keep this a secret for you. Thanks for the help." Dobby left as Pansy shook her head.

"I don't think I'll ever understand house-elves."

"Well, this does save us some time, so..."

"So?"

"Well, normally, I might expect a good luck kiss from my girlfriend before the game."

"Too bad you have a secret girlfriend."

"Yes, so we'll just have to have some secret fun before we go out among the poor sods who don't know our secrets."

"What type of fun were you thinking of, my Lord?"

"Well, if a kiss brings good luck, then shouldn't a shag bring a giant amount of good luck?"

"Are you saying you need a lot of luck to beat Malfoy at quidditch?"

"How dare you insult my honor so," Harry said in his silliest faux-posh accent.

"Then, you don't need any good luck do you?'

"Maybe just a bit to keep the dementors and lightning strikes away?"

"I think we can come to an agreement. No good luck shags though," Pansy whispered into his ear.

"Why not?"

"There has to be something for you to look forward to after your victory."

* * *

An hour later, Harry walked into the Great Hall with a smile on his face. He had absolutely no nerves this morning- there was still a lot Pansy was willing to do for good luck that was this side of shagging, and he had visions in his head of a private celebration later that night. He was enjoying his breakfast when he noticed Wood's nerves were rubbing off on the rest of the team. Angelina, in particular, looked ready to slap someone.

"Hey guys, relax, we beat Slytherin the last two years easily. They don't have a chance this year either."

The twins looked at Harry as if he'd grown a second head.

"Where did this confident young man come from who looks so much like our old friend Harry?"

"You might remember him as a ball of nerves before our other matches?"

"Just look at it this way, guys, " he replied, "they'll have a lot more trouble trying to foul us all the time in this weather."

"We still have to play in this weather, though."

"It can't be any worse than the last practice Wood ran us through on Thursday," Harry chuckled. "I'll try to keep it under three hours long, for one thing.

"As soon as I can spot the snitch, we'll be headed back inside. There's no way in hell I'm losing to Malfoy- not even in that mess outside."

This seemed to stir Wood into action.

"Harry's right. We should have won the cup the last two years. This is our year. Let's go out there and destroy the snakes!"

Much of the table responded with a cheer around them. Pansy noticed with irritation how much the Weasleys in particular wanted to beat her house.

Now, it was true that she disliked many of her supposed classmates, but she disliked almost as many Gryffindors as well. More importantly though, she thought that Slytherin cunning was a much better virtue than the brash and foolhardy Gryffindor bravery. Harry certainly seemed to combine the best of both and was always willing to listen to her ideas. She was proud of how much he liked her devious nature.

* * *

As the crowd made its way out to the stands, she noticed the familiar blonde hair of Narcissa Malfoy who was apparently willing to brave the weather to cheer for her son. It hadn't escaped Pansy's notice of how much time the older woman was around to supposedly see her son- and yet she somehow kept running into Harry. Then flirting with Harry. Pansy was still annoyed a bit by this. Jealousy of the idea of Mrs. Malfoy trying to seduce Harry was being replaced with other things in mind. Schemes, if you will. She just wasn't sure if the idea she had come up with was great or terrible. It might have been both.

Then Pansy noticed the magical charm that she and other adults were using to act like umbrellas overhead, keeping them dry. It was a bit of magical force that didn't seem to be buffeted by the wind like a real umbrella would be. And that was something worth being jealous over today.

She was sitting with the Gryffindors, just as she and Harry had discussed over the summer. Her green scarf wrapped around her neck in the sea of red and gold around her. It would have been something to see, you know, if not for the downpour going on. Thankfully, the match was soon under way as she strained to look for the snitch, hoping Harry would keep this as short as possible.

"Sometimes I wish Harry didn't play quidditch," Granger said next to her. Thankfully, Weasley was on the other side away from her. The two gossips, Patil and Brown, were on Pansy's other side. "I wouldn't be out here otherwise."

"That I can definitely agree with," Pansy said.

"I have so much work to do this weekend. I really don't need to catch a cold out here."

"Harry did suggest you manage your time better," Pansy said with a knowing look.

"I have been, but getting sick would cause problems for anyone. If this game went on for very long, we could all catch pneumonia."

"Harry won't let us down," Patil said.

"He's never lost yet," Brown added.

"I've enjoyed his other matches more though." Pansy saw the look on Patil's face as she watched Harry's distant flying form. She did not miss the fact that the girl was rooting more for her boyfriend than the team. A cheer went up around her as Gryffindor had scored first.

She could see Harry flying with a purpose, scanning the pitch high and low for the snitch. She was glad to give him some incentive to get this dreadful game over with as soon as possible.

* * *

There was so much warmth over in the distance.

Calling to them.

Young souls.

Filled with promise, hope, enthusiasm. Joy even.

It was delicious.

And there was so much hunger.

The fools wanted only the one capture. Only one kiss. Only one to feed so many.

Why?

When there were so many to taste so close.

A feast. A feast to feed the hunger.

So many to kiss.

So many to devour.

To feed the endless hunger.

Black would not be enough.

Not ever enough.

Black tasted bland. Thin, weak. Like gruel.

The freshest, the newest prisoners. They always tasted the best.

Black didn't taste very good, even when he was new.

But there... there was a taste that called to them.

The fools had blocked them from going there. But the fools weren't here now.

The fools couldn't stop them.

And with that realization, the call was heard again. Louder. Much louder.

The taste was too strong. Too strong to not answer.

One of the fools was there. One fool to try to stop them. Not enough.

Not nearly enough.

A mere snack. Just a small taste.

Never enough.

They keep calling.

It was time to answer. To find the new taste.

The feast would begin.

* * *

Pansy was starting to shiver. 'Dammit, Harry, hurry up and catch that stupid snitch.' Did she mutter that to herself, or only think it?

On either side, people were squishing together for warmth. Patil and Brown. Granger and Weasley. The person who should have been keeping her warm was out there on his broom. It was more than just frustrating. She wanted Dobby to run a warm bath for her. She might not climb out for a week. As long as there was room for Harry in there with her, he wouldn't object.

What was the score anyway? She thought Gryffindor was winning, at least the last time she heard. With the howl of the wind and the crashes of thunder, it was hard to hear any announcements that might have been coming from Jordan, which was just as well really. He was a rather obnoxious older boy in Gryffindor. Being obnoxious, of course he was friends with the Weasleys.

Was it getting colder?

She saw him then. Harry was streaking across the pitch, and with a flash of lightning, she saw the little gold ball he was chasing. Malfoy was trying to catch up to him, but even on the faster broom, Harry's skill was out of his league. The snitch was more erratic than usual- probably the wind buffeting it about.

Just as Harry was reaching for it, she heard the screams.

* * *

So many new tastes.

The screams began and they were delicious.

The empty hours waiting were almost worth this.

The hunger was fading, if only briefly.

There were some older tastes as well. Some were still worth feeding from.

But more than that, there were the young.

So fresh.

So full of life.

They wanted to drink them all in.

And their screams filled them with the desire to taste even more.

It was a feast unlike any they had enjoyed in so long. So very long.

Buried in all of that food, all that desire to feast, the meager taste of Sirius Black was easy to miss.

There was a small young one on a broom. Pale. It had lived such a soft life. A life without want. Its scent called out. It screamed and flew away as fast as it could.

Nearby was another on a broom. Not as small, not as soft. But still just as tasty. Then it pulled out a wand.

And terror came to those who were used to being the cause of fear.

* * *

She heard the screams all around her. Within, she heard her own scream. She remembered the pain. She remembered his shadow standing over her. She remembered his voice, his orders. To become closer to _Malfoy_. She shuddered just thinking the name of the vile worm. The anger, the pain. The humiliation.

But she also remembered Harry. How he had come for her. Held her. Fed her medicine. Watched over her, wand in hand, all night.

And she remembered him catching her as she fell.

Harry on his broom. His arms around her again.

And she could feel them.

His warmth.

His love.

She never heard the words of his spell. But she opened her eyes and saw his Patronus once again. It was just as majestic as she remembered. Maybe even larger. The light seemed brighter than any light could be. It drove away the darkness.

The screams faded.

A dragon.

She didn't know what type of dragon it might have been. She never bothered to learn the different breeds. She wondered if Harry had. Regardless, it was simply massive. The glowing white wings stretched across the entire section of bleachers she was in. Everyone around her had become quiet and she noticed smiles on the faces of those closest to her. Granger had tears streaming down her face.

That was when she saw him, floating on his broom just in front of her. Then he smiled for a second.

She noticed screams off in the distance, and she could tell Harry did as well. He turned and directed his dragon with his wand. It flew across the stands, bathing section after section with its light. The people were silenced by its power, while the dementors fled with their terrible screeching, pained by Harry's Patronus. Pansy saw Narcissa Malfoy staring across at Harry. Her eyes shone with something like desire.

Pansy knew that look. And it almost made her think of her schemes before two things stopped her.

First, a silver phoenix flew across the pitch from the other side, driving off the last of the dementors before approaching Harry's dragon.

Then the dragon disappeared.

And Harry fell almost right on top of her. Thankfully, Longbottom was sitting just to her front, and the pudgy boy made a nice soft spot for Harry to land. His broom shot off somewhere as it left his control. Harry was breathing but out cold.

Pansy screamed for Dobby, who appeared and was quick to take his master to the hospital wing.

Just before they left, she noticed how his wand was still clutched tight in his hand. He was still trying to protect her, even as he passed out from exhaustion. Again. Hopefully it was just exhaustion.

His other hand was clutched around a wriggling golden snitch. There really was no way Harry was going to lose to a Malfoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer a couple of questions, I saw Harry's dragon Patronus looking like the Ukrainian Ironbelly (the dragon from Gringotts) although that isn't particularly important. The reasons for a dragon rather than Prongs are numerous. 1. Harry doesn't magically find his father inside him, as I find that kinda silly, and he hasn't even heard of Prongs yet. 2. Dragons are pretty much the biggest and most powerful magical creatures around- that's what Harry would choose to protect the people he cared about. 3. Dragons can fly, which was useful imagery for the Patronus to fly around the quidditch pitch saving the day.
> 
> The dragon Patronus isn't meant to be any more powerful than Prongs in canon, it just shows up here earlier as Harry has been working at it much harder than in the books. In the books, he doesn't even have his first lesson till after the Christmas holidays.
> 
> As for the dementor POV thing, I'm glad that's gotten a positive response as it was one of the more fun things I've written. It almost makes me want to bring them back for another round. MWAHAHAHA!
> 
> For how I envision them working, for the purposes of this story at least, dementors don't feed on happiness. They actually feed on the misery people feel from suffering the effects of their aura. Why would new prisoners or children 'taste' better? Because their suffering would be a new experience. Most teenagers haven't really suffered before.
> 
> Why would Black not taste as good? Because he was already suffering and miserable when he first came to Azkaban- he was already stuck in the absolute worst part of his life. Dementor aura wouldn't really change that. Plus, he tastes 'thin & weak' because he often changes into his dog form, which has shallower emotional states and thus suffers less from the dementors.
> 
> Yes, I totally made the dementors like drug addiction, and it was completely on accident. Oh well.


	26. Aftermath

* * *

Distant voices tried to draw him back to consciousness, but the dream held him. Just as it had been on the train, the bright green light flashed while the woman begged and screamed. It was a terrible feeling. That green flash of light kept pulsing. But soon the light shifted. It was still green, but murky. Dark. And then he saw her there. Pansy. Floating, her eyes closed. He panicked and swam up to her. She couldn't be dead.

But the scene changed and she was standing beside him then. The murky green light through a huge glass window that was somehow familiar. Her hand in his, a smile on both their lips.

He was in a dark open room and he saw her there. She was all in black and dancing with abandon and glee. There were others around her, shadowy forms, but his eyes latched onto her as if she were in a spotlight. The beat of the music pulsed and he watched her body move in time with it. God she was sexy.

Then they were in a different room, even larger but light. Her dress was more formal now, and she was in his arms as they danced together this time. Twirling around other couples, none of whom were more than blurry faces. She was still the sexiest woman in the room, but she seemed even happier this time. And that meant everything.

He saw them together sitting on a couch in front of a fireplace but still under a blanket to keep warm. The snow was falling outside. They sipped hot cocoa and the only other light in the room came from the colored blinking strands on the Christmas tree. The tree they had picked and decorated together. They were alone and at peace.

Then they were in the Great Hall. Striding down the aisle, confident, happy, together. No more worries of enemies. No more need for secrets. Relief. Finally.

He heard his friends speaking and slowly allowed himself to wake.

* * *

"We don't mind waiting."

"It's alright. You should go eat. Have some hot soup to warm up. Don't want to catch that cold now, do you?" Pansy, for once, didn't have it in her to be angry at those two. Those damn dementors had stressed all of them. But Harry's Patronus had changed everything. Even sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake, waiting to know that he really was okay, she still felt the lingering effect of that beautiful glowing dragon. It had wrung most of the bitterness out of her. She was actually (secretly) touched that Harry's friends cared enough to still be sitting by his bed hours later.

"Come on Hermione, she's right. Harry will be okay, Pomfrey said he was just exhausted. There isn't anything wrong with him; he's just asleep this time."

"I hate seeing him like this. Every year he ends up in the hospital wing. Why do these things always happen to Harry?"

"At least nothing worse happened. Those dementors were just bloody awful."

"It's a miracle no one was kissed."

"It wasn't a miracle- it was Harry." Pansy looked at his peaceful face as he slept on. "He killed a basilisk last year. Everyone in this school owes him their lives and now their very souls as well."

Neither of his friends knew how to respond to that. Pansy smirked to herself proudly. It would be interesting to see if magic agreed with her theory that the entire school owed him a life debt.

More importantly for now though, she just wanted him to wake up.

"You two don't need to stay."

"Then why do you?"

"Because it is my place to be with him." There was a lot unsaid by her statement, and Granger was once again obviously curious about the exact nature of her relationship with Harry.

"Alright. But we'll be back to check on him after dinner."

They finally left with that. She was surprised the weasel's stomach had held out that long. As she heard the door shut behind them, she looked around and noticed that madam Pomfrey was in her office. There was little to do until Harry awoke.

"Hey gorgeous."

Before she knew what was happening, Harry had pulled her over to him and drawn her into a kiss. She began to respond but quickly leaned back.

"You aren't supposed to do that where anyone can see us," she whispered.

"Why do you think I waited till they left?"

"How long have you been awake?"

"Not too long, although I did like being compared to a miracle."

"You're my miracle, Harry." She kissed him briefly. "Let's see if we can get Pomfrey to let you out of here."

* * *

Amazingly, they were able to escape the hospital wing after promises for Harry to get plenty of rest both that night and for the rest of the weekend. A promise to not spend the night partying with the Gryffindors also helped.

Walking down the hall, they turned a corner to see Narcissa Malfoy heading their way. Pansy was barely able to keep the smirk from her face.

"Lord Potter."

"Lady Malfoy."

"I was hoping to speak with you."

"I hope you haven't been kept waiting too long, milady." She gave him a brief smile in return.

"There was much to do after the fiasco at the quidditch pitch."

"I can imagine."

"Do you mind if we speak in private?"

"Of course not," he answered but felt his wand just to make sure he could draw it quickly if needed.

Narcissa opened a nearby door and looked inside before turning back to him. "This should do."

"I'll wait outside," Pansy said and Harry turned to look at her. This was unexpected, but Harry trusted her judgement, even if he wondered why she did not want to join him as usual.

He followed Narcissa inside and watched her cast privacy spells after he closed the door. She walked further into the room and he did as well.

"I wanted to thank you, Lord Potter. I know that my son does not have a good relationship with you, but on behalf of House Malfoy we both owe you a debt for today."

"You're welcome, Lady Malfoy. I am glad that nothing worse happened. I've been dismayed that those creatures were allowed to be so near to the school."

"I definitely agree with you on that, milord."

"Perhaps you could help then?"

"Oh?"

"I believe we need to put pressure on the ministry to have the dementors sent back to where they belong. Capturing Black is a job for aurors and hit wizards. I'm pretty sure none of them would try to suck out the souls of innocent students."

"That is a good idea. I believe I could contact a few people to help in this endeavor. Going to the Daily Prophet would be wise."

"I thought so as well."

"Excellent. I was wondering if you had any plans for the upcoming holidays?"

"Not anything specific yet, milady. Why do you ask?"

"We often have parties for the New Year. I would like to invite you this year. Especially after what you did for my family today, it would be a great honor to have you attend."

"I see," Harry paused and thought for a moment. He could really use Pansy's advice on something like this. "I am not sure whether or not I would be able to join you for that just yet, but I do appreciate the invite. Perhaps I could let you know once I have worked out what I might be doing for the holidays, Lady Malfoy."

"My friends call me Narcissa."

"Are we friends then?"

"We could be," she said with a coy smile.

"Then I suppose you should call me Harry, Narcissa."

"You would be able to bring a guest if that is a concern, Harry. Pansy, or whoever else. I realize it may cause a problem were I to only invite part of House Potter. I would be most disappointed if you could not join us."

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint a lady, now would I?" he chuckled. "I will contact you as soon as I can finalize my plans."

"I will await your owl then, milord." She smiled and walked away, and Harry closely watched the sway of her hips. Was it exaggerated or had he not truly watched her move before? There was definitely something intoxicating about Narcissa Malfoy. He schooled his features as she opened the door. He did not need Pansy to notice that.

"Wait till we're back in our quarters," Pansy whispered to him. Harry nodded and looked briefly at Narcissa as she disappeared down the hall.

"Is it still dinner time?" he asked.

"I think it is just about over. We could get Dobby to bring us something."

"Good idea. Let's go."

The weather was still a nightmare as they made their way back to Gryffindor tower. They ran into a few people along the way, many of whom looked rather star-struck at Harry. He supposed it was a nice change compared to last year's looks of fear. A handful even thanked him for protecting them at the quidditch match. Harry must have looked pretty wiped out though, as it was easy for him to excuse himself.

Finally, the Fat Lady's portrait swung open and they stepped inside to hear a roar of cheers go up around them. People swarmed Harry, patting him on the back and asking a hundred questions all at once. It seemed the tower had been in a state of flux between celebrating and waiting for Harry to join them for the partying to get truly raucous. As someone handed him a butterbeer, Harry held his hands up and people finally started to quiet down enough to hear him speak.

"Thanks for the warm welcome everybody." Another cheer went up.

"Unfortunately, I am really wiped out from today and need to get some more rest." A boo followed.

"If Pomfrey finds out I partied with you guys, she'll have me chained to a bed for a week." Laughter in response.

"What was the final score anyway?"

Wood answered with a shout of 230-40.

"I did say there was no way in hell I'd lose to Malfoy." More laughter ensued.

"But I really do need to lay down. So, I hope you'll all celebrate in my place tonight."

Harry grabbed another butterbeer as he noticed Pansy making her way through the crowd behind him empty handed. After accepting a few more congratulations, he finally stepped into their private quarters. The quiet that followed as the door shut behind Pansy was a great relief.

"Dobby?"

"Master Harry! What can Dobby do?"

"Could you bring us something to eat? Preferably something hot."

"There is a beef stew the Hogwartsies elves made for dinner."

"That sounds great to me. What about you, Pansy?"

"Sure, thanks Dobby."

The elf disappeared and Pansy sat down next to Harry as he handed her one of the bottles of butterbeer.

"Cheers."

"So... what did Narcissa Malfoy want to talk about?"

"A couple of things. She wanted to thank me, in spite of what she knew of how Draco and I don't get along, for saving their lives today. She was rather formal."

"That's not too surprising I suppose. I was surprised she was still here at school though."

"Me too."

Dobby re-appeared and sat two places for their dinner on the table before them.

"That would be Dobby's fault, master." The little elf looked ashamed and rather afraid as well. Harry and Pansy began to eat as Dobby continued. "Old mistress asked for Dobby after master Harry was with the healer witch. Old mistress said she wanted to thank master Harry for his great magic. Old mistress was not being bad like the old master, so Dobby told her when master Harry was awake. Dobby could tell old mistress was not telling lies."

"Did you hear what Narcissa said to me, Dobby?"

"Yes master Harry."

"Have the Malfoys often had New Year's Eve Parties?"

"Most years, yes master Harry."

"I've gone to a couple of them in the past," Pansy added.

"What were they like?"

"Fairly formal, but not quite as stuffy as some other pureblood parties I've attended. The adults would drink a bit more than usual though, so that's to be expected I suppose. Children were to be on their best behavior, but depending upon how their parents were acting, many would often get a bit rowdy. At least as far as that sort of thing goes. The Malfoys tended to be a it more restrained. Lady Malfoy isn't known to drink to excess. Draco, of course, would always act like a spoiled brat and got away with much more than the other children. I had figured out that he had inherited his father's arrogance years before I ever came to Hogwarts."

"That's good to know then. Narcissa invited me, or rather us I guess, to the New Year's Eve party she's throwing this year."

"Did you accept?"

"I told her that I would have to finalize my holiday plans and let her know. It seems like it could be interesting to go. Possibly useful too, but I wanted to discuss it with you first. You have a lot more experience with that sort of thing, obviously. Should we go?"

"You know that she'll be using you if you do go?"

"I assumed something like that might be true. But how so, exactly?"

"Well, the Malfoy influence took a big hit with Lucius being sent to Azkaban. Especially with the rather scandalous nature of the affair. And with the old rumors of him being a Death Eater, the Malfoys would be natural enemies of the famous boy who lived. So, if Lady Malfoy could get you to attend, that would turn a lot of heads. It would help her reputation greatly, and that of her family as well. With Lucius still locked up, it would make her look even better though- she would seem to be a great diplomat, working with someone from a rival family.

"You would have to be careful, some might think you weak if it appeared she had befuddled the naive young Lord Potter. So, you would have to be on guard against that and need to be extra confident, speak to a lot of people rather just being there as her guest."

"Okay, I understand all that. But should we go?"

"Do you want to?" She looked intently at him. Harry took a rather large bite to give himself a chance to think of how to respond.

"In some ways, yes. Like I said, it seems it could be useful to do something with the upper crust of magical society, rubbing elbows with the influential and all. I'd need you to give me some etiquette lessons, I'm sure. Of course, we would have to hide our relationship as usual, and I don't know how that part of it would go. Would it be a bad idea for me to show up there with my supposed servant? And what would it be like for you to go there? Because if it would be awful for you, then we won't go."

"That's sweet Harry. But it wouldn't be too awkward for me. I see a different problem for us. Namely, running into my father there."

"I could probably ask if he's going to be there and avoid it if he is. I could probably even request for Narcissa to not invite him- she did seem rather keen to get me to agree to appear. I suppose I would be something of a guest of honor."

"That's true."

The conversation paused for a moment as they both ate more.

"I notice you call her Narcissa now."

Harry felt her judging him, even as she did not look over at him but continued to eat.

"She suggested that I call her that, as that's what her friends do."

"So, you're friends with her now?"

"I asked her that as well. I guess she's feeling more friendly towards me because of today. It was probably also part of her trying to butter me up to get me to accept her invite."

"Good that you can see that."

Harry finished his stew with great relish. It was just the right meal for that night, hearty and filling as well as warm. He took a bite of bread and washed it down with the last of his butterbeer. Pansy hadn't felt the need to gorge herself in quite the same way and was therefore not yet finished eating.

"If we can be sure that my father won't be attending, I think we should go," she finally answered.

"Alright. I won't write to her just yet though. I don't want to seem too eager, after all."

"No, you don't."

Harry relaxed and sat back, waiting for Pansy to finish eating.

"Why don't you go take a shower, Harry?"

"Do I smell that bad?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Drying and warming charms don't feel as refreshing as a nice warm shower. I believe you still have a reward for your victory today. We wouldn't want you falling asleep too soon, would we?"

Harry didn't take any more convincing than that. This was one of the reasons he wanted out of the hospital wing, after all.

The water was refreshing. Pansy was right as usual. He soaked for much longer than he had meant to as it just felt so good after the draining day.

Eventually, he came out and dried himself off. He left the towel in the bathroom, slightly disappointed that Pansy hadn't joined him in the shower. Harry was still naked when he entered his bedroom and saw Pansy waiting for him. She was wearing that wonderful silk robe again, the one that covered so little and hinted at the curves of her form underneath it. It was really goddamn sexy.

"I love that robe," he told her.

"This old thing?" she said with a sly grin and a maddening twirl.

"You do seem to only wear it for sexy special occasions. And I love those special occasions."

"Get in bed, Harry. You have to have your rest tonight, remember?"

He pulled back the covers and sat on the bed, looking expectant for her to join him.

"I believe we were supposed to have a private victory celebration first."

"Well, you did win." There was that sexy smirk of hers again as she played with the belt of her robe and stepped nearer. "Maybe you even earned a bonus what with the magical display and all. I guess some sort of reward is in order for saving my soul from those monsters."

She pushed him back so that he leaned against the pillows as she finally, oh so slowly, removed the robe.

"Your soul is most precious to me," he said as she climbed on top of him and kissed him. "As precious as all of these other wonderful parts."

He captured a breast with each hand and sucked on one of her nipples. Pansy giggled slightly before she pushed him back down.

"You have to rest, my Lord." She almost purred the words at him. Her legs were straddling his waist and she reached down to guide him inside her. "Tonight, I will take care of your needs."

She sank down on top of him and he was once again in bliss.

"Just lay back and enjoy the ride."

* * *

Harry slept late the next day and not even Pansy enjoying a Dobby-provided breakfast in bed could awaken him until nearly noon. By the time they were dressed and heading to the Great Hall, lunch had already begun. For once, Harry wanted the attention his arrival was bound to cause. He had a purpose today.

The doors were open and the tables were filled with students as Harry walked in, with Pansy following in his shadow as usual. She carefully began to watch the faces around her.

Cheers erupted at Harry's appearance, and he got most of a standing ovation. Many of the Slytherins joined in, despite the long rivalry and the loss of the game. Apparently keeping their souls meant a lot even to people like Pansy's former roommates Greengrass, Davis, and Bulstrode. She noticed that Malfoy and his goons didn't even clap. Some people just had no class.

Harry smiled at his reception. After a moment to let it die down a bit, he raised his arms and waited for quiet to descend.

"Thank you everyone. I am relieved to see all of us here today as yesterday could have been a terrible tragedy. I am glad to have been able to do my part to deal with the mess that the ministry caused.

"I would like to ask all of you to now do your part to fix this. Write to your parents, older siblings, friends- anyone you can think of. Write to the Daily Prophet. Write to the ministry if you know of someone there that will listen. Dementors do not belong anywhere near a school. Those monsters would have gladly killed us all.

"Sirius Black may have killed a dozen people." The silence got extra heavy at the escaped convict's mention, but Harry pressed on. "Those monsters would have killed hundreds yesterday. They are more dangerous than one lone wizard, even one like Black.

"We have aurors and hit wizards for a reason. Tracking down a dark wizard is what they are paid to do. The ministry must be made to see reason. Send them back to Azkaban where they belong, far away from here.

"Thank you." Harry walked a bit further in and took a seat, near Granger as usual a bit to Pansy's disappointment. Dumbledore led more clapping at Harry's speech and the teachers all seemed to approve. Even Snape applauded, although not too enthusiastically and bearing his trademark scowl. Some things never change.

"Are you sure you're not the one with an evil twin?" Granger asked with a grin.

"Fairly certain, Hermione."

"The Harry I know would hate to give a speech like that."

"Maybe so, but he also would hate to have to fight off dementors over and over again all year long. Getting rid of them is worth it."

"That makes sense, I suppose."

"Harry, mate, we've got some bad news."

"Alright, what is it?"

"Well..." Ron trailed off, seemingly not wanting to spit out whatever was bothering him.

"Yes?"

"Oh, honestly Ronald, it's just a broom," Hermione said with irritation. "When you passed out after casting your Patronus, your broom flew off out of control. Apparently, it had the misfortune of heading towards the whomping willow."

"Ouch," Harry winced. "How bad is it?"

"Broken in several pieces, I'm afraid. I doubt it will be able to be repaired, although we haven't had enough time to ask anyone to check it out yet."

"I see. But someone was able to recover it?"

"Yeah, I went to look for it with Fred and George once we knew you were going to be okay." Ron answered. "The weather had cleared up a bit, thank Merlin. I think we got all the pieces, but I'm pretty sure it's a goner, Harry."

"That sucks. I guess I'll have to see about getting a new broom for Christmas." Harry surprised those around him by suddenly smiling. "At least I've got an excuse the next time Wood wants us to practice for hours on end now."

Several people laughed with him, and the rest of the meal continued pleasantly. The Weasleys all agreed to write to their parents, and Harry was all too pleased to let them borrow Hedwig to send off their letters for them. Colin Creevey had been taking photos at the match, to no one's surprise, and he thought he had a few good shots of Harry, the Patronus, and the dementors. He was thrilled to be able to help his hero, even more so after the previous day, and was happily going to send off copies to the Daily Prophet.

Harry hoped the pictures would turn out well, as seeing was believing. Getting rid of the dementors was his primary purpose at the moment, and he wanted that endeavor finished as soon as possible. He had other things to do, and it looked like his holiday break was going to be quite eventful.


	27. Aftermath, part II

* * *

_**DEMENTORS ATTACK HOGWARTS!** _

The headline screamed out from the front page over a picture showing Harry and his draconic Patronus driving off the dementors that were swooping around the students in the Gryffindor section of the bleachers. He had to give it to Colin, it was a really well done photo. A good thing, really, that the boy had some talent. To be that attached to a camera and not have any skill with it would be pitiful.

It was breakfast, and many people were reading the Daily Prophet for news about the dementors. It seemed that the word had gotten out about the near tragedy. For once, people were paying attention to the students of Hogwarts and how they had been endangered. 'About damn time,' Harry thought to himself. 'It would have been nice to not have had to deal with the basilisk nearly single-handed last year.' He still found it hard to believe that Dumbledore couldn't have figured out something about the basilisk when Hermione had as a second year, and despite having been there when it was opened fifty years ago. Maybe the old man was getting senile?

The good news was that the dementors were being recalled to Azkaban that day. The bad publicity of the attack on the school was enough to over-ride the decisions by the ministry's Department of Terrible Ideas, and Harry was very thankful. He would not be persuaded that there wasn't such a thing after what he'd seen this year.

It turned out that the lone auror who had been in Hogsmeade supposedly overseeing the dementors had been attacked and had his soul sucked out before the creatures went on the rampage and headed towards the school. Whatever spells or magical items the ministry had to keep those monsters under control clearly weren't strong enough. That was a pretty terrifying thought.

Harry cleared his mind with happier thoughts of how the rest of his weekend had gone. Pansy had talked him in to finishing all of his assignments for the week and spent extra time in bed, following Pomfrey's advice. It probably wasn't what the healer would have called rest, but it sure did make him feel a lot better. Pansy took _very good_ care of him. It was almost enough to make Harry wish he would need to save her life again. Better not to tempt fate though, he had learned.

Honestly, he wasn't even that upset about the loss of his Nimbus 2000. He had plenty of money to buy a new broom anyway.

The thought of money did bring another thing to mind. Christmas was little more than a month away. He was planning on spending the break not at Hogwarts for the first time, which sounded fun, but he wondered what they should do about presents. Money wasn't an issue for him, but the money that actually belonged to Pansy was very limited. After all, her parents were never going to give her any more, and he worried about problems developing between them in the future over it. He remembered one of the only times the Dursleys had argued about something in front of him and naturally it had been about money. Greedy bastards. Vernon and Petunia had spent more than they intended on a trip (which of course they didn't take Harry on) and had to scramble to have enough to buy Dudley thirty some presents for his birthday. As Harry remembered, the little ingrate had broken half the toys within a week.

Seeing such awful behavior had taught Harry's subconscious a lesson, even as the boy had sadly wished they would give him a single present half as nice as what they spoiled their brat with. Wealth clearly did not bring happiness. He didn't think Pansy could buy him anything as precious as what he already had with her. Regardless, a frank discussion about money was probably a good idea sooner rather than later. Even if they argued about it, Harry would rather get it out of the way now than to have a fight looming somewhere in the future.

He already had her birthday presents planned. One of them he knew she would love. Another was maybe a bit silly, but he hoped that she would enjoy it anyway.

* * *

It was two days later that Dumbledore summoned him to his office after dinner.

Pansy suggested he go alone. They agreed that the headmaster probably wanted to talk about the dementors and Harry's Patronus, which meant that he should not encounter any problems. Neither of them trusted Dumbledore completely- whatever games he was playing with allowing Snape's ridiculously atrocious behavior were still going on, although admittedly, the greasy bastard had avoided any more confrontations with Harry recently. He still was completely biased against everyone not in Slytherin and Pansy had heard through gossip (aka Patil and Brown) that he had covered up for at least three different fights that Slytherins had started with Gryffindors, taking points and assigning detentions only to those students not in his own house.

Sadly, McGonagall had once again not done anything to help her own students in any of these cases. Pansy was appalled by this, but Harry was used to it by now. He had been told that his house was to be like a family; Gryffindor's parent didn't seem to actually care enough about her charges to stand up for them. McGonagall wasn't abusive, but the neglect and unfair punishments were far too familiar for both Harry and Pansy.

Harry forced himself to focus on dealing with Dumbledore as he once again approached the guardian statue blocking the stairway up to the headmaster's office. Ice mice were not a magical treat that Harry cared for, but Dumbledore seemed to have quite a sweet tooth.

"Welcome, Harry, please have a seat."

"Thank you headmaster."

"I wanted to congratulate you for recent events. First off, conjuring a Patronus at thirteen is an extraordinary accomplishment. Without your timely intervention, I might not have been able to save everyone. I admit to being disappointed that none of the other teachers were at the ready to deal with the dementors. I had been dreading such a thing happening for months now."

"I understand and feel the same, professor Dumbledore. As soon as I heard about them and Black this summer, I started work on learning the spell. With my luck, I just knew that something was bound to happen. And after running into one on the train at the beginning of the year...

"Well, what happened at the quidditch match was just the other shoe dropping, so to speak."

"Indeed. I am glad that you are more driven this year; it certainly has paid off so far. However, I was wondering why exactly your demeanor has changed so much. I take it something having to do with the events of the Chamber last year?"

This was what he really wanted, Harry suddenly understood. A look into his mind. He could not tell Dumbledore too much, as there were still things he had not fully decided, and how much he needed to hide from the headmaster was one of the most important things. Harry decided to tell bits and pieces and skirt around some of the darker corners.

"The Chamber of Secrets had a lot to do with it. But so did everything that happened with the Philosopher's Stone. Two years in a row, I had come close to dying while playing the hero."

"I do not think you were merely playing the part, Harry. You have shown courage far beyond your years. I'm sure your parents would be quite proud."

'That was a low blow,' Harry thought and a small part of his mind prayed that the old man wouldn't try to bring up Lupin. He looked across the room at Fawkes, which would be a good distraction and give him a chance to calm down. Harry got up and walked over to the phoenix.

"Thanks for saving me last year, Fawkes."

The bird trilled out a calm, happy sequence of notes as Harry scratched his feathers.

"Anyway, professor, I realized that if I was going to survive much longer that I would need to work harder. Other students might be able to just be students, but it seems fate has decided that I will have a lot more on my plate than next week's Charm to learn or the Transfiguration essay I still need to finish."

"That is understandable, Harry, although I do wish that you didn't feel such pressure, especially at your age."

"If I didn't feel such pressure, we might be short more than a few students today."

"Indeed, that is sadly true. Thankfully, your speech seemed to do just the trick. Convincing the ministry to have the dementors withdrawn to Azkaban might be an even bigger accomplishment."

"I agree."

"Yes, dealing with the government and politics is never an easy thing. I hope you'll remember that in the future."

Harry thought that was a bit much, considering all the varied titles and jobs Dumbledore held. He could certainly hand off some of that power to others if he really wanted to- and the fact that he didn't, even while complaining about it now to Harry, was very worrying. Harry's distrust spiked up, so he turned back to give Fawkes some more attention.

"Can I ask about your summer, Harry?"

"What exactly are you asking, sir?"

"When I found that you did not return to your family, I was most worried."

Harry did not respond to this. It wasn't a question after all, and he had learned a few tricks from Pansy. He waited for the old man to say more. Besides, it would not be a good idea to start yelling about those scumbags.

"I spoke with your friends, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, trying to find out where you might have gone. The Weasleys in particular were most displeased once young Ronald told of the Dursleys having bars on your window. I am most sorry to have heard of that. How safe did you feel in your new home?"

"Safer than I had ever felt before."

"Really? Even safer than here at Hogwarts?"

Harry gave him a look of sarcasm in response.

"We did just go over the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets and now the dementors, sir." Harry was able to hold in more biting comments, but it took much of his resolve.

"True." Dumbledore let out a sigh. "I would prefer that you had gone back to your family. There was powerful protection in living with someone of your mother's blood. As you should remember from what happened in your first year."

"That protection was not worth it."

"I think you are very wrong about that, Harry."

"Well, you didn't grow up being treated like a slave, so I don't really care what you might think." The headmaster looked pale and shocked.

"Was it really that bad?"

"You should just be glad that I don't have a desire to kill muggles like Tom Riddle did. It hasn't escaped my mind that we both were orphans treated very badly in the muggle world. I've heard that orphanages weren't very pleasant, especially decades ago, but I would have gladly traded places with Riddle."

Albus Dumbledore sighed again, and when Harry looked over at him, he seemed much older than usual. The merry twinkle in his eye was gone for once.

"Well, with you not returning over the summer, the protection has failed by now anyway. I am sorry to hear that they treated you so badly."

Harry wasn't sure if he could believe him, not with what he knew, but he nodded in response and looked back to Fawkes to try to calm himself. He noticed the sword of Gryffindor in a display case and thought again of the basilisk. He rubbed his forearm without even realizing it.

"I plan on giving you an award for saving your fellow students this weekend. Saturday night at dinner, please be on time."

"I can do that professor."

"Well, it is getting late. Thank you again for your excellent work with the Patronus."

"It was my pleasure sir. Good night, professor."

As Harry left his office, Albus Dumbledore wondered how wrong things might have gone and how far his mistake may have pushed the young man to a much darker path.

* * *

Saturday night came and went. Harry was still not completely comfortable with being the center of attention. His years with the Dursleys had taught him that making himself as inconspicuous as possible was the best path- being in the spotlight meant violence and yelling. He was struggling to overcome that conditioning.

Pansy, as usual, was a godsend. She rewarded him with an excellent end to his Saturday night in bed. She was becoming very adept at reading Harry's mood and knowing just what to do to help him relax. Even on the rare occasion when sex _wasn't_ the answer.

He woke up in her arms, for once. He remember falling asleep with his head on her breast, suckling like a babe post-coitus. He licked and kissed her nipple that was still right in his face as his eyes opened. She moaned sleepily, but once awake, they spent an hour enjoying each other before eventually showering and preparing for the day. Pansy had convinced him that showering together was not a good idea if they wanted to actually, you know, get clean and go about their day. Not that that stopped him from trying to get her to join him as often as possible.

"Hey Pansy, do you have anything planned today?"

"No, why?"

"I'm feeling anti-social after being stared at last night."

"Of course you are. And?"

"And I had an idea for us to do something else today."

"This better not be an excuse to spend the whole day having sex."

"Getting tired of me already?" The twitch of his lips into the beginning of a smile made her shake her head. She knew she would pay for that remark.

"We just don't need an excuse. I assume you had something else in mind."

"Oh, I do," he said as he approached her. He unwrapped the towel she had around her and pulled her over toward her bed. "But, you know, we rarely spend any time in your bedroom, so I think we need to rectify that first."

"Harry, we just got cleaned up."

"I know, and you should be thankful that I'm not making you waste any time get dressed and then undressed yet."

She closed her eyes and moaned as he lifted her onto the bed that barely ever saw any use, with his mouth trailing kisses down her chest.

"Besides, we're going to be getting _a lot dirtier_."

His hands were already doing all the things she liked, so she did not bother to complain. It would be easier, not to mention more fun, to just let him have his way. And after all, girls had hormones too.

* * *

_An hour later..._

"Why exactly did I have to dress like this?"

Harry snorted with amusement at Pansy's distaste for being told to wear her something grungy. He hadn't told her yet of his idea for the day, and he found her frustration delightful. It would almost certainly make spending the night with her more interesting. But also, he thought it would be worth it to see the surprise he had in store for her and her reaction to it.

Once they were in an empty corridor, he threw his invisibility cloak over them and led her to an unused girl's bathroom.

"Are you feeling kinky today?" she whispered as he led her inside.

"Not any more than usual," he said with a laugh.

"Who's there?"

"Hi, Myrtle," Harry answered as he removed the cloak.

"Oh, Harry," she blushed. "You came back to see me."

"Yes, how are you today?"

"Just thinking of death," the morose ghost said.

"Naturally," Harry said with a smile. "If you didn't hear the good news last year, I killed the basilisk that was partially responsible for your death down in the Chamber."

"What do you mean, partially responsible?"

"Do you remember Tom Riddle?"

"Oh yes," she said with a dreamy look on her face. "He was such a handsome boy. A Slytherin prefect, but I wouldn't have held that against him, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, well, he was the one controlling the basilisk, so..."

"Oh no. Why do you have to crush my dreams Harry?"

"Sorry, Myrtle. Would it make you feel any better to know that he grew up to become Voldemort?"

The ghost shrieked and disappeared back down the toilet.

"Was that really necessary?" Pansy looked over at him and saw Harry smirking.

"Probably not," he said as he walked over to the sinks and _hissed_ at them. She had forgotten how unnerving it was to hear him speak Parseltongue, but it also sent a strange shiver down her spine.

Harry took off his robe and called for Dobby.

"Could you take our robes to our quarters then come right back, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry!"

Pansy handed him her robe as well. Harry smiled at her clothing choice. The long skirt and top were not nearly as nice as what she usually wore, but Harry had a feeling she was still going to be annoyed with how filthy they were going to get very soon.

And of course, just the thought of getting filthy with Pansy started a reaction that even that morning's activities couldn't prevent. Ah, teenage hormones.

Dobby returned a moment later and Harry stood over the hole that had appeared where the sink had been a few moments ago.

"Pansy, Dobby, you two will be the fourth and fifth people to see the Chamber of Secrets, probably since the time of Slytherin himself."

Even with as little care she had towards most of her house, this thrilled Pansy.

Harry drew his wand and cast a Scourgify down the hole.

"Wait a few seconds before following me." Harry slid down the tube before tumbling out. He tried to time a cushioning charm before he landed but wasn't quite quick enough. He did get one up before Pansy came out behind him. He helped her to her feet and they heard Dobby squealing with joy as he came down last.

"That was so much fun master Harry!" Harry actually giggled a little bit at the elf's glee; for one thing, it was such a ridiculous contrast with the last time he was down here. But for another thing, he had to agree with Dobby, although he probably enjoyed the cart ride at Gringotts more. Harry would have to remember to take Dobby with him the next time he went there.

"Glad you liked it Dobby. I'll probably need your help soon down here."

Harry led them through the tunnel before coming to the place where Lockhart had caused a partial cave in. Dobby was fast to get to work, removing rocks and debris. Harry and Pansy both helped, but the house-elf was a master at this sort of thing and his humans' efforts didn't bother him too much. There was a lot of work to do here, enough in fact, that Dobby didn't mind sharing.

Soon, they were moving further through the cavern, past the shed snake skin that made both Pansy and Dobby stop.

"My god, Harry. That basilisk must be huge," Pansy said.

"Yeah," he answered, not bothering to mention that the actual snake was at least fifty percent longer than this old shedding.

"Dobby could harvest the shed snakey skin. The skin of the real snakey will be even better."

"I suppose that it could be good for all sorts of potions and things like that."

"Definitely, Harry," Pansy added. "Basilisks are incredibly rare, and this one was probably the biggest ever if it really was around since Slytherin's time. I didn't even know they could live that long."

"Me neither. In a way, it's a shame I had to kill it. It would have been interesting to speak to, you know, under different circumstances."

"Now I know why you like Hagrid so much," Pansy snorted.

"Mostly because he was the first person who was actually nice to me that I can remember. Well, and because he cursed my fat bastard of a cousin with a pig's tail when he ate the birthday cake Hagrid had brought for me."

"That would have been amusing to see. Anyway, we should see what condition the basilisk is in. The venom is nearly priceless if some is still left."

"That makes sense," Harry replied as he saw the door to the Chamber proper coming into view. "It was what I had to use to kill Riddle's diary."

He hissed 'open' once again and led the way inside with his wand raised and a Lumos to help guide them. They got closer, and Harry knew exactly when Pansy could see the remains of the basilisk- she dug her fingernails into his arm as she stopped walking.

"It's alright, it's dead now," he assured her. He lifted her chin to look up at him, breaking her stare away from the monster's corpse.

Suddenly, she was kissing him madly.

"Promise me you won't be fighting any more monsters like that." Harry chuckled in response.

"I promise I will only be fighting monsters if absolutely necessary."

"Good enough, I suppose." Pansy walked forward, her brief moment of terror rescinding as she began studying the basilisk more carefully. "Dobby, what can you tell us about this thing?"

"Dobby sees much work to do! Dobby can skin the snakey, Dobby can drain the snakey poison, Dobby can butcher the meat. The bad snakey's eyes are all clawed up; Dobby can't do anything with them."

"Be very careful with the venom Dobby," Harry warned.

"Dobby will master Harry!"

Harry wondered if there was anything out there that didn't excite his little friend.

Pansy noticed him rubbing his arm absent-mindedly.

"Show me Harry."

"Hmm?"

"Your arm," she pointed to what he was doing and he stopped and rolled up his sleeve. He held his wand with his other hand and showed her the scar from where it pierced his forearm. It wasn't a particularly large thing, just a faded circle, but six months ago it had very nearly killed him.

He then noticed that they were nearly standing where it had happened. The broken fang lay on the ground a couple of feet away; the black ink still stained the floor.

"I think I've had enough of this place," Harry said.

"Dobby," Pansy called him over to them, his eyes still lit up in excitement about dealing with the huge snake's carcass. "Can you take us back to our quarters from here?"

"Yes miss Pansy."

And with that, Harry once again left the Chamber of Secrets behind.

* * *

"I'd like to thank you all for coming." Harry looked around at his the gathering of Gryffindor students. All of his year mates had joined him, as well as the quidditch team, and a hand full of others. Pansy was there too, of course, standing in the back, surreptitiously watching the gathering. Harry noticed her holding her wand in her palm, much of it hidden up her sleeve. He'd have to remember to ask her about that.

Dobby had dug a small hole in the ground here, near Hagrid's hut. He had absolutely refused to let Harry help. Harry was 'to be doing the speakings while Dobby's doings the fun dirty work' and the elf was not budging on this.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to lay to rest an old friend of mine," Harry said as he lay the pieces of his Nimbus 2000 into the dark wooden box that was serving as a make-shift coffin.

"This broom brought me much good luck. Our team was undefeated when I used her. But more than that, the last 3 years she and I faced danger together in all three matches we played against Slytherin. First year, we had Quirrel hexing us in the middle of the game. Second year, a rogue bludger was trying to smash us."

No one but Pansy noticed Dobby looking ashamed of himself. Even Granger wasn't paying attention to the little guy.

"Unfortunately, the fraud Lockhart made everything even worse after the game. Some day I'll have to pay him back for vanishing all those bones." People laughed at that, but Pansy recognized that Harry actually did feel anger at that buffoon. His betrayal at the end of the year had put Harry in even more danger. The fact that he had tried to steal Harry's memories made Pansy want to break into St. Mungo's and do some real harm to the bastard, regardless of his lost memory.

"Finally, we came to this year. Dementors, of all things, decided to try to interrupt the game and do terrible things to all of us. My trusty Nimbus 2000 paid the ultimate price on that day. But I think we are all glad that she was the only loss any of us suffered. Her sacrifice was not in vain.

"I will think of her fondly, even in the future when I find a new girl to ride in the quidditch matches." Some students were laughing, others were just blushing at Harry's risque comments. He noticed Pansy had cast some sort of spell behind the backs of at least three of the people gathered there, so Harry decided to carry on before anyone saw her.

Harry turned and levitated the coffin into the hole. It was only a couple of feet deep, but then even dead brooms didn't decay the same way a corpse might.

"Farewell, dear lady. May you find peace flying in the skies of broom heaven. Amen."

One of the Weasley twins stepped forward and poured out a butterbeer over the gravesite after Dobby had filled all the dirt in.

"It's a muggle tradition," the older boy said, "but I wasn't willing to waste fire whiskey."

People laughed at that and Wood immediately went over to Harry, asking him about when he would get a new broom. Harry promised to go shopping over the holiday break and was going to milk that excuse for as long as possible. Wood had reluctantly not scheduled any practices since the game, and with the weather worsening, the rest of the team had been secretly thanking Harry whenever their obsessed captain wasn't around to over hear them. The next match wasn't for three months anyway.

The gathering began making its way back inside with butterbeers passed all around and the Weasley twins sharing a flask they kept offering to the chasers. Harry thought it would have been better to give a snort to Wood, who could have used something to take the edge off. He dropped behind most of the group walking slowly with Pansy fairly easily. It was a cloudy late November day, and even though it was just after lunch, the wind was picking up, blowing quite cold.

"What were you casting?" he asked her in a whisper.

"Just checking something. I'll tell you later."

* * *

"So," Harry was trying to slow his breath from panting. He had convinced Pansy to warm up in the most fun way possible, and now they were sweaty and naked in bed. "What was with the spells you were casting on people at the funeral?"

Pansy chuckled, "I still can't believe you got that many people to go to a funeral for your broom."

"Well, she was a great broom. And I might have a bit more sway than usual after the whole Patronus driving off the dementors spectacle."

"That's true, and that's related to what I was doing. Remember what I said in the hospital wing? I think everyone at the quidditch match owes you their souls after saving them from the dementors."

"Dumbledore might have been able to save everyone with his Patronus though."

"He might have, but you were faster Harry. I'm sure he helped. But I was checking on my theory."

"Which is?"

"That everyone there now owes you a life debt."

"Oh."

"And I'm pretty sure that I'm right. At the very least Patil, Brown, Thomas, and Longbottom do. I didn't bother checking Granger or the Weasley girl, as they already did. Thankfully, as everyone was going inside, I was able to check Johnson too, she owes you one as well, even though she wasn't in the same area. This could be really useful in the future."

"Wow, that's..."

"I know."

"We need to check people in other houses."

"Especially Slytherin."

"Right, if Malfoy owes me one..."

"Narcissa was there too. She might even know; that could be why she was inviting you to her New Year's Eve party. Getting into your good graces to help protect her family."

"We'll need to think about this. Carefully. This should mean we're even safer while we're here at Hogwarts."

"Yes. Now, if we were just as safe everywhere else."

Harry looked over at her, and saw a dark look in her eye. She was thinking of her father again. He could tell. He had meant to do this earlier. Part of him was anxious. Another part just wanted to get it over already. He would ask Dobby tonight.

* * *

It was late when he felt Dobby prodding him with his long fingers. Harry stirred awake and slowly pulled his arms away from Pansy. He paused and listened for a moment to make sure he hadn't disturbed her sleep, then he followed the elf out into the sitting room.

"Were there any problems, Dobby? No one saw you or anything, I hope."

"No master Harry. Dobby was most sneaky. But Dobby found a problem."

"What?"

"Dobby couldn't find Leddy. Dobby checked the whole house, all the rooms. No house-elf trace was even there. Dobby worries what could have happened to Leddy."

"Shit. What about Pansy's parents?"

"Miss Pansy's mean daddy was there sleeping. But miss Pansy's mum wasn't there either. Dobby looked everywhere."

"That's really not good." Harry took a deep breath and looked into the fire.

"I should have sent you weeks ago, Dobby. This might be all my fault."

"No, master Harry. Master Harry is good. Getting miss Pansy safe was good. Bad old mister Parkinson's being bad is not master Harry's fault."

"Thanks, Dobby, but..." Harry just didn't have it in him to argue right now.

"Are you tired Dobby?"

"Not at all, master Harry." Looking over, Harry could see his friend seemed pretty wired. It must have been pretty exciting sneaking around like a spy. Harry was just glad he got in and out safely.

"Would you like to have some tea with me? I could use the company. I'm going to need to think for awhile."

"Dobby would love to have tea with master Harry." The elf went to the kitchen and Harry sat back with his thoughts. A few minutes later, Dobby sat on the couch next to Harry after handing him a cup of tea.

"You're sure nothing you did set off any alarms or anything Dobby?"

"No, master Harry. Wizards don't be making alarms for house-elves."

"That's very foolish of them. They underestimate you."

"Well, Dobby has probably told master Harry more secrets than Dobby should. Most house-elves don't tell their masters a lot of things."

"It's probably just as well for us then." He took a drink of his tea and stared into the embers of the fire. "Pansy is worried Dobby. About her father. About him trying to hurt us. But I'll never let him hurt her again."

"Dobby knows and Dobby will help master Harry."

"You're a good friend Dobby. I've got a plan, and I think I know what I'll need for you to do..."


	28. December's Tragic Drive

* * *

Harry stared after the beautiful snowy owl as she flew off into the distance. He had been corresponding with Narcissa Malfoy, and if you had told him that last year, wouldn't he have stared in shock and horror? Regardless, he and Pansy were now officially confirmed for her New Year's Eve Party at Malfoy Manor. Harry was sure that Edmund Parkinson would not be there.

December was turning into a rather strange month for him. The snow had already arrived, and things seemed serene. But there were problems as well. A couple of weeks ago, he had told Pansy of Dobby finding that both Dahlia Parkinson and Leddy had disappeared. She had not taken the news well. Pansy wept openly at the thought that her father had killed the house-elf. She could not imagine any other fate, as Leddy would have contacted her if she had been freed. Pansy admitted that she hadn't always had a very good relationship with the elf, really only befriending her that last summer, but still Leddy had certainly cared more about Pansy than her father ever had and probably her mother as well. At least that's what she said, but Harry still worried about her reaction.

She had claimed not to care about what happened to her mother and said the tears were only shed for the kind little elf. But Harry doubted that. From everything she had told him, while her father was a monster, her mother was not. Maybe not a very good parent, certainly neglectful, and not very caring, but at least not abusive. If she had been a worse person, Pansy might have been happy that she was possibly dead. He would certainly never shed a tear for any of the Durlseys, not even Petunia, whether she was his mother's blood or not. A part of him still wondered if one of them was adopted. The Evans grandparents had died before he was born, so he doubted that he could find out easily and was starting to convince himself to just assume it was true. His beautiful mother just couldn't be related to that awful shrew. And that's before mentioning how they looked nothing alike.

The last couple of weeks had made him more worried though. Pansy had been quieter, more pensive. He tried a few times to get her to talk. She always said that she was fine or that she just had other things on her mind. The one time he had really pushed, telling her that he would always be there for her and that he could tell she was upset at her mother's disappearance (he had avoided saying death in effort to not upset her more), Pansy had responded with anger and shouting. Demanding that Harry just leave her alone and stop trying to get inside her head. She had gone to what was supposed to be her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. It was their first fight.

Three hours later, he was about to go to bed alone for the first time in months when she finally came out. She didn't say anything as she walked over and sat by him on the couch. Harry immediately started apologizing, saying that he wouldn't push anymore, he would give her space if that's what she needed, that he loved her, and probably other things as he rambled. It would not have been his proudest moment, but he didn't care at the time. He had been thoroughly miserable at thinking that he had hurt her enough to cause the fight.

Her response was to kiss him. She didn't say a word, she just attacked his lips. Then she began tearing his clothes off. And her own. They didn't go to the bedroom. That would have wasted time. And they didn't make love.

_They fucked._

It was not sweet, nor tender. It was desperate, and almost violent in their physicality. They grabbed and pulled at each other in a frenzy. Needing more. Not soft caresses, but frantic grasping. She clawed at his back. He squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples. She bit down on his neck hard enough to draw blood, but by then, his thrusts were peaking and even the pain wasn't strong enough to throw off his orgasm.

Afterwards, she clung to him, arms and legs wrapped as tight as she could. Neither of them said a word. They trembled together, their muscles and emotions both trying to calm down. They stayed there even in their discomfort, with the cushions of the couch all out of place or on the floor. Harry felt a numb pain on one ankle and saw in the corner of his eye that the table had been kicked a couple of feet out of the way. Eventually, she kissed his cheek and her arms relaxed their hold. Harry sat up and she took his hand.

Pansy led him into the bathroom, then softly cleaned the blood off him. She performed a couple of healing spells to remove the bite mark. They checked themselves over for other wounds and found only a couple of bruises that thankfully would not show when they were dressed.

When they went to bed, they held onto each other a little more tightly than usual.

Just before he drifted off, Harry realized what the big deal about make up sex was. It wasn't necessarily better, but it was certainly something more... Passionate? Sort of. Draining, definitely. Exhausting.

* * *

That had been a few days ago, and things were better since then. Pansy was still a bit closed off, but less so. Harry decided to be patient and trust her to come to him if she needed.

Two nights ago, though, they had a different sort of bonding experience. They snuck into the restricted section of the library together a couple of hours after curfew.

They had each been in search of specific types of magic.

Harry looked for, and found, how to create port keys. He wanted this for a reason, but he was keeping it a secret for the moment. It would be a useful enough skill in the future anyway that he did not have to come up with anything to mislead Pansy.

Pansy had remembered and found the term for magical mind reading that she had wanted to do. Legilimency. Finding a book on how to create portkeys was easy enough that Harry helped her in a search for a book on mental magic. It took nearly an hour, but finally, they had their prizes and quietly made their way back to their quarters.

Thankfully, it had been a Friday night, as they spent the next day sleeping very late.

Saturday, Pansy read to him about Legilimency and he realized how it could be useful but only in careful circumstances. Using it silently was supposed to be extremely difficult, and if someone heard the incantation, they could know what you were doing. Not to mention that eye contact was also required. Harry instantly grasped that they would need to only use it if they could confound, Obliviate or otherwise befuddle the target. Still, it would be another effective tool against an enemy, if you could get them alone, to delve into their secrets.

So, naturally, Harry and Pansy spent part of Saturday night trying it out on each other.

And once again, their magic performed in an unusual way. Harry dove into her mind on the first try with incredible ease, and he saw images of her past. A few pleasant memories of her time with him at first. Then he found a vague childhood memory of her mother reading to her. He felt a tension in Pansy's being at that, so he let the scene fade.

Unfortunately, the next thing he found was much darker. He saw the confrontation with her father.

Harry reacted by pulling out as fast as he could.

Pansy had tears in her eyes. He embraced her and apologized for making her relive that.

She responded by deciding to study the defense against Legilimency as soon as possible.

When she cast the spell on him, he could feel her slipping into his mind. It was actually quite pleasant. As she looked around, he knew that he could guide her to memories that he wanted her to see. He went back to their first kiss. Then the night of his birthday. Their first night together once he claimed her. Honestly, he was becoming a night owl now that he spent all of them with her.

He also decided to show her a few things from his first couple of years at school, before they became close. He showed her the troll from his first year. He felt a bit foolish looking back at his actions and he noticed her fear. He wasn't sure how, but he could just tell what she was feeling while she watched. So he reached out to calm her. He imagined holding her hand and felt the trepidation coming from Pansy cease. He decided to show her something more relaxing next.

So he went back to when he found the Mirror of Erised.

It felt like longer than two years ago to him. There they were looking at him from the reflection. Not just his parents, but who he assumed must have been grandparents and other ancestors as well. The memory was still a bit overwhelming, but he could tell that Pansy enjoyed seeing it.

He felt her withdraw from his mind.

When she asked why she didn't see any of his bad memories, he told her that he guided her to things that he thought she might want to see instead of things that were painful. Pansy had no idea how he did that, as she felt like she was following along with whatever he saw in her mind like a passenger.

He promised to try not to go looking for things she wouldn't want him to see if they were going to do it again.

She asked to see his confrontations with the Dark Lord at the end of both his first two years. Harry didn't want to worry her over the dangers of his past, but she insisted. She said that she needed to know to be able to better prepare for the future.

So Harry reluctantly agreed.

After reliving the pitiful traps that guarded the stone, Harry worried even more that Dumbledore might be going senile. They were ridiculously simple.

Facing off against Quirrel and Riddle's face growing out of the back of his head was kinda gross now that he looked back.

Pansy was shaken up by the whole thing. Dobby made them some tea, and Harry waited for her to calm herself before letting her go back in to watch the events of the Chamber of Secrets. Just before she was ready to cast the spell again, he asked Dobby to have more tea ready soon. Something as soothing as possible.

He knew she was going to need it.

She raised her wand and Harry felt her slip into his mind once again. He let his memory drift back to finding out that Ginny was the one who had been taken into the Chamber. The stupidity of Lockhart. Going on alone. The shade of Riddle gloating. Running from the enormous snake. Relief at the appearance of Fawkes. Pulling the sword from the hat. Driving it through the roof of the monster's mouth. Triumph, but also pain. Pulling the fang from his arm. More gloating from Riddle. The tears of a phoenix. Stabbing the diary. The ink oozing out like blood onto the stones.

All through it, he could feel her. Her fear but also her determination to know just what he had gone through. He decided to show her a couple of other things before the night was through.

She came back out shivering. Harry wrapped his arms around her. He told her he wanted to show her two more things. Two decisions he had made. She was reluctant, but she cast the spell one more time.

He showed her the confrontation with Malfoy this time, after the Chamber. How he had freed Dobby. And how Dobby had protected him when Malfoy raised his wand.

Then he showed her the day they met. Well, not technically the day they met, but the day they got to know each other.

"Those were two of the most important decisions of my life. Protecting you from the Weasleys and freeing Dobby. They led me to finally having a family."

* * *

As annoying as Colin Creevey's exuberance could be, he had both knowledge and a camera that Harry needed. Thankfully, with the praise for saving everyone from the dementors on top of the already built-in hero worship, Colin was more than happy to help Harry.

With Pansy studying much of that Sunday on Legilimency and Occlumency, sneaking away to Hogsmeade for a part of her upcoming present was easy.

Putting it all together would hopefully go well, but he would need privacy to make sure that it would still be a surprise once her birthday came around.

* * *

"Harry, mate, have you decided what you're doing for Christmas?"

"I'm going home. How about you?"

"I guess we all are. I was thinking of inviting you to the Burrow, but..."

"Don't worry about it Ron. I've actually got a home worth going to now. Have fun with your family."

"Right. Maybe next summer you can come visit. I'm sure mum would love to see you again."

"That could be fun. Any specials plans for you Hermione?"

"Nothing unusual. Harry, could I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure."

"Could you help me practice the Patronus charm again?"

"I'm pretty busy. How about after the holidays? You still want to even though they aren't coming back?"

"I still want to learn it. Dementors are terrifying. If I ever come up against them again, I want to have a defense to fall back on."

"Alright. Have you guys seen Pansy this afternoon?"

"I think she's still in your quarters. She hasn't come out since lunch, unless you let her borrow your cloak."

"Okay. Well, I've got to take care a couple of things. I'll join you for dinner, alright?"

"See you later, mate."

He stepped through the guardian portrait and found Pansy sitting on the couch, seemingly in meditation. Harry walked quietly into his bedroom and stashed a couple of items into his trunk. By the time he came back out, Pansy was looking at him expectantly.

"Where have you been?"

"Can't a man have a few secrets?" He gave her a wink.

"Was Dobby along to keep an eye on you? Just to make sure you weren't doing anything dangerous."

"Oh ye of little faith."

"Black is still out there. The aurors haven't had any more luck than the dementors."

"I know, but I doubt he's going to just be strolling down the streets of Hogsmeade."

"So you did go to Hogsmeade today."

"Stop fishing for details. I'll just say that I remember that your birthday's coming up. Don't pry because I'll be upset if you ruin the surprise."

"Alright, master," Pansy said huskily.

"Saying that in a sexy voice isn't going to get me to spill anything more."

"Fine," she pouted. "Then I want you to try to out my Occlumency. I've been studying all afternoon and want to see if this helps any."

"Okay. Tell me when you're ready."

"Whenever you are, Harry."

" _Legilimens._ "

He felt his magic slip into her mind. There was a bit more effort required and once he got in, it felt fairly different. There were invisible walls that he could feel. They weren't particularly strong- Harry could tell that he could punch through them if he wanted without too much difficulty. If he looked hard enough, he could see through them into what he guessed were the memories she had hidden away. To his right, he saw her father's angry scowl. Harry quickly looked away; after all, he had promised not to go digging for anything painful.

Instead he turned to the opposite direction and found an open path. He felt himself moving down a series of steps and saw images of their time together. He saw her making the magical photograph she had given him for his birthday last summer and that delightful blue summer dress she wore. There was a brief surge of pain as Leddy had helped with taking the photo.

The image dissolved into the two of them walking down a hall at Hogwarts. He realized from the conversation that it was just after he had claimed her from her father using the life debt. As they neared the Great Hall, Harry saw the bright smile on her face that Pansy quickly forced away. When they walked in together though, he could feel her satisfaction at being with him, and the enormous smirk wanting to burst free at all the people staring at her of all people being with him.

For a moment, he felt a flash of her insecurity. The worry that someone else could take her place. That so many other people could have told him the secrets that had been kept from him. The knowledge that got him away from his evil muggles. But even in that moment of her doubt, he felt pleased that she hated the Dursleys so much on his behalf, and he could tell that she wanted to get revenge on them for how they had treated him.

He felt something similar coming from within Pansy and a brief part of that awful night at the end of summer came back. She was excited with delight at Harry's hatred for her father. If he hadn't already made up his mind, that might have done it.

He didn't realize that the scene had changed again.

It was the quidditch match and he could feel her emotions bubbling right up to the surface. Her jealousy and irritation towards Narcissa and then Parvati. Then her annoyance as the weather worsened and she wished that Harry was next to her to cling to for warmth. Then her frustration at him for wanting the match over as fast as possible so he could go back inside and warm her up properly. Harry could see her fantasy of sharing a nice hot bath with him. He would have to remember to do that as soon as possible.

Dementors swarming put an end to that thought as he felt her spike of fear. He could tell it was her father, that night when he had failed to protect her, that the dementors forced upon her and he wanted to go back in time to really make those monsters _hurt_. How dare they do that his girl?

But that feeling quickly melted away, replaced by her joy and serenity once his Patronus washed over her.

Harry let go of the spell and pulled out from Pansy's memories.

"That was different. How do you feel?"

"It was a bit stressful when you cast the spell. I could tell that my defenses couldn't hold you out, but once you were inside, it felt like I had more control over what you could see."

"Then I guess your practice worked, at least partially. I suppose I should try to learn it as well. It seems like the type of thing old Tom might know, so it might come in handy some day."

Pansy was sweating slightly from the effort of trying to defend her mind from him, and he noticed a shiver from her. The sky outside was grey and it looked like a few snow flakes were beginning to fall. This reminded Harry...

"You know, I saw the quidditch match from your point of view. I believe you wanted to soak in a nice hot bath after the game. I think that bath is a month overdue."

Her smile told him she liked his idea. They were quickly in the bathroom, with the tub filling as they stripped out of their clothes. As soon as the water was just right, Harry stepped in and sat down. Pansy settled down in front of him and he kissed the nape of her neck as she slid into his embrace.

"Harry?"

"Hmm..."

"You aren't supposed to be able to read thoughts from Legilimency."

"Yes, I was seeing your memories."

"Right, but I didn't say anything about wanting to soak in a bath at the quidditch match, although I was thinking it."

"That's...odd."

"I guess it wouldn't be the first time our magic interacted with each other in a strange way."

"Enough talk, more relaxing." He closed his eyes. Everything just felt right; she was in his arms. She shifted a bit and lay her head back against him.

Dobby lowered the lights for his humans. The elf had a feeling he would need to wake them in time for dinner.

* * *

The next few days passed in relative calm. Wednesday night though, Dobby let him know that it was time. Harry excused himself from his friends after dinner, saying that he had some work he had to get done that night.

Pansy, of course, wanted to know what he was up to.

"So, what's going on tonight?"

She followed Harry as he went into the bedroom and changed out of his school robes. She was eyeing him skeptically.

"A moment of privacy please."

"Since when are you shy about me seeing you out of clothes? Normally, you'd be trying to get me undressed too."

"I did say I had some work to do tonight."

"Harry," she growled at him.

"Give me a minute please."

She went out into the living room with a huff. Harry held in his snicker till she left. He quickly retrieved his cloak.

"Everything still set Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry."

"Alright, let me tell Pansy we're going out and we'll be off." The house-elf followed Harry as he stepped back into the living room.

"Now, what's going on?"

"I have to get something done for your birthday. You don't want me to ruin the surprise, do you?"

"Dobby, are you going with him?"

"Yes, miss Pansy."

"Alright, well take care of him," she told the elf who happily agreed. "And you," she grabbed Harry by the collar and pulled him down into a searing kiss, "be careful, mister secretive. Don't stay out too late or you'll miss the fun we could have before bed time."

Harry smiled briefly before turning and popping away with Dobby.

* * *

They appeared in an empty room with pieces of wood splintered from the walls. It was nearly impossible to recognize it as Pansy's former bedroom. Harry put on his cloak and Dobby disappeared from sight.

"Dobby will check to see which room the bad man is in."

Harry cast a quick charm to muffle the sounds of any movement. A moment later, he heard the elf's voice.

"Bad man is in the office downstairs."

"Follow me and watch my back, Dobby. If anything goes wrong, incapacitate him if you can. If not, we'll need to escape."

Harry quietly crept through the large empty manor. It was darker than it had been the last time he'd been here. Even at the main stairway leading down to the entry hallway, very few lamps were lit. But he could see, to the left of the bottom of the stairs, an open door leading to a room with his target.

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself before he slowly went down the stairs. He had his wand ready.

As soon as he could see into the lit room, he forced himself to aim carefully and poured all his willpower into the spell.

_"Imperio!"_

Edmund Parkinson stiffened very briefly before a calm expression overtook his face. Harry stepped into the room but kept under the cover of his invisibility cloak.

It was quite useful that they were in a study- the bastard was already sitting at his desk.

"You will take out a clean parchment and write out a confession of all your crimes. Then, on a separate piece of parchment, you will make a list of everyone you know to have been a Death Eater."

Parkinson began writing and Harry watched with his wand pointed at him the entire time. The quill scratched on and on. The first parchment was full and he turned it over and continued to write on the back for a few more lines before he finally started writing the second page.

Harry silently summoned the first page over to him and skimmed through it. Much of it was sickening but not surprising. He found the one thing he feared would be on the list and set it aside. Once Parkinson finished writing on the second page, Harry also summoned it over.

He looked over the desk. Parkinson was still sitting there with a vacant look on his face. Harry summoned several more blank pieces of parchment and quickly made a hand full of copies of Parkinson's confession before removing the references to him casting the Cruciatus curse on Pansy. He then levitated one of the duplicates onto the desk in front of the Death Eater.

"What happened to your house-elf?"

"I disposed of it."

"You killed her?"

"The creature was disobedient. If it wasn't going to serve properly, then it was useless."

"What happened to her body?"

"I transfigured the thing into a bone and put it out with the rest of the garbage."

Harry almost wished he knew some really nasty curses to use on this evil fucking bastard.

"Why didn't you list this in your confession?"

"Disposing of property is not a crime."

"You murdered her."

"It was just a house-elf."

Harry ground his teeth and forced himself to calm down and stick with the plan. He whispered to Dobby to get a sharp knife from the kitchen and put it on the desk. One house-elf pop later, a butcher knife appeared.

"Where is your wife's body?"

"Buried in the backyard."

"Write the location on the bottom of your confession." He picked up the quill and followed the order. Harry looked at him with pure hatred.

"Now pick up the knife and slit your throat."

* * *

It was late when Harry returned to Hogwarts that night. Pansy was already asleep, so he got changed and slid into bed next to her. She rolled over and snuggled into his side. Harry kissed her head and smelled the fragrance of her hair. Her scent calmed him. He held onto her and breathed her in over and over.

A part of him wondered if he should feel worse.

But she was safe now. That was what mattered.


	29. Birthday Surprise and Celebration

* * *

She woke before him the next morning. Pansy was annoyed that he had been out so late but relieved that he was back safe. For once, Harry wasn't waking her with amorous intentions. In fact, he wasn't poking her at all. That was pretty unusual.

She waited for awhile, but Harry just slept on, even as she got up and went to shower. She wondered about whatever he might have been planning for her birthday.

"Wake up Harry." He stirred a bit but rolled over, refusing to wake. So Pansy kissed his ear and whispered into it, "Wake up my love."

Harry sat up groggily. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eight. Get dressed quickly, I'm hungry."

"Yes mistress," he groaned, but staggered into the bathroom.

Harry was quieter than usual as he got ready for the day and went down the many stairs with her for breakfast.

"Why are you so out of it this morning?"

"Just a long night."

"And...?"

"And, I told you I'm not going to spoil any potential birthday surprise."

"It better be a hell of a surprise," she muttered as they arrived at the Great Hall.

_'Oh, it will be.'_

* * *

For the rest of the day, Pansy was unable to get anything else out of Harry about it. And oh how she did try. But Harry was in a quiet pensive mood, which greatly frustrated her. Not just because of her peaked curiosity, but also in that it reminded her of how Harry had behaved after his horrific childhood had been revealed to her. Maybe she should try to draw him out the same way she had last time?

The day passed fairly unremarkably. Classes, work, meals, and by the time they were going to bed, Pansy had still been stifled in her attempts to get Harry to say anything else about the night before. She was so annoyed that she refused his advances for once. And Harry didn't even try to argue with her, which was even more frustrating. What was with him today?

* * *

When she woke the next morning with Harry spooned behind her, one arm wrapped around her, his hand cupping her breast, and his arousal poking her, everything felt right again. She couldn't really understand why she had been so upset with him the day before.

* * *

It was Friday now. The 18th. Three days till her birthday. Harry hadn't expected it to happen yet but was fairly sure the news would get out soon. As they ate breakfast, the wait was ended. Hedwig arrived with the Daily Prophet. And the headline nearly screamed off the page.

_**Parkinson Tragedy!** _

_**Death Eater Confession!** _

Pansy saw it immediately, and he was glad to have made it down to breakfast early. She sat aside her last few bites of food and snatched the paper from his hands. Before he could react, she raced out of the Great Hall, still clutching the newspaper. He was thankful that he had remembered to warn Dobby about this. He knew the elf would follow her and watch over her. Hopefully, they would be back in their private quarters together soon. Harry stood and made his way up to the staff table.

"Professor Vector?"

"Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?"

"I trust you saw the news," Harry said as he nodded towards the headlines of the paper siting in front of the teacher.

"Yes, an awful tragedy. I noticed miss Parkinson running out. She must be terribly upset."

"I'm concerned as well." Harry rubbed his face, seemingly troubled, but truthfully just trying to keep himself composed. "I would like to request an excused absence for myself and Pansy today. I need to make sure she'll be alright."

"I understand, Mr. Potter. If you can deliver your assignments that are due by the end of the day, I will excuse the both of you. Please take good care of her."

"Thank you ma'am," he said as he turned and left.

Harry quickly made his way down the aisle, briefly noticing his friends. Hermione gave him a sad, worried smile as she looked up from the paper- she understood. Or at least, she thought she did. Ron just kept eating, but then, what else did Harry really expect of him?

Once Harry was out of the Great Hall and alone, Dobby popped to him.

"Miss Pansy is back in the quarters."

"Thanks Dobby. Take me to her please."

And in a flash, he was standing before her.

Pansy was sitting on the couch, still reading the story in the paper. He waited for her. He felt the weight of the seconds ticking by, seeming terribly slow. Harry eventually realized that he was holding his breath.

Finally, Pansy sat the paper down.

He saw the tears streaming down her face.

Then she jumped up, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him like it was the end of the world. When she pulled back, Pansy had the biggest, brightest smile he'd ever seen.

"You did it." She kissed him again. "We're free of him." Another kiss. "Thank you." Another. "Thank you." And another. "Thank you." She hugged him tightly, pulling as close as she could.

Harry felt her shaking against him and whispered into her ear, "I love you."

She leaned back enough for him to raise his hands to wipe her tears away. "Happy tears then?" She nodded and smiled. "For a minute there, I was worried.

"Happy birthday."

Pansy actually giggled at this. "You are definitely the best secret boyfriend in the world."

"I hope the surprise was worth it."

"It was. Probably for the best that I was as shocked as I was in public too.

"Now," she sat back on the couch in front of him and nearly ripped his pants off, "I think we need to celebrate."

* * *

_An hour later..._

"We should probably get up." Harry felt Pansy rub against him, both of them happily covered in sweat. "I talked Vector into letting us skip class, but I strongly doubt McGonagall would be so understanding."

"Nice of Professor Vector though."

"Yeah. We do have to turn in our assignments that are due."

"No problem, I finished mine last weekend."

"Me too."

They lay together for another minute, just resting, content.

"We should act differently for the rest of the day. You showing care and attention towards me wouldn't be nearly as surprising as if you didn't do so. You still have a reputation as a thoroughly good guy."

"It would be nice to not have to hide everything."

"True, but don't get carried away."

"I won't. Besides, you're the one who will have to put on the mask of a grieving daughter." Harry flinched after that slipped out- he was still worried about what Pansy might be feeling about her mother's death.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm a good actress. However, I might need some more consoling in a broom closet or two. Possibly at lunch as well."

She was still beaming, so Harry put his worry away for now.

"As long as we are careful, I will be sure to comfort you as much as you want." He felt as well as heard her snickering against his chest.

With a pop and a snap, Dobby briefly appeared and hit them both with a cleaning charm.

"Master and miss need to get to class soon."

"Thanks, Dobby." The elf disappeared but left behind two piles of their clothes.

Watching Pansy get dressed made Harry very reluctant to go to class. She must have known he was watching with the way she bent over. God damn she's sexy. It would be a miracle if he didn't lose points for not paying attention in class.

* * *

There were a few murmurs as they walked into Transfiguration that day, with Pansy on his arm, but no one said anything to them. Harry was more of a gentleman than ever, but he forced himself not to do anything too overt. Helping her to her seat would be fine; he just had to suppress his instincts to snog her in class. Thankfully, they had been practicing that all term. It probably drove them to be even more amorous when they were in private- and if Harry really thought about it, that was a major factor in how anti-social he was at times.

Regardless, they made it through class without incident. Pansy had discreetly passed him a note about having as quick and early a lunch as possible- Harry wasn't the only one that wanted to celebrate more.

Sitting down in the Great Hall, they were soon joined by Parvati and Lavender, moments later Hermione as well.

"Pansy are you alright?" asked Parvati.

"I'm fine."

"Is there anything we can do? You must be so upset." If it had been Harry, he doubted he could have kept a straight face at Lavender's comment.

"Really, it's alright. Harry is taking care of me. This doesn't really change anything."

There were times like this that Pansy truly impressed Harry with her ability to bluff and lie.

"Well, we're both really sorry," Parvati said.

"I am too," Hermione added as she sat down with them. "Please let me know if I can do anything to help."

"I appreciate your concerns- all of you. But I'd prefer to just try to eat now; I didn't get to finish breakfast earlier."

The other girls let up finally, and Harry had to hide his amusement as Pansy devoured a much larger than usual lunch. He did too, actually- they had worked up an appetite with their morning celebration. But he made sure not to get too full though.

As soon as they could, they excused themselves from the table, got out into an empty hall, and had Dobby take them straight to their bedroom.

Once the elf disappeared, Pansy smiled at Harry then turned around, threw off her robe, and took a couple of steps towards the bed.

"Well Harry, you are going to take care of me, aren't you?" She bent seductively in front of him. He watched captivated as her skirt rose higher, inch by inch.

"I hope I wasn't lying to the girls about that."

He didn't need any more prompting. Harry slipped in behind her and slid his hands up her thighs. He flipped up her skirt and pulled down her panties.

"Your bum is incredible," he said, and it was. He pushed her forward onto the bed and leaned in behind her, kissing one cheek, then the other. She moaned and wiggled her ass at him.

"Less talking, more shagging."

He could see that she was already excited. Harry bent down and gave her a lick. Pansy, as always, tasted delicious to him. He fumbled with his belt while he sucked at her. As fast as he could free himself from his pants, Harry climbed onto the bed and slide inside her. She was ready and thrust back at him. Their hips met and they began a frantic pace. He leaned forward, kissing the back of her neck.

"Pull my hair."

His hand trailed up the nape of her neck into her hair, making her scalp tingle. His fingers wrapped around her locks, and he began tugging. Pansy cried out, and Harry could feel her begin to peak.

"Yes. Fuck me harder!"

He groped a breast with his free hand and slammed into her, faster and deeper. She cried out again, nearly a scream, as he felt her squeezing him. That was enough to set off his own orgasm, and it was a particularly deep feeling, a bit longer than usual too.

Once his own muscles stopped shivering, he noticed Pansy's legs shaking against him.

"Are you alright?"

Pansy turned her head and Harry leaned in for a kiss. She then collapsed onto the bed and rolled over to face him.

"Oh my God, that was amazing. I love you Harry."

He chuckled and agreed with her. "Yeah, that was really fucking hot. I didn't pull too hard then?"

"No, you could have pulled a little bit harder, actually. But better safe than sorry."

"That's what I thought too."

They both took a few breaths as their hearts stopped pounding quite so hard.

"Too bad we have to go to class so soon."

"Yeah."

A moment later, after a couple of cleaning charms, Harry followed as Pansy started to get up and straighten her clothes.

Then she reached down before turning to look at him with a smirk on her face. He was fastening his belt as he noticed what was in her hand- her panties- that she was now shoving into his pocket.

"Bring your invisibility cloak."

* * *

They made it to Care of Magical Creatures on time, but just barely. Hagrid was his usual friendly self though, so Harry wasn't worried- especially not after he offered Pansy his condolences at the beginning of class.

Harry got to walk to the class once again with Pansy on his arm, and despite how minor that display of affection might seem, it actually made him feel much happier. And no, it wasn't just the sex talking. Having to hide their relationship was pretty stressful at times. Harry understood the reasons why Pansy had so far insisted on it. They had enemies. Not just her father, but the Malfoys, Snape, and who knows how many other Death Eaters that had gone free. Well, technically Harry had some idea of how many- he had Edmund Parkinson's list after all- but it was likely that there were others he hadn't known about.

He was going to have to go over everything with her soon, but not at school. He wanted as much privacy and security as possible, not to mention time alone with Pansy to plot things out without having to worry about putting in an appearance with Ron and Hermione. They were still his friends, and he did care about them, but right now he just had more important things on his plate.

However, aside from all those thoughts of his enemies, Harry had one major thing running through his head. How the hell was he supposed to focus on anything other than what Pansy _wasn't_ wearing? He wanted to bury his head under her skirt and not come up for air till she screamed his name out in front of all their class mates.

God dammit this was frustrating. At least the outer robe was nice and loose. It made adjusting himself to hide his erection much easier.

The lesson that day was nothing more than a bit of review and helping to feed a couple of Hagrid's favorite "interesting creatures" but somehow they had made it through the term with nothing more dangerous than that first day when Draco had gotten his little scratch from Buckbeak. Harry definitely had a favorite hippogriff ever since then. Who knew how long that lucky streak might go on though?

Hagrid had already made them give group oral reports on dragons- in part because of his own love for them, as well as the fact that he wasn't allowed to bring one to class. It had been a pretty fun assignment truthfully, as Pansy had used it as an excuse to research which type of dragon Harry's Patronus might be. Of course, it turned out to not truly be any of the breeds as Harry had drawn more on his own imagination of what a dragon should look like moreso than actual experience. The only dragon he'd ever seen was just a baby after all, and Norbert wasn't scary enough to battle dementors.

However, the Patronus was fairly close to the Ukranian Ironbelly, and Harry was able to cast the spell while Pansy went over the similarities as well as the differences compared to the real thing. It was one of the few times that Harry had outscored Hermione on an assignment. Of course, she'd had Ron as a partner, which didn't help her any. That had led to one of their nastier fights- although supposedly it was about their bickering pets, Harry had seen the tension brewing all day long till the inevitable blow up.

It had been a week ago now, and he was pretty sure that Hermione, in particular, could really use the holiday break to de-stress.

As the class finally was about to end, Harry used the Notice-Me-Not charm to great effect as the rest of the class departed, paying the couple no mind at all. They slipped away along the edge of the forest till they found a comfortable spot. A surprisingly pleasant and dry bit of weather had melted the snow a couple of days ago.

Two warming spells and one invisibility cloak later, Harry and Pansy made love outside for the first time. Despite being aroused for the last couple of hours, Harry took it slowly. They had nothing else to do or worry about- they could just have another round of their day-long celebration together.

It was fantastic; the complete opposite of the quickie they'd had at lunch but every bit as intense and rewarding in its own way. By the time they were done basking in the afterglow, he was surprised when he hadn't needed to reapply the warming charms.

Instead they went inside and took a nice long hot shower. And that really made Harry's day. For once, Pansy suggested they bathe together, and it led to just as much fun as every previous time she had agreed to join him.

When they returned to their rooms for the night after dinner, Harry actually felt satiated for once. He spoke to Pansy about what all they wanted to do over the Christmas break. She wanted to get in some experience in the muggle world and assumed that any bits of odd behavior or misunderstandings would be easier for others to miss in the bustle of the holiday season. Like always, Pansy was full of good ideas.

* * *

The next day, Pansy put her acting skills to work once again. She played the upset, grieving daughter in the morning through breakfast so that Harry could use it as an excuse to tell his friends that she would need privacy while he comforted her over the recent events on the train ride home. They were both too excited and didn't want to have to hide things with the gleeful mood they had both been in for the last twenty four hours. Besides, Harry had talked her into the idea of having sex on the train, and well, that did sound pretty fucking hot. She had been on a bit of an adventurous binge and a part of her thrilled at the recklessness of not worrying about being caught with him. She belonged to him after all. Who was anyone else to say what they could or couldn't do together?

If it had been a couple of weeks sooner or later, she would not have felt that way. Thankfully for Harry, right then, she did. Thus, he did get to have sex on the Hogwarts express. It was lucky that his Notice-Me-Not charms were just as overpowered as his other spells had been for the last couple of months. No one even knocked on their door during the entire trip- not even the lady with the snack trolley.

Once Dobby popped them back to the flat, they were quite grateful for his magic in the kitchen because they were absolutely starving.

* * *

"Want to go meet the neighbors?"

"I _want_ to stay in bed for another hour, but only if you'll actually let me sleep."

"Hey, we got plenty of sleep. It's not my fault you're so sexy that I can't keep my hands off you."

"Forgive me, my lord, for enticing you so."

"It's unforgivable. I'll just have to keep taking my desires out on you as punishment for years to come."

"I hope so."

"Alright, then what do you want to do today?"

"I suppose you should introduce me to the neighbors. After that, I'd like to go to Diagon Alley briefly. I need to do a bit of shopping there."

"Want me to throw up some glamours before we go?"

"We probably should. It would be much easier to move around as a couple of random older teens in the alley."

"If we swing by Gringotts, I can have Vogruk get you a set of muggle ID too."

"Muggle ID?"

"Yeah, the muggles use different types of identification. Birth certificates, drivers licenses, that sort of thing. I have an official set, showing my real name and age, and an older set for dealing with certain things where muggles have age restrictions."

"Can we get the same thing for me?"

"It shouldn't be a problem, although they probably will still have you listed as Pansy Parkinson officially. Muggles don't have life debts and things like that, obviously. I hope that won't bother you too much."

"It sounds fine. With Father out of the way, it shouldn't matter any more."

"Okay, so we'll meet the Brightwells, then go by the alley, then what?"

"I don't know, why don't you show me something in the muggle world?"

"How about dinner and a movie? That's sort of a traditional muggle date."

"I guess we haven't really had any sort of traditional date yet."

"Then let me spoil you today, my lady."

"I suppose I'll allow that, my lord."

Pansy disentangled herself from Harry's arms and headed to the bathroom to shower and prepare for the day. Harry eventually followed her lead.

* * *

An hour later, they went down to the ground floor to the Brightwells' tea shop. It was a grey, windy day, which brought another idea to Harry's mind for something else to do today. Being late in the morning, the shop was almost completely empty but Harry saw Ruby Brightwell behind the counter and she smiled at him as they came in.

"Hello Harry dear. Home for the hols?"

"Yep. It's been a rather interesting fall term."

"I should think so. I read all about you driving off those horrible monsters last month." She said this in a low voice; thankfully the only customer in the place was off in a corner reading the paper.

"I'd like to introduce you to Pansy. Pansy, this is Ruby Brightwell."

"Hello, ma'am."

"Call me Ruby, dear," the older lady said while smiling. "Now what are we going to do with you, Mr. Potter? Already bringing home pretty girls from school. You little charmer."

"Well, Pansy is under my protection technically. She's an orphan like me."

"Is this one of those things about houses, families, and whatnot?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Well, you'll both have to join us for dinner some time soon."

"That sounds lovely, Ruby." Pansy was eager to see a meal prepared in the muggle world.

"Is Mortie around?"

"No, he's out running some errands."

"Tell him hello, we're going out for the day ourselves."

"Take care dearies."

* * *

Diagon Alley was as packed as you can imagine for the Yule season. Thankfully, Gringotts was efficient as per the usual Goblin standards.

Vogruk began the process of getting documents ready for Pansy. She also had him work on getting two sets of passports for them, as one of these days she was going to have to take Harry on a vacation.

Harry had Dobby follow Pansy as she went off on her own while he stopped by the quidditch store to look over the brooms. He was going to have to buy one soon, and he wondered if they would have a sale after Christmas as many muggle stores would. Harry could afford to buy pretty much whatever broom he wanted, although the Firebolt still seemed pretty daunting, but he just wasn't sure what he should get.

They had a quick, late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron then entered into non-magical London. The rushing crowds were enormous as it was the final weekend before the holiday.

Then Harry made what most men would call a terrible mistake. He took Pansy to a nearby shopping mall. His idea was that she needed a winter coat that would fit in while they were away from the magical world. The good news was that he succeeded, as Pansy found a nicely fitting black pea coat that she just adored that Harry bought for her as an early Christmas present. She helped him pick out a coat of his own as well.

The bad news was that she was absolutely floored by the massive amount of clothes, and that, of course, led to them spending hours there as she seemingly had to try on half the clothes she saw. Pansy insisted that Harry get a few things as well, and he was rarely more thankful for Dobby as the little elf was able to take the half dozen bags back home so much easier than it would have been otherwise. He mostly enjoyed watching her delight at shopping in the muggle world, but by the time hour three bled over into hour four, he was quite happy that the stores were closing soon.

"I'm sorry Harry."

"For what?"

"I might have gotten a bit carried away in there, with all the clothes."

"Yeah, you might have." Harry was smiling though. "Who knew I could work up an appetite just _watching_ you shop?"

"Well then, what do you want to eat, Mr. Hungry Harry?"

"Hmm. You up for something spicy?"

"Sure."

"I've always wanted to try curry. The Dursleys hated anything 'foreign' like that, so that made me want to try food, or really anything, they wouldn't approve of."

"I think I understand. Where should we go then?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find some place while we're still in London."

Harry hailed a taxi, and the driver was soon dropping them off in front of an Indian restaurant.

Harry learned another new lesson that night. Even mildly spicy curry can still be pretty fucking hot. But that was what Pansy ordered. Harry, going for a medium amount of spiciness, ended up drinking what seemed like a gallon of water. It was still a delicious meal with the mix of meat, vegetables, and spices being quite unlike anything he'd had before. He briefly wondered if Dobby could cook something like it. Next time though, he would be sure to order something milder.

Thankfully, there was a place nearby they stopped at to get some ice cream for desert. Pansy got mint chocolate chip while Harry had cookies and cream. It helped his stomach feel much less like a volcano.

He noticed that Pansy was almost indecent with they way she treated her ice cream cone. She loved to tease him.

Harry had spotted a movie theater a few blocks away, so they headed that direction while eating their ice cream cones. The weather was a bit cold for their frozen treats, but it really hit the spot after a spicy meal. Besides, he was never going to turn down an excuse to warm Pansy up.

"Okay, what should we see?"

"I've never been to a movie before, shouldn't you pick?" Pansy said this quietly, not wanting to attract attention to themselves. It gave him the perfect reason to squeeze in close next to her.

"I've actually never been to one either. There are different types of stories- comedies, dramas, horror, action movies. Why don't we just look at the posters and see if anything catches your eye? And I think you should pick; I did pick what we ate."

"I just don't want to choose a bad one."

"Well, if you do, I'm sure we can think of another way to occupy our time sitting in a dark movie theater together." She rolled her eyes at Harry's waggling eyebrows. He watched her look over the posters for a moment before she stopped in front of one.

"This looks promising. After all, you do like to tease me about being a romantic."

"'Stealing. Cheating. Killing. Who says romance is dead?'" he read from the poster.

"Sounds like our kind of movie, don't you think, Harry?"

"I suppose it does."

* * *

For the next two hours, they watched the adventures of Clarence and Alabama Worley. From a meet cute in a movie theater to a massive shootout in a hotel room, with plenty of sex and violence strewn in between, True Romance was a romantic comedy only in the blackest sense.

Dobby took them home from the theater; the Notice-Me-Not charm was quickly becoming Harry's go to spell for life in the muggle world. Avoiding traffic and crowds was very handy.

They curled up on the couch together once they got back to the flat; Dobby already had a fire going for them when they arrived.

"So, what did you think of it?"

"I loved it Harry. Clarence and Alabama reminded me of us to some extent. She thought it was romantic when he killed someone for her too."

"That's true. I was glad they got a happy ending together; things got a bit dark at the end, I was afraid they weren't going to make it out of that hotel."

"I was worried when it looked like he had died. I don't want you nearly dying like that, Harry. I want our happy ending too."

"Sounds good to me. I don't want to end up with an eye patch either. My vision is bad enough without getting shot in the eye."

"Then you better keep being careful when you take out our enemies Harry. I want both of your eyes to be leering at me years in the future."

"And I need both my eyes to take in all your sexiness."

"Yes you do. Our happy ending involves both of us happy, whole, and safe."

"I can agree with that." Harry kissed the top of her head as Pansy snuggled in close. "If I did have to lose a body part, I'd rather it be a finger than an eye anyway. Or maybe a toe. I could probably get by without all ten toes pretty easily."

"I plan on keeping all my toes, thank you very much."

"That's good, you've got sexy little toes."

"You think my toes are sexy?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him. Harry smirked back at her.

"Sure. I think every little inch of you is sexy."

"Good answer, smooth talker."

Harry looked over at the clock on the wall; it was only minutes from midnight.

"It's almost your birthday, my love. Do you want your presents now?"

"We did celebrate your birthday at midnight. It could be a little tradition of our own to keep that going."

"Then follow me."

Harry led her to their bedroom. It was now dominated by Pansy's huge four poster. He pulled a small wrapped package out of a drawer from the night table.

"Happy birthday." Pansy kissed him as she took the gift.

She made quick work of unwrapping it, then opened the small box. Harry saw her smile as she saw the silver locket. Inside there were magical photos of each of them. They were charmed to flirt with each other, winking, blowing kisses and the like.

"It's wonderful Harry. Put it on me."

"I'm glad you like it," he said as he slipped it around her neck and fastened it behind her. "I had Dobby's help in getting the photos without you noticing."

"He has a sneaky side to him."

"That's part of the reason he fits in so well with House Potter.

"Now the locket has a couple of other features. First of all, no one can take it off of you or open it without your permission. I figured that would be useful since we've kept our relationship a secret so far. Also, it is a portkey that can bring you here in an emergency. The activation word is helicopter."

"What is a helicopter?"

"It's a muggle flying vehicle. I wanted to come up with something that you wouldn't ever say that might accidentally trigger it.

"Finally, there are some protections I put on it. It will help strengthen your mind and body. That should help your ability to defend against the Imperius curse or Legilimency. As for the body part, it should detect anything magical in food or drink within ten feet or so of you."

"Already worrying about someone poisoning us?" she asked with a smirk.

"You can never be too careful. I wouldn't put much of anything past Snape. Plus, I assume one of these days the twins will try to prank one of us. I caught the two of them brewing up some sort of concoction a few weeks ago. They seem to like me well enough that I guess I've been safe so far, but I want you to be safe from them, even their jokes."

That earned him a hell of a kiss.

"You're very sweet Harry."

"I aim to please milady."

"How did you get the protections onto the locket?"

"With runes."

"Of course," she snickered. Pansy had taken to teasing him about how much he enjoyed their Ancient Runes class because of the extra-curricular practice her had gotten with her. "I don't see any runes though."

"They're hidden behind the photos."

"That was clever of you."

"I have my moments."

"Yes you do," she agreed as she pulled out of his embrace. "So... what's my other present?"

"Well, first things first. There is a muggle tradition of birthday spankings. One for each year you've lived-" Harry was cut off as Pansy shoved him onto the bed and laid across his lap.

"And I've been such a naughty birthday girl."

Harry was surprised by how much she seemed to like this idea, but his instincts were strong as usual, and he began to swat her arse. He counted them out as Pansy moaned in delight. Her excitement fed into his own, as she was rubbing herself across his lap. By the time he got to the one to grow on, they were both immensely turned on. They tore their clothes off as fast as they could and Harry made sure to show some attention to her slightly red rump.

She had been clothed and he hadn't been trying to hurt her, but in their mutual excitement, he had gotten a bit carried away. As he softly caressed and kissed her cheeks, she seemed to enjoy this just as much as she had when he had been spanking her. Soon, he trailed kisses down the curve of her ass to the back of her thigh, then spread her legs slightly so that he could get to her delicious folds.

Harry could never get enough of tasting her, and it thrilled him every time he made her come. He licked her, he sucked her, he did things with his mouth that he didn't even know if there were words for them. He brought her to one orgasm that soon became a second. But he wasn't done yet, so he kept on even as her moans turned to pleas. Finally, after a third peak, she grabbed his hair and pulled him up to her. Pansy wrapped her legs around him to draw him in, then reached down and guided him inside her. They began to make love, first with fire and passion, later with tender deliberation, and they would not finish till nearly dawn.


	30. Tis the Season

* * *

"Good morning, birthday girl."

Pansy gave him a sleepy smile as she looked up at him. "Is it still morning?"

Harry looked over at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, not technically. But it's the thought that counts, right?"

"I guess. You did keep me up most of the night."

"Yeah, about that..."

"What?"

"Well, I didn't get to finish what I meant to say to you before we got to the birthday spankings," he chuckled. "I was going to suggest that I try to give you one orgasm for every year."

"I didn't count how many I had last night. You might have succeeded."

"I tried to count them all. The first nine I'm pretty sure of, but when we got to double digits, you had one of those long, multiple ones, or at least it seemed like it. So that threw my count off."

"Oh, I remember that. That was wonderful," she purred into his chest. "Guys are really missing out on not having multiple orgasms."

"That's true. I'll just have to make do in basking in your second hand glory."

" _Second hand glory,_ huh? Feeling poetic today, Mr. Potter?"

"What can I say? You bring out my hidden talents."

"I like your hidden talents- just don't go showing them to anyone else."

"As you wish."

"Hmm... I think you might have gotten to fourteen then. But we should probably have a couple more today, just in case."

"I'm sure I can handle that request. I did say I was going to have to give you a really great present this year."

"You already did that by just getting rid of my father. That was the best birthday present I can even imagine. I was worried about him taking revenge on you, taking me back somehow."

"I know sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and continued, "I promised I'd take care of you, and I meant it.

"Besides, I don't know how many years I'll be able to do that. Ten years from now, you might get annoyed when I'm trying to give you twenty four orgasms in a single day."

"I am feeling more than a little worn out today. So we're going to wait till this evening before we do any more of that."

"Whatever you want. It's your birthday after all. So, what should we do today?"

"I think we should start with a big breakfast in bed."

"Dobby can do that for miss Pansy!"

The ever-excited elf popped in and out of the room in delight. A few moments later, they were served two trays full of pancakes, sausage, toast, and eggs.

"Dobby's special birthday breakfast for miss Pansy!"

"It looks wonderful. Thank you, Dobby."

He bowed deeply as Harry and Pansy smiled at him before he disappeared. They both dug in; they had burned many, many calories the night before.

"So, Christmas time," Pansy began between bites. "I think I'd like to see how the muggles celebrate this year."

Harry swallowed and took a drink. "That shouldn't be a problem. From what I've seen at Hogwarts, it isn't too different, although obviously no magical ornaments. They still decorate trees and wrap presents."

"Ooh, we should get a tree to decorate- that sounds fun." Pansy was so much more lighthearted than she had been until recently. The worry of her father looming in the shadows had burdened her more than Harry had realized, judging by how she had responded the last couple of days.

"I suppose it will be now that I have someone that I'll actually enjoy spending the holidays with. The Dursleys used to make me do as much of the work as possible with no rewards, obviously."

"I'm just going to have to create lots of good new memories for you to associate with the Christmas season."

"I'll raise a toast to that." They clinked their glasses of orange juice together- Harry was glad to get a break from the constant pumpkin juice at Hogwarts. "To new holiday traditions and experiences with people we actually love."

"To our new family," Pansy added before they finished their drinks.

"It will be a little difficult to get a tree here the way the muggles do. Neither of us drives a car. I guess we'll need to go at night; with a little help from Dobby and the Notice-Me-Not charm we should be okay."

"Then maybe this afternoon we should go shopping for decorations."

"Sounds like a plan."

Once they finished eating, Harry and Pansy finally got out of bed and began to get ready for the day.

* * *

They stopped downstairs at the tea shop on their way out. Ruby was behind the counter when they came in.

"Hello dearies. I was wondering if we would see you today."

"Good afternoon, Ruby," they replied almost in stereo. "Jinx!"

Ruby smiled at the happy teenagers.

"You two stay right here for a moment. I'll get Mortie out so he can meet your little miss." As she slipped into a door leading to the back of the shop, they could hear the little woman calling for her husband to 'get off his lazy rump' to come say hello. Pansy giggled while Harry smiled, he was pleased that she liked the feisty middle aged redhead. A moment later, Ruby practically dragged her husband out by the arm.

"Mortie, say hello to Pansy. She's Harry's friend from school."

"Well, any friend of Harry's is a friend of ours," he said, and with a not so subtle elbow in the side, he leaned over and kissed her hand. "My pleasure, Pansy."

"I see you're still training him, Ruby," Pansy chuckled.

"It's a life's work, Pansy dear," she answered with a smile.

"I'll have to keep that in mind."

"What are you two youngsters doing today?"

"We were actually going out to shop. We wanted to decorate the flat, and well, we are sort of starting out fresh."

"Oh, I know just the place you should go. There's a wonderful store about a mile and a half from here. They'll have everything you need. Plus they have tons of crafting supplies for making your own ornaments. Oh, and not to mention ribbons and paper for wrapping. Let me get something to write on and I'll give you directions." She stepped over behind the counter and quickly handed over a piece of paper explaining in great detail their destination.

"Thanks Ruby," Pansy said as she slipped the directions into her purse.

"Yeah thanks, that's really helpful. That reminds me actually," Harry said. "We were going to go get a tree later too. I saw one place the other day about a mile west of here. Is there somewhere better, or should we go there tonight?"

"The one over on Rourke Street?" Mortie asked.

"I think so."

"That's probably the best place that isn't too far away," Ruby answered. "Do you two need some help with that? Mortie could drive you if you need him to."

"No thanks, we've got a friend who's going to help us later with the tree."

"Well, let us know if you need a ride for anything. Oh, excuse me," Ruby said as she shuffled over behind the counter again as a couple came into the store.

"That's something you should get used to laddie," Mortie said with a raised eyebrow. "The ladies always like to give us things to do. It's best if you just do as they say for the most part. It'll keep the missus happy, which will keep you happy."

"That's good advice, Harry," Pansy smirked. "You should listen to the wisdom of your elders."

"Whatever you say, birthday girl."

"Oh, it's your birthday? Well, happy birthday miss. Wait till I tell Ruby; she'll be off to cook and bake all afternoon." Mortie went back to work and moments later sent his wife over to them.

"Now what's this I hear about a birthday girl?"

"Pansy's fourteen today."

"Oh happy birthday, dearie," Ruby said as she gave Pansy a hug. "You two must come over for dinner then, I'll bake a cake and everything."

"You don't have to go to all that trouble," Pansy started to say, but Ruby shrugged that off.

"Nonsense. Birthdays are important, especially when you're young. You two go shop and have a good afternoon, and we'll see you later. Can you be back by," she looked over at the clock for a moment, "say six thirty?"

"I'll make sure of it," Harry said. Pansy looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "I won't mention yesterday's shopping trip unless you make me."

She playfully smacked him on the arm. "Come on then, Harry. Thank you Ruby, we'll be back with plenty of time to spare."

* * *

The sun was peeking through the clouds that afternoon, but the wind more than made up for that, leaving the air quite chilly. Pansy wore a new muggle outfit- one of the many from the day before's unmentioned shopping spree- a long sleeved dark grey dress with black tights as well as her new pea coat. She topped it off with one of her new purses; Harry had a feeling he had created a monster when he showed her a department full of nothing but the muggle woman's accessory. Witches used such things not nearly as often, what with robes having expanded pockets almost by default. Pansy adored the overwhelming amount of choices the muggle world offered. If he hadn't been in such a thoroughly great mood from all the sex, Harry probably would have been annoyed by taking a woman out to shop. Years in the future, he might have looked back in dismay at what he had unleashed. But her unbridled joy and the relief they had both been feeling ever since the demise of the late Lord Parkinson led him to just watch and smile at his girlfriend's delight.

Walking beside her that day, as she strutted with aplomb, Harry was more than happy to have such a thoroughly pleased Pansy by his side.

Once they reached the store full of _'All you'll need for your holiday season'_ Harry headed directly for a shopping cart. He had a feeling they would be filling it to the brim by the time they were done.

* * *

Two hours later, Harry was overloaded with bags as they finally finished. They had boxes full of lights and ornaments, not to mention everything they would need to finish wrapping all their presents. Pansy carried their own personally designed wreath, as well as two smaller boxes- one each of them had picked out as special personal ornaments to give to each other. Thankfully, the sun was going down, so they were able to duck into a nearby alley where Harry could hand everything off to Dobby, who transported it all back home. Moments like that made Harry's mind boggle at how wizards could take house-elves for granted. Dobby was a life saver.

* * *

They decided to walk back home, as the weather wasn't too cold and they were enjoying being able to revel in the anonymity as just any other young couple among the vast holiday crowd. Harry realized that it was going to be hard to go back to their secretive nature at Hogwarts. But better not to think of that now, though. Might as well enjoy the present while he could. God knows what crisis he would have to deal with next in the magical world.

When they arrived back home, Ruby Brightwell was happily dealing with what looked more like a warzone than a kitchen. Harry was summarily dismissed upstairs to deal with all of the holiday purchases while Pansy and Ruby got to know each other better.

Even with Dobby's help, it took him awhile to separate everything out into piles for what would be needed for all their various tasks. Christmas could be daunting, but this year, finally, it could also be fun.

Dobby was a little disappointed by the idea of someone else cooking a meal for his humans, but Harry assured him that they would have plenty more for him to do later that night.

Once six o'clock rolled around, Harry headed downstairs, assuming the ladies would allow him to join them. Hopefully they'd had enough time to gossip amongst themselves by then.

A yell told him the door was open, and he found Pansy sitting off to the side while Ruby blithely juggled two or three tasks in the kitchen. Harry had spent enough time slaving over a stove to be truly impressed by her skills. She had clearly just finished frosting the cake, as she and Pansy both were licking their fingers, but she also had pots of mashed potatoes and green beans going on the stove top and what appeared to be a roast when he peeked in the oven.

The ladies were both laughing at something he must have just missed when he came in, and that beautiful scene brought a feeling of contentment from somewhere deep within that Harry had never felt before. It was so peaceful and so right. Something told him that he had finally found a home.

"I hope I didn't miss out on anything too important."

"Oh, Harry dear, would you run downstairs and see if it's slow enough for Mortie to join us soon?"

Sure enough, the tea shop was fairly slow at that time, and Heather, their only other employee, was manning the counter, so Mortie told him he'd be able to get away for an hour or so. The two gents made their way back upstairs.

"Now Harry, whatever advice I may try to give you, this is maybe the most important I've ever learned. Never do anything to anger a woman on her birthday. You'll be sleeping on the couch for weeks."

"Well, so far Pansy's had breakfast in bed and I took her shopping. I think I'm doing okay."

"The night is young, lad. Just remember it for the future. I'd throw in anniversaries and Valentine's Day too. The only thing scarier than an angry woman is a woman holding a grudge. When we were young, I forgot the anniversary of our first year dating, and let me just say this- I never forgot another anniversary since then."

Harry laughed with the older man. "I'll keep that in mind."

When they entered the Brightwells' flat, Mortie shooed Harry over to the table where Pansy was waiting with places already set.

"Been enjoying yourself, Pansy?"

"Yes, Ruby's a riot. She's been giving me all sorts of advice on keeping young men in line."

"Well, I hope you won't need too much of it."

"I haven't so far," she answered with a coy grin.

The Brightwells came over carrying plates full of food, and soon they were all gathered at the table.

"Now then, a toast to the birthday girl- er Pansy, I just realized you haven't told us your last name."

"Just Pansy, Ruby, if you please," she answered although she added, after their looks, "it's kind of a long story."

"Okay, then to Pansy, on her fourteenth birthday. Cheers."

"Cheers!"

They all began to eat. Harry was first to compliment the cook.

"This roast is excellent. Mortie, I see why you married her."

"That wasn't the only reason," he said with waggling eyebrows.

"Mortie!"

"I didn't think it was," Harry replied with a chuckle.

"Anyway," Ruby was blushing, and tried to move the conversation on. "How did you two meet?"

"Well, we actually went to school together for a couple of years before we really got to know each other."

"Let me guess, different houses?" she asked.

"Right. Harry and I only had a few classes together and the cliques around us didn't get along, so we never really spoke to each other. Our second year wasn't very pleasant for either of us, although Harry definitely had it worse. But near the end of the year, it got a lot better- because he met me."

They all shared a laugh, but Harry didn't even try to argue with her. His life had become so much better ever since Pansy was in it.

"It all started when he saved me from some bullies..."

* * *

"So, what's this about you two living together?"

"Well, have you heard of life debts?"

"Yes, something about how magic creates a bond when a magical person saves another's life."

"Basically yes, magic can have some interesting effects, especially when dealing with life or death. The short version is that Harry saved my life and called the life debt due to get me away from my family."

"Why would he do that?"

"Harry told me you get the Daily Prophet. Did you read it a few days ago?"

"A few days ago... Do you mean the Death Eater story?"

"Yes. That evil bastard was my father."

"Oh Pansy, dear, I'm so sorry."

"Well, I'm not. Good riddance. Anyway, that's why Harry took me in. Now we're both orphans, so we get along pretty well. Most of the time, anyway.

"But enough of that. Harry tells me that you have a son who's a wizard."

"Yes, our Simon. He graduated Hogwarts in eighty six. Those first couple of years were worrying. I don't think having squibs for parents was a very good thing for him at first."

"I'd imagine not. I hope he wasn't in Slytherin like me. They would have been awful to him."

"No, he was a Ravenclaw. We were always proud of him, such a bright boy. I don't know where he got it from."

"Certainly not my side of the fam," Mortie interjected.

"Certainly not, dear." Pansy laughed at Mortie's exaggerated pout, but Harry laughed even harder at the older fellow's wink. Message received- be able to laugh at yourself. The Brightwells always made him think of funny little things like that.

"But Simon was, bless him. We were so thrilled when he was able to get that internship with the Daily Prophet."

"That's why I recognize that name- he wrote the article about the Malfoys last summer!" Pansy smiled brightly at that.

"He did, it was his first front page story. But how do you remember that?"

"Oh, it was one of my absolute favorite stories."

"We go to school with the Malfoy son, and let's just say that we don't like him."

"That's putting it mildly, Harry. The arrogant little shite needs a good foot up his ass most days." Ruby blushed at Pansy's coarse language, but Mortie smiled.

"I knew I liked this girl. She's a keeper Harry." Harry laughed and nodded in agreement, the others joined in. Harry had been around enough to know that Ruby wasn't adverse to cursing at times as well, but he assumed she wanted to put on a good face for Pansy's sake.

"So, Pansy, we saw the photos from the quidditch match earlier this fall. That must have been terrifying. I assume you were in the crowd that day?"

"Yes, it was awful at first, but then Harry saved us all. Again. I don't know if I can really describe what it felt like when his Patronus washed over us, driving those monsters away. Imagine going from feeling utterly miserable and afraid to all of a sudden feeling warm and protected and loved. It was... unbelievable.

"So, to Harry," she raised her glass, "my hero."

"No, its your birthday," Harry interrupted. "To Pansy, a girl worth rescuing, as many times as it takes."

"To Pansy."

"Well, I think it's time for some cake before Mortie needs to get back to work."

They sang Happy Birthday, Pansy made a wish and blew out her candles, and the delicious chocolate cake ended the meal leaving them all full and content.

* * *

The trip to pick out a tree was a good chance for them to walk off the large meal they had eaten with the Brightwells, as Harry had cast warming charms on them beforehand. It actually took him a couple of tries to get it right, as Pansy liked the chilly weather and at first he made her far too warm.

Getting just the right tree took much less time than they thought it might. One slightly smaller pine seemed to be just about the right size for their little family. Harry gave Pansy the money to pay for it while he slid his wand into his hand still holding up the tree's branches. Once they were checked out at the register, Harry's wand work let them seem to disappear till they could call Dobby, who once again was invaluable in transporting the tree back to their flat.

Harry spent an hour getting the tree situated just right in their living room then putting the strands of lights on it while Pansy mostly supervised and corrected him about precisely where the tree needed to stand. Dobby's attempts at being helpful in this case mostly led to him wrapping himself in Christmas lights. It seemed they had discovered that house-elves did have a weakness- understanding some things about the muggle world.

Either that or Dobby wanted to decorate himself as a Christmas tree. Harry had to order him to stop helping so that he could eventually get them all up where they actually wanted them to go.

It was decided that it was late enough that the ornaments would go up tomorrow. Harry needed to finish giving Pansy her birthday orgasms.

He started as they showered together, then he carried her to bed with her legs wrapped around his waist, their hair still wet and their tongues in each other's mouths. Moments after they fell onto the bed, Pansy already had the couple extra she might have needed. The rest of the night would just have to be 'the one to grow on.'

* * *

The next few days passed in relative peace. They finished decorating the tree. They wrapped the rest of their gifts, and Hedwig went off to deliver things to Hermione and the Weasleys. She wouldn't be back till Christmas. They listened to music, and Pansy worked on teaching Harry to dance some more. She declared he was now at least _proficient_ enough at a couple of basic dances like a waltz and his ego didn't take too much of a hit from it. Looking like a fool while dancing with a pretty girl was much less painful when you knew you were going to bed with her that night.

They had one other meal with the Brightwells, but on Christmas Eve, they decided to spend the night in. The snow had begun falling that afternoon. It had gotten quite a bit colder the last couple of days.

After dinner that night, they curled up on the couch under a blanket. Even with a fire going, the shared body heat was lovely. They were sipping hot cocoa Dobby had brought them, and just relaxing together.

"I hope this Christmas has lived up to whatever you were hoping for so far."

"We're together Harry. No more Death Eater fathers plotting against us. That's enough."

"I know, I just meant, you know, the whole showing you what muggles do for the holidays thing. I've been trying to make sure it all was fun for you."

"You took me shopping Harry. Willingly. That's enough to make any girl happy. Everything since then has been has been wonderful too."

"Good."

"I like the Brightwells."

"Me too. Ruby's sort of what I always hoped a grandmother would be like. Don't tell her that though- I don't want her thinking about her age. I heard her fussing at her son on the phone once last summer. She's getting impatient with him to find a nice girl to settle down with so she can actually be a grandmother."

"She'll be good at it. But I think she would appreciate your thoughts anyway." She stroked his arm and burrowed down a bit deeper under the blanket. "This is nice. Who needs more for Christmas than snuggling and cocoa?"

"I could think of one or two things that would make it even better."

"You're always thinking of one thing to make everything better."

"What can I say? I know what I like. It's not my fault that making you wriggle and moan is so fun."

"Well, you'll just have to wait a few days for more wriggling. If I do any moaning tonight, it will be a bad thing."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Just don't move. I'm comfy."

"As you wish, milady."

The flames flickered a little lower as the flakes of snow kept falling outside.

"I'm surprised Hedwig isn't back yet. I hope she isn't cold out in this weather."

"You do know that she's a _snowy owl_ , right? Hedwig was literally made for this type of weather."

"I know, I just worry about my girls."

"Yes, you do," Pansy snickered against his chest. "I guess she was your first girl, huh? Should I be jealous?"

"That depends on how much bacon there is at breakfast time."

"I guess it's good that I prefer sausage."

"I could take that statement a couple of different ways."

"Don't be a prat tonight, Harry. You don't want me to not be comfy, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Good."

"Dobby?"

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"Be sure to make plenty of bacon for Hedwig tomorrow morning."

"Of course. Dobby knows to stay on miss Talons good side."

"Smart man, Dobby. Master Harry will be taking me to bed soon. You have a good night too."

"Thank you miss Pansy. Good night."

"Good night Dobby," Harry added. "So we're going to bed soon?"

"As soon as I finish my cocoa. You'll make the bed much more warm and comfy."

"Yes, mistress." Harry chuckled. "You know, something about this feels familiar."

"What, snuggling on a couch? We've done that a time or two before."

"No, more than that, I just can't quite put my finger on it."

Pansy shifted as she set her cup down. "That's all for my cocoa. How about yours?"

"Still a bit left."

"Gimme." She finished his cup as well. "Bed time."

"Alright." Harry started to get up. "Wait a minute. One last tradition we should start."

"What's that?"

"Some muggle families open one present on Christmas Eve. I guess to build excitement for the big day or something. I think you should open..." Harry went over to the pile of gifts already under the tree. He grabbed a small box, one of a matching set. "This one."

"Then, I think you should open the one next to it, Harry."

"Alright. Ladies first." She tore off the paper then carefully opened the box. Inside was a small ceramic figure.

"An angel?"

"The angel that saved me from the Dursleys. You. After the last time I saw them, when they'd locked me up with bars on the windows, I just...

"I think I would have killed them if I had to go back there again."

"That's very sweet Harry. Your turn." He was slower in removing the wrapping paper, but inside was another ceramic figure, slightly larger.

"A dragon. The Patronus?"

"Yes, the symbol of you protecting me. A little bit sweet and innocent, but I didn't think a bloody knife would make a very good Christmas tree decoration."

"Maybe not. It would be one hell of a story though. 'Grandpa Harry, why is there a bloody knife on the tree?'

"'Oh, that's a reminder of the first person I killed for your grandmum.' 'Dad, no telling murder stories to the kids at Christmas time.'"

"That does seem like a reasonable request from our potential future children. At least until the little ones are teens."

Harry took both ornaments over to the tree and hung them side by side. Pansy was standing wrapped in the blanket. He crossed the room and swept her up into his arms.

"I believe I'm supposed to take you to bed now, sweetheart."

"Yes you are, my love." They had to turn to fit through the doorway. "It's a good thing you started working out last summer."

"Well, you did put me in charge of the physical side of our partnership. I had to build some muscles, so I could be the muscle."

"One of my better decisions. That's why I'm the brains, remember."

"I remember," Harry smiled. "With how things have worked out for us so far, I guess that we're both doing our jobs well."

Soon they were both curled up under the blankets, spooned together. Pansy took Harry's arm that he had wrapped around her and slid his hand into a spot low on her stomach. "Right there. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, my love."

* * *

Children everywhere tend to wake early on Christmas, filled with excitement to see what gifts they've received. Harry and Pansy slept in. The bed was just too warm and the weather outside was downright frigid. Besides, neither of them had been children for years now. Really, Harry had never even gotten a chance to be one, and Pansy's parents didn't let her remain childish for long either. Harry finally drug himself out of bed when he heard a loud bang coming from the main room.

Apparently, it was just the window closing behind Hedwig, who had finally returned.

Dobby already had breakfast ready.

"Hey Hedwig. Did you have a long night girl?"

She glared at him with a long strip of bacon dangling from her beak.

"Sorry, finish your bite, I can wait."

She swallowed, then responded with an angry bark.

"That long a flight huh? I didn't think the Weasleys lived that far from here."

Pansy came out of their bedroom, once again wrapped in the blanket from the night before. She flopped down on the couch as she listened to Hedwig barking at Harry.

"Why did you have to go that far North?"

Two more barks from the owl were his answer.

"A secret admirer?"

Another bark.

"Oh, sorry Hedwig, a secret admirer has a slightly different meaning to us humans. It has to do with mating."

Three short barks followed; Pansy could have sworn it sounded like the snowy owl was laughing.

"I don't ask what you get up to at night. It's only fair not to judge me either."

The owl grabbed another piece of bacon and then flew into the second bedroom. Hedwig liked to sleep in the day, so they kept her cage in there with the curtains drawn.

"I really don't think I should ask, but...?"

"Oh, she said something about a gift from someone secret. I don't know exactly. A fan maybe? Maybe one of the wealthy guests from the quidditch match? That's why I was telling her a secret admirer means something a bit different to us."

"Right...

"Well, Harry, see what other gifts have been left on the pile."

There were a couple of new wrapped boxes that he didn't recognize, but as he went around the tree, he saw a very long thin box standing up, leaning against the jamb of the fireplace.

"I think this might be it," Harry said as he pulled it out and walked over to the couch. He sat down next to her, holding the box.

"There's no tag on it. Sounds like the secret admirer to me." Pansy looked over and saw him grinning at her.

"You know what this is shaped like?"

"Yes, so go ahead and open it."

Harry cautiously removed the plain wrapping paper and opened the box inside.

It was a Firebolt.

He nearly fainted.

Pansy sat up, staring at the broom in his hands. Harry was shocked, his mouth agape.

"I don't think I like this secret admirer. Harry?" She waved her hands in front of his face. "Earth to Harry."

"A Firebolt?" he whispered.

"Yes, someone bought you a new broom."

"I can't believe it."

"Nope, this won't do at all." Harry was still stunned, the broom laying across his palms. "Dobby, can you give us a few minutes alone please?"

"Yes, miss Pansy."

After the sound of the pop, Pansy reached over to stroke Harry's cheek. "Harry?"

He turned to look at her, eyes still a bit glassy.

"Let's set the broom aside for a minute." He nodded in a daze as she moved it to the other side of the couch from him. "Alright Harry, stand up."

He followed her instructions.

"Turn to me. That's better, now spread your legs a bit."

Pansy pulled down his pants. She was both amused and annoyed at his erection. At least it was convenient for the moment.

The expression on Harry's face finally began to change, although Pansy wouldn't see it for awhile.

* * *

Several wonderful minutes later, Harry collapsed back onto the couch with the biggest, silliest grin on his face.

"Wow!"

"Yes, wow," she smirked at him after taking a drink of orange juice. "Remember that Potter. There are even better things that can go between your legs other than a broom."

"Pansy I love you, are you seriously jealous of a broom?"

"You mean the broom that gave you a hard-on?" Harry blushed and she smacked him on the arm. "No, I'm reminding you that I shouldn't need to be jealous even if some rich bint buys you a fancy broom. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now bring me breakfast."

Harry was in such a good mood that he did exactly as she demanded. He might have caressed his new broom a bit while Pansy was eating, but she didn't glare at him too much.

"Well, I guess I don't need to worry about buying a new broom now."

* * *

Harry eventually joined her in eating before they opened the rest of their gifts. Most of what they had given each other were clothes from their massive shopping spree; Pansy had also gotten him some proper dress robes for the upcoming New Year's Eve party with the Malfoys.

Harry was told that if he was a good boy for the rest of the day, he could go play with his new broom tomorrow. Despite his excitement, Harry didn't have much trouble just enjoying the day in with her. It was so cold outside anyway that Harry was able to set those thoughts aside. Riding a broom would be much better when he could feel his fingers, after all.

Pansy (and _not Harry_ ) had given Dobby an assortment of socks- the little guy had developed a strong fondness for them ever since Harry had freed him with one. Harry had given him a coffee mug that he'd originally found in a muggle store, then charmed it to change the words to say 'World's Best Elf.' Pansy shook her head at that. She thought that it might not be the best idea to encourage the hyperactive elf's coffee habit.

Dobby had successfully argued with Harry that caffeine was good for house-elves. The way Harry saw it, he couldn't begrudge his little friend's choice, even if it was something of a vice. He considered himself addicted to Pansy. As long as he wasn't flunking out of Hogwarts from a sex addiction, then Dobby was probably doing fine with his coffee.

It made a lot more sense in his head when he came up with that thought, but then he was watching Pansy brush her teeth after getting out of the shower one morning. If she didn't want him to think of stupid things, then she wouldn't have been naked. Clearly.

* * *

They got up on Boxing Day and finally ventured outside their flat.

Actually, Harry went first, when Dobby took him over to Hagrid's. Harry popped in to wish him a merry Christmas and show him his new broom. The giant man followed him outside and watched for a bit as Harry blasted off on the Firebolt and flew like a madman. Even with the warming charm, he had to take a break before too long.

Dobby popped him back to the flat as Pansy was enjoying breakfast in bed again. Harry took a hot shower, but they eventually both went down to the tea shop, placed an order and chatted with the Brightwells for awhile.

Their son had been by for Christmas dinner, which Harry had anticipated and was part of the reason he had wanted to stay in that day. He didn't have anything against Simon Bightwell, but he didn't want any wizards to know where he lived for as long as possible. He was planning on reassessing that idea next summer, depending on how things went.

Ruby and Mortie had kept their promise about not telling even their son about their famous upstairs neighbor, and he was quite thankful for that.

Mortie was going over to a nearby tavern that afternoon to visit some of his friends and have a pint and he invited them to come along. There were several big football matches on that day, and Harry thought it might be fun to have an introduction to muggle pub culture. A couple of quick glamours to make them look older, and they were on their way. Ruby shouted at Mortie as they left not to get the youngsters drunk.

Harry and Pansy followed him a few blocks over to a building called the Red Lion. Mortie led them inside and they found a table fairly close to a telly.

"Ooh, big game's about to come on," he said as the teens just watched. "Do you have a team you root for, Harry?"

"No, I never really got to watch much. I just don't like Man U."

"Why not?"

"Some people I grew up nearby rooted for them. Since they were arseholes, I assumed their team was a bunch of arses too."

Mortie laughed. "That's a good enough reason for me, laddie. Looks like you'll be rooting for Blackburn then."

The game that was coming on was the Blackburn Rovers versus Manchester United. Pansy thought they should cheer for Blackburn anyway because they had the better logo, which made Mortie laugh again.

Harry agreed with a grin at Pansy and announced that they had a team now. They had some crisps while the game got underway. Mortie went over to say hello to a couple of people.

"So, let me get this straight Harry. There's one keeper and everyone else is a chaser with only one ball they run around kicking all game. That's it?"

"Uh, yeah, basically. I always thought it was more fun to play than watch as a kid. But I was pretty fast since I got so much practice running away from Dudley's gang, which helped when I played the game a few times at primary school. I prefer quidditch too."

"Of course you do, but you like flying like a maniac," she hissed at him in a whisper. Harry smiled and shrugged.

Mortie bought them each a pint and cheered on Blackburn with them. He made them promise not to tell Ruby with a wink. Harry assumed she would find out anyway.

They roared with delight when Kevin Gallacher scored a goal but had to make due with a draw by the end of the match. Harry was just glad to think that somewhere Dudley would be disappointed.

* * *

The next few days passed with Pansy working Harry hard at improving his dancing, as that was a skill likely to be in demand at the Malfoy New Year's Eve party and she was determined that he would not disappoint. Harry was willing to put in a lot of effort, especially with Pansy offering very pleasant rewards nightly.

The only thing that could have been better is if he had somewhere that he could fly. Dobby had checked for him though, and Hogwarts was still buried in snow, so Harry was resigned to waiting for a break in the weather. That might not be for a month or more, knowing how bitter the last two winters had been when he had stayed at the school over the holiday break.

Harry noticed a second story about the late Edmund Parkinson one day in the Daily Prophet. It seemed that some of his confessed crimes were still being investigated, but the murder of Pansy's mother had been confirmed and her body had been discovered. There was no word yet on any sort of funeral, as the only family still around were some cousins living in France. He had asked Pansy about it, but she had said that it didn't matter. The look on her face worried him a bit, but he had promised not to push her about her mother's death.

She calmly told him they had more important things to deal with right now. Pansy had a lot more planned for the Malfoy party than just some regular old wining and dining with the rich and powerful.

Two days before the party, she began to fill him in on her scheme. He'd had a few thoughts about how to use the evening to his own advantage, but Pansy made him feel like a foolish amateur remembering when he had first decided to accept the invitation. The more she spoke, the more Harry realized that this was might not be such a good idea after all...


	31. New Year's Eve with the Malfoys

* * *

"That was amazing," Harry panted out, as he collapsed back onto the bed.

"You say that a lot."

"It's true a lot."

"Well, I guess at least my ego won't suffer any time soon."

"I should hope not." Harry took a moment to catch his breath. "Now that we're both in a good mood, we do have a couple of things to talk about."

Pansy raised up off him. "Oh, and what do we need to talk about while we're in a good mood?"

"Stop that," he said as she cocked an eyebrow in response. "You know I can't think straight when your boobs are staring me in the face."

"Harry, you goof, you do know my breasts don't actually stare at you."

"That's not what my eyes tell me. They're hypnotic. So lay back down so that I can concentrate."

She complied with a mock huff. "You're no fun sometimes."

"The last half hour or so begs to disagree, but I can prove my fun-ness again later." He summoned a couple of pieces of parchment from the night table. "I've been meaning to go over these two things with you for awhile now, but the time just never felt right.

"First, this is the late Edmund Parkinson's unedited confession."

"What do you mean _unedited_?"

"I removed the fact that he had used the Cruciatus curse on you from the "official" confession. I thought that was private, and no one else needed to know about it since he could never do it again. I particularly didn't want anyone at Hogwarts to find out, as you get enough annoying looks from some people."

"Ever the gentleman, Harry. Thank you," she said with a kiss.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't want their pity for something like that, so I didn't think you would either.

"Now, I don't know if you want to read it all, as it's not a pretty picture. If you don't want to read it now, but decide you want to later, I keep it well guarded, hidden and warded. You deserve the truth, but I wanted it to be your choice about how to handle it."

"I assume he confessed to killing my mother and Leddy?"

"Yes and no," he answered as she looked up, waiting for an explanation. "He confessed to killing your mother. When I asked him about Leddy, he said that ' _disposing of property_ ' wasn't a crime."

"That fucking bastard," Pansy said through clenched teeth.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Harry stroked her back to try to soothe her. "That made it a lot easier to watch him die, let me tell you. He had killed others as well. Probably no surprise there."

"Do you think any of the other crimes are things I really need to know about? Anything specifically important?"

"Not really. I just thought you should know."

"Then let's not worry about it right now. We have more important things to deal with coming up."

"I'm still not liking this plan for the Malfoys."

"Harry, getting Lucius Malfoy sent to Azkaban and damaging his reputation was well done. But it was only a start. The bastard will be out in less than a month. What did he do last year?"

"Unleashed a basilisk on the school."

"Right. A school where you and I live for most of the year. Hell, a school with his own son in it. We can't afford to let him get any more chances to endanger us. We know he's willing to kill. We know he's a Death Eater. We know he's rich and has had his hand in the minister's pocket as recently as last spring. We have to deal with him. He'll never be as weak. Malfoy needs to die."

"I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I'm just not a fan of how you want to go about it."

"Harry, it's imperative that he takes the first step. That will show you to be the good guy. That's what we want."

"I know, I just-"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then trust in my plan. We decided I was the brains of our partnership. I didn't get mad at you for figuring out how to get rid of my father without me. You know that I know a lot more about magical culture than you. My plan will work. I know you can take him, especially after months in Azkaban. Malfoy was never a fighter. He's a sleazy politician who knew which palms to grease and where people buried their skeletons. We just have to make sure he falls into our trap."

"Alright."

"Thank you Harry."

"Pansy, look at me." She stared up into his green eyes. "I do trust you, and I love you. I'm just worried... about complications... about..."

_'I just don't want you to get hurt.'_

It's what he wanted to say. But as he looked at her, he knew that she would be insulted or angry. Or think that he didn't really trust her. And he couldn't bring himself to admit it, but a part of him was worried about that trust.

"Just follow the plan, and everything will be alright."

Harry saw her confidence and swallowed his doubts, praying that she was right.

"Okay."

"Right, now what's the other thing?"

"Other thing?"

"The other thing you wanted to go over with me."

"Oh, yeah. This is something I do need you to read. I forced your father to make me a list of all the people he knew were Death Eaters."

Pansy sat up, alarmed at that and grabbed the piece of parchment and began scanning the list. Harry blinked and tried to look away.

"Let me sit up," he said and she rolled off of him, still reading. "Okay, come here and turn around."

Pansy sat between his legs and Harry wrapped his arms around her. He immediately started fondling her breasts with both hands.

"That's much better."

Pansy snorted. "I thought my breasts made it hard for you to think."

"Exactly," she turned to him as he smiled and kissed her cheek. "My hands don't think." Harry closed his eyes and grinned as he felt her nipples stiffen as he rubbed circles around them with his thumbs. "And in this position my eyes don't have to stare at you. Just hold the paper up, so I don't look down."

"One of these days, Harry, your obsession with my... well, everything, is going to get you in trouble."

"I refuse to believe in a world where loving your body is ever the wrong thing to do."

"Alright, goofball. Eyes up, and let's go over the list. A bunch of these are obvious and were already known. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott- I could have told you all of those. Then we have several that are already locked up in Azkaban like the Lestranges. Then we get to the interesting ones.

"The Carrow twins. Well, the older Carrow twins, I should say."

"Older twins?" Harry asked, hands still delightfully cupping and teasing her breasts.

"Yes. Hestia and Flora are second year Slytherins. I guess you might not have heard of them. The older twins, Alecto and Amycus are a brother sister pair. I'm not surprised they're Death Eaters- the whole family has been blood supremacists going back decades."

"What are the girls like? Are they related?"

"Quiet, aloof. Flora tends to be the more _excitable_ one, while Hestia is a bit more personable."

"What do you mean by personable and excitable?"

"Personable is about as close to friendly as most in Slytherin get. As for excitable, well, you'll like this. Last year, Theo Nott tried to get more than a little bit flirty with Hestia. Flora used some rather inventive hexes and left Theo curled up in a ball weeping over his bullocks. Needless to say, most people left the sisters alone after that.

"Now, as for how they're related, that gets even more interesting. Amycus is definitely their father. There are some rather pointed rumors about who their mother is; the nastier ones say their aunt Alecto is really their mother."

"Ouch. That can't be too pleasant."

"Indeed. Anyway, I don't know a lot about Alecto and Amycus. They've kept a rather low profile in recent years. They were two of the many supposed Imperius victims from the Dark Lord's reign of terror."

"Hmm," Harry murmured into her shoulder. She noticed his hands had finally stilled- maybe his hands did more thinking than Harry realized. "If they're smart enough to keep a low profile, then they are more likely to be dangerous. We'll have to put them at the top of the list of possible enemies to watch out for."

"Good idea. I'll try to find out if there's any interesting gossip at Hogwarts. We might be able to discover something about them from the girls."

"Not a bad idea. Next on the list, Walden MacNair."

"Now, him I know a fair bit about. He works at the ministry as an executioner, disposing of dangerous magical creatures. I sort of met him once. There was a wounded salamander near our property a few years ago. My father had him summoned in to deal with it. He seemed to enjoy his work far too much. I have no doubt that he killed for the Dark Lord, probably a lot of people.

"There was something just really creepy about him. I noticed him giving me this look briefly before my father said something to him. I assume he saw it too as whatever he said to MacNair was backed up with a rather intimidating glare. Thankfully, he left our property soon after that, but I was kept far away from the man by my parents."

"Great, so a creepy, possibly perverted Death Eater murderer that the Ministry has brilliantly decided to pay to kill to magical creatures. Instead of, you know, putting him to death or feeding him to the dementors. It's no wonder the whole society almost fell back in the seventies when the government is apparently completely useless."

"True enough, and the next name on your list worries me even more. Corban Yaxley. He's worked in the ministry for years. He was not one of those who plead the Imperius defense though."

"He wasn't?"

"No, even worse, he was never caught at all."

"Shit."

"Yes. He's in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm sure it was harder to catch the Death Eaters when one of their own was supposed to be hunting them down."

"At least one of their own. If there was one Death Eater in the auror office, there were likely even more. That would make sense why so few of them were ever actually caught."

"Right. So, he's got years of experience in the ministry, who knows how many contacts there, who knows how many others with similar views he might be in league with, even if they weren't actual Death Eaters, and we know it would be hard to actually get him arrested."

"So, in other words, someone that will definitely have to be taken care of permanently and carefully."

"Very carefully, Harry."

"I'll be careful, promise. Which of any of them might be at the Malfoy party?"

"With Lucius out of the way, Crabbe and Goyle might not get invited. They were always underlings."

"Like father, like son, huh?"

"Exactly. I would guess that Narcissa would aim higher for her guest list, especially if she's trying to elevate her own reputation. The Notts are much more likely to be there. Fairly well off, well respected family. I'd be doubtful of the Carrows, and certainly not MacNair. She wouldn't want such an obvious thug showing up at her fancy soiree.

"Yaxley, though, would be very likely. I believe his wife is one of Narcissa's friendlier acquaintances. Theo's mother too, thus the likelihood of the Notts attending."

"Alright, so I should keep an eye out for the Yaxleys and Notts. Anything else you can tell me about them?"

"Well, I don't believe the Yaxleys have any children. The wife, Carina, is several years younger than her husband. Very pretty too, an obvious trophy wife situation. I'm surprised she hasn't pumped out an heir. That's usually one of the primary purposes for a good pureblood wife.

"The Notts, on the other hand, have three children. Theo is the youngest. He has two older sisters, Wendy and Kathryn. Wendy was married to a wealthy Dutch pureblood a few months ago. It was a big to-do for the societal types. My mother told me the most boring stories of the people there. Thankfully, it was while Hogwarts was in session last spring, so I wasn't forced to attend."

"Kathryn Nott sounds familiar."

"It should, she was last year's head girl."

"Oh. Well, it's not like I interacted with any seventh years."

"Maybe not, but you can expect her to know exactly who you are. In fact, you should expect that family to be particularly friendly. The Notts have a reputation for being ingratiating sneaks. Don't be surprised if Theo is there that he will act much friendlier than you've ever seen him around school."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for the Notts and Yaxleys then."

"Be wary of the Yaxleys and charming with the Notts."

"That's part of the plan then?"

"It is now."

"Alright." Harry's hands renewed their interest in Pansy's breasts while he nuzzled against her neck, kissing it softly. "Enough of the serious work. Time for more fun."

He slowly slid one hand down. It took a meandering path as it caressed her stomach and went further, below her waist. By the time his fingers slipped between her legs, Pansy was moaning with pleasure. Harry loved that sound...

* * *

_Two days later..._

"Don't fidget, Harry," Pansy said as she slapped his hands from trying to adjust his formal robes yet again. "Relax, follow the plan, and everything will be fine."

"You know what would really help me relax?"

"We've had sex twice already today, and we don't have time even for a quickie now."

"Aren't we already late?"

"We are aiming to be fashionably late. Showing up on time or, God forbid, _early_ would make you seem eager. Never tip your hand. You arrive when you feel like it. We will be there roughly half an hour after the beginning, plenty of time for many guests to have previously arrived. Then, you make your entrance.

"And I do mean, make an entrance. Confident, bold, _handsome_ ," she said kissing just below his ear, making Harry just want that much more to be extra late, "Harry Potter, not just the boy who lived, but now also the savior of Hogwarts, vanquisher of the dementor horde. People will be excited to see you there, and it will make things better with Narcissa. You showing up to her party will make people wonder how and why the young hero is on friendly terms with the wealthy socialite.

"Watch for her eyes when she sees you arrive- I guarantee she'll be excited and pleased, no matter how much she might try to keep from blatantly showing it. Then, just be charming as usual."

"Just be myself?" He smirked.

"Yes you prat, but don't be surprised if it takes a bit more effort to charm the pants off the other guests compared to someone like Patil or Brown."

"I haven't charmed the pants off either of them."

"You don't know what goes on in the girls' rooms. I guarantee they've had everything off after a couple of times that you've flirted with them."

"Really? Only a couple?"

"You're lucky that I can't smack you without ruining all the work I've put in to make you look presentable, _My Lord_ ," she drawled the last bit out sarcastically. "And yes, really. They gossip about everything, including telling me, very much in detail, what they want you to do to them."

"Ooh, that sounds like something I'd like to hear all about."

"Why exactly? Looking to start up that harem like rumors suggest?" Pansy looked at him with a challenging glare, but Harry just smiled.

"I don't think our quarters are big enough for a harem. Besides, I barely have enough time to spend with my amazing secret girlfriend. Other girls would cause scheduling problems."

"Scheduling problems? You think that would be the only issue?"

"It would be a big enough problem by itself. I've decided to make some changes to my physical training. You know, the way we cast spells requires three main parts of our bodies: our minds, obviously, our hands and our mouths. I'm going to work on my hand eye coordination by putting my hands all over you. I'm aiming for at least an hour a day for that. And my mouth will absolutely need a similar work out. Plus, you have so many wonderful places that could use oral stimulation."

"Enough, lover boy. Dobby we're ready to go."

"Yes, miss Pansy. Dobby is ready to go back to the old bad masters' home."

"Right, Dobby. We should be alright there, but I want you to keep an eye on Pansy, just in case."

"Yes, master Harry."

"Sometimes I think you're too paranoid."

"I'd rather be that than unprepared. Now, because of your diminished legal status, I don't want anyone thinking they can get away with harassing you."

"That would be an attack against House Potter, after all."

"Exactly. And I'm not aiming to have to duel anyone tonight. But I will do whatever is necessary."

"Yes, yes, my big protective hero. Let's try to keep that from coming up this evening though. We want to have as many secret weapons as possible for the future. Now, are you ready?"

"A kiss for luck?" Pansy nodded and he leaned down and pressed himself against her lips.

"Let's go."

* * *

Dobby transported them to the front of Malfoy Manor, and Harry was briefly taken aback by the ostentatious wealth on display. The building itself was very large, with multiple wings stretching up to at least five stories high, and it was surrounded by lush elaborate gardens. He thought he saw a peacock off in the distance, and if that didn't scream Malfoy, then what did?

He prepared himself mentally for his first high society event as well as he could as he walked down the lane between hedges towards the front door. There were lit rooms to either side on the ground floor, as well as a couple on the first floor, but the upper stories were all dark. It seemed a shame to have such an enormous amount of space for a family of only three people.

The doors swung open on their approach. Harry walked in with Pansy on his arm, even though she had suggested this might not be completely proper. He didn't care, he wanted to make sure that people knew she was with him. They had eventually come up with a compromise that she would separate from him shortly, to find and serve him refreshments soon after their arrival.

Many eyes turned to them as they stepped inside. Harry was just over five foot six now, which assuredly helped his confidence in no longer being the very short, scrawny little kid who had arrived at Hogwarts. Of course, he would give the credit to Pansy though, and honestly, having her in his life (and their _very healthy_ sex life) probably added most of all to his self-confidence.

And then Narcissa was there, walking down the grand stairway from a balcony overlooking the entrance way. She certainly knew how to make an entrance too. Harry made sure to notice the look in her eye as she approached him- Pansy was right, as usual. Narcissa was definitely pleased to see him.

Before he caught himself, he felt both anxious and excited by her appearance. She wore a silver dress, although just calling it a dress felt so very inadequate. The sleeves were short enough to show off her long slender arms, there was a slit up the right side to the knee showing off a toned calf, and while the neckline was rather conservative, the body of the dress clung to her form tightly, hinting at a full and still high bust. Harry briefly wondered to himself if that was the work of a brassiere, a support charm, or amazing genetics. It was going to be hard to do so, but he had to stop thinking about how sexy she looked before he bungled the whole night.

"Ah, Lord Potter, so good to see you. I trust you've had a pleasant holiday season?"

"Very much so, Lady Malfoy. Thank you for inviting me, your home looks truly marvelous. It's almost worthy of such an elegant hostess." She strode over to him as he spoke and offered her hand, which he kissed.

"You look quite well put together yourself, Harry," she replied with a sly grin.

"I believe the thanks for that must go to Pansy. She put a lot of effort in to making me look presentable tonight," Harry answered with a grin of his own as he turned to his companion.

"Very well done, Pansy." She politely nodded as Narcissa continued. "It's good that our Lord Potter has someone to look after his well-being since I realize he must not have had anyone train him for this sort of thing before. I must, as well, offer my condolences after the story of Edmund Parkinson's nefarious actions came to light."

"Thank you, Lady Malfoy. We are dealing with the loss. My Lord has been of great help in that matter."

"I'm sure he must have."

"If you'll excuse me, Lady Malfoy, I will find a refreshment for my Lord."

"Of course, my dear. You'll find what you're looking for through the door to the left," she motioned with one hand as she stepped closer to Harry. "The opposite door is to the drawing room, where we'll be. I'll keep an eye on him until you return."

Narcissa stood beside him and Harry took her hint, offering his arm as she led him towards the crowd in the other room. He did not notice the emotion that flashed through Pansy's eyes before she turned away, but he would not have been surprised if he had.

The drawing room was massive, with vaulted ceilings at least thirty feet high, two large crystal chandeliers, and an enormous fireplace with an ornate marble mantle topped with a gilded mirror that must have been at least ten feet across. The room itself could have swallowed all of 4 Privet Drive with space left over.

Harry was in step with Narcissa as she swept inside, and he could feel a buzz in the air. He saw where Theodore Nott was, and made note of who must be the rest of his family. Kathryn Nott, the previous head girl, did look familiar now that he saw her again. She was quite pretty with long blonde hair and a nicely curvy body, which her white gown revealed only hints of. Her older sister was just as fetching, only taller. They both clearly took after the mother- Charlotte he thought he remembered- which was even odder considering that Theodores senior and junior were both rather unattractive, overly thin with vaguely rat-like features.

Bad teeth seemed to be something of a trend in pureblood males it seemed- Neville had a pronounced overbite as well and Draco had awful teeth, which were all too often on display from his need to constantly run his mouth. Why were the mothers and sisters so much more attractive?

"Lord Potter, may I introduce you to two of our guests from the Ministry's Department of Law Enforcement? The illustrious head of that department, Madam Amelia Bones, as well as one of the more senior aurors, Mr. Corban Yaxley, and of course, his lovely wife, Carina Yaxley."

Harry noticed that Madam Bones shook his hand, as did Yaxley. He bent over and kissed the back of Carina Yaxley's hand though. Pansy was right, she was definitely a trophy wife, and in the running for the most beautiful woman at the party as well. Her husband was more than a decade older, with rather harsh, blunt features, and an imposing countenance. Then again, Amelia Bones had an intimidating air of her own. Maybe that department was full of people with hard looks? Harry could imagine how annoying it would be dealing with the criminals of the magical world- either morons so foolish they were easily caught or sociopathic bastards too privileged to allow the lesser people to give them the justice they deserved. Harry would definitely never be an auror.

He exchanged the usual pleasantries while he waited for Pansy to return. Thankfully, she was not long, and she brought with her a glass of something. He couldn't care what it was, as it would be able to give him cover to hide his expression or serve as momentary distraction as need be. And he felt it would be useful right then, as he didn't particularly want to speak to any of these individuals for too long.

"Thank you, Pansy," he said when she came over.

"You must be the Parkinson girl," Yaxley said brusquely.

"My condolences on your loss," Madam Bones said. "You can be assured we are doing our best to thoroughly investigate the situation with your late parents."

"I appreciate that, Madam Bones."

"If you can think of anything about your father that we might need to know, please feel free to contact me through my office. I assume you are doing well under the auspices of House Potter?"

"Of course. My Lord is most gracious."

"Pansy has been an invaluable resource to me. She continually fills in the gaps where my knowledge of magical culture is limited by not growing up a part of it."

"Yes, that's very well. It was rather odd that you were away from our society for so long."

"Thankfully, that is in the past."

"Indeed."

"If you'll excuse us..."

Harry saw a friendly face across the room and headed that way, Narcissa still on his left arm as Pansy followed close behind. He would recognize the piercing blue eyes of Sam McKenzie anywhere, and he was thankful they were on his side.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"Harry, Pansy, a pleasure to serve House Potter, as always. It seems our delightful hostess decided to invite me. Perhaps she thought you could use a friend as you navigated your way through the shark-filled waters of high society."

"That or I'm considering hiring a new solicitor," Narcissa smirked. "From what I've read in the papers and what little I've heard from Harry, you do good work."

"I believe the Malfoy family has had other arrangements going back decades."

"True, but you neglect two things. First of all, being represented by the same people as Lucius might not be the best idea for me. Not to mention the fact that I am a Black by blood."

"A Black?" Harry asked. "Are you related to Sirius Black?"

"He's my cousin, unfortunately. He appeared well enough to me as a child- smart, charming at times, magically skilled. But the war changed us all it seems, and it drove Black to become a despicable traitor. I wonder what his mother must have thought of that?"

"What do you mean?" Harry was absorbed by where this conversation had suddenly gone.

"Well, my aunt Walburga, his mother, was a thoroughly unpleasant woman. She was a very old fashioned pureblood, disliked those she thought beneath her, you know. She was just the sort who thought the Dark Lord had the right ideas when he rose to power. She pushed her younger son, my cousin Regulus, into the service of the Dark Lord. That was one of her worst ideas, and that's truly saying something as the woman was rather mad. Some say madness runs in the Black family, and my older sister Bellatrix gives great evidence to that as well."

"Wait a second," Harry interrupted. "Wouldn't your aunt have married into the Black family?"

"No," Narcissa smirked at Harry. "She was a Black by blood as well. She was a second cousin to her husband."

"Yikes," Harry winced. He noticed Pansy had a smirk of her own. "It sounds like some of the pureblood families could use a transfusion."

"You may very well have a point, but regardless, my aunt's madness cost cousin Reggie his life. The Dark Lord's words were a far cry from his actions. Many, many purebloods died during his reign. Including even some of his followers like my cousin. I never learned the full story, but something he did appears to have displeased the Dark Lord and led to him being killed.

"Sirius was supposed to be the rebel, the son who turned away from things like the Dark Arts. I always thought it was mostly to spite Aunt Walburga. In the end, something happened to change his mind I guess. Or maybe he misled us all. Who knows? Maybe if they actually succeed in catching him we might find out before he's put to death."

"You know, Narcissa," Harry leaned in as he lowered his voice. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I wouldn't have thought you had such a negative view of Riddle. The rumors say your husband served him, after all."

"Set aside the rumors, Harry, and just consider this. When the seventies began, before his rise to power and all the the violence that followed, I had two beloved sisters and two cousins who were fairly tolerable, for young boys. A decade later, one was dead, two were in Azkaban, and the last was disowned. I don't know that any other family, save the Potters obviously, paid a higher price for all that madness and bloodshed than the Blacks."

"Pardon the interruption, but who is Riddle?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this: the terrible Dark Lord's real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was the son of a muggle and a witch who went to Hogwarts back in the forties. I think that's why he must have come up with his pseudonym. The Dark Lord Tom just wouldn't scare enough people."

"Tom Riddle. You-Know-Who was Tom Riddle? Are you serious, Harry? How do you know this?"

"I'm very serious, and as for the how, it's kind of a long story. Sorry I haven't mentioned it to you before. I guess we just had so many other things to go through last summer. Sorry, Sam."

"I can't believe it," Sam said as he looked off in the distance. "I knew that bastard."

"You did?"

"I was a Slytherin, class of 1940. Riddle was a few years younger than me. He was a sneaky, creepy little worm, although most didn't see him that way. Oh, he was good enough at the typical power games, and he seemed to be able to charm people when he felt like it. But he was also cruel, completely self-centered, a sociopath really. I tried to throw him in a detention when I was a prefect and he was a third year. Caught him threatening one of the firsties. He had old Slughorn wrapped around his finger though, and he ended up canceling the detention when the firstie just happened to claim that nothing had happened. Riddle had intimidated him, and Slughorn bought his sleazy little protege's lies. I knew that little scum would turn out no good."

"That's putting it mildly, Sam."

"Do you have proof of this?"

"Sort of, why don't we make plans to discuss it further on a weekend once I'm back at Hogwarts?"

"I'll clear the first Saturday, I need to hear everything."

"That works for me."

"Well, Harry, Mr. McKenzie, Pansy, I'm going to have to leave you to mingle with some of my other guests. There will be dancing later, I trust you'll both save me a dance?"

"Of course, Lady Malfoy," Sam replied.

"Your name will be at the top of my card, Narcissa." The blonde sauntered off and Harry thought he caught Sam watching her go. He didn't blame the older man though- Narcissa was something else. He hoped for a moment that he had detected a bit of an extra sway to her hips and that it was meant for his benefit.

He saw Draco scowling in the corner, barely even attempting to pay attention to whatever Theodore Nott was saying.

Harry barely controlled his smirk, knowing just how much it must be killing the boy to see him flirt with his mother. That made the night worth it, whatever else may come.

"I'm going to leave you two gentlemen as well. Don't get into any trouble without me," Pansy said as she wandered off in a different direction. Harry saw her heading towards what must have been the Greengrasses. He recognized Daphne from their year and tried to remember what else she had told him of the rest of the family. There was a younger daughter there as well, but Harry couldn't remember if he had seen her at Hogwarts yet or not.

"So, Harry, tell me how you came to be on such friendly terms with Narcissa Malfoy of all people. She's not quite what I expected tonight."

"I can imagine not. I met her briefly over the summer when out shopping at Diagon Alley. It was back to school time, and I ran into her as well as the Parkinson ladies. We got to chatting, as they had heard rumors of the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco and my part in it. They were interested in finding out more, and for my part, I was interested to see the reactions of two women I knew to be married to old Tom's supporters. I told them parts of the story, what I was willing to confirm without too much worry. The looks on their faces when I revealed Riddle's real name and half-blood status were very amusing. Dahlia looked absolutely shocked. Draco nearly screamed at me that I was a liar. But Narcissa... she looked interested, calculating maybe, but not nearly as surprised as I had guessed she would be.

"She was a very fascinating conversationalist. I could tell there were things she wasn't saying, and I felt that she knew the same was true of me, but it was... fun I guess. I might have flirted a bit, to annoy Draco mostly, but she seemed to find that even more intriguing and played along. I wondered how much that might have had to do with Lucius being recently arrested, especially with the nature of his crimes. We ran into each other a couple of times since, and she was at the quidditch match in November."

"I can guess she must have contacted you after the match?"

"Yes, she was maybe even more angered and concerned by those monsters being at the school than I was. We sort of threw our lots in together to work to publicize the near tragedy of the dementors attacking the school and get those things sent back to Azkaban."

"That was wise of her. Using her influence on something with such an obvious benefit, and protecting children as well, that would definitely look good for a mother. Especially a mother temporarily raising her son alone."

"Are all lawyers as cynical as you Sam?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"Only the good ones."

"Well, even if it might have been somewhat self-serving for her part, I was glad for the help. That was the second time those demons had attacked me, and I wasn't interested in seeing what might happen if the third time proved to be the charm."

"Fair enough, Harry. So what is Pansy up to? I was surprised to see her go off on her own."

Harry leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Adults tend to ignore their children, you know. Officially, she's going to mingle and see if there's anyone that I might particularly need to meet here tonight."

"And unofficially, she's a little unobtrusive spy," Sam chuckled. "Sometimes I think you should have been in Slytherin."

"Well, the hat did consider it. But I think I'm an amateur compared to people like you and Pansy."

"Alright, my amateur friend, let me see if there's anyone I should introduce you to as well. I saw you already greeted the DMLE contingent. Ah, here we go."

Sam led Harry towards a corner of the room where a man with rather severe appearance was standing, not looking too pleased to be there. He had unnaturally tidy and straight greying hair, with a narrow little mustache. His robes were immaculately neat as well.

"Barty, old chap, let me introduce you to the one and only, Harry Potter. Harry, this is Barty Crouch."

"Bartemius Crouch, a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter."

"A pleasure as well, Mr. Crouch," Harry answered as they shook hands.

"Barty is the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He's something of an ambassador, deals with all sorts of interesting people. Speaks about a hundred languages as well."

"Really, wow! How did you learn that many languages?"

"Magic of course, Harry."

"That's hardly all there is to it, Mr. McKenzie."

"Come now, Barty, call me Sam. We haven't been in a courtroom together in years. And I do say, we are definitely off the clock tonight."

"True enough, I suppose. Anyway, Mr. Potter, magic was involved, but there is much more to it than that. Having a natural inclination to linguistics helps of course, and there are multiple different spells and magical rituals that aid one in learning other tongues. I hear you already possess such an ability."

"Oh? Yes, Parseltongue, I suppose that has gotten out into the public."

"Indeed. I find that very fascinating, you should know. It's one of the few languages I haven't been able to learn."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's a very rare skill here in the West. In parts of Asia, it is much more common. However, even there, it tends to be an inherited ability, and magical attempts to learn it or transfer knowledge of it all seem to fail, at least as far as I'm aware."

"Well, what else is there to your job?" Harry asked, and Mr. Crouch began to give him a rather lengthy description...

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Pansy was flitting through the crowd, almost completely unnoticed. She watched the people watching Harry, looking for clues, details, innuendoes. Anything really.

The first thing she noticed was the rather surprising scowl on the face of Madam Amelia Bones. From what was publicly known, Bones had been against the dementors being sent to Hogsmeade, and she had come out looking rather prescient after the Ministry was forced to send them back to Azkaban. That was the only obvious conflict between the ministry and Harry, so what could make her appear displeased with him? Had Harry been too abrupt when he spoke with her earlier? Was there something else? Was there something about her father's death that Harry had missed? Maybe their investigation had turned something unexpected up. She would have to warn him about this.

She saw Draco and Theo off in a corner together, both looking sulky. Neither boy was pleased to be there, though that was just about all they shared. Pansy knew they weren't close, both too arrogant and spoiled to be able to work together to form any sort of friendship. No, Draco only played well with others when they were his henchmen, followers all too willing to adhere to his wishes. What horrors must the Goyle and Crabbe families be made of to produce such abominable, moronic thugs?

Across the room, Pansy noticed the rest of the Nott family affably playing the part of aristocratic purebloods. She knew they weren't as well off as they had once been, but Wendy Nott's marriage to the wealthy Maarten Van de Berg had helped alleviate that. Even those who might turn their noses up at foreign wizards were still happy to take the their gold. Wendy was gorgeous, and the Nott family was old enough to add respectability to any status seekers. She must have brought in an impressive bride price. The family was lucky that both daughters took after their mother.

Charlotte Nott was still very attractive well into her forties. It annoyed Pansy more than usual. Why did there have to be so many tall beautiful blondes here? Daphne had at least three or four inches on her and was fancied by many of the boys at Hogwarts, following in her lovely mother's footsteps as well. Her little sister Astoria was too young, but that just meant she was still an adorable little thing. At least Carina Yaxley was childless, although that made her impressive figure more likely to be natural, or at least less in need of the usual beauty enhancements.

Even Narcissa stood eye to eye with Harry tonight, although that was helped by the heels she wore. She was dangerous either way.

The other more serious threat was Kathryn Nott. Just graduated, intelligent, beautiful, curvy in all the right places, and dressed in a virginal white dress hinting at her innocence and availability. Not to mention the way she was eyeing Harry. She might be five years older, but Pansy would bet everything she owned that the Notts would love to get a betrothal agreement regardless.

Pansy saw all this and stewed in her anger. Hopefully she could get a dance in with Harry soon to make her feel better.

* * *

By the time the music began later that evening, Harry made his way across the room to Narcissa.

"May I have this dance, milady?"

"I'd be delighted," Narcissa answered with just the hint of a smile. They began to move together seamlessly. "You dance well, Harry."

"Once again, I owe this to Pansy."

"I'll have to thank that girl some day. I assume that means the muggles you grew up with never bothered to teach you how to dance."

"They never taught me much of anything, to be honest."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. How well is this ball going so far?"

"Compared to years past, you mean?" she asked and he nodded only barely, but it was enough in such extremely close quarters. There was more than both of them were saying, but only with their eyes, blue staring into green and vice versa. "I think this year has been much better received over all. We've had distinguished guests in previous years, but I can't think of any so charming as you."

"You flatter me, Narcissa. But, I am glad to have helped improve your evening in whatever way I might."

"How thoughtful of you."

"I do try."

"How well have you enjoyed the night so far, Harry?"

"It has been very pleasant, some parts more than others."

"Not something a young man such as yourself has experienced before."

"No, definitely not. But I look forward to more events like this in the future. Especially if the company is of such high quality."

They both held their smiles to a bare minimum. There were only two other couples dancing, and they could feel much of the audience watching them dance.

"Do you see Draco, Harry?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes. Shall I lead you to where you can get a look at him?"

"No, I was just wondering how much of a scowl he must have on his face right now."

"Oh, well, I'm not sure how to rate scowls exactly. He definitely isn't enjoying watching us dance together."

"That's excellent."

"Why?"

"I've been trying everything I can think of to try to break him out of the idiocy Lucius instilled into him. Reasoning, scolding, pleading, withholding. Nothing has worked so far. Maybe anger will get through to him in a way I so far haven't."

"Ah, so I'm a way to make your son jealous of his mother's affection."

"And a way to amuse myself at the same time. But I think we both know you're more than that."

"Then, tell me. What am I to you, Narcissa?"

The music faded and the first dance came to an end. She stepped in close as he raised her hand for a kiss and she whispered. "The night is young.

"We shall see..."

* * *

Over the next half hour, Pansy watched as Harry schmoozed with the crowd, as well as took a dance with Carina Yaxley, who was looking rather bored with her husband before Harry's arrival. She doubted there was much happiness in that relationship, especially after the ease with which she seemed to light up in Harry's presence. He was doing well tonight, and from the looks she'd seen on a couple of the faces of the younger ladies, he was succeeding in charming their pants off. Not only the younger ladies either, if Carina Yaxley was any indication.

Both Greengrass girls were watching him intently. Daphne would look at him as an serious possible future choice after tonight, seeing that Harry could hold his own among their social strata. His old family name, plus the obvious fame and wealth, would make many of the purebloods put aside his mother's muggle background. Having all magical grandparents was enough for many with less strict views on blood supremacy- and that meant to them that Harry's future children could be considered purebloods. Not having any non-magical family to get in the way would help that convenient blind spot along as well.

Putting that all together, the Greengrasses would definitely look at Harry as a worthy match for either of their daughters. Even the Notts seemed to be considering him, or at least Kathryn was. She was clearly eyeing Harry and waiting for a chance to join him on the dance floor.

Astoria Greengrass was surprisingly more innocent. Her starry-eyed expression as she watched Harry dance was, Pansy had to admit, cute. The young girl clearly hadn't been exposed to too much unpleasantness in Slytherin yet, although that could be because Snape had been somewhat cowed after Sam's threats to Dumbledore back in September. She would have to remember to thank him again for that.

As Harry finished his dance with Mrs. Yaxley, Pansy moved over to him. Harry was smiling when he turned to her, and he swept her onto the dance floor with him.

"Having a good time then, Harry?" she asked in a low voice. Thankfully the party had grown loud enough, especially with the music and multiple couples dancing, that this conversation could be private as long as they were careful.

"I admit that this has been more fun than I had imagined."

"Dancing and flirting with married women suits you," she smirked in response. "I thought I should warn you about a few things.

"First of all, Madam Bones has made a rather unpleasant face any time she's seen you tonight. So be careful of that one. Are you sure nothing was left behind?"

"Dobby and I were both careful. You can't get much more of an expert on cleanliness than a house-elf. We should be safe there. Maybe something else is bothering her."

"Any idea what?"

"No."

For some reason, Pansy thought she caught Harry looking a bit uncomfortable. Was he lying to her? And if so, why? Damn, this was not the time for that discussion- she would have to remember to draw it out of him later.

"Alright, on the other hand, we have your admirers."

"The Greengrasses?"

"I'm surprised you noticed them."

"Well, the younger sister-"

"Astoria."

"Yes, she has been pretty obvious. I've seen girls with crushes on me before. But Daphne has looked a bit less haughty and detached tonight as well. And I do pay attention to your lessons, you know."

"Good. So what are you going to do about them?"

"Be charming, of course."

"You sound sure of yourself. What happened to the nerves?"

"Success breeds confidence, and I've done well so far tonight. Having a couple more friendly faces in Slytherin can't hurt, even if it is only slightly more friendly in Daphne's case. So, I was planning on asking them to dance next."

"Not a bad idea. Now, what are your thoughts on Kathryn Nott?"

"I'll have to be a bit more careful there. A third year might not be in a hurry to get attached, but she's old enough that-"

"That the family might have already been talking about a betrothal with you," Pansy answered, finishing his thought. Harry's eyebrows went up a bit. "I overheard the parents speaking. Her mother thinks you would make an excellent match for her daughter."

"And what did the father have to say about that?" Harry whispered.

"He wasn't as adverse to the idea as you might think."

"Seriously?"

Pansy nodded and continued. "Just because he was a Death Eater doesn't mean he won't look out for himself and his family's future. Having the boy who lived as a son-in-law would permanently squash any rumors against those supposed Imperius victims. Not to mention everything else you have going for you. Wealth, fame, old family name, and recently a rather public unveiling of magical power above the norm."

"All that is enough to silence the blood purists?"

"Probably not the hardliners, but to the less devout, especially opportunists like the Notts, sure."

"Okay, any advice?"

"Keep things light and simple. Don't let her draw you in too much and for once, don't try to be _too charming_."

"I'll be careful."

"Good."

The music came to an end, but Harry drew her near so her could whisper into her ear.

"Make sure to be ready for midnight."

* * *

Pansy walked with him over to the Greengrasses and led him through the introductions before slipping away to disappear into the crowd again.

From the shadows, she held back her sigh as she watched Daphne Greengrass looking surprisingly comfortable dancing with someone she had never spoken to before. Harry was getting better at this than she had realized. She supposed she should feel pride at how well her tutelage had paid off, and she did, but this night was proving to be much more stressful than she had imagined it would be. She saw his smile as he spoke briefly with the newest blonde in his arms, and it seemed almost sincere.

'Relax Pansy, he's doing what we want. Society needs to be more aware of Harry, and making a good impression will go a long way to our goals. Besides, Narcissa must just be eating this up.'

She scanned the crowd and found her target. The Lady Malfoy was indeed looking very pleased with her ball tonight. And she was also casting her glance over Harry's way on occasion. Pansy could not help the smirk and was thankful that no one was paying her any attention. Narcissa didn't look too happy about him dancing with Greengrass either.

Pansy decided to make her way over to Sam again. She did owe him a thanks for helping with Snape.

The music changed again by the time she found him.

"Pansy," he greeted her warmly. "How are you enjoying the evening?"

"Well enough," she answered in a low voice. "Tonight isn't about my enjoyment as much as Harry's reputation. That part goes well, as he's turned a few heads tonight, I believe."

"Certainly the heads of the younger ladies in the crowd," Sam chuckled as he nodded back towards the center of the room. It was a slower number, and Astoria Greengrass was shamelessly leaning into Harry's chest. She looked like a tiny thing next to him and she was wearing an enormous grin. No doubt, when the other first year girls heard about this, she would be the envy of them all. Unlike most of the evening, this surprisingly didn't bother her too much. She'd been in that position more than a few times over the last week, and she was pretty sure that Harry wasn't nearly as excited as when it had been her in his arms.

"That's not too surprising is it?"

"No, you've done your job well." Pansy looked at him but showed only a hint of surprise. "Come on, Pansy, I know you both a bit by now. The Harry we see tonight is your creation. We both know this isn't his cup of tea. I hope your goals are being met, for all our sakes. I'd rather not have to clean up any messes, as Harry has been riding a wave of good publicity for months."

"I think so." She paused and sipped her drink before asking her question.

"Sam, do you know of any reason that Madam Bones would have to be cross with Harry?"

"Madam Bones, hmm...

"None that I'm aware of, but I'm sure I could do some digging."

"I'd appreciate it, Sam. And on the topic of appreciation, I'd like to once again thank you for what you said to Dumbledore about Snape. He still isn't pleasant, or much of a teacher, but he has been much less of a pain in the arse this term." Sam chuckled at her language.

"You're both very welcome. Someone should have done that years ago. I don't know what Dumbledore's thinking as that man is a menace."

"As someone he's tried to menace, I thoroughly agree."

"Can I ask you something now Pansy?"

"Sure."

"How long are you two planning on keeping things secret?"

"As long as it's necessary."

"And what makes it necessary?"

"I know he told you about the things that happened his first two years. Harry has enemies."

"Like your father."

"Like tonight's missing patriarch," she countered. "We both know he gets out soon. And he's not the only one."

"Well, if you will, take an old man's advice." Pansy turned to look at him. "Keeping too many secrets can be hard on the heart. Harry's has been through a lot already, and I have a feeling yours has too. Be especially careful with the things most precious to you. Never take them for granted."

"I'm not taking anything for granted."

"I'm not saying you are. You both have secretive natures, and from what I know of your pasts, I can understand that. But not everything has to be a secret. And I think you'll both be happier, especially in the long run, once you aren't trying to hide the most important thing to you both."

"We'll see, one of these days."

"Not too long, I hope," Sam said as he straightened himself up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I owe our hostess for the evening a dance."

As the solicitor went out to the dance floor, Pansy saw Harry once again with a blonde in his arms. Kathryn Nott was enjoying herself, and either Harry wasn't being too careful, or she was just too determined to not let him be aloof. Pansy took a deep breath as Kathryn led Harry over to speak with her family when their dance was through. It would be another type of dance now, and she just had to have faith in him. Harry could be a devious bastard when it suited him. Hopefully, he could pull it off once more tonight and get away without revealing anything to the Notts.

She couldn't wait for this night to be over. Of course, that didn't mean the end of the night would be easy either. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. Anxious or excited? Hopeful that the plan would work? Worried that Harry might not be able to pull it off? She knew she could handle her part. So why was her stomach so tense?

* * *

Harry finally managed to extricate himself from the Nott family. It was a strange sensation talking to them. On the one hand, he had to smile at the father even though he would have preferred to see the man fed to the dementors along with all his colleagues. But at the same time, the women were rather pleasant. Kathryn, more than a little too much. If things had been different, he might not have minded. She was very attractive, witty and smart. But her goal was obvious, and though it was fairly flattering, the family connection would have been problematic enough even if he were available.

There was a tense little moment when he had to pretend to be introduced to Theodore junior for the first time. Sure, he hadn't ever been as nasty as Malfoy, but Harry knew, just from what little interactions they'd shared up to that point, that Nott junior would grow up to be just as much an evil bastard as his father. He hadn't really bothered to put much effort into looking even neutrally at Harry anyway. That made it easier to get away from them, and he saw in his periphery Kathryn giving her little brother a very angry look.

Harry was on his second glass of champagne, and he was tickled that no one had batted an eye at that. It wasn't having too much effect yet, but he knew that he could play it up if he needed to.

Once he got a look at the clock, he saw that it was about a quarter till midnight. The crowd had thinned just a bit, and he wondered at what sort of people would go to a New Year's Eve party only to leave before the clock actually struck twelve. He hadn't been too surprised that Mr. Crouch had been one of those, as the man didn't seem to be much for socializing, which made his ambassadorial role that much odder. Crouch was interesting in a way though, although he was all too willing to drone on about his job. But the idea of learning more languages with magical help did appeal to Harry. If nothing else, it would be a way to thumb his nose up at Vernon Dursley's hatred of everything foreign.

Plus, when he and Pansy did get a chance to take a real vacation, it could certainly be useful to be able to speak with the natives of wherever they might go. This was something that Harry would need to investigate in the future.

* * *

He finally saw her on the other side of the room. She gave him just the hint of a nod as she left. Harry slowly made his way out into the hall after her.

It took Harry a couple of minutes to find a bathroom and about twenty nervous seconds more waiting for the door to close behind him. But finally she was there, sliding out from under the cloak. It took all his willpower to manage locking and silencing charms before he took her in his arms.

Once she was able to pull herself away from his lips, Pansy finally managed to speak.

"I know I said this wasn't a good idea, but I'm glad you convinced me otherwise."

"It may be a silly muggle tradition, but there was no way I wasn't going to be kissing you at midnight."

Harry's smile melted much of her anger and frustration away.

"You know that we'll be together next year anyway. Unless you're thinking of getting rid of me," she added with a little pout.

"No way. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid," Harry answered. "But before this year, I've pretty much only had bad luck, so I'm counting my blessings while I can."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"Not too much to drink then?"

"Only when it will be needed. I think I can have another glass by the end of the night and then just add a bit of acting to finish the plan. Are we still going through with it?"

"Yes."

"We've already done a lot. I mean, Draco has-"

"We're not going over this again, Harry."

"Alright, then I demand that we don't do any more talking till next year." And with that, Harry lifted her up onto the counter, and thoroughly snogged Pansy into 1994.

* * *

Harry made his way back towards the front of the manor just after the clock finished chiming. He picked up another glass of champagne before heading back into the drawing room.

People were still in high spirits and he found it much easier to put on a smile after the last few minutes he'd been able to spend with Pansy.

Sam clapped him on the shoulder and walked with him over to a side of the room while leaning in to Harry's ear.

"You were missed at the count down, you know."

"Was I?"

"I saw a couple of disappointed ladies looking for you."

"Oh? Are you going to tell me their names, or are you just teasing me?"

"I'll have to charge you if you want it to remain an attorney client secret."

"One minute into the new year and you're already starting to bill me, huh? I thought we were friends, Sam."

Sam laughed with Harry and then nodded.

"Young miss Nott looked most distressed."

"I'll bet. She wasn't too obvious, but her play was clear enough anyway."

"Now who's the cynic, Harry?"

"Nothing against her, but you know my policy on this, Sam."

"True enough. I'm sure the youngest miss Greengrass will count tonight as a win anyway. Pansy didn't even look too grumpy at that, to my surprise."

"She's just a girl, nothing to be jealous of there."

"Fair enough. I'm going to have to call it a night soon. These old bones aren't used to burning the midnight hour as much as they once did."

"You're playing up the age angle tonight, Sam. What gives?"

"Who says it's an angle? We'll see if you're still a night owl when you hit fifty or sixty. Besides, these parties always start to peter out not too long after midnight."

"Alright, Sam. Have a good night, and I'll see you on the..."

"The ninth. I'll head over after lunch."

"Sounds like a plan. Till then," Harry said as the shook hands before his lawyer left the party.

He had a moment of quiet before he was joined by the Notts.

"Lord Potter, it was a pleasure to get to know you this evening."

"My pleasure as well. You have a lovely family, Lord Nott." The son sulked in the background, while the wife and Kathryn looked on smiling. The eldest daughter and her husband were already leaving, and Harry envied them.

"Perhaps we will see you again."

"I'm sure to have a busy term, but who knows what the summer will bring?" Nott senior nodded and walked off with his wife, while junior followed along. Kathryn, though, stayed behind for a moment.

"It's a shame we didn't get to know one another better while I was still at Hogwarts, Harry."

"I believe we both had a lot on our plates last year. But I agree, it would have been nice, Kathryn."

"Maybe you should write me. I've been awfully bored since I graduated." She had a sly little smile for him, and it made Harry more nervous than he meant to show.

"I do better face to face than in writing."

"I suppose you must have had to answer so much mail these last few months. But if I wrote you, you would write me back, wouldn't you Harry? After all, you are a gentleman."

"I guess I am," he replied with a slight grin.

"Excellent. Then I bid you good night, my lord," she said as she offered up her hand.

"Happy New Year, miss Nott," Harry answered as he kissed it and watched her go.

He was just able to stop himself from gulping. That was already more complicated than it should have been.

* * *

Pansy hid under the cloak for awhile, watching Harry bid the Notts and then the Greengrasses good night. Kathryn Nott was a tenacious one. She'd have to find out what all that was about. Nothing good certainly.

The Greengrasses were easier. Daphne was still fairly formal, although she did hint at a smile when Harry kissed the back of her hand good night. She could almost hear Astoria's giggles from across the room, despite the din of the thinning crowd, when Harry did the same with her. Just before they walked off, Astoria threw herself at Harry and gave him a hug. Harry didn't hold his shock for too long before he responded. It was made much more amusing by the looks of her parents. The younger Greengrass sister was going to get quite the lecture when she got home.

She finally decided it was time to reappear then, and returned to the drawing room once again, this time while visible. Harry was still sipping his champagne, and the music was playing, only a bit lower. The crowd was much smaller, and Narcissa had been bidding people farewell, including apparently telling Draco it was time for bed, but at the moment she was looking over at Harry.

Time for the next step.

Pansy strode over to Harry, and he took another drink. She turned herself ninety degrees to him once she was by his side. Harry was a bit flushed. She hoped the alcohol wasn't finally having an effect on him. Not now, at the worst possible time.

"She's on her way over," she whispered into his ear as Narcissa approached.

"Well Harry," Narcissa said as she slinked over to him, "the night is almost through. I hope you've found it as enjoyable as I have."

"No complaints so far, my lady." Harry smiled at her, and Pansy could see how genuine it was.

"Perhaps time for one more dance?"

"I would be delighted, Narcissa." Pansy took his glass from him and held her breath.

He led Narcissa out to the middle of the room once more. The music was slow, and Harry pulled her into his arms more closely than Pansy would have liked. She forced herself to shake that thought off. That's what he was supposed to do after all.

Draco looked furious from the hallway. That made Pansy smile.

'Please, don't go to sleep too soon you little piece of filth. The best is yet to come.'

If Draco had seen the fury in her eyes, he would have fled. But all he saw was Harry with his mother in his arms.

* * *

"You know, even now there are eyes watching us," Harry said. They were close now, almost face to face, and he found it so easy to stare into her deep blue eyes. He saw something exciting in them. Something dangerous too.

"You mean all the gossip after we started off the night of dancing, or the fact that we are so close, which must have come as such as surprise to them?"

"And even closer now," he replied, barely more than a whisper and with just a hint of a smile.

"Quite a bit closer now, Harry."

"I saw Draco glaring at us before he stormed off a moment ago. I hoped that I helped you in that regard."

"I am sure you must have. But you know that you helped me with much more than just that."

"I assume that I have. Smart of you to have members of the DMLE here to witness your relationship with me. Certainly will distance you more from a criminal husband. That and your efforts against the dementors. Your reputation must be cleaner than it has been in years." She stiffened for just a second, but Harry felt it in the dance.

"I think you're saying more than you should, Harry. Maybe you've had too much to drink. Or are you trying to push my buttons?"

"I just wanted to try being a bit more open with you, Narcissa. We've danced around so much, every time we've talked about anything." She looked in his eyes and must have seen his sincerity as she then relaxed.

"Maybe I should just say thank you then. You're right, you have done a lot to help my reputation tonight."

"You're welcome. I apologize if I said something wrong. You might be right about me having too much to drink. But I felt like some things needed to be said."

"We have danced around things, Harry. I can't say you're wrong about that. It's simply the way it is for so much of my life."

"But haven't things been different these last few months?"

"Yes, they have. I suppose I have you to thank for part of that." Harry forced himself not to respond about just how much she owed him. "I have greatly enjoyed spending time with you, and that's definitely not something that could have happened without Lucius being out of the way."

"I'm glad. I've enjoyed it too."

"I have to admit that I feel in your debt Harry. Coming to my party has been quite the gift. Even if a few tongues might be wagging. Such a scandal for the infamous socialite to have taken up with the young hero. I hope you don't mind the gossip."

"I've had plenty of people gossip about me before; I'm kinda used to it by now." Harry smiled lazily and, maybe it was just the alcohol talking, but he thought he saw a hint of a blush from Narcissa. "I hope you don't mind the gossip."

"Some gossip can be a good thing. Even the scandalous kind." Narcissa stared deep into his eyes, and this time the excitement over-ruled the danger. "Tonight has been everything I could have wanted.

"What do you want, Harry?"

It felt like she had purred her words at him, and Harry knew exactly what he wanted.

"I think you know," he answered in a whisper. And as she looked at him, she must have seen it- because this time she definitely did blush.

* * *

Pansy watched and waited. She tried not to think of the dozen different emotions she was feeling. Finally the dance ended and Harry rejoined her after kissing Narcissa's hand. She forced herself not to note how he had lingered over her, or how flushed he was.

Harry took his drink from her and exhaled. He finished it with a large swallow. He was a little bit buzzed now, but how much of that was the champagne, and how much of it was dealing with Narcissa? He stared off into the distance, not looking at Pansy, and trying not to be obviously staring at Narcissa either. It was harder than it should have been.

"How much is the champagne effecting you?" she asked him.

"Enough."

"Can you handle this?"

"Can you?"

He must have sounded too defensive, as Pansy hissed back at him. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"`

"Nothing."

"Don't fuck this up, Harry," she growled as quietly as she could.

"I won't. I just want to be on the record as saying that this is your plan, and I said it was a bad idea."

The room was almost empty now, but the silence between the two of them was deafening. Neither would look at the other.

"It's time to start, Harry," Pansy finally broke the tension.

But she walked off without looking at him, and Harry just knew. He was making a mistake. He was walking with his eyes wide open to it. He was going to do it anyway. Damn her. Harry was going to enjoy it more now just out of spite.

* * *

Harry didn't even bother to pay attention to whatever Pansy might have gone to do or say. He knew he was supposed to act a bit more inebriated than he really was. It wasn't that hard, especially considering how angry he was. And frustrated. And horny, dammit.

He should have pushed more to have a quickie in the bathroom with Pansy. So what if he got back to the party too late?

But no, he just had to follow her stupid fucking plan.

Oh, he understood it. He knew her long term goal, or at least he thought he did. The Malfoys were dangerous. Therefore, they had to go. And getting Draco to pull his signature move- of running to tell his father, the spineless little bitch- well, he had to admit that was a pretty brilliant thing to use as a weapon.

Harry just didn't like having to be a part of the trap.

Especially with how badly he wanted to...

Fuck it. Time to get another drink.

* * *

Pansy and Narcissa found Harry just as he had grabbed yet another glass of champagne. The manor was all but empty now, with the last guests either leaving by floo or stepping outside to apparate away.

He took a drink as the two women walked over to him. He didn't like the looks on either of their faces.

"I think you've had enough, my lord."

Was it just him, or was Pansy being even more sarcastic than necessary? He was used to her being bitchy, just not being bitchy to him.

Damn, tonight was really starting to suck.

"Pansy's right, Harry. Why don't we call it a night?" Narcissa's voice was softer. She looked at him. He loved it when she looked at him. She looked hungry. It was the way he felt about her, especially right now.

"I suppose you're right. Maybe I should go freshen up. If you'll excuse me for a moment."

He headed for a bathroom. He made sure it wasn't the bathroom he had gone to earlier with Pansy.

He could just imagine her voice right now. So smooth, with her little schemes and lies. 'Harry's had too much to drink. I'm worried about trying to get him home. Maybe we could stay in guest rooms?'

He splashed the water on his face and looked at his reflection. Where had it all gone so wrong?

"Dobby," he said quietly.

"Master Harry, sir." His little friend appeared almost silently. Harry loved how loyal he was.

"I don't know what to do Dobby."

"Master Harry said to follow miss Pansy's plan."

"Are you sure?"

"Miss Pansy is a smart witch. Dobby trusts miss Pansy. Master Harry has doubts, but-"

"But I said to follow her plan." Harry sighed. "I hope female house-elves aren't as devious as witches are."

Dobby laughed.

Harry hugged him for it. Really, that laugh was all that needed to be said.

Time to face the music then.

* * *

When Harry came back out into the entrance way, only Narcissa was there waiting for him.

"Feeling better Harry?"

"Much. Thank you for your hospitality tonight, Narcissa."

"Pansy went upstairs. She suggested that it might be better if you spent the night here. We have plenty of guest rooms, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Oh, I don't think you would be. Besides, I don't think Pansy felt up to dealing with you after you had been drinking. And I believe I do owe her a thank you for teaching you to dance, don't I?"

"I believe you said so earlier," Harry chuckled.

"Let me show you the way."

Narcissa held out her arm for him. It was so pale and slender, and Harry had it around his waist twice already tonight. They always say the third time's the charm.

"As you wish, milady."

They headed upstairs in a peaceful quiet. The manor had been so loud just half an hour ago. Now it was like a ghost town.

They chatted briefly about how much of a success the party had been. She turned down one hall and pointed to the far end where Pansy had gone for a guest room. Harry asked where her room was and she motioned to a much nearer door.

"I want to thank you again, Harry, for tonight."

"I think you should."

"I should what?"

"Thank me," he said and without waiting for her to respond, Harry kissed her.

Her surprise only briefly won out, but then she pulled back.

"Then, I should thank you." And he kissed her again. This time, she kissed him back. His arms went around her and pulled her to him. Hers went around his neck, as he leaned down to suck at her throat.

"Harry," she moaned.

They were right outside her door.

"You know what I want," he said without looking up, only kissing more of her neck. He felt one of her hands in his hair, holding him tight against her.

"And I know you want it too."

She didn't argue, but one arm slipped free to reach down and open the door.

Harry thought he heard footsteps, but they no longer mattered.

* * *

Pansy saw them nearly fall through the door and into Narcissa's room. She waited for the door to close, then she went one door further down the hall, still under the cloak. She had her wand ready.

She opened the door and slipped into a large bedroom and saw Draco Malfoy near the wall to his mother's room. He turned towards her as he heard the door.

" _Imperio_."

Thankfully, she was beginning to cast the spell as soon as she stepped inside because otherwise he would have broken her concentration.

Draco had his pants undone with one hand shoved down them.

She was both revolted and relieved. This was going to be even easier than she had hoped.

"Tell me what you're doing, naughty little Draco."

"Watching. I hate him. He shouldn't be with her. He isn't good enough for her."

Pansy saw now that Draco had a section of the wall charmed to see through into his mother's bedroom.

"And who is good enough for her, Draco? Your Daddy?"

"No. My father never touches her. She's always alone. She's waiting."

"Waiting?"

"Waiting for me. Waiting for me to grow up. To become a man. Then I will have her. No one else is good enough for her. Only me."

Pansy saw past him into the bedroom. Harry wasn't wasting any time.

"It looks like Harry is more than good enough for her. Why don't you watch for awhile, Draco? Maybe you can learn something from seeing how much Harry can please her. Before the night is over, she'll be begging for more from him.

" _Watch, Draco_ ," she commanded and he turned back around. "And get your hand out of your pants!"

Pansy watched too. A part of her was thrilled with the power she held over the little Malfoy boy and his pitiful little fantasy that was crumbling before his very eyes. It was such a rush to just stamp all over this arrogant little piece of shite.

 _A likely match_ , her father had said. _Become more familiar with him_. She had been sickened and filled with rage. She couldn't torture her father to death, and a part of her was angry with Harry for that. No, but she could destroy Draco. This worthless scum. How dare anyone _ever_ think he was good enough for her. When she was done with him, Draco would beg for death. Oh, how she had longed to crush him.

And even better that Harry was helping do it.

Of course, there was _the way_ he was doing it.

A part of her wanted to cry.

But then there was the _other part_. The secret part. The part that had told her over and over again that Harry was wrong about her plan. The part that she would never admit.

The part that made her wet.

* * *

They were so wrapped up in each other, mouths and hands frantically going everywhere, that it's a wonder they didn't even stumble as they made their way across the room until they crashed onto her bed together. Narcissa's hands immediately went to work as he sat up, leaning over her. She removed his outfit much faster than he ever could have. Honestly, it had been kind of a pain even with Pansy helping him put it on.

No. _Not Pansy._

He stood up and slowly traced his hands down the wondrous length of her body. He slowly caressed the outline of her breasts, but only briefly before sliding down her sides and past her waist. On down the outside of her thighs, until he reached that slit on her dress, just at the knee. He kneeled before her then, and kissed that beautiful calf all the way down to the ankle. He didn't even hear her moans of delight now. He was busy.

He pulled the high heels off her feet and caressed them as she stretched and wriggled her toes. Then his hands started their journey back up. This time, he was sliding them under her dress, and slowly pulling the dress up at the same time.

Her legs were so smooth, and he stopped to plant kisses up them every so often. Above the ankle, the inside of one calf, then the other, now her knees. Then he was up to her thighs, and he was standing, still bent, but between her legs and my god was he hard.

Narcissa lifted herself up and pulled the dress over her head. Now she was only wearing a very lacy matching bra and panty set. They were off-white, although that was a little hard to tell in the low lit room, but they had intricate little patterns and were somewhat transparent, which allowed him to see a hint of her pubic hair. Harry kissed her mound through them, and this time he did hear her moan.

He stepped back only enough to slide them off her. Then he dove between her legs. He wanted to devour her.

She was darker down there, a golden brown compared to her blonde hair, and she was nicely groomed, a trim little triangle. He kissed all around her labia for a moment, but only a moment as he hungered for her. Then he licked up and down her slit before it opened for him, and his tongue was quickly inside her. She was already wet, more excited than he had even hoped, and she came almost immediately. But, Harry didn't stop. As soon as her peak was over, he began to work her towards a second orgasm.

That one was nearly as fast as the first, but before Harry could go back for a third, Narcissa was pulling him up. He licked her belly button on the way before stopping at her bosom. The bra too was transparent, and he could see her nipples straining against the fabric. She sat up and freed her breasts and Harry immediately latched onto one nipple with his mouth as he caressed the other with his left hand, while he wrapped his other arm around her back and pulled her tight against him. Narcissa's arms were clasping him to her just as tightly.

"I need you inside me. Now."

How could he resist that?

* * *

Pansy watched in her confusion. She was trying to process several different conflicting emotions, when a whimper from Draco drew her focus.

"What's the matter Draco? Don't you like watching Mummy get fucked?"

"No. Yes. I don't know."

She looked into the other room and saw Narcissa's legs now wrapped around Harry as he drove into her at a furious pace. She wondered how long he would last.

"Watch closely, Draco. Watch what a real man can do to a woman. This is something Daddy could never show you. He could only show you how to bugger helpless muggles. Or do you think he preferred taking it up the arse?

"Well, answer me!"

"He... My father wouldn't..."

"Oh yes he would, Draco. Didn't Mummy let you read the stories about Daddy when they took him away to Azkaban? What do you think he was doing down in that cell, naked with two muggle men? I like to think he was taking one at each end. Don't you agree Draco?"

"No, he wouldn't-"

"Yes he would. He'd love to have big muggle dicks to play with. Just picture it Draco. One muggle shoved down his throat and the other up his arse. That's how Daddy liked it, wasn't it?"

"No!"

"Don't argue with me, you little worm."

She looked back to Harry and Narcissa. They were still in the throes of passion. It was so hot. Look at him go. Narcissa was damn near screaming now. She wondered if they would realize they hadn't cast any silencing spells.

A grunt from Draco brought back her attention to him.

"What's the matter, Draco?"

"I came."

"What!?"

"I came in my pants."

She started to laugh and only stopped herself to make sure that Narcissa didn't hear anything. Of course, from as loud as they were, she was probably safe for the moment.

"So, you do like watching Mummy get fucked then, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Such a naughty boy, Draco. I want you to remember this Draco. Remember watching Harry Potter fuck Mummy. But you won't say anything. Not to Mummy, and not to Harry Potter. You can only tell Daddy. In fact, why don't you write to Daddy right now? Tell him all about how Harry Potter fucked your Mummy and how all you could do was watch and play with your pitiful little excuse for a cock.

"You won't remember I was here either. Only what you saw Harry Potter do to Mummy. And how much better at it he was than you could ever be."

Narcissa now was screaming _Harry!_ over and over again as her body went rigid. Harry's pace quickened for a moment and then ended.

"Did you see that Draco? They finished with a bang. Your Mummy was screaming for Harry. Bring your things over here so you can watch and write at the same time. I know Harry has more in him than just that. He's got all night to wear your Mummy out. You get to watch it all.

"Narcissa's a very lucky witch. Did you see all the ladies at the party that danced with Harry? How many danced with little Draco? I didn't see any. I bet Kathryn Nott would love to trade places with your Mummy. Her family was all ready to get her engaged to Harry. She would have wanted it done even more if she could see this.

"Or Carina Yaxley maybe. Her husband must be gay or impotent to not have shagged at least one baby out of that tight body. Did you see how she danced with Harry? Her face lit up when she was with him. I bet she's at home jilling herself silly tonight.

"Even the Greengrass girls. Daphne actually loosened up a bit and almost tried to smile. I could hardly believe it was the same frigid bitch I've known all these years. Astoria, well maybe she's a little young still. But she's definitely dreaming of Harry. You must have seen how she threw her arms around him before she left. Probably getting a spanking for not acting like a proper little lady, but I bet she'd tell you it was worth it. In fact, I bet we'll see it won't be long before every other first year girl just hates her from all the jealousy."

She stopped her rant and let Draco get to work on his letter.

Harry was reclining back against the pillows, and Narcissa was laying against him. They were speaking in low voices that Pansy couldn't hear. She was going to have to wait.

* * *

"Harry," Narcissa took a deep breath as her heart was still racing. "I can't believe we did that."

"Don't worry, I'm not done with you just yet."

She laughed, and she sounded years younger than he had over heard her before.

"I hope not. I just... I'm still shocked. I had hoped but..."

"But what?"

"Harry, do you have any idea how nervous I was? I haven't had sex since... well, since before you were born."

She seemed to deflate at that. Harry squeezed her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry."

"And tonight, lusting after a teenager. More than once I felt like a fool. What was wrong with me? Had all the years tied to Lucius left me as this... this desperate older woman? Do you know what I did when you went to freshen up earlier?" She was looking up at him again, those deep blue eyes holding both a weariness and a joy both fighting for control.

"No."

"As soon Pansy had left me alone, I cast the contraception charm on myself. And then I was utterly mortified by what I had done. At what I was hoping would happen, and at the thought that I could be wrong. Do you know the only thing worse than worrying about having my first shag in more than a decade was the idea that you would reject me?"

"As if any man could resist you," Harry chuckled.

"Lucius did," she answered bitterly.

"Which just proves that he wasn't a man. Do you know what I wish?"

"What?"

"I wish that I could go back in time and meet you twenty years ago. That I could have stopped you from marrying that worthless ponce."

"That's sweet Harry," her eyes were sparkling now. The joy was winning out. "But my parents wouldn't have accepted you unless you were a pureblood."

"Then I would have just had to fake my identity. You know the goblins are good about that sort of thing if you're willing to pay for it."

"And would you have paid for it?"

"I think you're worth it."

"Okay, stop being sweet before you make me cry."

"Alright, I have a lot more work to do tonight anyway."

Harry rolled over and began to suckle at her breasts again, while his hand slid down between her legs.

"Oh, Harry."

* * *

"Look, Draco, Harry's started fucking Mummy again. Watch while I look over what you've written."

Pansy read through the letter he had started. It wasn't very good- not nearly descriptive enough. She was going to have to dictate something much more provocative. She wanted Lucius absolutely unhinged once he'd read it.

Draco was groaning while watching Harry pounding into Narcissa. Her legs were stretched out with her ankles up by his ears, and she was already begging Harry for more. Pansy knew that position well, she liked to feel as much of him inside her as she could.

Oh, now _that_ pissed her off.

He was sucking on her toes.

Pansy loved it when he got really excited just a few days ago and sucked on her toes while they were fucking. She had teased him about how he had said she had sexy little toes- they were in this same position no less- and then all of a sudden her toes were in his mouth. It was so fucking hot.

Harry would do just about anything to worship her body. Any little hint, and he would be willing to try it. One night he had been kissing her throat and she joked that he should try licking her collarbone. And of course he did it. It actually did feel pretty good for a second, but then it turned out that she was really ticklish in one spot right there and she had to beg him to stop. Laughing until you cry isn't a good thing to do in the middle of sex. Her lungs had hurt so bad for a few minutes after that.

And now he was sucking on Narcissa's toes.

For some reason this made her much angrier than just the sex had.

"Alright, Draco, listen up." He had grunted again. "Stop coming in your pants you little maggot.

"Yes, Harry Potter is shagging your Mummy's brains out, and yes, she is screaming with delight while he sucks on her toes. That is the sort of thing you need to write your Daddy. Not this garbage." She tore up the parchment of his first aborted attempt at a letter.

"I guess you just aren't a very good writer. But don't worry. I'll tell you just what to write. We want Daddy to know all about everything Harry did to your Mummy, don't we Draco?

"Now get a fresh piece of parchment and write what I tell you. Don't worry, we'll make sure to get the letter just right so that Daddy knows everything about Harry Potter fucking your Mummy's brains out.

"We've got plenty of time. I'm sure Harry will make sure your Mummy feels better than she ever has before, even if it takes him all night."

* * *

And sure enough, no one in Malfoy Manor got very much sleep that night...


	32. Of Conflicts and Steps Towards Resolution

* * *

Harry awoke to the year of 1994 with a woman in his arms. It just wasn't the right woman. Oh, she was certainly beautiful. And he did care for her. But she wasn't Pansy. Regardless of how much fun his body might have had last night, and even if Pansy wanted him to fulfill her plan, he still wasn't happy about the whole complicated scenario.

His thoughts were racing when he felt Narcissa stir.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Good morning, Narcissa."

He was glad she was facing away from him as he was afraid of what emotions he might have otherwise betrayed. What exactly was he supposed to do now?

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

"Still a bit tired."

"I meant more about the champagne. I doubt you've had that much to drink before."

"No, you're right about that. I feel okay I guess. How do you feel?"

"Wonderful. Well, maybe a little sore. I'm not used to teenage stamina.

"But last night ended up going much better than I had planned."

"I'm happy to have done my part," he answered and kissed the back of her head. Her hair smelled incredible, and with the way she was pressed up against him, it was a miracle that he wasn't ready for another round.

"I suppose we have to get up. Who knows what I'm going to have to deal with from Draco today."

"I wish you luck with that," he chuckled.

"Why don't you wait for me to leave before getting up? I'd rather not have him know just where you slept last night."

"Okay."

As she climbed out of the bed, Harry immediately became aroused. He couldn't help it when he watched her naked body walking away from him. She had a great arse, and seeing it in the light of day made a part of him want to follow her and shag her once again.

He lay back down and closed his eyes. He supposed it would have been the last time if he had followed his inclination. Some small part of him was saddened by that thought.

He knew he shouldn't have been. He loved Pansy. But he still cared about Narcissa, and that just made everything confusing. Plus, the inevitable guilt was starting to seep in past his hormones and his affection for _the other woman_. That's what she was, even if Harry had been given this mission to seduce Narcissa Malfoy by his own girlfriend.

It wasn't that hard since she had been wanting to seduce him as well.

But now, dealing with the morning after was not going to be very pleasant.

* * *

An hour later, Harry was back home sitting on the couch and trying to figure out what came next. Pansy had gone straight to the bathroom, needing a shower she had said. He wasn't too surprised when she told him that she was going to shower by herself. Harry had a feeling he wasn't going to get to join her any time soon.

They had shared a brief tense breakfast with the Malfoys before they left. Draco looked terrible, like he hadn't slept, and Harry wondered just what Pansy had done to him.

But that had not been the most pressing issue. Harry had awkward expressions coming from both women, and he was trying not to stare, blush, or wilt before their gazes.

And then there had been the goodbye kiss.

He really shouldn't have done it. At least it had just been the two of them. But he needed to do it. He needed to try to feel some sort of closure. He knew there couldn't be any sort of future between them, but he just couldn't cast Narcissa aside. Not after the effect last night had had on both of them. He knew it must have been important to her- finally breaking free from the loveless cage she'd been trapped in for so long.

The problem was how much he ended up caring too. He really had meant it when he told her that he wished he could have gone back in time and saved her from marrying Malfoy.

But even if he wanted to try to be with her, how could he? Not even thinking of Pansy's part of that equation, Harry lived at Hogwarts for almost ten months a year. Would she be content with seeing him just on weekends? He doubted it.

And the truth was, he knew that it wouldn't have been enough for him either.

In the end, all it really boiled down to was the fact that there just wasn't a way he could keep seeing her.

So he kissed her goodbye, and Harry poured everything he felt for her into that kiss.

Which left him now feeling bereft, knowing that something... something _precious_ was gone from his life.

He heard Pansy getting out of the shower and felt a tidal wave of guilt finally crash onto him. Didn't he already have something precious in his life?

Dobby had brought him a set of pyjamas to wear which Harry was thankful for. If he could somehow calm down, he really needed to get some more sleep. But that would require his brain to cool off, and he had felt like it was going a mile minute ever since he woke up.

She came out of the bathroom.

"I'm going back to sleep."

Harry couldn't say anything as he watched her go. Five little words, but he felt like there was more than enough meaning.

Not, let's go back to sleep.

Not, come back to bed with me.

No. She was going back to sleep. By herself. It was unstated, but Harry knew.

He waited for any other sounds. He tried to hope for some sort of sign that he was wrong about her. But nothing came. While his stomach roiled, all he could do was sit there and worry about how they could fix this. _If_ they could fix this.

Time felt strange as he sat there. Eventually he made his way into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and tried splashing some water on his face. It didn't help, and moments later he was in front of the toilet, retching.

* * *

Pansy awoke some time in the early afternoon to an empty bed. Harry had never joined her and that made her feel something was wrong. _More wrong._ This morning had been bad enough. Waking up alone was one thing. Knowing why was another, and knowing where Harry was, despite his protestations the night before, didn't make anything easier.

Then they had come home, and the distance remained.

She went straight to the shower. She had to. She felt so unclean. Last night had worked, just as she thought it would, almost better in a way. Torturing Draco was exquisite. Even watching wasn't so bad.

At least, that's what she tried to tell herself.

Part of it wasn't so bad.

Was that true or just something she was failing to convince the little voice in her head?

But there was just that one thing that still bothered her so. Okay, two things really. But why, why had he had to do _that_?

Pansy got up and went to find Harry.

He was curled up on the couch, and he didn't look very well. In fact, he was a bit clammy to the touch. Was he sick?

"Harry?"

He groaned softly as he rolled over and his eyes drowsily opened.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you come to bed with me?"

"I..." Harry closed his eyes as he sat up. "I didn't think you wanted me to."

"What? Why would you think that?"

He looked down, refusing to meet her eyes. This was even more wrong than she had known.

"I... I'm sorry," he finally exhaled in a whisper. His shoulders sagged, and Harry seemed to be folding in on himself. She took his hand and pulled at him.

"Get up, Harry, come back to bed with me."

He let her lead him to the bedroom. Pansy rolled back the covers and started to climb into the bed when she noticed Harry just standing there. She patted the mattress beside her. "Come on Harry, get in."

He did as she asked, but he still wasn't looking at her. She rolled onto her side and waited for him to curl up behind her.

But the moment just stretched on as she waited. Finally she turned back over and saw that he was facing away from her.

"Harry, are you alright? You feel like you might have a fever."

"I don't know. I threw up earlier."

"I was afraid you had too much to drink last night."

"It wasn't the alcohol." His voice was quiet, and Pansy was becoming more worried by the second.

"What was it then?"

"Everything else."

She raised her hand to his shoulder and felt him shiver.

"Harry, look at me."

He rolled over, and she saw that he was even more afraid than he been had months ago when she had discovered what he had suffered at the hands of those damn muggles. Despite all the confusing things she still felt, it broke her heart to see him looking like that.

She pulled him in close and burrowed her head under his chin. Finally, Harry responded and wrapped his arms around her.

"Last night is over, Harry. We don't need to talk about it. We're home. We both need some rest and then probably a good meal. I'm sure we can count on Dobby to take care of us."

"Okay."

They were quiet then, but together. It was a start.

* * *

The next few days passed awkwardly. Neither of them spoke of the events at the Malfoys. They both acted like nothing important had happened. It worked, at least part of the time. But what once seemed solid and unbreakable definitely now had a crack. By the end of the break, neither of them was feeling up to riding the train back to Hogwarts. So instead they decided to use the Dobby express to go straight to Hogsmeade.

They beat the train's arrival by at least an hour, so they slowly made their way over the snowy ground up to the school. Thankfully, it was only a dusting of snow so their feet didn't freeze, but they were both glad for their new winter coats as they tread along the path.

Hagrid waved hello to them as they reached the gates, but they didn't stop to chat as he was busy getting the thestrals hooked up to the school carriages. Pansy still couldn't see the creatures, but Harry confirmed that they were there once again. They both wondered who all at the school might be able to see them. Hagrid could, obviously, or it would have made that part of his job much more difficult. But then, Hagrid had lived through the years of Voldemort's reign of terror, so it wasn't too surprising that he might have seen death.

That made them think that probably many of the teachers would be able to see them. However, the students were another matter entirely.

Eventually they made it to the castle and trudged up the many flights of stairs to the Gryffindor tower and their quarters. Very few students had stayed over the break, so they simply went inside and asked Dobby to make them something hot for a late lunch. All that walking through the cold had brought out their appetites.

* * *

After eating, Harry went out into the common room and saw that the rest of the student body had arrived. Wood had the quidditch team grouped up and called Harry over once he saw him.

"So, Harry, I trust you got a replacement broom over the holidays? As soon as the weather clears up a bit, we need to get back to practicing." The chasers all looked like they were dreading flying in January while the twins were merely rolling their eyes.

"Actually, Oliver, I guess I should show you guys one of my Christmas presents."

Ron and Hermione had come over and Harry was greeting them while heading back to his room.

"Give me a second guys. You'll never believe what I got for Christmas."

He went inside and found his broom and asked Pansy to come out with him. She thought it would be good for both of them to try to ease back into dealing with the other students, and the Firebolt should be a nice distraction as they had to remember how they acted in public.

Harry brought the broom out still in the box it had been shipped in. It would be better showmanship to have a dramatic reveal, and Harry was looking forward to possibly making Wood faint. He walked over to the table the rest of the team was gathered around with Ron and Hermione crowding around him and Pansy falling back just a bit, so as to not be too crushed by the group, especially once the excitement came.

"Ladies and gentleman," Harry stood tall and put on a grin, "I introduce you to my new broom. I call her Sheila."

The box was opened and several gasps were heard, followed by a brief moment of silence. There she was, his brand new Firebolt.

"Bloody hell, mate, you got a Firebolt!?" Ron broke the quiet with his usual manner.

"Language, Ronald!" And of course, Hermione would react like that.

Oliver Wood, meanwhile, grabbed Harry in a ferocious hug. "I love you, Harry. Here I was thinking you'd probably buy another Nimbus, but no, you went all out. We're bound to win now."

The crowd around them was all gazing star struck at the new broom, while the Scottish keeper kept his arm around Harry's shoulders like a proud older brother. Ron reached out and very lightly stroked the shaft. His mouth was open, but at least he wasn't actually drooling.

Pansy saw all this and it took every last ounce of her willpower to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Clearly Harry wasn't the only one that got far too excited over this new broom. It was so hard not to be completely condescending sometimes.

"This must have cost quite a lot. You shouldn't have spent so much money, Harry." Granger would be the one to try to throw reason out at the excited crowd of children.

"Actually, I didn't spend anything on it. It was a gift."

"A gift from who?"

"A secret admirer," Harry answered with a chuckle. "At least, that's what Hedwig said, but I don't think she understood when I tried to tell her that we humans use that term for a romantically interested admirer."

Hermione opened her mouth and started to say something only to close it just as quickly. Harry didn't see her turn and walk away, but Pansy noticed the suspicious look on her face.

"So, no idea who sent it to you?"

"Well, according to Pansy it was some rich bint," Harry said and the twins laughed outrageously then gave her appreciative nods.

"Have you tried her out yet, Harry?" Wood asked still eyeing the broom lasciviously as if it were a naked woman.

"Only briefly. The weather wasn't very conducive to flying. But, yeah, Sheila's just as amazing as you might think. Unbelievably fast, incredibly maneuverable, and she stops on a dime."

"You sound like you're in love," Angelina teased.

"If he isn't, Wood is," Katie replied with a grin.

"Alright, this settles it. First chance we get with the weather, team practice." Wood looked just as maniacal as Pansy had remembered last term.

"Okay, Oliver, but remember, if Harry gets frostbite he won't be able to catch the snitch no matter what broom he's on," one of the Weasley twins said.

"Yeah, he needs his fingers for that, Ollie," the other twin added.

Pansy wondered if there were any simple way to tell them apart. Of course, she wasn't sure if she would ever really _need_ to be able to differentiate between them. Still, it might be something to do during the endless quidditch practices she had a feeling were coming sooner than anyone other than Oliver Wood might prefer.

She stood back and watched Harry interact with the crowd for awhile. He was becoming much less tense; maybe being around other people would help them both loosen up. There was still something they needed to fix, but Pansy wasn't sure how and she knew Harry wasn't any more capable than she was. Neither of them had learned how to properly deal with emotional trauma. In fact, both of them had learned to keep things inside _or else_.

Until recently, she hadn't needed to hide very much from Harry. He was always open to her, willing to care for her and listen to her, even when he might tease her or she might be more snarky than she really needed to be. But now, she was going to have to do _something_. She just wasn't sure what.

Her thoughts were disturbed not by the rowdy students but by McGonagall striding into the room and past her as she headed towards the quidditch players.

"Quiet please, everyone. Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate that broom."

"Excuse me?" Harry's voice got icy and Pansy smiled to herself. It was such a turn on to hear that edge coming to the surface.

"Without knowing who sent you that broom, there is a chance it could be cursed to endanger you."

"I really don't think you want to do that, professor." Harry was glaring at his head of house, but he also spared a glance over at Granger, who had obviously been the instigator of this. Stupid, nosy bint. "For a couple of reasons. First of all, I doubt you need the hassle of unnecessary legal proceedings, such as being sued for harassment and possible theft. I don't see anyone else's Christmas gifts being confiscated just because some random person could have theoretically cursed them. And secondly, I know the broom isn't cursed because I've already used it."

"You have?"

"Yes, you can ask Hagrid, he saw me fly it."

"Very well, Mr. Potter, carry on then."

At least McGonagall listened to reason, Pansy thought as the teacher left the Gryffindor common room. Harry, though, ooh he looked incredibly angry as he strode over to Granger.

"What the fuck is your problem, Hermione?"

The room was silenced by the vitriol coming from Harry.

"Harry, I thought that it might have been sent by Sirius Black. You know he's out to get you."

"And he's done such a wonderful job, what with attacking the school on the one day I wasn't here. Now, apparently his master plan is to curse an incredibly expensive broom. What a brilliant criminal mastermind.

"But of course, that wasn't my question. If you were concerned about the broom being cursed, the reasonable thing for you to do would have been to talk to me about it. Not going behind my back to run and tell teacher. Are you ever going to grow up?

"When have the teachers here ever done anything to help us? Did a teacher save you from the troll? Did a teacher stop Quirell? Did a teacher do anything about the Chamber of Secrets? Hell, did any of the teachers even say a word about Malfoy proclaiming that all the mudbloods would be killed by the heir of Slytherin? Something he did in front of most of the school, for fuck's sake!

"But no, let's trust the teachers more than your supposed best friend. Harry clearly can't be trusted to make his own decisions, right?" Pansy walked over to stand next to him and added her own glare at Granger. Harry was clenching his fists.

"Pansy?" He asked with a look, and she answered.

_SMACK!_

It was a slap that rang out across Gryffindor tower.

"Thank you," Harry said to her as Hermione cowered before him. "Let's get something straight, Granger. You have no say over my life. You are not my mother. You're not my guardian or minder. You have been one of my friends, but if you ever pull some shit like this again, you can forget about that."

Granger ran up the stairs as the tears began to fall.

Pansy was incredibly turned on by seeing Harry get so furious with the meddlesome little bookworm. Now, if he would only cut loose the useless ginger moron.

"Alright, show's over, everybody," Harry said and the crowd began to break up, nervously avoiding the anger they had seen in him. He boxed his broom back up and headed off to their private quarters.

Pansy didn't even bother to hide the look on her face as she quickly followed him. If they saw her smirk, they would probably assume that she just didn't like Granger. But the rest of the Gryffindors were doing everything they could to avoid looking at Harry or her as they left.

It only took them a moment to get back inside their quarters, and it took less than a second after that for Pansy to throw her arms around his neck and attack his lips. Harry was slightly surprised but quickly answered her passion with his own.

"Bedroom, now," she growled out in a brief moment between snogs. Harry lowered his arms and lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Times like this she didn't mind being somewhat small for her age. And, oh, she felt something wonderful pressing up against her as they stumbled towards the bed.

They practically tore their clothes off. Harry started to slide down her body, but she pulled him back up to her face and kissed him. She reached down between them and pulled him towards her entrance.

"I can't wait- fuck me."

He was inside her then, and she had been so ready ever since his ire had turned towards McGonagall and Granger. _Oh, God yes!_ She might actually have to thank the bossy little cunt if Harry would fuck her like this every time she pissed him off.

It felt like his mouth and hands were all over her. Of course, they almost were, as Harry was frantically trying to grope and suckle every part of her he could reach while he hammered into her. Pansy's orgasm came quickly and it seemed like her whole body shook. Her legs were stretched out and her toes were curling, and Harry couldn't see it, but Pansy's expression was utter bliss.

Soon after, she had a second as Harry continued his frenzied ministrations. Before she reached a third climax, Harry's hands had reached around her and began squeezing her bum as he poured himself into her. He slumped on top of her and she luxuriated in his weight holding her down. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him as tight as she could and ground her pelvis into him, while reaching down to find her clit, and then she finished the job with Harry still buried deep inside her.

Her eyes were clamped shut and her mouth was wide open as she was gasping. _Was she seeing stars?_

Pansy opened her eyes to Harry smiling brightly at her.

"It looks like you had fun."

She answered by kissing him again. As Harry started to lift off her, Pansy grabbed him and held him close.

"Don't you fucking dare move, Harry."

"I don't want to crush you."

"You aren't, this feels really, _really_ nice."

"Alright, then give me your hand." When she looked puzzled, he clarified. "Your right hand."

He brought it to his lips and tenderly kissed her palm.

"What was that for?"

"I didn't want your hand to hurt. And also, thank you. For slapping Hermione. In some ways, she's a better friend than Ron, but when she pulls that crap like she knows what's best for my life just because she reads all the damn time, I just...

"Well, I guess I just want to slap her. But I really shouldn't. That wouldn't be the right image for the boy who lived, I guess. Better that you did it."

Pansy giggled and Harry looked at her strangely.

"I actually want to thank her, in a way. That was really great sex. I like it when you get angry." Harry chuckled and kissed her again.

"I love you."

Pansy smiled at him in response, and Harry felt like a burden had lifted from his heart. He sighed and kissed her, slowly and tenderly this time. Pansy relaxed her embrace and returned his affection.

He burrowed his head into her neck and kissed below her ear before they eventually just lay still together.

Finally, she lifted his head.

"Okay, _now_ I need you to get off me."

Harry chuckled and rolled over. Pansy curled herself atop him and sighed happily as he wrapped his left arm around her. His right hand slid lower as Harry was absentmindedly stroking her side, from just under her breast, down past her waist and along the top of her thigh. This was one of those things she loved about him- even when he wasn't paying attention, he instinctively was making her feel wonderful. His touch was soft, and she felt so cherished.

* * *

"We should probably take a shower," he finally said, shaking Pansy from her happy daze.

"No way, Harry."

He felt her shaking her head against him and she shifted her weight to be a bit more on top of him.

"Pansy, I can feel our skin sticking together."

"Mmm, tell me more Harry." Harry groaned as she purred and wriggled against him. "Oh, all of a sudden you don't like being sweaty with me?"

"No, it's just-"

"It's just that I feel perfect right now. And besides, you know we're going to end up having sex again before the night is through. We may as well only clean up once."

"I guess we aren't going to dinner then."

"Do you really want to after what happened with the broom?"

Harry laughed.

"You know something? I actually forgot all about that."

"Good," she said. "I hoped I wasn't the only one."

"Only one?" He looked down at her with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I think we fucked each other silly earlier."

Harry started to snicker, which set Pansy into giggling at him, which he copied, and soon enough they were rolling around the bed laughing maniacally together.

Once they caught their breaths, Pansy's prediction came true. Her naked, sweaty body never failed to get a rise out of him.

* * *

The next week passed so much smoother as they returned to their classes. They did have to get used to being around the other students again, and that meant going back to hiding their affection for each other until they were behind closed doors, something neither of them was very pleased about.

Pansy had to force Harry to spend a bit of time with other people, and although she wouldn't admit it, this made her pleased with how much he preferred her company over all others. She still occasionally worried that he might tire of her some day, but Harry showed no sign of that. Just the opposite really.

For her part, Pansy had never really liked _anyone_ before Harry. Oh, there were a few people she tolerated well enough. Patil wasn't too bad when she wasn't drooling over her boyfriend. Granger was even amusing when she was annoyed by the moronic weasel, which was often enough lately. The animosity of their pets had fired up again once they got back from the holidays. Why exactly was that foolish boy allowed to have such a disgusting piece of vermin as a pet anyway?

The next weekend brought a visit from Sam, and Harry telling him everything he could think of about his second year and the entire business with the heir of Slytherin. It was pretty fascinating really, as there were a couple of bits Harry hadn't told her before. McKenzie took copious notes, and she could see the ideas firing in his eyes as he questioned Harry particularly about every detail he could remember of Riddle and his diary. The solicitor was going to have plans about how to deal with this, and actually, he would be in a much better position to figure out how to get the story out over the true identity of the Dark Lord.

A week after that, things would get much more interesting. Lucius Malfoy was being released from Azkaban.

* * *

That Saturday, the seventeenth of January, once again saw Draco leaving the school with Narcissa. This time, there was no Hogsmeade weekend to conceal their actions. It was well known that the elder Malfoy was being released from Azkaban. Whether or not Pansy might have helped along the gossip about the Malfoy family was something that would not have been obvious unless you were paying very close attention. After all, it wasn't her fault that she just happened to be speaking with Harry about the Malfoy family where Patil and Brown could overhear her.

Draco hadn't returned by dinner time that evening.

Pansy made sure Harry went to sleep very happily that night. She might have strained something, as keeping up with his ridiculous desire for her was quite a challenge. But Harry needed to be as stress free as possible for the potential second option of her plan. She would just have to see what tomorrow would bring...

* * *

Pansy was high strung the next day. Breakfast in the Great Hall brought no news. Also, no Draco yet.

Harry could feel her tension.

They had to sneak off under the cloak together back into their quarters. He took her back to their bed and they made love for the rest of the morning.

Pansy's worry finally broke as they were about to go back outside for lunch. As soon as the tears started to fall, Harry engulfed her in his arms.

"Everything will be alright. Your plan will work."

She sobbed still into his chest.

"Hey, remember I was the one who had doubts before." Harry tried to tease her, but it did no good. "Pansy, look at me."

He finally had to force her head back.

"I promise you, everything will work out. Remember the other night when you had me practice spells? What happened?"

"You were destroying the targets."

"With ease, Pansy. Hell, I thought I might have done some damage to the wall behind them once. Ever since the ritual this fall, I've felt a lot more powerful. I know your spells have had a bit more oomph as well. I'm not sure exactly how well it worked, but it will be enough."

"I can't lose you, Harry." She molded herself back into his chest.

"I love you, Pansy. And I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

Once she was able to collect herself, they went back to the Great Hall for lunch.

* * *

That meal came and went and soon people were starting to get up to go about their afternoons. Maybe the first option had worked after all?

But no, just then a trio of blondes strode in through the doors.

Draco looked smug. Narcissa looked calm, at first, but Pansy noticed a worry in her eyes.

Now, Lucius, on the other hand, looked like a mess. Azkaban had done him no favors. He wasn't nearly as well put together as usual, and he appeared to have lost a fair amount of weight. His gait was not as confident or preening either, and in his gaze appeared a sort of mania. He had dark circles around his eyes, and he seemed to be barely in control of himself.

Pansy's breath released and she held in a smile. Harry would be okay. This would work after all.

"Potter!" Lucius yelled with a sneer on his face. He was almost as unhinged as Pansy had hoped he would be.

Dumbledore stood and the students went nearly silent as he bellowed out, "Mr. Malfoy, what brings you to Hogwarts today? Surely you should be home recuperating from your ordeal."

"Stay out of this, Dumbledore. As head of House Malfoy, I challenge the head of House Potter to a duel."

"Come now, Lucius, there's no need for such hostility."

"That brat sullied my wife and disrespected House Malfoy. I will have his head for this."

Before anyone else could move, Harry stood.

"I accept."

Pansy saw Dumbledore sink back into his chair as if he had been struck. McGonagall next to him looked terribly worried. Hagrid, Lupin, Sprout, they all were shocked by Harry's agreement. Even Snape looked startled.

None of the voices of the students were particularly loud, but hundreds of whispers still made quite the din.

Finally, professor Flitwick emerged from the head table with his wand drawn.

"Will everyone please clear space? I suggest the younger students leave, prefects please escort them out."

No one got up, though. Everyone wanted to see what would happen to the boy who lived. Pansy wasn't the least bit surprised by this. Hell, the Creevey boy already had his camera out.

"Very well," the diminutive teacher sighed. The tables were pushed towards the sides of the room as everyone found their seats again now that the room had a wide aisle down the middle. Flitwick's wand was a blur as he raised powerful protective spells along both sides to keep from allowing collateral damage.

"I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by this, Malfoy. I stopped your scheme with the Chamber of Secrets last year. You tried to attack me then too. And just like last time, you'll fail again today.

"It is a shame that you felt the need to slander your wife though. I guess you couldn't have her showing you up by throwing a successful party while you were away. She should have waited for her Death Eater husband to get out, right? I just knew New Year's Eve was missing something. The screams of muggles, that's what you would have added to the night's festivities."

"You'll be the only one screaming today, Potter," Malfoy snarled. Pansy saw Narcissa drawing back to one side and pulling Draco with her. She felt a bit of her disgust with the Lady Malfoy recede as she was clearly worried for Harry's sake. It's hard to hate someone when she wants her husband dead almost as much as you do.

"You must be feeling quite sure of yourself today, Malfoy, to be attacking someone that can actually fight back for once. Only a teenager, but still more dangerous than your usual targets. I guess you couldn't find any muggles to torture, or maybe Azkaban made you even more of a psycho."

"Prepare to die, little boy."

The crowd was stunned seeing Harry rile up his opponent, but Flitwick stepped in between the two of them and raised his wand.

"Are you both prepared?"

"Yes," Harry answered calmly.

"Let's get on with it," Malfoy sneered. "I will end House Potter and then put House Malfoy back in its place."

"Begin!" shouted Flitwick as he leapt aside.

Malfoy immediately began with a killing curse that went high and wide. _Shit_. Maybe she had made him too unhinged.

" _Depulso_!"

Harry stepped left and dodged low as he fired off a banishing charm that smashed into Malfoy and took him off his feet. Harry quickly stepped forward and followed up by sending his wand flying with a disarming charm.

Malfoy sneered and struggled to get to his feet while Harry strode steadily forward.

"Do you yield?"

Malfoy answered by drawing a second wand, but Harry was ready.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Malfoy was once again disarmed in the blink of an eye. Harry was even faster than Pansy had remembered.

" _Depulso!_ " Another banishing charm sent Malfoy hurling further down the aisle, tumbling over.

"Do you yield?"

Harry continued his pace forward. It worried Pansy; he was being too confident. This wasn't part of the plan.

"Never!" Malfoy drew a hidden blade from his boot and slashed up at Harry. His time in Azkaban had done him too much harm though. Harry was younger and healthier, and not to mention, much quicker. His time dodging bullies helped him even more.

Malfoy, on the other hand, probably hadn't had to dodge anything in years.

Another _Expelliarmus_ sent the dagger flying.

"Do you yield?"

Before Malfoy could try to get to his feet again, Harry's wand was once again in motion.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ "

Malfoy fell flat against the floor. Pansy saw Harry step right over the downed man. He leaned over and whispered something she couldn't hear.

* * *

"Two things, Malfoy. First of all, you're lucky that you tried to attack me instead of Narcissa. If you had hurt her, I would have gladly killed you, _slowly_. Even in front of all these people. But you won't ever get a chance to touch her ever again.

"And secondly, when you get to Hell, tell Edmund Parkinson hello for me. I'll be sending the rest of your little band of terrorists to join you soon enough."

" _Diffindo._ "

* * *

Harry stood over Malfoy and cast the severing charm. The room was silent as the man's throat was sliced open, blood gushing onto the floor.

"He should have surrendered," Harry said calmly.

It took all her willpower to keep Pansy from running across the room and snogging him senseless. She would just have to wait to get him back to their quarters. Instead Granger broke the moment of tension by hurrying over and hugging him.

"Oh, Harry," she sobbed on his shoulder.

"House Potter is victorious!" Flitwick finally shouted, formally ending the duel.

Pansy smirked as Draco fainted. Narcissa shook her head sadly. Pomfrey crossed the hall towards them as McGonagall finally found her voice and stood up.

"Albus, you'd better contact the DMLE."

The headmaster looked stunned before rising to his feet, leaving his deputy in charge of the scene.

"Severus, I'm sorry, but if you would, please remove the body."

"Miss Granger, get a hold of yourself please," she said as she walked over to her students. Pansy followed along behind her. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, professor."

Pansy could tell that Harry's peaceful demeanor, after having just killed a man, was disturbing to his teacher.

"Probably still high from the adrenaline," she muttered. "Very well, Mr. Potter, perhaps you should return to your quarters for the moment. I assume these two ladies can escort you there."

Pansy was glad to be noticed for once. She stepped up to Harry's side and took his arm.

"Come, my Lord, time to rest."

Harry nodded in response.

"Coming Granger?" Pansy asked and soon enough she was walking on Harry's other side as they left the Great Hall.

* * *

There were several moments of quiet as they trudged up the stairs before Hermione finally broke from her shock.

"I can't believe it, Harry. He tried to kill you! And then- and you-" she began stammering.

"Everything is alright, Hermione," he said, trying to placate her.

"But you...

"Harry, you killed him."

"So?"

"So! Harry you killed someone!"

"It's not the first time," he answered quietly.

"What do you mean ' _it's not the first time,'_ Harry?"

"Granger, would you please stop shrieking?" Pansy was sick of the nosy girl's attitude. Of course Harry was calm. It would take a lot more than taking out trash like Malfoy to get him rattled.

"Hermione, what do you think happened to Quirrell? He didn't just disappear. We fought, he lost. I killed him. You didn't really think he just quit his job, did you?"

"But... but that was... different."

"Not really. Malfoy was a Death Eater, one of Riddle's evil, little servants, just the same as Quirrell was. He tried to kill us both last year. I'm glad he's dead. Who knows, maybe next time he would have succeeded in killing one of us. I'd rather not take that chance. Besides, I offered to let him yield several times. It's not my fault he was too much of a psychopath to recognize when he was beaten."

"But, Harry, now you're a killer."

"Well, as I said, I became a killer two years ago. Hell, Hermione, most people think I killed Voldemort as a baby! I know you had read that before we even met. Did you think it was a bad thing that I had supposedly killed then?"

"No, but, but- that was self-defense. It was different."

"Malfoy tried to kill me today. Both with the killing curse and that knife he pulled. So what's the difference?"

"Harry, I just, I can't believe it."

Harry paused as they had finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Is the gossip true, Mr. Potter?"

"If the gossip is that I defeated Malfoy in a duel, then had to kill him when he repeatedly refused to yield, then yes."

"Well, go on inside, then. You'll need your rest after a fight to the death." And with that her door opened.

"Thank you, milady," Harry answered with a smile.

It amused Pansy to see him be charming even with a portrait.

They all stepped inside the Gryffindor tower together. Harry led Pansy over to the entrance to their private quarters.

"So, what's the deal, Hermione?"

"Harry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the broom. I'm sorry about today too. You were right. None of the teachers stepped in to try to protect you from Malfoy."

"They really couldn't do much, actually. That's one of the dangers of being head of a house. Responsibility comes with privilege."

"Are you saying, that, that _that_ could happen again?" Granger looked even more horrified now, to Pansy's amusement.

"Yes. There aren't many who would try such a thing. Bad form, I suppose. But news of today's events would make it less likely. A teenager for a head of a family may theoretically look like a weak target, someone who could be manipulated or intimidated. However, once that same teen has been seen to have successfully defeated an older, more experienced challenger, well..."

"Not to mention, he has also been seen favorably hobnobbing with others in high society, as well as successfully dealing with legal issues from those who had profited from using his name," Pansy interjected. "No one will take my Lord for granted now."

For once, Harry actually blushed under her praise.

"I won't take you for granted either, Harry." Granger hugged him again and Pansy really wished she could slap her again. "I'm really sorry about what happened with the broom. You were right, as a friend I should have talked to you."

"Yes, you should have. Look, Hermione, I appreciate you. You have done a lot to help me over the last few years. But you don't know everything about me or my life, so please don't think you know what's best for me.

"I'm sure there will be times when I will need your advice or your intellect. But friendship requires respect."

"You're right, Harry. I won't disappoint you again."

She finally let Harry go, and he struggled to contain a snort as Pansy was rolling her eyes at his friend. He really hoped Hermione would learn from this. He honestly couldn't understand why she placed so much trust in authority figures- every month at Hogwarts seemed to prove them inept in one way or another, far too often involving near death experiences for Harry. Although, really, today was more his fault than the teachers.

Well, except for the fact that if the government had just been moderately capable, then Death Eaters wouldn't have so easily been able to use the Imperius defense. In which case, he wouldn't have had to deal with Malfoy at all. Hell, maybe Draco wouldn't have been such a vile little shit if he had been raised only by Narcissa.

"Alright, Hermione, I think I'm going to take Pansy's advice and get some rest."

Harry smiled as she went upstairs to get her books and get back to her seemingly endless work. He shook his head fondly; no matter how he had tried to convince her, Hermione refused to drop either Muggle Studies or Divination.

He would gladly drop about half his classes if he could get away with it. Passing his OWLS couldn't come soon enough in that regard. Dropping History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, and especially Potions would all be an improvement in his book.

As soon as they were alone again, he was in Pansy's arms being snogged like his life depended on it. He chuckled when she came up for air a minute later.

"What so funny?"

"Nothing, just happy we won today. And happy to be here with you."

"Good. I guess we should celebrate."

"No, I think you were right. Today has been really stressful. Let's go soak in the bath for awhile."

"That sounds wonderful, Harry. I am really stressed after all this."

"Besides, we can always celebrate later."

Pansy snorted as he winked at her exaggeratedly. She just grabbed his hand and led them to the tub.

* * *

They were in the bath long enough to require a warming charm to reheat the water.

For awhile they had merely happily relaxed and caressed each other. They would snog for a bit, then lay back and enjoy each other's embrace. Harry's hands would always wander down to cup her breasts. It made her laugh.

"Harry, I think my bras might be getting jealous of your hands."

"Good. My hands love your boobs. Bras can't compare to that."

"I don't know, some of my bras are pretty nice," she snickered.

"So are my hands," Harry growled.

"I guess I can't complain too much," she purred and leaned back, pressing into him as Harry leaned down and kissed her neck. "I'm so glad today worked out alright. For awhile there, waiting, I was afraid. Had something gone right? Or gone wrong?"

A moment later, Harry stilled. Something about her words struck him odd.

"What do you mean?"

"About what?"

"Had what gone right?"

He felt Pansy tense in his arms.

"You're not telling me something, Pansy. What is it?"

"It's nothing, Harry."

"Tell me the truth, Pansy."

He felt her shiver. Still not looking at him, her voice trembled.

"Please don't make me, Harry."

"Pansy, what is it?"

"Please, Harry," she begged. "Please don't make me."

"Pansy-"

"Please, Harry." She sobbed as he turned her to face him. "We're just getting things back to right. Please, don't do this."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid you'll hate me."

"I could never hate you."

"Promise me."

"I promise. But I need to know. Whatever is bothering you, we can work it out. We need to trust each other.

"Now, what might have gone right?"

Pansy shivered once more before she began to speak. It worried him, but Harry needed to know the truth.

"I...

"I didn't tell you all of my plan. Or at least, not every facet. I told you how I planned to make Draco write to his father, to try to drive him to jealousy so he would confront you. But... I knew if I made him angry enough, he might do something rash. Something even more rash than attacking you."

"Narcissa," Harry whispered.

"Yes. If he were angry enough, he might have even tried to attack her. Hell, with what I dictated to Draco, I wouldn't have been surprised if he drew his wand in front of the aurors as soon as he was released."

"Or, he could have tried to kill her last night."

"Yes," she shuddered as she admitted he was right. "But Narcissa probably could have taken him in a fight from what we saw today."

"Not if he waited until she was asleep."

"You're right. That wasn't part of my plan, but it could have happened. I honestly didn't know who he would prefer to attack between the two of you."

"He could have killed her, Pansy."

Pansy silently looked down into the shadow of the water between them.

"How could that have worked for the plan?"

"Narcissa Malfoy couldn't just disappear from public. Especially not after recent events, working with you to get rid of the dementors. Then having you at her party."

"Oh Pansy." Now Harry shivered. "Is that what this was all about?"

She nodded, still averting his eyes.

"I only did what you told me."

"I saw what you did, Harry."

"What do you mean?"

"Draco had his wall charmed so that he could see through it. It seems the little pervert has serious mummy issues."

"So, you watched?"

"Yes. And I made him watch, to make him suffer. That part of it was wonderful.

"But yes, I watched. I saw everything you did to her."

"I don't understand. You told me to seduce her."

"I didn't tell you to care about her!" Finally her gaze rose to meet his and he saw her pain and anger.

"Pansy..."

Harry took a breath to gather his thoughts.

"I told you last summer that I cared about her. That I pitied her. She was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage- just like what we saved you from. How couldn't I pity her?"

"I don't care! I had to watch that bitch flirt with you. For _months_ , Harry. Every time you saw her. I'd see her eyes light up. I'd see her ego growing with your attention."

"Who were you trying to get killed? Her or Lucius?"

"Either! Both! I don't care. I want all of the Malfoys dead."

"Then why the hell did you tell me to seduce her?"

"You were just supposed to shag her. Not make love to her!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Deep inside, Harry knew what she meant, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it out loud.

"Sex. Just sex. You weren't supposed to care about her."

"I already cared about her."

"I know. I made a mistake."

"I think we both did.

"Pansy, I'm sorry. I really don't know how to just shag someone without caring about them. I've never done that before."

"I know. I think we just see sex differently."

"We do?" Now, this was something he hadn't thought of before.

"Of course we do."

"I don't understand."

"Harry, I told you about how I'd heard my parents before. Having sex, or trying to sometimes. It happened more often than I admitted, especially when I was younger. I'd also seen them a couple of times.

"They would fight. They would argue. Sometimes my mother would cry afterwards. Sometimes she was already in tears when they began. Sex was never love. It was always about dominance, power, control, a struggle.

"Then you come along, and all of a sudden sex is about fun, romance, joy, lust. All of these good, positive things. Nothing at all like the darkness I'd learned from my parents. Everything is so innocent with you."

Harry had to laugh at that. "I don't think most people would consider me innocent. Especially not with what we get up to at night."

"Most people are stupid, Harry."

"I think I understand. Or at least, I'm trying to. That's why you enjoyed the birthday spankings so much I guess."

"Probably. If I really wanted to analyze it. But do you try to figure out why you like to do the things you enjoy so much?"

"Pansy, I'm a lot simpler than you, my love. I love you. I love your body. I don't think I have any hidden deeper motivations than that."

"Lucky you," she grumbled, but Harry smiled and brought her back into his arms.

"I guess I can thank the Dursleys for not damaging me sexually at least. I'm sorry your parents screwed things up for you like that."

"I don't think it's too much of a problem. At least most of the time. But that night... I just..."

"It's alright, Pansy," he cooed into her ear as he felt her shaking. "You can tell me anything. We can fix this."

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered with uncertainty clear in her tone.

"Because I love you. And I want to make everything better."

"That simple, huh?" she snorted at him. "I'll try, just don't... don't judge me."

"I won't, I promise."

"Okay. When I saw you with her, a part of me was hurt. Seeing you with another woman. Another part was interested, like in a clinical fashion. Wondering what you might do differently. Then there was a part that, well...

"A part was excited by humiliating Draco- and then watching you at the same time, seeing how you moved and the things you did to her. It was both a turn on and painful at the same time- and that felt like what I had learned of sex from my parents. Not love, not even desire really. Just this fucked up, twisted need to feel something, even if it was pain.

"My mother, naked and crying. That's what sex meant to seven year old Pansy. A part of me still feels... I don't know, like that's what I expected sex to be like for me too. Even after all my time with you, I can't just forget. No matter how hard I might want to."

"I'm sorry. What can I do to help?"

"I'm not sure."

Things got quiet for a moment as they just held onto each other.

"But I'm still mad at you," she finally said.

"About what?"

"You sucked on her toes."

"Huh?"

"You sucked on her toes," she repeated as if Harry was being dense.

"Why is that important?"

"Because it was special."

"I don't understand."

"Look, we had talked and I had teased you about saying my toes were sexy. It was such a sweet, goofy thing. Like you find every part of me attractive."

"I do," he insisted.

"I'm starting to believe you," she chuckled. "But then, that one night when we were having sex and all of a sudden you started sucking on my toes. Harry, that was really fucking hot. I loved it. So seeing you do that to her, it just really bothered me."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"I am."

"Good."

...

"So... toe sucking is a good thing?" he asked.

"It was. Now, not so much."

"Oh. That sucks. I thought it was pretty hot too. I mean, I could tell you enjoyed it. And seeing you turned on turns me on, so, you know."

"Well, no toe sucking now."

"Crap. Like, not ever again?"

Pansy giggled.

"You're incorrigible, Harry."

"I try. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

"Yes, you do."

...

"I'll get over it eventually. Just wait until the next time I tell you to suck on my toes."

"Ooh, like an order?"

Now they were both giggling.

"Yes. I order you to take me back to bed. I think we're ready to celebrate now."

"As you wish, milady."


	33. Gossip, Quidditch, and a Return to Normal

* * *

The ministry's official investigation into the duel that led to the death of Lucius Malfoy was brief, which Harry was very grateful for. The fact that one of the aurors guarding against another possible intrusion by Sirius Black had witnessed the Malfoys arriving as well as seen the duel itself, well, that just made everything so much easier.

All of the old traditions had been followed, as Pansy had made sure Harry knew exactly what to do. Defeating Malfoy was only one step of the process. Making sure he was too out of control to yield was another. The fact that that same lack of control made the fight that much easier for Harry was a blessing too.

Everything was helped along a lot by the fact that the now-widowed Lady Malfoy had confirmed the entire official story and was not exerting any pressure against Harry.

Only Harry and Pansy knew that this was because Narcissa was glad the bastard was dead too. She was clearly hoping that this might help her regain her influence over Draco and guide him away from the arrogant, foolish path his father had led him along all his life.

Harry would have been inclined to wish her the best at her task of trying to rehabilitate her son, but he had a feeling one of these days Draco was going to say or do something that would make his name go to the top of Harry's list of people that needed to be gotten rid of. And the fact was that all of the Malfoys were already at the top of Pansy's list. But for Harry, Sirius Black, the betrayer of his parents, was the one person he now thought of killing the most.

Parkinson and Malfoy had been first because they had harmed or threatened Pansy. Now that he was not as worried about her safety, it was time to start considering how to deal with other enemies.

But a battle had been won, and a respite was earned. Harry wanted nothing more than to make sure his relationship with Pansy was as strong as possible. The rest of the Death Eaters could wait.

* * *

The rest of January was unpleasant at times. The fearful looks from the year before returned as the students who had praised Harry as the hero who drove off the dementors now saw him as someone who had won a duel to the death right in front of them.

Not that any of them had left or looked away. Hypocrites.

Hermione defended him to a few people in Gryffindor, arguing Harry's own point to her that everyone had loved him as the supposed killer of Voldemort all those years ago. And if Harry's accusation was true, as Hermione claimed it was, Malfoy had unleashed the monster that had terrorized the school the year before.

At least it wasn't the entire school this time, but there were still plenty of whispers behind his back.

Pansy was much more angry about this than Harry. He had lived through it last year anyway. And now he had Pansy on his side (and in his bed at night), so he cared very little what almost anyone else thought of him. Hermione, Ron, his quidditch teammates- they all supported him and that was more than enough.

Some of the girls, though, were even more appreciative of Harry now. Specifically the purebloods who saw just how powerful he was and how he could defend himself against possible threats to House Potter. That sort of thing made him much more attractive as a possible future husband. Pansy saw Greengrass definitely was interested, and she knew that the fact that the cold and aloof girl was showing that much (at least to the trained eye) was shocking.

On the other hand, that the giggly Brown thought Harry was even more dashing now wasn't surprising. But the look of desperate longing that Patil often sent his way _was._ It fascinated Pansy and made her sure to keep a much closer eye on her.

Little Ginny Weasley's admiring glances were to be expected. Lucius had nearly gotten her killed last year, after all. Harry was even more than a hero- now, he was also bringing overdue justice to her malefactor. Pansy had to laugh though; Harry seemed most often oblivious to the way he affected the girl. Either that or he had gotten a lot better at ignoring her embarrassment and near constant blushing.

As for herself, Pansy found plenty of time for her studies as Wood had soon begun scheduling three practices a week, and not even watching Harry was reason enough to brave the January cold. She conceded that the next match being on the sixth of February meant the team would need to be prepared, but from everything she'd heard, Harry's new broom had just about guaranteed them victory. Hufflepuff hadn't been much of a team in years, and Gryffindor was undefeated with Harry playing. Considering that he'd had to deal with attempts on his life in three of his matches, and Snape refereeing for the other, it was a ridiculously impressive resume.

* * *

"Hey, Pansy, I need your help." There was obviously a reason he had waited to bring this up until they had returned to their quarters for the night.

"About what?"

"I got a letter from Kathryn Nott today."

"And...?"

"And, I'm not sure how to respond. I've been thinking I should try to not drive up any interest from her but don't want to be too rude either. I mean, it's no more her fault that she's the daughter of a Death Eater than it was yours. But at the same time, well, I mean, it's really blatant what she's after."

"You."

"Yeah."

"Okay, well let me read it and we'll see what we can come up with," she said as Harry gratefully handed over the letter. "Alright, let's see...

" _Blah, blah, wonderful to get to know you at the dance. My life is boring, waiting to find a husband, blah blah_."

"She didn't say actually say anything about a husband. I'm sure I would remember that."

"I'm just cutting through the bullshit and translating for you, Harry. Trust me, I know exactly what the life of a little pureblood lady is supposed to be like."

"Right, sorry. I won't interrupt again."

" _Heard about the dementors at the quidditch match, wish I could have been there to witness that, blah, blah, so glad you weren't injured when dueling Malfoy, you'll have to tell me all about it, Theo wouldn't say much, blah, blah..._

"Oh, now this is interesting- _mother trying to arrange to come see one of your quidditch matches_."

"Why is that interesting?"

"It tells us a couple of things. Her mother is the one trying to arrange this. Normally, the father would be doing so, which suggests a couple of possible reasons. First of all, the fact that you just killed one of his old colleagues is something that could have made the Nott patriarch nervous to be around you. The fact that you openly called Lucius Malfoy a Death Eater is something little Theo is bound to have written home, if they didn't hear it any other way. Secondly, when a mother is arranging events socially for the child, it is almost certainly going to pertain to trying to arrange potential matches for said child."

"Great, so they are working towards trying to interest me."

"Definitely."

"Dammit, that's the last thing I want. What the fuck do I do?"

"Be less charming?" Harry didn't seem to be amused, but she smirked at him anyway.

"Pansy, please, be more helpful."

"I don't know, it might be funny to see what you come up with..."

"Please, I'm begging you here. I'd offer to do anything you want, but I already do that."

"Well, that does sound intriguing. And no, you don't do anything I want. If you did, I'd never have to be around that ginger slob again."

"That ginger slob is my friend. And Ron is more than just that."

"Really?"

The snarky raised eyebrow wasn't really needed to convey her sarcasm, but Pansy's patience with Ron had been much lower since returning from the holiday break. Harry had been spending more time around him, as he was excited (and plainly envious) of the new broom. Harry even let him take Sheila out for a ride, something that Pansy needled him about regularly. Wasn't Harry supposed to be overly protective of his ladies?

Then she pointedly asked him one night if he was going to let someone else ride _her_. That got Harry's back up, and he proceeded to shag her for the rest of that night. After the third go, he realized that she had just wanted some more angry sex- and honestly, it had been so good that he couldn't even be upset about it. But he did warn her not to ever mention Ron anywhere near the topic of sex, which she answered with a sneer. He should have known that her disgust with Ron would have made that an obvious point he didn't need to bring up.

Hell, Pansy was even openly siding with Hermione, someone else that Harry knew she didn't think much of, in their ongoing feud over their animals. It was up to at least twice weekly that cat would chase rat through Gryffindor tower, and no one found it funny anymore. Ron had been castigated by many of the girls for keeping a gross pet and was having to leave Scabbers in his dorm more often than in the past.

But for now, Harry needed Pansy's help much more than he needed to be bothered by her mocking of his friends.

"Please?" Harry used his most pathetic expression and even kneeled before her in supplication.

"Alright, but I expect one hell of a Valentine's Day."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Harry bowed even lower before her and was now kissing her feet. No, wait, that was her calf, oh...

He was going to start repaying her favor immediately.

It was a good thing she didn't have anything else she needed to do that night.

* * *

The mood throughout the tower was reminiscent of Dobby- excited and hyperactive. The day of the match with Hufflepuff had arrived, and Pansy was at least glad that the weather was remarkably pleasant for February. Sunny and crisp, with a light breeze that made it only cool rather than frigid.

It was one of those days that Harry was naturally going to be sociable, which made Pansy more frustrated than she knew she should have been. But the last couple of weeks had seen the two of them being particularly close. Everything was so much better between them after that day in the bath when she had come clean. Her fear of Harry's reaction had been over blown, but he knew that she still wanted all of the Malfoys to die, including Narcissa. She had a feeling that could some day become an issue between them again, but things were good now. It helped that Narcissa hadn't attempted to correspond with him, nor had they seen her on the most recent Hogsmeade weekend.

Her thoughts were broken by the noise of the crowded common room. She grinned as she noticed Harry yawning while Wood was giving what he must have assumed was a pep talk. The rest of the team seemed relaxed, but Harry looked like he wanted to go back to bed. Pansy was sure that he did, actually, and she might have even let him get some more sleep too. Maybe she shouldn't have woken Harry quite so enthusiastically this morning?

As the captain's coaching kept droning on and on, Pansy laughed to herself as Harry's head slumped against one of the Weasley twins.

"Harry really isn't much of a morning person," Granger said, as she sat down next to her. "It seems a bit worse lately though."

"You're one to talk," Pansy answered. "I thought you promised him you would make sure to set aside enough time to keep from getting burnt out?"

Granger did have circles under her eyes this morning, and Harry had commented on it last night before Pansy thoroughly distracted him.

"I know, I just have had a lot of work to do this last week. The holiday break got me out of my schedule. Plus, Ronald's constantly nagging me about Crookshanks. How is it my fault that he won't keep his nasty little rat locked up?"

"Oh, you know I agree with you about that. Vermin shouldn't be treated as pets. I'm not sure why McGonagall lets him get away with it.

"I just hope Harry doesn't fall asleep on his broom today."

"Harry is far too excited by flying to do that."

"I know Granger. It was a joke."

Seriously, this girl was supposed to be smart?

Well, she was buried in a book as usual.

"I really don't understand why you're taking that class." It was a muggle studies book, and just from the couple of weeks she'd spent with Harry away from the magical world, she could tell even more from everything she'd heard that the class was very out of date. Which made it just that much more pointless for someone like Granger to be wasting so many hours of her life on it.

"You know Harry won't think less of you if you drop it, right?"

"I'm not taking the class to try to impress Harry. You've got me confused with all these other girls." Granger actually looked insulted by her comment.

"And why is that?"

"Why is what?"

"Why aren't you interested in him?"

"I do like him, just not like that."

"Do you prefer witches then?"

"What!? No."

"Then why not? Harry is attractive, wealthy, magically powerful, fairly intelligent, and he can even be charming and funny sometimes."

"Do you _want_ me to be interested in him?"

"I'm just curious. The fact that all these other girls have crushes on him makes sense. The fact that you don't is confusing. Especially since you have such a huge advantage over the rest of them because he's your best friend."

"I don't, I just..." Granger trailing off, lost for words, was even more unusual. But it didn't keep Pansy from noticing her look over to Harry and then Weasley.

"Oh, I see."

"What?"

"Let me guess. You've been best friends with two different boys these three years here at Hogwarts. And you haven't decided which of them you're more interested in. At least that's the better option."

"That's not...I... wait, what do you mean by 'the better option?' Better than what exactly?"

"Well, better than the idea that you prefer Weasley over Harry. I can't imagine any woman would have such terrible taste in men."

Granger looked away and Pansy snorted.

"Seriously, Granger? The rude, slovenly idiot that constantly argues with you? Have you no self-respect?"

"I have plenty of self-respect," she huffed as she got up and walked away, a stack of books in her arms as usual.

"Wow." Pansy was conflicted. On the one hand, this gossip would be so delightfully hilarious in the hands of Patil and Brown. However, Harry would almost certainly be upset with Granger being humiliated.

If only he wasn't such a nice guy. Shaming her now might help her in the long run.

Wait a minute. Why would she want to help Granger in the long run? Harry really was too much of a nice guy if he was rubbing off on her like this.

A round of laughter brought her attention back to the quidditch team. A blanket had been wrapped around Harry and the Weasley twins were now carrying their sleeping seeker towards the door as the rest of the team followed. Even Pansy had to admit it was pretty funny.

Much of the tower was now making its way down to the Great Hall. Normally, Pansy would have fallen in with the class gossips, but that temptation regarding Granger was too strong. Instead, she made her way just behind little Ginny Weasley and some of her friends, all of whom were either giggling about Harry being asleep or gushing about how cute he was. The Weasley girl was actually quieter than the others about the topic, until they started talking about other things her big brothers got up to, which was the sign for Pansy to disengage from her eavesdropping.

By the time they were actually sitting down to eat, she found herself preparing a plate of food for Harry who was trying not to doze off. It was kind of amazing that he had slept through being carried down all those stairways. When she elbowed him in the side and told him to eat up, he smiled and mumbled a thank you.

The rest of the meal was as boisterous and loud as any other quidditch Saturday.

An hour later, Pansy found herself sitting with Patil and Brown again as the match began. Granger was still in a snit about her earlier questioning, and Pansy couldn't help a cheshire grin slipping out when she saw that the bookworm was sitting just a bit further apart from Weasley, head still in a book while waiting for the players to come out. The weasel and the other boys were as clueless as one could expect, but when Granger looked up and frowned at Pansy's knowing gaze, her resolve was truly tested about not revealing this terrible secret she had uncovered.

Pansy swore to herself to hold it in for now, but she thought that Harry would probably be of little help for once. He would not be of much use dealing with the pitfalls of teenage romance, especially one that would be doomed to failure like Granger and the weasel. At least Harry was smart enough to see that folly and not be in favor of watching it play out, which made him smarter than his best friend. The earlier Granger could see this nightmare of an idea crash and burn, the sooner she might be almost tolerable, and for Harry's sake, that was a worthy goal for Pansy to work towards.

Especially if Granger's conceited intellect led her to pissing Harry off every now and then, because even a month later, Pansy was still thrilled with learning how much fun sex was with an angry Harry.

* * *

As she expected, the Hufflepuff team proved to be no match, as Gryffindor was already up by a hundred points when Harry caught the snitch. Pansy allowed that his new broom was pretty impressive compared to what the rest of the school rode, but she refused to concede to Harry's idiosyncrasy. She would always only call it a broom and never by name.

Harry teased her a bit about being jealous of Sheila, which she rejoined him by reminding Harry of his Christmas morning erection when he received the broom. It wasn't enough to really get either of their knickers in a twist about, but even play fighting like that led to some fun times in the bedroom. Sometimes even on the couch, when their passions flared quickly enough.

Harry's early absence from the party wasn't too remarked upon- he did need to take a shower to get clean and warmed up, not to mention having a nice, wet victory celebration with Pansy. But they kept it quick and she let him go back to the party by himself as she wanted to get an essay for Defense finished up, and she knew that chances were good it would last the rest of the day anyway.

However, the more than an hour long disappearance of the Weasley twins was definitely noticed, especially as they returned with arm loads full of sweets and butterbeer. Pansy had joined the party by then, and Harry gave her a butterbeer and a brief smile as the crowd around him kept most of his attention. At least all of Gryffindor was back on his side after the tremendous flying display.

And of course, the interested girls were either more flirtatious (like Brown and Patil) or sighing wistfully from across the room (like Weasley). Pansy had been a bit annoyed when the three chasers had all kissed Harry when the team won, and Bell at least was starting to look at Harry as something other than the just the team's little brother. But it had all been a brief in-the-moment celebration, and at least Wood seemed to be straight, otherwise she might really have to worry. The captain had looked ready to carry Harry off on his shoulders after the win.

Granger was off in a corner reading the same thick muggle studies book from earlier. Someone really needed to get that girl to lighten up. Not that Pansy had any idea what to do about that situation, but if she was going to insist on being interested in that ginger moron, then Granger was on her own.

She did spot Longbottom looking over Granger at one point, but that shy, pudgy little squib was only marginally better than the weasel. At least his manners weren't atrocious, but he was like the inverse of Harry, especially this year as Harry became more outgoing. Watching him struggle with spell work in class, Harry at times tried to help him. It was that nice guy part of Harry's demeanor. Pansy was still distrustful of Longbottom though, as he couldn't have been raised without the type of knowledge that Harry had clearly lacked. It was obvious to Pansy in just that first hour of really getting to talk Harry, and she still thought that if he had truly been a friend, he would have mentioned something, _anything_ , to Harry about magical society.

But even in that distrust, her mind started to whirl with ideas about possibly trying to stir something up with Granger and Longbottom. It was a dirty job, but getting rid of at least one Weasley was a goal for the rest of the school year. The girl was in the background often enough that she wasn't a priority, and the twins were at least useful to keeping Harry's attitude positive. But Ronald, ugh, she couldn't see him as anything but useless.

* * *

The night had come and eventually Pansy had gone back to their quarters. Harry followed not too long after, and they ended up making love before heading to the bathroom together. It was a cold night out, with the wind howling outside their windows. Soaking in a warm tub would really hit the spot for both of them.

Harry was behind her with his hands cupping her breasts and his face nuzzled into her neck. They had only a couple of candles for light. Pansy loved when Harry did things like this, her inner romantic feeling relaxed enough to come to the fore. She couldn't imagine a better end to a long day.

"I learned something interesting today, and keeping it secret has been almost painful."

"Oh? Then let me unburden you, milady."

"I was talking to Granger earlier. I wondered why she's never shown any interest in you."

"You asked her that? You know I'm actually relieved that Hermione doesn't want to go out with me. That's kind of a rarity these days."

"Don't get such a big head, Potter."

"It's not ego, I've been finding it annoying. Miss Nott is one thing, at least I don't have to interact with her on a daily basis. I'm a bit frightened by Lavender sometimes."

"Yes, she can be a bit forward."

"That's one way to put it," he snorted.

"Anyway, back to your best friend. I solved that mystery- she likes someone else."

"You want me to guess who?"

She murmured in agreement as Harry's breath tickled a particularly sensitive spot at the top of her neck. She reached up and pressed his mouth against her with one hand; Harry's physical response was almost enough to make her want to get out of the tub.

"Wait. Don't make me lose focus. I want your help on this."

"Really? I guess I should feel honored. So, who is it?"

"I told you to guess."

"Well, other than Neville I haven't spotted anyone else interested in her. And I wouldn't be guessing if it had been him, as that would be a simple answer, just give them a little helpful push together. So-"

"Harry, you're thinking too much. If she doesn't like you, then..."

"Oh, please God no. Not Ron."

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!"

"Pansy, that's a terrible joke."

She answered him by being silent.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I would tell a much better joke than that."

"That's a bomb just waiting to go off. They have trouble just doing an assignment together without him insulting her or her biting his head off. How on Earth does Hermione think that is the basis for a relationship?"

"I have no idea. I asked her if she didn't have any self-respect."

"And I'm sure she didn't find that insulting, either."

"Well, I found it insulting that she would be attracted to that buffoon rather than you. So, the feeling is mutual."

"Great. Why are you telling me this?"

"Firstly, because I was so very tempted to tell Patil and Brown but I held my tongue for your sake. I knew you wouldn't want her humiliated like that."

"Thanks."

"Secondly, this is just too insane to not say something.

"But thirdly, I thought that it might be good to have this get out. Some embarrassment now could save her in the long run. Fourthly though, I know you've thought about her and Longbottom together. If you have any ideas about making that work, it would be far better for her than Weasley."

"I see." Harry buried his face in her neck again while he considered the issue. It made it a lot harder for her to think about anything else though.

"This is just great, I think you've given me a nightmare. I can just imagine it, them breaking up after the second date and both of them demanding I side with one or the other as they are no longer going to be on speaking terms."

"You really think they would make it to a second date?"

He could see her smirk in his mind despite the darkness.

"They are both very stubborn, so maybe if they didn't crash and burn too spectacularly on the first go round."

"That's a big assumption, Harry."

"If I wake up screaming tonight, it's all your fault."

"And I'll be sure to comfort you."

"You're going to have to comfort me before hand too. I don't know how I'll be able to get to sleep now."

"I'm sure I can think of something to take your mind off it."

"I hope so."

She turned in his arms, and Harry was soon thinking much happier thoughts.

* * *

It was nearly pitch black when he woke. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something that triggered one of his senses. Harry closed his eyes and focused on listening.

There it was again. A scratching sound, coming from somewhere.

Harry sat up and grabbed his wand from the nightstand.

He got up slowly and quietly walked across the room. The sound was coming from out in the main sitting room area.

"Harry?"

"Shh, go back to sleep."

"What is it?"

"I just thought I heard something."

"Come back to bed."

"I'll just be a minute."

Pansy moaned sleepily. Harry stepped through the doorway.

The fireplace had gone dark hours ago. The wind was still blowing strong outside, but the windows were on the outer wall, the opposite direction from where he heard the noise.

And there it was again. It sounded like someone scratching at the door, trying to get into his private quarters.

"Dobby?"

"Master Harry sir?" he yawned. For once, even the elf was sleepy.

"I think someone's trying to get in. Stay with Pansy, keep her safe."

"But master Harry-"

"Just keep her safe Dobby. It's probably just someone who had too much butterbeer. Or one of the older students, I saw a bottle of fire whiskey."

"Be careful, master Harry."

"I will."

He saw Dobby to head to the bedroom and then waited for the sound to come again. His wand in hand, he was ready to stun first and ask questions later. He stood near the door and listened.

Finally, once more the scratching came.

He opened the door and immediately cast the spell.

" _Stupefy!_ "

Unfortunately for Harry, the spell sailed through the air, hitting no one. He was confused for a second until he looked down and saw Scabbers trying to climb through the portrait hole, into his quarters. Harry reached down and grabbed the rat.

"You don't go in here. You need to go back to Ron's room. Just be glad I found you and not Crookshanks, or you might be a midnight snack."

He felt the shadowy figure's presence loom over him before he saw it.

But a second later, a knife was slashing towards him and Harry dropped the rat as he tried to turn away and bring his wand back up.

There was a splash of blood as his left forearm was hit, and the sound of terrified squeaking as Scabbers made a run for it.

" _Depulso!_ "

Harry fired in front of him, and the figure, which appeared to be a man as it was flung through the shadows, crumpled near the far wall of the Gryffindor common room.

Harry looked down at his arm and saw that while it was bleeding, it didn't appear to be too bad of a cut.

Peering back towards his attacker, he saw the figure seem to meld into the darkness. A second later, a very large shadowy figure bounded away, heading for the exit.

Harry staggered after it, but by the time he got through the Fat Lady and into the hall, whoever, or whatever it was, was gone.

Stepping back into the common room, Harry's shouted spells had apparently awoken a few people and he saw Percy, the head boy walking over to him.

"What's going on Harry?"

"I'm not sure, I heard someone trying to get into my quarters, or at least that's what I thought. I found Scabbers scratching at the door and then someone had a knife. He slashed at me, I cast a banisher at him- at least I think it was a him. But whoever it was got away."

"You didn't get a good look at this person?"

"No. It was too dark."

"Could it have been Black?"

"Maybe, I guess. But he didn't try very hard if he was going to kill me."

"Alright, stay here Harry. Professor McGonagall is on her way. She'll want to know just what you saw."

"Probably should get Madam Pomfrey too."

"Right."

"Oh, yeah. _Accio Scabbers_! Could you give this guy back to Ron?"

* * *

The next fifteen minutes were rather boring, but at least it gave Harry's adrenaline a chance to wear off so that hopefully he could get back to sleep soon.

McGonagall and Pomfrey both arrived in short order, and he told his story as the healer fixed the wound to his arm. The aurors had been alerted to a possible Sirius Black sighting, but Harry admitted that he couldn't tell for sure that it had been him. Logically, it must have been, but something about the situation didn't make sense to Harry. Black could have done more if he was as intent on killing Harry as everyone else seemed to think.

Finally, he was allowed to go back to his quarters.

He smiled as he saw Pansy still sleeping, with Dobby hovering nervously nearby.

"Thanks for watching over her, Dobby."

"Are you alright, master Harry?"

"I'm fine. We can all get back to sleep now. Good night, Dobby."

He slid back under the covers and curled around behind Pansy. Good thing tomorrow was a Sunday. He felt like he could sleep for days.

For a moment, his thoughts wondered if it had been Black, and just what the little missing piece of the puzzle he wasn't seeing could be. But Pansy was warm and soft, and soon he drifted off into the land of nod.


	34. Enter the Map, Exit Scabbers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I went back and checked, having not read PoA in several years, and was shocked to find that Wormtail faked his death a couple of days before Black's attempted attack after the quidditch match. I thought he faked his death afterwards, as that would make more sense to me- responding to the greater threat of Black successfully entering the school for the first time in 3 or 4 months and making it into the Gryffindor tower. Oh well, in this story, it happens the other way around compared to canon.

* * *

She was poking him awake for a change.

"Are you ever getting up, Harry?"

"Do I have to?" he groaned.

"Dobby told me an interesting story this morning."

"What's that?"

"He told me that someone tried to break into our quarters last night. That you fought this person off, getting stabbed in the process, and that it was probably Sirius Black."

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Is there a reason you didn't wake me and tell me any of this?"

"It wasn't a big deal."

"Harry, getting stabbed is _always_ a big deal."

"It didn't bleed very much."

"Harry," she growled. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I told Dobby to make sure you were safe. No one got into our quarters, and it was all over in less than a minute. And for the record, it was Ron's rat that was trying to sneak into our quarters. The shadowy stabber just appeared out of nowhere. I banished him across the Gryffindor common room and then he took off. At least, I'm pretty sure it was a he."

"Please tell me that disgusting little thing didn't get into our quarters."

"No, I made sure he got back to Ron. I'm not letting anyone in here, especially while you're sleeping."

"Harry, if you're in danger, I deserve to know about it. Why didn't you at least wake me up once it was all over?"

"I just wanted to go back to sleep. It was about three in the morning, I was tired. Plus, you looked really cute, so I just snuggled up behind you."

"Don't smile at me like that, Potter- I'm mad at you."

"Sorry."

"You think I'm cute now?" Pansy was glaring at him, but he just couldn't stop grinning at her.

"Yes. Even when you're cranky or mad at me."

"You're crazy, Harry."

"Maybe. Look, I promise, the next time a knife-wielding maniac attacks in the middle of the night I will wake you up. But when you're grouchy from loss of sleep, I will remind you that you told me to do so."

"You missed breakfast, you prat. Go take a shower, it's almost noon."

"Okay." Harry stretched and climbed out of bed. "Will you come with me?"

"Don't bother with the puppy dog eyes. I said I'm mad at you. Go on."

"Fine."

* * *

That was a rather minor disagreement compared to the shouting match to come later that afternoon.

True to her word, Pansy was staying mad at Harry for awhile, so he was talking with Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. She was rambling about how much she enjoyed their most recent Arithmancy project. Now, the math itself wasn't too hard for him to handle, but the overall idea of finding magical patterns in the breeding habits of post owls was both obtuse and boring. At least, it was to Harry. It was right up Hermione's detail-obsessed alley.

Unfortunately, even her droning was pleasant compared to the angry clamor coming from the boys' dormitories.

Moments later a red-faced Ron came down the stairs carrying his sheet.

His bloody sheet.

For just a flash, Harry's mind tried to make three different, incredibly rude jokes. But that half-second was shattered by Ron's angry declaration.

"Look!" He thrust the bloody sheet at Hermione.

"Um, Ron, why did you bleed on your sheet?" Harry asked, trying to forestall whatever this argument was going to be about.

"It's not my blood, Harry." He turned angrily back to Hermione. "It's Scabbers'. Her cat killed him."

"Wait a second, how do you know that? There are three other cats just in Gryffindor, Ron."

Hermione looked thankful at Harry standing up for her.

"Here!" Ron thrust out a couple of ginger hairs.

Harry lifted the hairs up to the light. He then held them over by Ron's head while his friend scowled at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure that these aren't just from you shedding. You may be right, they're too light to have come from your head and they do look close to the shade of Crookshanks."

"I've been telling you for months to keep that bloody cat away from Scabbers. Now he's gone."

Hermione looked almost in tears as Ron kept laying into her. Harry noticed Lavender and Parvati smile at the thought that the rat was dead. They were two of the more vocal members of the 'nasty rats don't belong here' crowd, which Harry had to admit had a good point. They were known for carrying diseases, and Scabbers, even at his best before being stressed out this year, was pretty shabby looking. After having Crookshanks chase him around for the last few months, he looked downright ghastly. His fur had become patchy and he had lost weight.

But now, Harry needed to say something to cut Ron's tirade off before Hermione started crying.

"Ron, wasn't Scabbers pretty old?"

"Yeah. Percy had him for years before I got him. But that's not-"

"He had him for years? Then you should really just be glad he lived as long as he did. Rats don't usually last for more than two or three years at most."

"So? Her cat killed him!"

"Ron, as I recall, Scabbers was already sick when you got on the train. You told me you had to get medicine for him before we even came back to school."

"I can't believe you're taking her side on this! You're supposed to be my friend!"

"I'm both of your friends. Look, I'm just trying to get you to calm down. Scabbers was already old and sickly. It could have been any one of a number of cats at Hogwarts that would have gotten him eventually. If you really wanted him kept safe, you should have kept him in a cage or something. I know just last night he was loose as he tried to climb into my room."

"You bloody traitor!" Ron looked ready to punch Harry, but he turned back to Hermione with a scowl. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Hermione! Not bad enough that your stupid cat killed Scabbers, now you've got Harry going against me too!"

And with that, Ron stomped back upstairs, dragging his bloody sheet with him. He started to trip on it only to catch himself. Harry stifled a laugh, and he realized that if he hadn't Ron might never forgive him.

But seriously, it was a nasty little rat. The only reason Harry hadn't publicly agreed with the many Gryffindors that didn't want Scabbers around was for the sake of his friendship with Ron. He was not sad to see Scabbers go.

Hermione, though, was unable to suppress her tears any longer. She too fled up the stairs to her dorm.

Harry sighed, as he knew this was going to be a vicious, and potentially long lasting, argument between his friends. And Ron might even be blaming him for being in the middle of it as well. He gathered up the books and parchment that he had been looking over with Hermione and asked Parvati to take her things up to her.

She agreed and made some subtle skin contact as he handed them over to her. He might not have noticed regularly, but Parvati had been flirting just a hint more with him over the last couple of weeks. Nothing too overt, which he was glad of.

He was a bit flattered actually. Parvati was fun, sociable, and very pretty. She would make a good girlfriend to most guys.

But Harry wasn't most guys.

And after what had happened with Narcissa, any temptation towards other women turned his stomach.

Besides, what other girl could possibly handle the things he and Pansy were dealing with together? How many of his class mates had any idea the amount of enemies he had out there? Probably only another daughter of a Death Eater could, and even then, how many of them would want to side against their family? The four Slytherin boys he knew to be sons of Death Eaters were all following proudly in their fathers' footsteps.

Kathryn Nott might have thought she was interested in him, but Harry would never have trusted her to help him in a fight against her own father.

Harry processed all of this as he made his way back into his quarters. Pansy didn't look up from her work as she sat on the couch.

"I've got two pieces of what you'll consider to be good news."

"Oh?"

"First of all, Crookshanks apparently finally caught Scabbers. And Ron is now mad at me because of it."

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"I tried to reason with him when he came shouting down the stairs and acting like this was all Hermione's fault. He didn't take that well, and he even yelled at her for getting me to "go against him" despite the fact that I don't think she said a single thing when he tried to yell at her."

"That's surprising, Granger always has plenty to say. About everything. I guess her crush on Weasley must make her stupider than I thought."

Harry ignored the insult.

"I knew she would be upset so I jumped in trying to deflect things. I've seen enough of their fights. I guess it just wasn't enough. Ron stormed off to his dorm to pout and Hermione ran off crying."

"I'm sorry that you had to deal with that, Harry." But she was smirking as she said it.

"Thanks. You don't have to be quite so happy that my best friend might not be speaking to me though."

"I thought I was your best friend. Or Hermione, if I don't count since I'm your girlfriend."

"Fine, my third best friend is mad at me. And you're happy about it."

"You know I don't like him. Plus, that rat shouldn't have been allowed here, and I am very glad it's gone. Rats are nasty little disease carrying monsters. Good fucking riddance. I need to buy Crookshanks some catnip or something as a reward."

Harry chuckled at her venom towards the deceased.

"See, even you aren't sad that the rat is gone."

"No, you're right about that. I just never said anything about it for Ron's sake."

"You let him get away with too much, Harry."

"Anyway, it made me realize something. Your idea of trying to get Hermione and Neville together badly needs to happen. I don't know if Ron and Hermione would even be friends without me to act as a buffer. She might not fancy Neville, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't yell at her all the damn time."

"Ooh, you're giving me permission to scheme about something now?" She raised a teasing eyebrow at him, but Harry smiled and nodded.

"Not only that, I am firmly in favor of this scheme. I might not be of much help at figuring out how to make Neville catch her eye, but I think we both know two girls who would be thoroughly pleased to help you in your task."

"I'm surprised you want me to spend more time with the gossips. Won't you miss me?"

"I have a feeling I'm going to need to spend some time looking out for Hermione for awhile. Besides, we both know you secretly love hearing everything through Parvati and Lavender."

" _And?_ "

"And I will never admit to anyone outside these rooms that I sometimes find it funny as hell too." They both laughed at that, but it was true.

"Good boy."

"Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I suppose. Less Weasley, even if you didn't mean for that to occur, is something worth a reward."

"Well, it also means I don't have much reason to leave this room for awhile, so I'm sure I could do a few other things to make you happier with me..."

* * *

_Hours later..._

"Harry, we should get up soon to go to dinner."

"Don't wanna," he mumbled, with his face still buried in her hair.

"We've missed enough meals lately. Especially after last night, you don't need to be hiding away. That would make people more likely to start rumors about you. And me."

"Fine."

He wanted to sulk, but he was getting hungry, so they both started to get dressed.

"I'm still a bit mad at you about last night, too."

"Look, I'm sorry. It really didn't seem like a big deal at the time."

Pansy was quiet for a moment before she responded.

"Harry, what do you think would happen to _me_ if something serious happened to _you_?"

He hadn't looked at it like that before.

"Fuck, you're right. I swear I'll be a lot more careful from now on."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Next time someone tries to break in, just have Dobby kick their arse."

"Good idea, my love. Dobby?"

The trademark pop brought their little friend into their room as they were putting their shoes on.

"Master Harry sir?"

"Remind me in the future to let you check things out if something happens like last night. I have to be more careful for Pansy's sake."

"Dobby will take care of it!"

"Thanks. I think we both feel better knowing you are watching our backs. Sometimes, I just forget I don't have to do everything myself."

* * *

They were a bit late getting down to the Great Hall for dinner. As Harry had anticipated, Ron and Hermione were sitting far apart for once, and both of them had empty spaces nearby. He had already made up his mind before he had arrived- Hermione's tears mattered more than Ron's anger.

He wasn't surprised that Ron looked even angrier when he sat down by her, but Pansy's question earlier had made him much more thoughtful today. He had to make sure she was protected, and he had a couple of ideas about making sure of it. And in the light of something like that, the spat with Ron just didn't matter. Hermione needed him now. Ron could be pissed off by himself.

She was mostly quiet throughout the meal, but Harry kept trying to engage her anyway.

Fred and George came over and asked Harry to speak in private after eating. Hermione was going to the library to study. He patted her on the back and said he would join her there in a bit. Pansy excused herself to go find a couple of co-conspirators.

* * *

The twins led him to an empty classroom after dinner.

"Okay, what can I do for you guys?"

"Actually, Harry, it's something we wanted to do for you."

"After last night, with Sirius Black attacking you, we thought it was only right."

"What are you talking about?"

"We were listening last month when you were yelling at Hermione."

Harry blushed at that.

"You were right, you know? We can't trust the teachers to make things right. It was you who got rid of the dementors after they attacked during the quidditch match. Not even Dumbledore was able to do that."

"But more importantly, it was you who rescued Ginny. We would have lost our little sister if not for you. Our whole family will always owe you for that."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"You're welcome, Harry. And since you will obviously be dealing with Black since he seems to keep coming after you-"

"- and neither of us think any of the adults will catch him, so we wanted you to have another tool to help fix this problem. Therefore, we present to you..."

"The Marauder's Map," they finished simultaneously, brandishing an old piece of parchment.

"George, if you will do the honors."

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

And with those words, the old parchment revealed itself, spreading open to show a very detailed map of Hogwarts, the grounds, and even its inhabitants. He saw Hermione stationary in the library, while Pansy was walking up a stairway with Parvati and Lavender.

"Wow, this is amazing."

"We know. We owe so much to Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail."

"Who were they?" Harry asked.

"No idea. Geniuses, obviously, and men after our own hearts, but other than that, we really don't know."

"We found the map our first year, in Filch's confiscated items."

"This probably explains some of your exploits," Harry said with a smile.

"We have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure, guys. Now, how exactly will this help deal with Black?"

"We know there are seven secret passages that lead from Hogwarts out to Hogsmeade and vice versa. It could be that Black has used one of them to sneak into the castle."

"That would make sense," Harry admitted.

"Right, so Fred and I thought that you could use it to keep an eye out for him. We briefly thought about taking it to the aurors, but well..."

"We trust you more than them, at this point. Besides, we figured you might let us borrow it in the future, if our need is great enough."

"Thanks a lot. Can you point out these secret passages to me?"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Pansy led Patil and Brown into a different empty room on the sixth floor.

"Ladies, I have a proposition for the two of you. I have a project that I think you would be perfect for, but I need to be assured that you won't go spreading around any gossip about this. At least until it's over, then feel free to go nuts."

"Ooh, this sounds fun," Lavender answered. "What sort of project?"

"Making a wizard we know into such a catch that even a clueless witch won't be able to ignore what's right in front of her."

"Which wizard would we be making over? Surely not Harry?" Parvati asked.

"Of course not. However, I need both of you to promise not to spill this secret until after we've done our work. If everything goes right, the happy couple will be grateful and others might even come to you for similar help. You could become the make over aficionados of Hogwarts."

Brown and Patil looked at each other and nodded. Pansy knew this was too good an offer for them to pass up.

They both promised to keep this secret until their task was completed.

"I really hope you don't let this slip. Harry would be terribly disappointed if this got out."

Patil gulped and blushed, while Lavender paled and managed to squeak out.

"We won't disappoint Harry, you can count on that."

"That goes doubly for me."

"Good. Because our subject and the object of his affection are both Harry's friends. Harry found out that Longbottom fancies Granger. He and I both think it could be good for them."

"Especially getting Hermione away from Ron- I'm sure Harry would appreciate that. Sometimes, I think we all would appreciate less of Ron," Patil sighed.

"Ron's not so bad, you know. I mean, sure, he's a clueless guy who acts without thinking, but he's kind of cute," Brown giggled.

Patil chuckled while Pansy made gagging sounds.

"I take it you disagree then, Pansy?"

"I don't like gingers in general, but I especially don't like that rude slob. I'm not sure what Harry sees in him. What about you, Patil? Do you think Weasley is cute too?"

"He's not really my type," she admitted.

'Oh, I know who your type is,' Pansy thought to herself. She suppressed her smirk.

"Anyway, getting back on topic, our goal with Project Makeover is to get Granger to notice Longbottom. I think Harry might help us work on Longbottom's confidence; he's probably done some of that just helping him in classes this year with spells. Making Longbottom more attractive is our job."

"This sounds like a lot of fun," Brown smiled.

"Do you think Neville will agree to let us work our magic on him?" Patil asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that ladies. I'm sure I can convince him. If I really need to, I can always get Harry to give him a push as well."

"Then let's go see what we are working with," Brown squealed with delight. Patil laughed with her and Pansy followed them out into the hall and up towards Gryffindor tower.

* * *

"You don't have to hide in here you know."

Hermione looked up from her table full of books. Harry was just glad that she hadn't appeared to have cried anymore recently.

"I'm not hiding, Harry. I have a lot of work to do."

"You always have a lot of work to do. Even more so this year. I'm just saying you have every right to be back in the common room. Don't let Ron's attitude bother you."

"He hates me. All because of his stupid rat. You were right, he should have kept that thing in a cage. He always got mad at me for not keeping Crookshanks locked up but he never even thought of doing the same thing with his pet."

"Ron not thinking about things really shouldn't be a surprise by now," Harry snorted. "How many times has he said or done something rude or foolish because he never thinks things through?"

"Plenty," Hermione sighed. "Why aren't you defending him though? He is your best friend. That's what I would have expected from you, Harry."

"I can be friends with someone and still see they have flaws, or when they are wrong. Believe it or not, you're not the only one who can do a little critical thinking," he chuckled as Hermione finally smiled a bit at his teasing.

"I'm glad I've rubbed off on you then."

"Besides, you're my best friend. Not that I don't like Ron, but he just doesn't understand me or my life anymore."

"I'm not sure I do either, Harry."

"Maybe not, but you're at least trying. It's been months now and Ron still acts sometimes like Pansy is just going to disappear one of these days or that it's wrong that I'm friends with someone from Slytherin. Not that she's really in Slytherin anymore for any practical purposes."

"Her points still go there."

"Yeah, and her uniform still has green trimmings. But I'm okay with that; Pansy looks better in green. Just like you look better in red."

"Thanks," Hermione blushed. "You don't have to try so hard to make me feel better."

"Sure I do. That's what best friends are for, isn't it?"

Hermione leaned her head on his shoulder as Harry wrapped an arm around her.

"Let's get whatever books you want to check out and head on up."

* * *

One trip through the castle later, and they were standing outside Gryffindor tower together. Harry put his left arm over her shoulders.

"Don't let Ron get you down."

"Are you sure about this, Harry? You don't need to make him mad at you too."

"I think it's too late for that. Besides, maybe this will help Ron grow up some. He could certainly use a little more maturity. And if he wants to let his anger and ego run things, then that's his decision. I'll be happy to tell him I'm sorry his rat is gone as soon as he stops being such an arse to you."

"Okay. I'm ready."

One password later, they stepped into the common room together. Harry did not remove his arm from around Hermione. Ron looked up and scowled at them from the chair he was sitting in off in a corner. He angrily stood and stomped off up the stairs.

Harry felt Hermione deflate a bit, but he just guided her over to an empty table and she began setting down the books she'd brought from the library. She went up to her room to get more of her things for the three assignments she was determined to work on for the rest of the night. Harry sat and waited for her to come back down.

He noticed Pansy at a table maybe ten feet away. She looked up and offered him a rather evil grin. He had an idea of what she must be getting up to, especially as she was whispering with Parvati and Lavender, and he hoped that it would be a fun diversion for them.

He had a couple of things of his own to do. Supporting Hermione was only one of them. Harry could have spent more time on some of his own school work, but that was a very minor concern. The map he now had gave him a couple of different ideas, and he was sure that he would be spending plenty of time studying it.

First, though, he had a letter to write to Sam.

"Longbottom!" her commanding voice made Harry look over at Pansy again. "Come over here for a minute."

Poor Neville looked terrified but did as Pansy told him. Parvati and Lavender were looking him over critically. Harry chuckled quietly as Neville was told to stand up straight, then made to turn in a circle for the trio of girls. He was clearly panicking as Parvati whispered something to Lavender, who giggled but made a few notes on the parchment spread out before them. They released Neville after a few moments, and he slowly backed away.

'This is going to be hilarious,' Harry thought. It might even work for Hermione. Or at least make her laugh. And right now, as she returned to his table with the typical arm load of course work, she really could use something to cheer her up. Harry briefly thought of giving her another shot at working on the Patronus, but Hermione might not be in the best frame of mind for that to accomplish anything other than frustrating her more.

He patted her back and gave her a brief smile as she got busy with an essay for muggle studies. Harry didn't even hassle her anymore over taking the class. It was her life, and if she would respect his decisions, then he would have to respect hers as well, even when he disagreed with them.

He began writing his letter.

* * *

The next week passed quickly. Harry had taken to looking over the map every night. In fact, he often left it spread open on the table in front of their couch when he was in their private quarters. There were no further signs of Black, or anyone else, sneaking into the castle at night.

He was looking forward to the coming Sunday. It was going to be his first Valentine's Day with Pansy, and he had planned a couple of things to try to make it memorable.

Pansy had been keeping busy with her plan to help Neville try to impress Hermione. She had roped him in on part of the plot, and he had been doing his best to help Neville with the practical work in all of their classes where they got to use their wands. He didn't need help with Herbology, thankfully, as Harry disliked that class owing to how it reminded him of the Dursleys and their never-ending chores. He couldn't help Neville much with History of Magic, Astronomy, or Potions either, but Neville did seem to be gaining a small amount of confidence with his wand. At least, he wasn't stammering as much, and though his aim was still poor, he could at least usually get the spell to work properly when Harry worked with him.

The fact that Ron wasn't speaking to him also gave Harry more time to get other things done.

He wasn't surprised by his friend's stubborn behavior, although it did mean he had to keep Hermione's spirits up. Pansy had warned him months ago that they were growing apart due to Ron's immaturity, and he wondered if this would be something that they would be able to get past.

* * *

Pansy awoke feeling wonderful. Sleeping in Harry's arms had become so comforting and normal to her. The night before had been a lot of fun too. She had gotten Harry wound up and they had shagged like animals. Then almost an hour soaking in the tub before bed. Life was good. If suffering the years with her parents had led to this, then it was worth it.

She looked over at the side table and saw a vase with a red rose in it. It had definitely not been there when they had gone to sleep. Dobby was great. He took care of his family, but she was also very pleased that Harry was so thoughtful to have something waiting for her when she woke.

He probably deserved a reward for being such a good boyfriend.

And she knew just what she could do to wake him up in the best of moods...


	35. Spring Projects

* * *

Harry pushed the food around on his plate. Valentine's Day had started out so very well too.

But the rest of the day had been frustrating as hell. Not that anything had gone wrong, per se, but hiding his relationship with Pansy from the rest of the school had never made him so upset. The afternoon had been spent doing normal things. Pansy and the girls had worked on their makeover project for Neville. He had finished a couple of assignments for the week while studying with Hermione. Although, studying with Hermione was really little more than an excuse to sit by her and try to make sure Ron's scowls and sneers didn't make her burst into tears. Thankfully, that hadn't happened since Tuesday.

None of it was terrible, but all he wanted was to be alone with his girl.

He wondered how much longer they would have to maintain this charade. Her father was gone. Malfoy was gone. How many other enemies would have to be removed before he could openly have Pansy as a girlfriend?

He had realized that she derived a certain thrill from the subterfuge. He knew that she enjoyed the taboo nature of what magical society would have expected her role to be as well as how they were flaunting those rules. But as he had told her, Harry was simpler than that. He didn't need complicated motivations. Have girl, love girl- that was enough.

Many of the older students were spending time with their significant others, and it angered him that he had to wait to be able to do the same thing. At least they had the privacy of their quarters. He had a feeling the castle's broom closets would all be full tonight.

He did have a couple of amusing moments that night though. Ron was being his typical grumpy self, which Harry had quickly grown used to, and he was sitting by Ginny, who looked quite put out with her brother. Her wistful looks over at Harry kept getting interrupted by Ron mumbling something to make her glare at him.

But she wasn't the only one that seemed to be pining away. Harry had caught Neville glancing over at Hermione a couple of times as well. The second time, Harry smiled and winked at Neville, which made him choke on a bite of chicken. Seamus had to pound on his back several times before Neville finished coughing.

Pansy hadn't eaten much at dinner yet either. Oh, she appeared to be speaking cheerfully to Parvati and Lavender, but he thought that she probably was ready to go be alone with him too.

Hedwig flying down with a letter for him was just the catalyst he needed. He had been waiting to hear from Sam and hoped that this would solve one dilemma. He thanked his owl for the delivery and offered her the bite from his fork.

"If you all will excuse me," he said as he got up.

"Are you alright Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I'm just not that hungry right now. Plus, I think this is a legal matter that I need to deal with. Enjoy the rest of your night, Hermione." Harry leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He had become more physically affectionate with his best friend over the last week, but with the belligerent way Ron was acting, he thought she could use it to keep her spirits up. He just hoped that she wouldn't start thinking there was anything more to it than that. The last thing he needed was Hermione starting to fancy him. For that reason, he really hoped Pansy's scheme for Neville worked.

Pansy got up and followed him as he left the Great Hall.

Once they were on their way upstairs and out of sight of others, she asked if the letter was from Sam. He told her it was and he would tell her all about it once they got back to their rooms.

They made that trip faster than they usually did.

Once through the portrait, Harry threw the letter down on the table, grabbed Pansy and began kissing her neck.

"Is something wrong, Harry? Maybe feeling a bit frustrated?"

He looked up at her grin.

"Show me how frustrated you are," she purred out.

Harry grabbed her shirt and ripped it open. She laughed.

"Take yours off too," she said as she removed her bra. In seconds flat, Harry kicked off his shoes and shed his shirt, then kneeled before her. He slid his hands up under her skirt and pulled down her panties. He hungrily tasted her for a moment; but she was wet and ready.

"Stand up Harry." Pansy turned and leaned over the back of the couch. Harry flipped up her skirt and was swiftly inside her. One hand went around her waist and up to her breasts, the other grabbed her by the hair and turned her head enough for him to kiss her mouth. Then he trailed down to her neck while they thrust together.

Pansy was in heaven, giving herself to Harry and just letting go. As frustrated as she had been that afternoon, she knew Harry must have been worse, and now she was finally receiving her reward. She loved when Harry unleashed this more dominant side, and he was getting more at ease with it.

 _'Oh, fuck yes.'_ He was getting a lot better at it. Pansy slumped over the couch, her legs trembling as she crashed down from her orgasm. Harry wasn't done yet; if anything he was picking up speed. She felt him squeezing her bum and leaning further into her, and despite the somewhat awkward position, she came again.

She was gasping for air a minute later when Harry finally released and collapsed on top of her. They almost tumbled over but Harry was somehow able to stand and hold her up. She was impressed; her own legs were still very wobbly.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she panted out, turning to kiss him. Harry chuckled.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too."

They stumbled over to sit down on the couch, she stepped out of her skirt on the way, and Pansy curled her sweaty body up against his. She could feel Harry's heart beat pounding in his chest even harder than her own was.

After a few moments to catch their breath, she snickered at a thought.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking that we're lucky."

"How so?"

"There can't be too many broom closets with couches in them that you could bend me over and shag me silly on."

"Probably not," he answered with a laugh. "We really aren't a very good Hogwarts couple in that way. I don't think we've been in a broom closet since that first day of school."

"You're right, we haven't. But I think this is better, and I don't want anyone to know about us just yet."

Harry sat in silence for several seconds. He wanted to ask her why not, but he knew part of that answer and thought that maybe he should try to track down Black sooner rather than later. He was a threat after all, and danger was one of the reasons that Pansy wanted to hide as much as possible about not only their relationship but their capabilities and resources.

For his part, he wanted Dobby to remain as a secret weapon for as long as possible. It had occurred to him just how much he had relied on the elf to take out Pansy's father. Until the other Death Eaters were all dealt with, no one could know.

That was one of the only problems with how they had gotten rid of Lucius Malfoy. Harry had a feeling he might have known many more names of Death Eaters. He vowed to try to get another list at the next opportunity.

But now, Harry had one more thing to do for his girlfriend today.

"Come to the bedroom with me, Pansy."

"Oh, ready for another round already?" she teased, but took his hand as he got up.

He led her to the second bedroom, though. The one that was supposed to be hers but that she used mainly only to store some of her things or when she wanted access to a second bathroom.

Inside, she found that Harry, probably with Dobby's help, had a surprise for her. There were several lit candles around the room, and a vase with another rose in it by the bed. The blankets had been removed from the bed. Only a sheet and a pillow remained.

Harry picked up a bottle from the night table.

"This is massage oil," he said with a leering smile. "You just lay down and I'm going to rub all the stress out of every inch of your body, even if it takes me all night."

"That sounds wonderful," she said as she climbed onto the bed. "I'm going to have to come up with something to reward you for being such a good boyfriend now."

"This is a present for myself as well, you know. There isn't really anything I enjoy more than you being naked. Now, close your eyes and relax."

He started at her neck and shoulders. Pansy dozed off a couple of times, but Harry just kept going. She awoke first when he reached her lower back and she really enjoyed the next half hour, although she was pretty sure his tongue wasn't necessary for a massage. But who was she to argue with another fabulous orgasm?

After that, his hands had their work cut out for them as her thighs had a lot more tension to remove. Somewhere around her knees, she was once again asleep.

She stirred back awake just as he was finishing up her feet.

"Harry, I feel amazing. What time is it?"

He looked at his watch and answered, "Almost eleven."

"Good, not too late yet." She rolled over and saw that he was aroused, just as she expected. "Come here."

While the day itself might not have been perfect, that first Valentine's Night was something they would both always remember.

* * *

The next week passed without any major incident. Pansy spent time with Parvati and Lavender, and Harry was surprised that she even joined in some of the giggling. He was very pleased that she was enjoying her project and even developing something like friendship with the two girls.

He was still working to keep Hermione from getting down as Ron's stubborn streak was going strong. The glaring barely fazed Harry at this point, but Hermione still got upset at times.

He was also doing his bit for Project Makeover by continuing to help Neville in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense. Progress was slow, but working with Neville was not much of a burden. He was even appreciative of the help. Polite too. It made Harry that much more frustrated with Ron.

Nothing more had come from Harry's nightly checks looking over the Marauder's Map. However, Dobby had indirectly given him an idea. One night when he came by to deliver Harry another stack of sorted mail, Harry had the elf sit down with him.

"Hey Dobby, I'd like to ask you a few things."

"What can Dobby do for master Harry sir?"

"You told me that there are house-elves that work here for the school. Would they be willing to help us with something?"

"Master Harry needs lots of house-elves?"

Noticing the upset look in his friend's eyes, Harry quickly moved to reassure him.

"It's not like that, Dobby. There must be a lot of house-elves that work at the castle, right?"

"Oh, yes sir. More than one hundred."

"It's a big castle, that makes sense. Anyway, you know how Sirius Black has tried to break in a couple of times now. I have been keeping an eye out on the map for him or anyone else trying to get into the castle. I was wondering if you could introduce me to the house-elves that work here. I'd like to ask them to help keep a look out for anything suspicious. While Fred and George suggested that Black might have been sneaking in through a secret passage, I'm wondering if he might have had help coming from inside the castle. I know there are several children of Death Eaters at the school.

"Maybe Black had help breaking out from Azkaban. And maybe he's had help trying to kill me too. Lupin said he would never work with Black, but as far as I'm concerned, he betrayed House Potter when he abandoned me after the deaths of my parents. I don't trust him."

"Dobby doesn't trust bad wolfy teacher either, master Harry sir."

"Actually, I really only trust you and Pansy. Sam too, for the most part, I suppose."

"Dobby would be happy to introduce the Great Harry Potter sir to the Hogwartsies house-elves."

"When should we do that?"

"After dinner would be a good time, master Harry. Meal times are busy times for house-elves, so Dobby can find them all in the kitchens at the same time."

"Alright, tomorrow night then?"

* * *

Now the thing about the house-elves of Hogwarts is that they see Hogwarts as their family, which it is their honor to protect and serve. That means not only the school, but the teachers and students as well. Like how they viewed magic as a living being, the school itself was just as alive to them. Things that hurt any part of Hogwarts were absolutely evil to them.

The dementor horde had tried to do terrible harm to Hogwarts. Harry Potter had driven them away on the quidditch pitch, and then he had led the charge to drive them away permanently through a public outcry.

Therefore, Harry Potter was completely adored by the Hogwarts house-elves. He could have asked them for their first-born and they would have given him dozens of house-elf babies.

Asking them to help him protect the school was akin to asking Oliver if he wouldn't mind if they won the quidditch cup.

The first couple of days, in their over-enthusiasm, saw house-elves telling Harry all sorts of things, much of it minor gossip. But students sneaking into broom closets, while technically suspicious, wasn't really what Harry had in mind. Plus, he definitely didn't want to know that much about the dating habits of the student body.

A couple of days later, Harry had to explain in greater detail the types of things he wanted them to let him know about. Actual threats, people being hurt, that sort of thing. And bullying of course. That was something he had zero tolerance for, obviously. He thought it might let him catch Draco and some of his ilk being bastards, and Harry knew that his duel with Malfoy senior should still be fresh enough in the minds of the other students to put the fear of god into anyone foolish enough to cross him.

Little did he know that it would be a very different group that would face his wrath.

* * *

Being abducted at wand point would be traumatizing for most wizards. Neville Longbottom hoped that he wouldn't need to change his pants when Pansy ordered him into a room one evening after dinner. Or that anything worse might happen, for that matter.

Seeing the grins on the faces of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil was pretty scary too. They were waiting for him in a mostly empty classroom. They sat at a table with some parchment in front of them.

"Hi Neville!" Their chorused voices followed by giggles didn't make him any less afraid.

"You may as well sit down, Longbottom. This could take a while." Pansy shut the door behind her, then cast spells to ensure their privacy. She walked around the table behind the other two and looked at him appraisingly. She didn't seem to like what she was seeing. Neville wondered, not for the first time, why Harry was friends with this utterly terrifying Slytherin witch.

Neville gulped and sat down across from the girls.

"First of all, we know that you seem to have a little crush on Granger."

His blush was all that was needed as a response. Neville was sure that he would have stuttered if he tried to speak, but with Pansy staring at him, he was afraid of even opening his mouth.

"Seeing that she is Harry's best friend, it is in my interests to make sure that any potential suitor be _adequate_."

And Neville had a feeling that he was not meeting her expectations.

"These fine ladies have agreed to help get you up to snuff." Lavender and Parvati smiled predatorily at him. "Therefore, we are going to turn you into someone that will catch Granger's eye. Treating a young lady properly will also be something you will be learning. Failing to do so with Granger would make Harry very displeased with you.

"And if Harry is displeased with you, then _I_ am displeased with you." A small whimper escaped him. He didn't want to know whatever her glare meant. Pansy wasn't a very large girl, and she had never shown off any particularly powerful or dangerous magic, but there was something about her that was very intimidating.

"You're soft Longbottom. It's time to shed the baby fat, grow a spine, and learn how to woo Harry's little bookworm.

"To that end, I'll turn things over to my associates."

Pansy would have cackled at the shy boy's expression, but instead she merely stood back and let Patil and Brown get to work. This project was becoming even more fun than she had anticipated.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Neville Longbottom would be worked like a dog. The words "diet" and "exercise" were bad enough. Having to spend time with Lavender and Parvati, who were determined to bring him out of his shell, was even worse, as neither of the girls was holding anything back. Unfiltered teenage girls might soon replace Snape as his boggart.

But the ever watching Pansy was the worst. She didn't try to hide her scorn for him, which made it that much more confusing as to why she was "helping" him.

At least Harry was nice to him in class.

* * *

"You'll never guess what happened with Longbottom today."

Harry was ready to laugh just seeing the delight in Pansy's eyes. He knew there was no way that Neville would have enjoyed whatever could make her this excited.

"Alright, I won't try to guess."

"So, Lavender decided that he needed to learn how to kiss properly before he tries to make a move on Granger."

Harry began to chuckle. He had a feeling this was going to get even better.

"Did she volunteer herself or Parvati to be his teacher?"

"She tried to get Parvati to do it, but I think we both know that she wants to be kissing on someone else." Pansy grinned at him and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know. So what happened?"

"After Parvati's refusal, she briefly looked at me. I would have been much more angry if not for the fact that Longbottom fainted."

"I think I said that you would make each other miserable. I guess you're taking that out on poor Neville now."

"Oh, it gets better."

"I'm sure, " Harry snickered.

"After I slapped him awake, Lavender came up with a brilliant idea."

"That might be the first time anyone has ever said the word brilliant when describing her."

"We hired a firstie to be his kissing partner."

Harry laughed so loud and hard that he nearly fell off the couch.

"The only way this could get better is if Colin was there with his camera."

"You know I can't stand that little stalker, so no luck there, Harry. But if you're good, I'll let you watch the next time we practice my Occlumency."

"It's been awhile. I'd actually forgotten about that."

"Anyway, I paid a girl named Romilda Vane to kiss Longbottom. I took a couple of galleons out of your trunk, I assume you don't mind."

"Not at all."

"Good, because she earned a tip."

"Neville learned a lot from her then?"

"Oh, I doubt it. He looked pretty horrified by the whole thing. But the Vane girl was enthusiastic and at least I enjoyed myself."

"I'm happy to pay for your amusement," Harry said with a smile.

"I know. I'm tempted to pay for another kissing lesson for him, but I think you probably want him functional so that he eventually will ask Granger out."

"Besides, it wouldn't be as funny the second time, right?"

"You know me too well, Harry."

"That I do, my love."

"Then you probably know that after such an enjoyable day like this, I'm in the mood for a different type of fun now."

Harry didn't need any further invitation; he carried Pansy directly to bed.

* * *

She waited until late that night for Harry to fall asleep, then crept out of the bedroom.

"Dobby?"

"Yes miss Pansy?"

"How good are you at Transfiguration?"

"Dobby can do some changing magic. What does miss Pansy need Dobby to do?"

"Can you change an animal into something else? Like another animal?"

"Dobby is sorry miss Pansy. Dobby can't do that type of magic."

"Hmm, then I'll need to work on my second idea," she said as she went into the second bedroom. Dobby followed her quietly. Pansy pulled a book out of her trunk and flipped to a page that she had already marked.

"I don't know if I could do this," she muttered to herself as she read. Dobby waited patiently.

"If I asked you to help me do something but keep it a secret from Harry, could you do that?"

"Dobby could never lie to master Harry."

"It's not going to be a lie, Dobby. More like a surprise. Remember when you helped me for his birthday last summer? Something like that. Nothing that will hurt Harry. In fact, something that I hope will make him very happy."

"Dobby will always help for master Harry."

"Good. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but when I do figure it out, I'll let you know. I may need you to get a few things for me."

"Dobby can do that for miss Pansy."

"Excellent. You've been a great house-elf, Dobby. I wanted to say thank you again for helping Harry when he dealt with my father. I feel a lot better knowing that you were there to protect him."

"Thank you, miss Pansy."

"You're welcome, Dobby. I'm going back to bed now. Good night."

Pansy was able to settle back into bed without waking Harry, but she did not fall asleep for awhile. Her idea should work, but she might need Harry's help with the magic involved. And she didn't want that. This was something she had to do for him. Not that he wouldn't be willing, but Pansy needed to do this on her own. She owed him too much. Hell, they all owed him so much.

This last year with him had been wonderful. But Harry deserved more. She couldn't give him his childhood back. He had made her father pay for his sins. Now it was her turn.

She would make the Dursleys pay for theirs.


	36. Everyone's Favorite Blonde

* * *

They were now well into March, and Pansy had noticed Harry paying a great deal more attention to the Marauder's Map the last couple of nights.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" she asked as he sat on the couch once again watching over the school.

"Yes, sort of." He looked puzzled; she waited for him to continue.

"I've noticed something odd a couple of times in the last week or so."

"Oh?"

"A girl out well past curfew near the Ravenclaw tower."

"Interesting."

"I'm not sure what's going on. The house-elves haven't reported anything to me about this."

"What's the girl's name?"

"Luna Lovegood."

"Lovegood? That sounds familiar."

"Not to me, but then I'm not the social butterfly that you are." He smirked at her and Pansy flicked his arm in annoyance. "I'm guessing she must be a Ravenclaw."

"The only Lovegood I remember hearing of is the publisher of the Quibbler."

"What's the Quibbler?"

"Remember those muggle magazines you showed me with all the silly stories in them? Little grey men from outer space, a monster in Loch Ness, things like that?"

"Yeah, tabloids."

"Right. It's basically a magical tabloid. They post all sorts of strange stories. Ridiculous conspiracies, magical creatures no one has heard of before, that sort of thing."

"Hmm, I guess some things aren't so different from the non-magical world."

"So, this Lovegood girl, want me to see what I can find out about her?"

"Could you?"

"I'd be shocked if Parvati and Lavender don't already know a ton about her."

"Thanks, Pansy."

"You can thank me by washing my back."

"I'm sure I can oblige you, madame."

She got up and left the room. Soon enough, he could hear the water running, filling the tub no doubt. Harry looked once more at the map and saw that this night, at least, Luna Lovegood was in a corner of the Ravenclaw common room. She was alone, as usual. Harry wondered just who this girl was.

* * *

Harry had freed up some of his time as he was no longer needing to spend quite so much of it keeping an eye on Hermione. Not that he minded being around her, but she was no longer as upset by Ron's behavior, plus Neville had taken to asking to study with her at times. He hadn't made any romantic overtures yet, but he was at least able to speak with Hermione without constantly stammering or blushing.

He had to give it to Parvati and Lavender, they had done good work.

Pansy was less enthused, as her source of recreational amusement had apparently run its course, but that just meant he had to do more to keep her entertained. And if there was one thing Harry prided himself on, it was his ability to keep Pansy satisfied.

* * *

It was a Saturday night, and Pansy was at one end of the couch with her feet curled up under her, reading over her latest Charms essay. Harry glanced at her briefly and smiled. He knew it would tease her (and that could potentially lead to some fun in the bedroom if she didn't get too angry), but Pansy was definitely more studious than he was and that part of her reminded him of Hermione. She wasn't nearly as obsessive as his best friend, but he was willing to bet she would get much better grades at the end of the year.

Harry was willing to study but only when things interested him. He knew he was near the top of the class in Runes for example. Something like Herbology, on the other hand, as long as Harry passed, he couldn't care less how well he did. The practical portion brought up unpleasant memories of hours slaving away, all for Petunia's vanity. And the written portion, well, who the hell wanted to read about plants?

He looked back over the map again and saw a group in a room just a flight of stairs down from the Ravenclaw common room. It was almost curfew, and sure enough, there was Luna Lovegood again. This time, though, there were several other girls with her. Harry leaned over and stared intently. He grabbed a quill and found something to write on- the back of a letter he needed to remember to show to Pansy still- and quickly wrote out a list of names.

The other girls left the room, and he watched them as they headed back to the Ravenclaw tower.

Luna Lovegood's name wasn't moving. And that worried Harry.

"Pansy, did you ever find out anything about Luna Lovegood from the girls?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"It looks like she's going to be out after curfew again, and I have a bad feeling about the reason why."

"Oh, um, well let me see. She's a second year. In Ravenclaw, you were right about that. Her father is the publisher of the Quibbler. She's apparently pretty strange. Seems to believe everything her father writes."

"I'll bet other people don't think too much of that."

"Not from what I've heard, no they don't. Apparently the little Weasley girl knows her a bit. She calls her Loony Lovegood. They live near the same town."

"Just fucking great. Dobby!"

The elf appeared, without a pop. Harry realized the little guy had taken to spending the evenings watching over them much more carefully after Black's latest attempted break in.

"Master Harry sir?"

"I need your help, Dobby, but I want to do this without drawing too much attention to you. Can you see where Luna Lovegood is in this room on the map?" Dobby nodded. "I'd like for you to ask one of the Hogwarts elves to check that room and see if Luna Lovegood is alright. Have them come see me if they need to."

"Yes, master Harry." He disappeared, and Harry got up.

"What are you thinking?" Pansy turned around as she watched Harry pacing around the room.

"I'm guessing that she's being bullied. A group of girls left her behind in a room just before curfew. Maybe they hexed her or something, and that's why she keeps showing up out after curfew all these nights."

"How many times now?"

"Three. That I know of."

"What are you going to do?"

"Make sure she's alright."

"Then what?"

"I don't know. A part of me wants to go kick the shit out of some Ravenclaw girls."

Pansy snorted. "How ungentlemanly of you, Lord Potter."

"Yeah, I know. I just hate bullies."

"I remember. Try to calm down, though, and think this through Harry. For my sake?"

"Okay. First, check to see if she's hurt. Then see what she needs. I guess help her back to her tower."

"Alright, that's good for a start. Let's see if the elves can tell us anything."

They only had to wait a couple of minutes, but Harry was noticeably impatient as he stalked across the room. Pansy suggested that he get his cloak out, just in case he needed it. Finally, Dobby popped back in with a second elf in tow.

"Master Harry sir, this is Oggy. Oggy checked the room for the miss Luna," said Dobby.

"Miss Luna is asleep sir," Oggy added.

"Thank you both. Dobby, I'd like you to stay here with Pansy. Keep an eye on the map, just in case I need your help. Oggy, can you take me to her?"

"Yes sir." Harry had his wand ready as the elf took his other hand and they disappeared.

* * *

When Harry arrived in the room, he first noticed the darkness. He used his wand for light and looked around. It was one of the many disused class rooms. The house-elf Oggy tugged on his arm and pointed over to the form of Luna Lovegood.

As he approached her, Harry first noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes. That couldn't be too pleasant- the stone floors were really cold at night. She had on an odd assortment of jewelry, although he wondered if the one earring that looked as if was made out of a radish had a missing counterpart.

She was unconscious, but Harry worried if her being "asleep" was due to someone using some sort of curse or hex on her.

That worry grew when simply trying to wake her did not seem to work.

"Dobby!" As soon as he heard the pop, Harry continued, "I need you to bring me my copy of the Standard Book of Spells."

Moments later, Dobby returned and Harry flipped to the index. He scanned through until he came across the reviving spell. After looking it up, Harry handed the book back to his friend and turned to Luna.

_"Rennervate!"_

A flash of red light hit the girl and she quickly sat up. She looked around the dark room and Harry immediately noticed her most striking feature- pale silver eyes.

"You're Harry Potter," she said with a wide-eyed expression.

"I am," he answered with a smile. "I believe you're Luna Lovegood. May I help you up?"

"Thank you," she replied, taking his hand and being helped to stand.

"My pleasure." He nodded down at her bare feet. "That must be cold. What happened to your shoes?"

"I'm not sure. I was wearing them earlier." She did not seem to take note of the anger that flashed across Harry's face. "It's possible the nargles took them while I was asleep."

"I don't think you were just asleep, miss Lovegood. I had to use a spell to bring you back to consciousness. I believe you were attacked."

"Well, one of the girls did say she had a new spell to show me. I think it started with stoo."

"A stunning spell perhaps? Maybe _'Stupefy'_?"

"That could be it, but I don't remember hearing the entire thing."

"You're awfully calm about this. Are you alright?"

"My feet are a bit cold."

"I could teach you a warming spell," Harry offered.

"Unfortunately, I also seem to be missing my wand."

Now Harry was pissed.

"May I?"

"Yes, please." Harry cast a warming charm over her feet, and Luna's face instantly flushed.

"That's too hot."

"Sorry." He took a deep breath to calm himself and recast the spell.

"Ah. Much better. Thank you, Harry Potter."

"You're welcome, Luna Lovegood."

"Would you help me look for my wand? I really do need it, and searching the room would go much faster with help."

"Allow me. _Accio Luna's wand._ "

However, the wand did not seem to be in the room.

"I guess the nargles took my wand too."

"I don't think it was nargles, Luna. I think it was the girls who brought you in here."

"That could be."

"You aren't surprised."

"Few people seem to care about what happens to Loony Lovegood." How she was able to say this with such a serene expression baffled Harry. The girl was definitely a bit odd, but she also had something that surprised Harry. An untarnished quality, an innocent sweetness not yet broken by the evident bullying she was suffering. He was determined to not let that be taken from her.

"Well I care."

She looked up at him and for a second he saw a flash of amazement in her eyes. It tore at his heart.

"Thank you, Harry Potter."

"You're welcome, Luna. Should I help you to the Ravenclaw tower?"

"I don't think I want to go back there tonight. Could I come with you?"

Harry wanted to take her with him; he wanted to make sure no one ever hurt this strange but sweet girl ever again. But, he had Pansy waiting for him and all the secrets that they shared, which could not be revealed.

"I could sleep on your couch. I wouldn't bother you or your girlfriend."

Harry heard his own sharp intake of breath.

"I guess I shouldn't have said that. I'll swear not to tell anyone else, but it seemed obvious to me. I think you and Pansy make a lovely couple. Besides, I wouldn't want to risk your ire. I do owe you multiple life debts, after all."

"Multiple?" He somehow managed to ask that even as his brain was trying to process several different things at once and decide what the hell he was going to do now.

"I believe I owe you three. One for defeating you-know-who all those years ago. One for stopping the heir of Slytherin last year. Was it true that the heir's monster was an umgubular slashkilter? I would so like to see one of those."

"It was a basilisk, actually," Harry answered, almost on auto-pilot.

"Oh, I haven't seen one of those either," she said with a look of wonder. She smiled, and it was with such unbridled joy before she then continued.

"And finally, I owe you a third for driving off the dementors last fall. Any one of those would be reason enough for me to vow to keep your secrets. With three, I would be loath to even consider doing anything that would bring your displeasure, especially not after seeing you kill Lucius Malfoy. People might think of me as strange, but I am not a fool."

"There's nothing wrong with being a little strange," Harry said jovially. Luna smiled shyly at him. "But I am going to need that vow if you want to come with me."

"I, Luna Lovegood, vow to keep any and all secrets of House Potter on my magic, my life, and my mother's grave."

Harry gasped. Luna still had that air of serenity.

"I'm sorry, Luna. I didn't know you had lost your mother."

"Thank you, Harry. Can I call you Harry?"

"Of course."

"You of all people don't need to feel sorry for me. She died four years ago. I miss her, but I will always treasure my memories of her. I know she's watching over me, and some day, I'll see her again."

"You seem sure of that," Harry sighed.

"I am. We live in a world with ghosts. Surely you don't think there wouldn't be an after-life?"

"I don't know. I didn't grow up in the magical world. From what I learned from church in the muggle world, there is supposed to be a God and a Heaven when we die. But I had trouble believing in that when I was young."

"Why?"

"I... I'd rather not say."

"Oh. Excuse me for prying."

"It's alright. Well, I guess we should get going. I'm sure Pansy's got to be worried by now."

Harry turned to the house-elves.

"Thank you for your help tonight, Oggy."

"You're welcome, mister Harry sir," he said with a bow.

"Dobby, take us back to my quarters, please."

And with a pop they were gone.

* * *

Pansy had been watching the map for what seemed like ages now. Her nerves were all at attention after Dobby left with a spell book for Harry. She wasn't sure why he would need a spell, but she couldn't think of anything good. And ever since she had been watching the names on the map.

At least Dobby was with him, but sitting there on the couch was badly trying her patience.

Finally, with a loud pop, Dobby brought Harry back to her.

With a blonde girl on his arm.

Why was it always blondes?

She glared at Harry. What the fuck was he thinking bringing her here with him?

"Well?"

Harry tried to smile, but he wilted under her stare.

"It appears that some of the other girls stunned Luna, stole her shoes and wand, and then left her there."

"Or it could have been the nargles. They are terrible little thieves you know, and I'm not wearing my necklace today."

"Right. Um. Pansy, let me introduce you to Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Pansy."

"My pleasure," Luna said with a small smile.

"That doesn't explain why she is here."

"Oh, well-"

"I asked him to bring me here. Don't worry though, I vowed to keep all of House Potter's secrets. I won't tell anyone about your relationship, although I am a bit surprised that Hermione Granger hasn't figured it out yet."

"She's had a lot going on this year," Harry said.

"Harry!" Pansy was furious. How the hell could he have been so foolish to let this happen?

"Oh, please don't blame Harry. He didn't tell me anything, I had just already observed the way the two of you interact. You are clearly quite close. However, recently Harry has been a lot more affectionate towards Hermione Granger, and yet even though you two have been constantly together all year, you've never shown anything like that with each other. I assumed that you had a secret relationship. Although if Harry really wanted to catch Sirius Black, using you as bait might be a better idea than getting stabbed. I would think knife wounds might make trying to duel rather hard."

Harry laughed as Luna finished her explanation, but Pansy looked ready to kill.

"Pansy, she did give me a vow, and as she told me, she wouldn't want to get on my bad side since she owes me a life debt."

"Or three," Luna added.

"Or three."

"Harry, please give us girls a moment alone." Both Pansy's tone and the look on her face made it clear that he had no choice but to obey this order. He saw the wand in her hand as well.

"Alright," he said as he got up. But he walked over to her and whispered in her ear. "Don't hurt her."

She was pissed, but the look on Harry's face made her stop for a moment. She should have known that he would leap into protecting a damsel in distress. Stupid, noble, bloody fool.

It was how they had met after all.

She let out a sigh and gave him a faint nod. Harry left, going into his bedroom. Once the door closed, she turned to the other girl.

"Let's get one thing straight, Lovegood. If you ever betray Harry, I will kill you."

"You don't need to worry about that. Harry is the first other student to be nice to me since I came to Hogwarts. Although I do appreciate your loyalty towards him. I wonder if I will feel such fervor towards him in the years to come."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I wouldn't try to interfere in your relationship. I don't think Harry would like that. He obviously cares a lot about you. I just meant that he protected you, and tonight he protected me."

"Just keep any fervor to yourself. I don't share."

"Of course. May we bring Harry back out now? I believe he might be concerned that we would argue or fight, and I would rather not worry him over such things. Also, it is rather late, and despite my unplanned nap, I am starting to get tired. What time is it anyway?"

"Just after midnight," Harry answered as he walked back into the sitting room. He smirked at Pansy's glare; it wasn't really a moment alone if Harry was listening in.

"Oh, it's my birthday then."

"Happy birthday, Luna. Dobby?" The elf appeared standing in front of the fire. "It's my friend Luna's birthday, and that calls for cake. What's your favorite type of cake?"

"Angel cake. But you don't have to go to all that trouble."

"It's no trouble, miss Luna. Master Harry is right. Cake is always good for birthdays, and sweets before bed bring sweet dreams."

Dobby got to work- Harry would always be amazed by house-elf magic. He doubted any witch or wizard could duplicate baking a delicious cake in less than ten minutes. While his little friend hummed to himself in their little kitchen area, Pansy spoke to Luna about the secrets she could not reveal to anyone else- namely, pretty much anything about Harry & Pansy's relationship. Harry added that she shouldn't tell anyone about Dobby or his abilities. He planned on taking advantage of this blind spot concerning house-elves that magical people had for as long as possible.

Soon enough, Dobby was finished, and a cake with thirteen candles sat on the table in front of the couch. A quick round of 'Happy Birthday' followed. A look from Harry had even guilted Pansy into singing along.

"Thank you so much," Luna said in a quiet voice as Dobby cut the cake and served up the pieces. "Won't you join us Dobby?"

"Dobby would be delighted, miss Luna. Master Harry's friends are Dobby's friends."

"This is already turning into the best birthday I've had in years. Two new friends. I wonder what daddy might send me."

"Is that what usually happens for magical families? They send something by owl to their students away at Hogwarts?" Harry knew very little of what birthdays meant to normal people. He couldn't imagine any bird large enough to haul the amount of presents that Dudley would have been sent.

"Most of the time, yes. Sometimes parents come to visit and bring presents, especially for older students who can go to Hogsmeade. Last year, my father was traveling, researching a story, so he sent me a present by owl. I think he's doing the same thing this year, although tomorrow is still a weekend, so anything is possible."

That phrase seemed to sum up Luna's point of view. They ate the cake and chatted for a few minutes. Pansy was even being nice to the odd girl. She might be a bitch, but she wouldn't ruin someone's birthday. At least, not if it would have pissed off Harry.

Finally, the plates were finished and stomachs were filled with the tasty dessert. Pansy was tired and stressed, Harry looked ready for bed, and even Luna's wide eyes were starting to droop.

"Alright, time for bed. Come on Luna, I'll find something you can wear to sleep in." Pansy led her to her supposed bedroom and dug through her clothes. She found something that should fit; Luna was just about her same size.

"Thank you for being nice to me, even if it is for Harry's sake."

"You're welcome." This girl was very insightful. Blunt too. That worried Pansy, but if she could be trusted, she might be of use. "You don't have to take the couch- you can sleep in here."

"Thank you. May I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's it like to sleep with someone?"

If Pansy had been drinking, she would have done quite the spit take.

"What!?"

"Oh, I don't mean to pry. I just wondered about the mechanics of it. I tend to toss and turn a lot when I sleep. I would think that might be unpleasant when sharing a bed with someone. I hope you don't think I meant about sex. I'm not interested in learning about that just yet."

Pansy didn't know how to answer either the actual question or the secondary notion, Luna's suggestion about her sex life. She had a feeling not knowing what to say would become her usual response to Luna Lovegood.

"Good night, Luna," ended up being all she could manage.

"Sweet dreams, Pansy. Tell Harry thank you for me, please."

* * *

She went straight to bed, casting a silencing spell behind her at the door.

"I should be mad at you."

"I'm sorry."

"Just don't make it a habit of bringing home stray witches."

"I won't, but I just couldn't leave her there. Not on her birthday."

"Yeah, yeah, don't lay it on too thick, Harry." Pansy stretched her arms up as she removed her top; she smiled down at Harry who had that same goofy smile on his face whenever he was staring at her breasts.

"Luna did suggest that I tell you thank you for her," she added with a smirk.

The silencing charm's strength would be tested before they got to sleep that night...

* * *

The next morning came too early, but Harry couldn't just stay curled up in bed for once. He had a wayward Ravenclaw to take care of.

Pansy grumbled a bit when he woke her, but he promised to make it up to her later.

In the end, once everyone was dressed, it was decided to have Dobby take them all back to the room Harry had found Luna in the night before. He didn't want to have to explain leaving his private quarters with a second girl in tow. That would probably send the gossip off the charts.

Harry checked the map to make sure the coast was clear. He also had his list of the names of the four girls he had seen leave Luna behind after attacking her.

They were soon making their way to the entrance of the Ravenclaw tower, where Luna had to answer a riddle to open the doorway.

"Does it always do that?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Gryffindor requires a password. Anyone that's good at solving riddles could get inside here."

As they stepped inside, Harry immediately noticed the bookshelves lining the walls. He motioned to them and turned to Pansy. "If I tell Hermione the Ravenclaws have their own library, do you think she'll kick herself for getting sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Possibly. But if you were nice, you would let me tell her instead."

Harry chuckled at Pansy's evil little grin. Luna giggled.

"You two are so funny."

A group of girls came down the stairs whispering together. They looked to be about the right age.

"Are those the girls from last night?" Harry asked Luna.

"Yes," Luna answered in that serene voice. It marveled him to see how she could let their behavior just roll off her. Harry led the way over to them; they all stopped and stared.

"Hello girls. Let's see who is who. Desford?" One girl gave him a smile. "Glossop?" A second gave him a little wave. "Kirkby? Randall?" The last two identified themselves as well. For members of the house of intellect, none of them must be all that bright Harry thought.

"Now then, which of you girls has Luna's wand? And her shoes as well as anything else you might have brilliantly decided to steal?"

"We didn't steal anything. Loony's always losing her things," Randall tried to argue.

"You expect me to believe that? I know the four of you attacked her and left her unconscious in a room one floor down last night. Want to try again?"

Silence was the only answer.

"If you're smart, you left her things somewhere easily found. Taking another student's wand in particular should see one hell of a punishment. I guess we'll find out soon enough if any of you are even remotely qualified to be in Ravenclaw."

Harry was fuming now. Pansy squeezed his arm, he turned to her and Luna.

"Luna, why don't you look up in your dorm to see if any of your missing things are there?

"Pansy, please escort Luna up to her room." As they went towards the stairs, Harry turned to the four girls.

"As for you stupid little bitches, let me make a couple of things perfectly clear. I hate bullies. Luna Lovegood is my friend, so the next time one of you moronic little cunts decides to pick on her, you'll be answering to me. The last person to cross me bled to death in the Great Hall. I'm sure you all witnessed that. Leave my friend alone. Got it?"

Four frightened voices squeaked out in agreement. Harry detected the smell of urine. It would have been funny, but he was pretty far from a laughing mood.

"Then get the fuck out of my sight."

As the girls ran off, an older boy walked across the room to Harry, who noticed the prefect's badge he was wearing.

"Potter, what's going on here?"

"Who are you?"

"Robert Hilliard."

"A prefect?"

"Yes, seventh year."

"Then I'm doing your job." Hilliard looked affronted by Harry's answer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that people like you should be looking out for the younger students and making sure none of them are being bullied. Either none of the Ravenclaws are paying attention or none of them care. How else would you explain no one noticing a second year repeatedly being out after curfew?"

"What happened?"

"I took care of it. I hope I don't have to take care of anything else."

Harry's voice was low, and despite being four years his senior, Robert Hilliard quickly moved away from the angry young Gryffindor. He would mention this to the other prefects; they would need to keep an eye on Lovegood apparently. He wasn't going to be stupid enough to get on Harry Potter's bad side, not after what he saw happen to Malfoy. Rumors of an attack by Black that Potter also drove off, even being wounded in the fight, seemed all the more believable now.

Moments later, Luna and Pansy came down the stairs. Luna was wearing shoes this time, and Harry noticed her wand tucked behind her ear. He grinned as he saw Pansy rolling her eyes as she followed the blonde over to Harry.

"Find everything?"

"My wand was sitting on my bed. It must have been an awfully nice house-elf that left it there for me. Could you ask Dobby to thank whoever it was for me? I don't know any others."

"Sure, Luna."

"I hope my missing earring turns up. Otherwise, I'll have to somehow get another radish to make a new one, and finding a pair of of them that matched well enough the first time was a chore, let me tell you."

"I'll take your word for it, and I have a feeling that more of your things will be turning up soon. Would you ladies care to join me for breakfast this morning?"

"That sounds lovely. I'm surprisingly hungry even after the cake last night."

Harry and Pansy both snorted, and Luna smiled looking from one to another. She had eaten three pieces; Harry had been thoroughly amused by the girl's enormous appetite for sweets. 'Well she did say she thought we were a lovely couple,' he thought as Luna noticed their same reaction.

"Alright then. Ladies, after you," he said as he stood aside and they all headed off together to the Great Hall.

* * *

Arriving there moments later, they were bound to have another confrontation.

Harry had sat down with Pansy and Luna on either side of him. The hall was about half full. It wasn't very early, but being the weekend, some of the students were getting a later start as usual. Harry yawned and thought that he would like to take a nap later.

Hermione sat down across from him, and Harry introduced her to Luna. Of course, she asked where Harry met the new girl, and he quickly told her that he would tell her later. Thankfully, Hermione didn't press him. The last couple of months she had been a lot less nosy, and Harry appreciated it. It was one of the reasons he had supported her so much during the current feud with Ron.

Speaking of whom, Ron Weasley came down the aisle towards them.

"What's Loony doing sitting here?"

Tact never was his strong suit, but having a go at Luna today of all days was really not a smart thing to do. The fact that Parvati and Lavender had entered just after him and were now sitting by Pansy, with front row seats to Ron's latest bout of boorishness, meant this was going to be all over the school by day's end. His reputation might never recover at this rate.

" _Luna_ is my friend. She's welcome to sit with me whenever she wants. What's it to you anyway, Ron? I thought you still weren't speaking to me."

"You used to be my best mate, Harry. Now all you do is hang out with girls. Or help Neville in class. That's what Hermione does, not you. What's happened to you?"

Harry noticed that the girls in question he was surrounded by all looked insulted. Looking over at Harry, Fred and George smiled and gave him a thumbs up- they obviously knew being surrounded by pretty girls was something to be proud of.

Hermione looked notably angry. Ron had taken advantage of her for _help_ with classwork as often as possible since first year. She had been a lot more productive ever since she stopped having to carry his lazy ass. The fact that Harry was willing to get his own work done without relying on her this year had also been a nice change.

Neville came in and sat down by Hermione, muttering a quiet hello. Only Harry noticed his blush as the others were all scowling at Ron.

"Well Ron, a lot has happened to me. I was attacked by a dementor on the train to school. Then we were all attacked by them during a quidditch match of all things. I would think you would remember since you were there for both events. Then I had a Death Eater challenge me to a duel to the death. I had a second Death Eater attack me last month. One who somehow escaped Azkaban prison, which is supposed to be impossible. I've also had to deal with all sorts of legal issues due to the fact that I have no other family members to help me, you know, since I am the very last Potter.

"Plus, I'm responsible for another orphan- that's Pansy in case you were wondering. Another friend of mine who you have been rude towards for months on end. Did you even pay attention to the fact that her father had murdered her mother? You certainly never said a word about it that I heard. A semi-decent person would have at least said something like 'hey, sorry your dad was an evil bastard.' You couldn't even manage that much.

"On top of all that, I've had to deal with my best mate being a total wanker for the last month. I grew up, Ron. Are you ever going to?"

Silence had fallen over the immense room. Ron's entire face had gone red.

"You've been against me ever since her cat killed Scabbers. A real mate would have been on my side."

"You yelled at Hermione several times about how she needed to keep her pet locked up. If you really wanted your rat to be safe, you would have kept him in a cage. You never even thought of doing that though, did you? No, why should Ron Weasley get off his arse and do something when he can just blame other people instead?"

"Screw you!"

Ron stormed out of the Great Hall.

Everyone was stunned. Harry Potter had done something truly amazing. He had kept Ron Weasley from eating.


	37. Disappointment, Death, and Guilt

* * *

Harry had to consider himself lucky as he finished cleaning McGonagall's classroom. She had gotten to him first after he had called Ron an arse and wanker in front of most of the school, and detention would have been a lot worse if Snape had been a bit faster down the aisle. The petty bastard's eyes had lit up at the chance to fuck with Harry for the first time in months.

Besides, he could cast _Scourgify_ in his sleep by now.

Harry could have asked Dobby to help, but he had a feeling McGonagall would have caught him, and really, it hadn't taken that long anyway.

The punishment would prove to be worth it if Ron could ever get over his pride, but Harry was starting to worry if that would happen by the time they finished Hogwarts. It was now a month and a half since he had spoken to Hermione. Not even getting a Troll on his last Transfiguration essay had been enough to make him change his ways.

Oh well. At least Luna was fun.

The first time he had read The Quibbler was interesting. The articles were bizarre, but they had a runic puzzle in the back that was pretty fun for him to work through, even though he quickly realized it had to be read upside down. Bonus points too for the look on Hermione's face as she watched Harry reading it. He had a feeling she'd looked through it and dismissed it as nonsense, and her eye twitch all that afternoon made Harry smile.

He was going to get Hermione to lighten up one of these days or die trying.

Even Neville trying to talk to her wasn't getting through to her, although Harry thought that he still needed some work if what he had seen was the best attempt at flirting Neville could manage.

The good news resulting from the fallout of Harry's tirade against Ron was that Pansy had thoroughly rewarded him for shouting down his potentially former friend. It was a lot easier to not worry about that when Pansy was shagging his brains out. Her sex drive might have even eclipsed his own, or at least it seemed that way for the next few days.

Harry was really enjoying going to bed and waking up in the most satisfying of ways.

* * *

Luna had taken to joining Harry and Pansy for meals more often than not, at least when they went to the Great Hall to eat. One evening she asked Harry about dining away from the crowd, which led to him showing her the kitchens and introducing her to the Hogwarts house-elves.

"Hello miss Luna."

"Hello again Oggy. Thank you for helping Harry and I that night."

"Miss Luna is most welcome."

It looked like Luna had made a third new friend, and the eagerness of the rest of the elves to please their guests made Harry think that she would probably come back to visit them more than a normal student would. Although, most students wouldn't even give house-elves a second thought. Harry smiled as he watched her interacting with them, asking questions about what all they did at the school, not to mention a couple of more strange queries. He supposed it was _possible_ that they reported not only to Dumbledore but also a shadow council of house-elf leaders who oversaw assassinations against those who were obsessively cleanly. He couldn't argue that such people would be bad for business.

"Luna, if the house-elves were doing that, wouldn't we have noticed dead students?"

"Oh, no Harry. They watch over the students to see who might cause problems once they grow up. Did you know that Sirius Black's father only lived to be fifty? His mother died just before turning sixty. Wizards and witches can live decades longer than muggles. Daddy told me a story that a friend of his had visited their house twenty years ago and it was the cleanest home he had ever been in."

"So obviously, the house-elves must have taken care of them. It does have a certain logic." Harry knew that Pansy was rolling her eyes without even looking at her, but he thought that she found the strange blonde girl amusing in a way too. Especially when she got under Hermione's skin.

The house-elves did look a little shifty, now that he thought about it.

* * *

"Hey, Harry. Can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

It was after a Charms class that Neville approached him. Harry had seen him sitting with Hermione that day, which had become the usual over the last couple of weeks.

"Sure, Neville."

"I'll tell Luna you'll be a bit late for lunch," Pansy said with a smirk.

"Thanks, Pansy. Do me a favor too. Try to get her to eat something other than pudding. Please?"

"I doubt she'll listen to me, but I will."

Harry was legitimately worried about the girl ever since the day before when she told him of her all pudding diet. He might have to ask Dobby to try to get the other elves to do whatever they could to get extra vitamins and nutrition into pudding, because Luna seemed sincere in her stated goal of eating nothing else for the rest of the month.

"Thanks." He watched her go down the hall, and the sway of her hips made Harry want to re-enact last night as soon as possible. Harry wasn't really into spanking, but when naughty student Pansy needed to be punished, dirty professor Harry was up to the job.

He shook those thoughts away and found an empty room.

"So, what's up?"

"Well, you know how the girls were... uh, trying to help me?"

"You mean so you could work up the nerve to ask Hermione out?"

"Yeah... I mean... you knew about that?"

"Neville, I sort of suggested it."

"Really?"

"Sure. I was paying attention last fall when you asked me what I was doing to Hermione when she was so worn out after I started teaching her the Patronus charm. I could tell you fancied her."

"Oh."

"And the more this year has gone on, the more Hermione has needed someone to help her relax. In particular, ever since Ron has been treating her so terribly. I've done what I can for her. But I don't like her that way. You do, and you're a nice guy so I wouldn't be worried about you trying to hurt her. Because if you did, I'd beat the hell out of you, and neither of us wants that."

"No. I mean, I wouldn't treat her badly. But, well..."

Something was clearly bothering him, but Harry was too hungry to just wait for Neville to spit it out.

"Just what is it Neville? You can tell me."

"I don't think I can do it."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think I can go out with Hermione."

"Why not?"

"She's just..." he sighed and looked down, averting Harry's gaze. "Hermione is nice, and friendly, and pretty, and I do like her. But she's so intense. I want to do well on my assignments, but she wants to get everything perfect. Everything. In every class, on every essay. It's hard to get her to talk about anything other than school work."

"Oh."

Shit. This was disappointing.

"I take it you haven't asked her out yet then?"

"No. I was trying to work up the nerve to see if she would go the next Hogsmeade weekend with me, but...

"This last week, she's just been so hard at work, night after night. I can't handle the stress. She's in three more classes than I am. I don't know how she hasn't cracked under the pressure yet."

"I get it," Harry groaned. "Just do me a favor, alright. Don't let this get awkward. Don't stop being her friend or avoid her in class. She can use every friend she can get- I know the thing with Ron has really upset her. I bet your grades have been a lot better with her help anyway."

"They have. I appreciate all her help, honestly. I just don't think I'm the guy that can get through to her, to get her to relax. I don't know who is, other than you."

Harry have a wry chuckle.

"Great. Thanks for telling me, Neville. I'll just have to think of something else."

"Are you sure you don't fancy her? I mean, it's obvious you care a lot about her. It would make sense for you two to get together."

"No. Maybe in another life. There's just a couple of things about our personalities that would clash if we tried to date, I think. Besides-"

Harry had to stop himself. He couldn't say that he was dating someone else, nor would he admit that he knew part of the reason she had been so upset by Ron was that she had a little crush of her own on the prat. Damn, this was frustrating. Neville might really have been good for her.

"Well, not everything works out."

"You won't hold it against me, will you Harry?"

"No, don't worry about it. Let's go to lunch, Neville."'

Unfortunately, Harry's appetite had just taken a severe beating.

That's not to mention the ten minutes he would waste trying to talk Luna out of her 'nothing but pudding' diet.

* * *

The next night, before they got busy doing anything else, Harry decided to bring up the letter he'd received from Sam.

"Pansy, we need to talk about something."

"What?"

"This," he said as he pulled the parchment out. He noted the names of the girls he'd written on the back of it, the ones who had attacked Luna. That had jogged his memory.

"You said something to me last month, about what could happen to you if something happened to me."

"I wanted you to be more careful. For both our sakes, Harry. You tend to be a lot more cavalier with your own safety than with mine."

"I know. I'm trying to get better about that. But I realized that there were things I could do to make sure you would be protected. Sam originally wrote me back on Valentine's Day. I meant to show you this then, but we got distracted, and the letter got misplaced for a time, and-"

"That was a month ago."

"I know. I'm sorry. I found it awhile ago and wanted to tell you, but it's just not the most fun of topics."

"Just get to the point, Harry."

"I made a will. I left you everything. Just in case. But I also realized that I would need to do something else; as long as you were a minor, you could still be in danger, legally speaking. I asked Sam for advice and his help because I don't really know anyone else I could trust. Maybe the Brightwells, but as squibs they wouldn't be as strong a protection as Sam could be.

"So, I asked him if he could adopt you, should something happen to me. He suggested making himself your guardian instead. That way I could name you as my heiress, and you could even legally take the name Potter."

"Harry, I don't know what to say." She hugged him, and he noticed himself shaking. Her too, actually. Talking about his own death was never going to be pleasant, but it was that much worse knowing how this could upset her. "Thank you for all this. But I don't want you dying on me."

"I don't either. My plan is to finish our time here, hopefully without too many more idiots trying to kill me, then marry you and live happily ever after."

"I like the sound of that plan," she sighed. Harry kissed the top of her head.

"Me too. I'd like to spend the next hundred years with you."

"Only a hundred?" she asked with a smirk as she pulled back to look at him.

"I don't think I want to live as long as Dumbledore. For one thing, I don't think I'd look as good with a beard. And I don't want to get too greedy. A hundred years with you would be worth more than a thousand without you."

There were tears in her eyes when she answered, "I love you, you wonderful sappy man."

"Maybe you're not the only one who's secretly a romantic."

"Then take me to bed, my Lord. I think we both could use some stress relief."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan too."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was slowly going insane.

It had been almost three months now, and it was always the same dream. Night after night, Potter with his mother. Her legs wrapped around him. His hands and mouth in all of her most secret places. Her on top of him, and the look on her face as she moaned and writhed in pleasure. Him behind her, as they rutted like animals.

And every morning he would wake with a mess in his bed and a scream on the tip of his tongue.

He couldn't take it any more.

Potter had to pay. No one did this to Draco Malfoy and got away with it.

* * *

Harry stumbled into his seat in the Great Hall at breakfast. Luna was already there waiting for him. Pansy slumped down on his other side. Last night had been emotionally exhausting. Then they had made it physically exhausting to try to clear their heads. All in all, both of them could really use a nap. Thankfully, they had History of Magic first thing this morning.

"Good morning, Harry. Good morning, Pansy. Although it looks like you could both use some more sleep. Want some pudding?"

Sure enough, Harry saw a plate full of banana pudding in front of his favorite odd little blonde girl. He yawned and tried to put some words together into a coherent thought.

"Just breakfast. No. I mean, no pudding, thanks."

"Alright, Harry. More for me then," she said with a smile so bright Harry closed his eyes. Something bumped his hand. Oh, tea.

"Thanks, Pansy." It was nice and strong, and Harry could almost start to feel alive. A couple more drinks then.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Luna again. Happy. What did she ask?

"Oh, no, that's alright Luna. Just had some legal stuff to deal with last night."

"And it was exhausting," Pansy added with half a groan.

"Yeah, that." Another drink. Dobby was right. Caffeine did the body good. Especially on a morning like this.

Luna had the Quibbler spread out on the other side from her plate, and she was flipping through it while she ate. She did this thing where she would lick the spoon clean every few bites, and he realized he would have to warn her not to do that. Seamus was looking at her and paying way too much attention to her tongue. Dirty fucking pervert. Not being in a dorm with him any more was great. Bastard's mind permanently lived in the gutter.

Pansy was right about her. He had brought Luna in like a stray. He was more protective of her than Pansy in a way. She was in both another house and another year. It made him worry about other people picking on her. He had already sort of adopted her as a little sister, and by god, any guy coming around was going to have to be much more of a gentleman than Seamus ever could even pretend to be.

"Anything interesting in the Quibbler today?" Pansy asked, coincidentally just as Hermione sat down across from him. Harry was too tired to stop himself from giggling.

"Something funny this morning, Harry?" Hermione asked as he continued snickering.

"Just remembering something that happened awhile ago," he choked out as he wiped his eyes. That eye twitch. Poor Hermione. What the hell was he going to do to get her to calm down? It was still two and a half months away, but she was already studying for the exams. Enforced merry making? If the weather would get a bit warmer, he might even just throw her in the lake one of these afternoons.

Luna licked her spoon clean again. Harry threw Seamus the nastiest glare he could manage.

"There is an interesting theory about a secret part of the Department of Mysteries. It's said that they steal socks from muggles and use them to try to commune with the fairy realm. Only individual socks work, for it's something about the frustration of the muggles making the magic more powerful."

"That makes sense in a way." Harry nodded as Hermione scowled. He could hear the faint grumble of 'nonsense' coming from her. "But why socks specifically?"

"You mean you haven't heard of sock fairies?"

Pansy laughed as Hermione grew redder. Harry would have to do something soon; his friend was going to give herself an ulcer if he couldn't get her to mellow out.

"Obviously he hasn't Luna," Pansy replied. "Why don't you tell Harry all about it?"

"And remind me to tell you later about my theory," he added.

"What theory?"

"The Department of Terrible Ideas."

"What's that?"

"I like to believe there is a specific department in the Ministry that comes up with all their worst ideas. You know, things like sending soul-devouring monsters to hang out near school children."

"You'll have to tell me all about it. I might have to write daddy- it sounds like something he would enjoy investigating. Can I quote you on it?"

"You probably shouldn't. I wouldn't want anyone in the government to try to cause me any problems."

"Maybe you could refer to him as an 'unofficial government spokesman' instead?" Pansy offered.

"Spokesperson," Harry suggested. "Makes it unclear if the speaker is male or female."

"Even better," Pansy agreed.

"Alright, I could work with that. Now, let me tell you about the sock fairies..."

* * *

Granger was still glaring at them all throughout Potions. Harry was right about the girl needing to relax. She had no sense of humor.

The fact that Dobby had brought pillows to them so Pansy and Harry could sleep through History of Magic was really nothing to get worked up about. It's not like they were the first students to be so brazen. Binns was a complete joke.

Pansy looked around the room as she lazily stirred the concoction she was currently brewing. Harry had improved this year in the class as Snape was unable to focus his "teaching" on ruining all of Harry's work. Pansy smiled to herself. Longbottom and Weasley were always going to be terrible in the class- the fact that Snape was taking out most of his frustrations on them for the last seven months instead of Harry didn't bother her at all.

She noticed Draco across the room. He had been moody and sullen for the last couple of months. But then, seeing his father killed must have been a pretty shattering experience for the spoiled little bastard.

Pansy had been delighted when Harry had shown her his memory of her own father's death.

The score was two dead Death Eaters regardless.

Draco, though, something seemed a bit more off about him than usual. The circles around his eyes had been growing all term. Pansy hoped it was at least somewhat due to her efforts at breaking him back on New Year's.

That had been so much fun.

Now, if only she could make the ginger moron cry. It had turned her on so much when Harry had ranted at the weasel. But she wanted a turn of her own; the annoying, immature idiot owed her for months of having to experience his awful presence. If only Granger would hook up with someone.

It had been very disappointing when Harry had told her that Longbottom was too much of a wimp to try to date the bookworm. Not that she could really blame him, but it would have been so much fun if he had gone through with it.

Plus, it had been a waste of her time. Oh well, at least she would always treasure the memory of seeing him squirming when Vane nearly snogged his face off.

That girl had been surprisingly enthusiastic and assertive for a firstie.

Soon enough, the class came to an end. Pansy took her own and Harry's samples up to the front of the class. Snape gave her a sneer as she set them down. Harry had already gathered all of their things, and they were two of the first to get out of the classroom.

As they made their way down the hall, a commotion behind them made her start to turn.

_"Diffindo!"_

Harry had grabbed her and her body began to twist as he wrapped his arms around her. She felt a splash of blood on her- the back of Harry's left arm had shielded her from the cutting curse.

But the voice that cried out in pain came from back down the hall.

Harry stood in front of her and raised his left hand.

Pansy looked over his shoulder and saw Draco clutching his own left arm that was bleeding. Other students had spread out as far as they could, and Parvati and Lavender, the two who had been between Malfoy and Harry, moved quickly further down the hall. A din of voices was heard in the distance as more people were on the way.

Draco had an angry scowl as he raised his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"I'll kill you, scarhead!"

Harry held his left hand out as if to stop any spell coming their way. Pansy saw a faint blue glow coming from the sapphire on the Potter family ring.

"How dare you, Malfoy," he said in an icy voice.

"You killed my father. This is revenge.

_"Depulso!"_

Pansy tried to draw her wand to cast a Shield spell, but she wasn't fast enough. However, just as she expected the spell's impact, she saw a flash of light as Harry's ring flared and somehow seemed to absorb the magic.

"You are a fool, Draco Malfoy."

Other voices were getting louder, and Pansy saw Snape trying to make his way through the crowd behind Malfoy. The air around them was crackling with ambient magic; she felt goose bumps all over her body, and a shiver went down her spine as she looked at Harry. The stone on Harry's ring was now bathing the entire hallway in an eerie blue glow.

"Lower your wand and never even think of raising it against House Potter again, or you will suffer the consequences."

"You think you scare me, Potter?

_"Avada-"_

But before he could even begin to utter the second word of the killing curse, Draco Malfoy's face froze in shock. His body fell to the ground as if it were a puppet whose strings had been cut.

A hush fell over the crowd now gathered in the hallway.

A man clad in the robes of an auror stepped past Pansy towards Draco as Snape pushed forwards from the other end of the hall. The two men met and crouched down over Draco's body.

"He's dead," the auror said.

Snape's black eyes immediately went to Harry. The glow from the ring began to diminish.

"Potter!"

"Don't try to blame this on him, Snape. You saw what happened just as surely as I did. Malfoy should never have tried to attack Potter, and the fact that a student would try to use an Unforgiveable makes me wonder about the state of things at Hogwarts.

"Alright, everyone, clear out," the auror said, and the students began to flee as quickly as they could. "Savage, send a message to Bones and Scrimgeour. We've got another death."

"What happened?" Pansy turned and was not surprised to see Granger standing nearby.

"This is why you don't betray life debts, young lady," the auror said. "You especially don't try to kill someone to whom you owe one."

Pansy saw Snape hurry to get up and race back towards his classroom.

"Lord Potter, I'm auror Joe Richmond. I'm going to need an official statement from you."

"Alright."

"Did you use your wand in any way against Mr. Malfoy today?"

"No."

"Have you had any conflicts with Mr. Malfoy recently?"

"No. Ever since his father challenged me to a duel, he has been avoiding me."

"Avoiding you how?"

"In the past, he would often verbally try to bother me. Taunts, insults, and the like. Rarely has a week gone by since I started Hogwarts that I haven't heard something of that sort from him. But after his father failed to kill me in the duel, the worst I've gotten from him has been angry looks."

"And have you tried to engage him on your own?"

"No. It's not a secret that I struck up an acquaintance with his mother last year. She was hoping to have more influence over her son with Lucius Malfoy in prison. I assumed she would be working even harder since his death, and I had no inclination to interfere with Lady Malfoy's efforts."

"I see. Were you aware that Mr. Malfoy owed you a life debt?"

"I assumed that he did due to the dementor attack at the quidditch match last fall."

"But you were not certain?"

"I knew one of my quidditch teammates owed me one. I was not certain that Mr. Malfoy owed me one, but I found it likely that most, if not all, of the people at that match do as well."

"You may be right about that. We will probably need to make certain of that soon. Were you aware of what could happen to someone who betrayed a life debt?"

"Yes. I tried to warn Draco to cease his attack for that reason."

"I heard that as well, Lord Potter. I believe that is all, but Madam Bones may want to speak to you later. You may go for now."

"Thank you, auror Richmond."

Pansy followed as Harry turned to leave. Granger was following them looking stunned.

"I can't believe it," she muttered.

"What can't you believe, Hermione?"

"Draco tried to kill you. Then he just... just died."

"You're surprised that Draco tried to kill someone. Really? This is the same Draco Malfoy that was happily crowing about your upcoming death last year when the Chamber of Secrets was opened."

"Granger, you really need to open your eyes," Pansy interjected. "His father was a Death Eater, and he was happily raising his little bastard of a son to become a murderer just like dear old dad. That's the world we live in."

"Is that how your father raised you?"

Pansy gasped and Harry immediately spun about, with a look of absolute fury on his face.

"Don't you ever, _ever_ compare Pansy to her father."

Harry pushed into Granger's personal space and the stupid little bookworm looked thoroughly cowed.

'That fucking bitch.' Pansy was ready to slap her.

"I...I'm sorry. That was thoughtless of me. Please forgive me, Pansy."

Pansy didn't respond, she merely turned and strode quickly away. Harry rushed to catch up with her, leaving Granger dazed and upset in their wake.

* * *

They didn't go to lunch that day. Pansy sat in Harry's lap on their couch. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

Dobby brought them a message that Madam Bones was on her way to ask Harry a few questions, so he got up and asked Dobby to make them something light to eat. Pansy stayed behind while Harry went out into the Gryffindor common room.

Once she was alone, Pansy let out a vicious grin.

One more Malfoy down.

* * *

There were black banners hanging in the Great Hall that evening at dinner.

Classes had been canceled that afternoon. Now, Albus Dumbledore stepped to the front of the teacher's table at the head of the room.

"A terrible loss happened today. A young man lost his life. I fear that some of the blame for this tragedy must rest with me.

"Some of you may have heard of life debts before. Many of you have not. When a witch or wizard saves another's life, magic may form a bond between them.

"Mr. Potter, would you please come to the front of the room?"

Harry stood and walked up to where the headmaster waited for him. The older wizard drew his wand and cast a spell that soon showed lines of magic stretching out from Harry to nearly every other person in the room.

"This fall, Mr. Potter saved many lives when his Patronus defended you from the dementors. As you can now see, because of this, you owe him life debts.

"Now, this does not mean that you must repay Harry by saving his life. But I must stress this warning- attempting to harm someone that you owe your life to can have terrible consequences. Sadly, Mr, Malfoy did not learn this until it was too late. I pray that all of you will take heed of this fact.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. You may return to your seat."

The room stayed quiet as Harry walked back down the aisle and sat down by Pansy. Hermione was sitting several seats away, and Pansy noted with some satisfaction that she looked as if she had been crying that afternoon.

"A moment of silence please, as we remember Draco Malfoy. A young man whose promise will never be fulfilled. I pray we will have no other such loss."

The silence played out, and Pansy looked at Harry. She was holding his hand under the table.

"Thank you," Dumbledore finished as he walked back to his seat. The food appeared, and people began to eat, but the mood was darkened by the day's events. Even Weasley wasn't stupid enough to be openly happy about Draco's death.

Of course, the reality of the situation could just be sinking in as well. A student had died after trying to attack another student.

Pansy looked across the room at the Ravenclaw table, where Luna was sitting alone. She was eating pudding again, and Pansy had to suppress a smile at that. The other girls in her year, the ones she knew Harry had threatened, were looking over at him terrified. They had definitely picked the wrong year to get on his bad side.

* * *

After dinner, the headmaster had summoned Harry up to his office to discuss what happened.

"Come in, Harry. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, headmaster." He sat down across from Dumbledore and waited.

"I wanted to speak with you about today's events. Do you have any idea why Mr. Malfoy would have attacked you today?"

"You mean other than the duel with his father?"

"Other than that, yes."

"No, sir. I haven't spoken to him in months. Maybe not since last year, now that I think of it. I've seen him giving me nasty looks recently, but I assumed that was just because of the duel with his father."

"I see. It was most unfortunate that you dueled with Lucius Malfoy. Two terrible losses could have been averted. Why did you have to accept his challenge?"

"Two terrible losses? Are you telling me that Lucius Malfoy's death was a terrible loss? That monster set a basilisk loose on a school full of children. Do you seriously expect me to feel bad about his death?"

"Killing someone is always a terrible thing, Harry."

"Really? So you want me to feel bad about stopping Quirrell two years ago? Should I feel bad about killing Voldemort as a baby after he murdered my parents?"

"You are far too young to be this cynical, Harry," the old man sighed.

"I don't see how you could expect me to be anything else."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know Hagrid, professor Dumbledore. He has a good heart, but he can't keep a secret to save his life. So, I know for a fact that you were the one who left me with the Dursleys. I will never forgive you for that."

"It was necessary, Harry. They were your only family left."

Harry ground his teeth and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply and counted to ten.

"Do you always have to lie, headmaster? I know for a fact that is not true. The Potters were a pureblood family, and all of the British pureblood families are interbred. It may not have been a close relation, but there were other options. Hell, Malfoy was something like a third cousin. So, do you want to try again?"

Now it was Dumbledore's turn to close his eyes. Harry wasn't sure if it was an act or not, but he was tired of the games.

"Sadly, it no longer matters, but your mother's sacrifice protected you. You should remember that from your confrontation with professor Quirrell. You needed to live with your aunt because she shared your mother's blood to keep that protection. Now, it is lost."

"And what was supposed to protect me from the Dursleys?"

"They were your family."

Harry just closed his eyes and turned away. He didn't think there was anything he could say that wouldn't devolve into screaming at Dumbledore.

"Do you not at least feel some guilt for killing Mr. Malfoy?"

"I didn't kill him. He did that to himself. Should I feel guilty that he tried to use the killing curse against me?"

"He was still just a boy, Harry. He had his whole life ahead of him. You cannot be so cold as to be pleased about his death."

"I feel bad for his mother. I know she was trying to undo his father's teachings. Narcissa deserved a chance to try to fix her son. To save him from the blood supremacy nonsense that people like his father used as an excuse, despite the fact that they all bowed down before a half-blood. I do feel guilt for her loss," Harry sighed.

"But that same boy also wanted to see my best friend killed last year. His father was a murderer who taught him not to value other people's lives. So, I am not surprised that he tried to kill me today. And if this stopped him from killing anyone in the future, then that is a good thing. Don't try to convince me that he was somehow innocent."

There was a moment of silence that stretched out as the two wizards, young and old, stared across the desk that separated them from each other.

"I hope that we will not have any more incidents like this."

"So do I, sir."

"Good, Harry. Please do not use the life debts as an excuse to seek out any more conflicts or cause any more trouble."

"When have I ever needed to seek out trouble? It finds me often enough as is."

* * *

Pansy was of course waiting for him, sitting on the couch when Harry returned from Dumbledore's office.

"So, what did he want?"

"Oh, the usual. Tried to give me a guilt trip about killing Draco and complained about how cynical I am."

Pansy snorted.

"What's that you've got?" Harry asked, nodding to the parchment Pansy was reading as he sat down next to her.

"It seems that you've had Dobby forward some mail for me."

"Ah, it's that letter."

"Yes. Why did you want me to read this?"

"She was your mother, Pansy."

"So what."

"So, her cousins have held off on holding the funeral so you could attend. I think getting some closure would help you. I know you've said that her death didn't bother you. You went to my parents' graves with me; I feel like I should return the favor."

"Next you'll be telling me you think I should go to my father's as well."

"I do."

"What?" she snarled.

"Only after you and I both drink about a gallon of water so we'll be able to piss on his grave," Harry answered with a tentative smile.

Pansy's expression reversed and she kissed him.

"I knew there was a reason I love you," she said with a grin.

"I do aim to please."

Pansy relaxed as she cuddled into his side. The fireplace was lit; it had been a warm day, but even with spring officially arriving, the nights could still get pretty chilly in the castle.

"You really think we should go?"

"I do," he replied. "But it will be your decision. I will support you either way."

"I guess I did suggest teaching you French last summer." Harry looked down at her smirking face.

"I found out there are some magical short cuts to that. I don't know if a charm or potion would be easier, but it would be a good idea if I understood what was going on."

"And it could be an excuse for us to take a vacation. We could see Paris."

"Whatever you want, my love."

"You might regret saying that some day, Harry."

"Maybe, but I'll take my chances."

"Okay. Then we'll write back to them tomorrow. I'm ready for bed."

* * *

They had snuggled in for the night, but almost an hour later, Pansy felt Harry roll over and sigh.

"Can't sleep?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"No. Sorry if I woke you."

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"It's... hard to explain."

"Try me."

She heard him take a couple of breaths as he looked for the words to begin.

"A part of me is glad Draco is dead. He was such a bastard and I can easily see a future in which he would have followed in his father's footsteps. But at the same time...

"Did you see Narcissa today?"

"No."

"I only saw her from a distance, down a hall. She must have come to... well, to collect his body I guess. And his things I suppose. And I feel terrible for her. Her son may have been an evil little shite, but he was still her son."

"You still care about her."

Harry didn't look at Pansy. In the darkness, it was easier to ignore her scowl. They both knew that Narcissa was a sore spot between them.

"My mother died right in front of me, Pansy.

"I never told you this, but when the dementors were around me last fall, I got these visions of a sort. Memories really, I guess. They were just flashes, images. I was too young to fully understand what was going on. But I saw this curtain of red hair. My mother's hair, in front of me. Then a flash of green light and this strange voice and the red hair falling away. I don't remember what happened to Voldemort, and I don't remember getting the scar. But I do remember seeing her hair spread out on the floor. Her body just lying there. There was so much red. Part of it might have been blood running down from my scar.

"I think I might have called out for her. I'm not positive. I was fifteen months old; I'm sure I could have managed a mama or something by then. I remember trying to get to her. I was too small to climb out of the crib or bed or whatever it was I must have been in. But I tried.

"I think it's good in a way that I didn't remember that before. That would have been a pretty terrible nightmare to have when I was younger.

"Anyway, that's the only memory I have of either of my parents."

"I don't understand. What does that have to do with Narcissa?"

"Some day, I'd like to think we'll have children. Not for awhile, obviously; we're way too young. But someday.

"Can you picture it? Our baby in your arms. I can see it so clearly."

Pansy could make out the smile on his face, even in the shadows of the bedroom.

"And because I can see that, I can just as easily picture Narcissa when Draco was born."

"Harry, you don't have to look at it like that. Even the Dark Lord had a mother. Do you feel bad for her just because her son grew up to be a monster?"

"No. But I never knew Riddle's mother.

"You're right. I do still care about Narcissa. And I'm sorry, because I know that must make you angry. Her husband was evil, and her son was growing to be just like his father. I pity her even more because of that. Can you imagine how awful it must feel? To fail your child, to not raise him right?

"I swear to you, Pansy- I will do everything I can to be the best father possible some day. I...

"I think a part of me might always want to prove the Dursleys wrong." Harry let out a sigh. "But if that makes me a better man... I guess I won't complain too much."

"Harry, you're already the best man I know." She sat up and kissed his forehead, then ran her fingers through his hair. She knew that always soothed him. "Relax, my love."

Pansy could feel his tension. Even now, Harry still surprised her. He seemed so strong, so confident most of the time. But she understood a bit better. He hadn't told her of what the dementors made him feel.

She had seen his vulnerability once, when he had shared his childhood with her. And afterwards, for days, it had driven a wedge between them as Harry was uncomfortable with being that open. She wasn't doing enough for him if he was still this closed off from her. Not that she hadn't done some of the same thing when she learned of her mother's death. Harry was right, going to her funeral would be good for her, and she would do her best to let him in. To let him help her.

He needed the same thing now.

She could feel everything he described of his mother's death. He was letting her see this pain that was buried so deep that he barely remembered it. Somehow, it tore loose a memory of her own. A song. Her mother singing. She must have been so young...

And before she realized she was doing it, Pansy began to sing.

"À la claire fontaine m'en allant promener,

J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle, que je m'y suis baignée.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Sous les feuilles d'un chêne je me suis fait sécher,

Sur la plus haute branche, un rossignol chantait.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Chante, rossignol, chante, toi qui as le coeur gai,

Tu as le coeur a rire, moi, je l'ai à pleurer.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai.

J'ai perdu mon ami sans l'avoir mérité,

Pour un bouton de rose que je lui refusai…

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Je voudrais que la rose fût encore au rosier,

Et que mon doux ami fût encore à m'aimer.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai. "

He was asleep by the time she finished the song. She wasn't sure why she was crying.

* * *

She awoke some time later in the night. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but thankfully, she was in an odd position, half sitting with Harry's head laying on her chest. She had dreamt of her mother for the first time in weeks. She wished she could know for sure if her memories of her mother smiling at her were real or only something she had so longed for that her mind had created them in some form of self consolation.

Maybe, it had just been so long, and she had been so young, that the memories were buried under a decade of pain and weariness.

She slowly extricated herself from Harry's sleeping form and made sure not to wake him as she left the bedroom.

Pansy went into the other bedroom and dug through her trunk to find the list she had hidden under a pile of clothes that would not come out till the weather improved.

"Dobby?" She spoke in a quiet voice, but the elf appeared in a flash anyway.

"Miss Pansy?"

"Sorry it's so late. I didn't mean to fall asleep. Here's the list of what I'll need. Are you sure you can get it all?"

"Dobby can, miss Pansy."

"Even the first thing?"

"It will be no problem for Dobby."

"You have to make sure it's human, Dobby. It won't work otherwise."

"Dobby already knows of miss Pansy's list, and Dobby already found it for miss Pansy."

The elf snapped his fingers and a bone appeared in his hand.

"You're the best Dobby. We'll wait till Easter. I'll need your help. Let's make sure not to let Harry find out. Not till we're done."

"Master Harry would help too, miss Pansy."

"No, Dobby. You have done a lot to take care of us. Harry has done everything and more that I've needed him to do for me. I need to do this for him. Harry is _mine_. And no one is allowed to get away with hurting him. No one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A la clair fontaine (By the clear fountain)
> 
> Translation:
> 
> As I was walking by the clear fountain,
> 
> I found the water so lovely I had to bathe.
> 
> I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you
> 
> Under the oak's leaves, I lay and dried.
> 
> On the highest bough, a nightingale sang.
> 
> I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you
> 
> Sing, nightingale, sing, you of the joyous heart.
> 
> Your heart is made for laughing... mine can only cry.
> 
> I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you
> 
> I lost my love without deserving it,
> 
> Because of a rosebud I kept from him...
> 
> I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you
> 
> I wish the rose were still on the bush,
> 
> And my sweetheart loved me still.
> 
> I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you


	38. Pansy's Vengeance

* * *

Pansy woke to Harry softly petting her hair. Her face was pressed into the crook of his neck.

"That feels nice," she murmured.

"Sorry if I woke you," he replied. "I needed to get some feeling back in my hand; I woke up with pins and needles."

"It's alright. What time is it?"

"Almost ten."

"We slept through breakfast."

"It was worth it. We both needed some rest after last night, don't you think? Besides, you're underestimating Dobby. We'll never sleep through any meal unless we want to as long as we've got him on our side."

"Master Harry calls for Dobby?" Sure enough, the elf appeared with two floating trays of food.

"See?" Harry snickered.

"Dobby, you're the best," Pansy said. As Harry sat up and took his breakfast, the elf gave her a hilariously exaggerated wink. Dobby might be a bit over the top, but only Harry would she ever trust as much as him.

"Yeah, thanks Dobby."

"Master Harry and miss Pansy are most welcome."

He disappeared with the trademark pop as they began to eat. They were both very hungry. Last night had taken a lot out of them, and the extra sleep wasn't enough to fully refresh them yet. Once Harry was finishing up with his toast, he turned to her.

"I wanted to thank you for last night. What was that song?"

"It's called A la clair fontane. It's a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was little."

"What side of her family was French?"

"Her mother. She met my grandfather during the war with Grindelwald when she was just a girl. He rescued her from some muggle soldiers during an attack on the town they lived in. It was all very romantic, at least the way she liked to tell it."

"What happened to her?"

"She got an illness when I was about six or seven. It was some muggle thing, I don't remember what exactly. My father was an absolute bastard about it, as you can probably imagine. My mother and I were only able to visit her at St. Mungo's when he left on business trips."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, Harry." She had finished her own meal by now, and they settled back onto the pillows as she curled up against Harry. He was idly stroking her side with one hand. He seemed to do that almost automatically, and it never failed to make her feel better.

"What about your grandfather?"

"He was much older than her. His first wife had been killed some time during the 1930s. A few years after the war, grandmother came to England and sought him out. He was her chevalier, and she had her heart set on him."

"Chevalier?" he asked.

"Her knight in shining armor. Her hero. She was still in her teens when they married; grandfather was in his forties. They were very much in love, at least from everything she told me when I was young."

"Maybe that's where you get your romantic side from," he teased.

"Maybe. Certainly not from the other side of the family.

"Anyway, grandfather always was the sort who fought when the need arose. He joined the hit wizards during the early seventies. They needed every capable wand they could get once the Dark Lord's forces started killing people. He was still pretty good too, even in his late sixties. He got an Order of Merlin, third class, for helping to save a family of four. He was wounded in the attack, but he also captured a Death Eater.

"But his luck didn't hold up, and eventually he was killed in a battle. He must have rolled over in his grave when my parents got married."

"I can see that. I'm sorry you never got to know him."

"Thanks."

"You have a nice voice. Last night... when you sang me to sleep, that-" Harry stammered then paused.

"I think that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me."

"I've done a few other nice things for you, too," she giggled, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know, and I appreciate all of them, but last night was special. So, thank you."

She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to thank her just for loving him. But she understood. Harry had been so unloved for so long that he still had these scars that hadn't faded yet. It made her all the more convinced of her need for vengeance. For Harry's sake. She wanted him to see exactly what lengths she would go to for him.

But she just let them sink into a comfortable silence as they drifted back to sleep.

* * *

The next week passed quickly. Hermione groveled sufficiently enough for Harry to forgive her, but she now definitely knew not to say anything about Pansy's family.

Pansy wasn't nearly as quick to forgive, but then, she didn't really like Granger in the first place.

The Easter holiday was approaching when Ron once again got into a confrontation with Harry.

It was the last class of the day, Charms, and the unflappable professor Flitwick was doing his best to keep the class from falling apart as the lesson on the Cheering Charm was having all sorts of unintended consequences.

Even trying to reign in his power as much as possible, when Harry cast it on Pansy she became more giggly than even Lavender on her best day. He had to fire a quick _Finite_ at her before the hug she gave him turned into something else.

Needless to say, the other students were very amused to see the normally cool and snarky girl acting so very differently.

Pansy's casting against Harry also behaved unusually. He was cheered all right, but not in a way that was at all appropriate for a class room setting.

It took all his willpower to keep himself from snogging her, but he was sure that she felt his arousal poking her through their robes.

There was no way she would let him live this down once she got him alone.

After that, they traded partners. Harry worked with Hermione while Pansy worked with Neville.

That went about as well as you can imagine. Neville was so intimidated by Pansy that he completely missed every single time he tried to cast the spell at her. Finally, they swapped again and, with Harry's help, Neville was able to get the spell down successfully just before the end of the day.

Ron was working with a Hufflepuff that Harry didn't recognize, and he was also failing that day spectacularly. When he cast the spell, it certainly connected, but the effect seemed to cause anger instead. Harry wondered if Ron's belligerent attitude had caused the intent of the spell to backfire in that way.

The Hufflepuff boy tried to start a fight with Ron, which Flitwick was thankfully quick enough to counter before they came to blows. No matter how much the professor worked with him nor how many times he cast it, Ron just could not get the hang of the Cheering Charm.

That would have been bad enough to put Harry's old friend in a sour mood.

The fact that Hermione was rather effortlessly casting the spell on Harry made things worse. But it all came to a head with the fact that the cheered Harry kept laughing at Ron's failing attempts.

He took a swing at Harry.

It didn't connect, as Harry had years of practice dodging bullies much bigger and meaner than Ron, but it still led to the two of them being sent to professor McGonagall's office after dinner.

* * *

"Come in and sit down, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley."

The stern old Scot had clearly been upset all throughout dinner. That professor Flitwick had sat next to her whispering in her ear, which led to her staring angrily at Harry and Ron, well, it was obvious where this was going.

"I understand that you two decided to make quite the spectacle in your Charms class today. Would you like to try to explain yourselves?"

"He was laughing at me," Ron answered.

"From what I was told, much of the class was laughing today, Mr. Weasley. That is a possible consequence of the Cheering Charm. What about Mr. Potter laughing gives you the idea that you have the right to resort to fisticuffs like a hoodlum?"

Ron flushed red but only muttered in response.

"What was that, Mr. Weasley?"

"I said, he's been having a go at me for months now. First he didn't care about Hermione's cat killing Scabbers. Then he yelled at me just because he started hanging around Looney Lovegood."

"Miss Lovegood's name is Luna, and I will not tolerate one of my Gryffindors resorting to bullying, especially not a younger student."

"But she's a weirdo!"

"Mr. Weasley, that is enough! No matter what you may think of the girl, I will not hear you calling her any more names. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now then, Mr. Potter, do you have anything to say about today's events?"

"No, professor."

"Nothing at all?" she prodded.

"I believe professor Flitwick would have given you an accurate account of things. We were practicing the Cheering Charm. Hermione had cast it on me. I was in a pleasant mood. Ron was struggling to get the spell correct, and I laughed at him."

"See! Even now, he's making fun of me!"

"Mr. Potter, must you try to aggravate Mr. Weasley?"

"That was not my intent, I was merely confirming what happened today. I'm not proud of it. Ron used to be one of my best friends."

"But not any more?"

"I believe you heard our argument a couple of weeks ago, professor McGonagall," Harry answered with a cheeky grin. "I've had a lot to deal with this year. As long as there are people out there trying to kill me, trying to renew a friendship with Ron cannot be my priority."

"Oh, but you have plenty of time to make friends with Slytherins and people like Looney," Ron interrupted.

"Mr. Weasley, that is ten points and a detention. What did I just tell you about not calling people names?"

"Sorry, professor," he mumbled.

"Do you have anything else to say, Mr. Potter?"

"No, professor."

"You two are not making this easy for me. Mr. Weasley, did you not pay attention to the headmaster's speech about life debts? Let me remind you, you owe Mr. Potter your life because of the dementor attack at the quidditch match. Trying to attack him, no matter your reason, could lead to all sorts of pain on your account. Merlin knows what would have happened if you had been foolish enough to raise your wand against him. You must learn to control your temper. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." It wasn't a very enthusiastic answer, but Ron was at least looking her in the eye.

"As for you, Mr. Potter, please try not to provoke your classmates in the future. We do not need any more violence in this school. Understood?"

"I understand, professor McGonagall."

"Is there any chance the two of you can work something out between yourselves?"

Ron's expression made it clear to Harry that there was no he would make any such attempt, at least not without Harry taking a first step.

"I am sorry about your rat's death, Ron."

"Then why did you take Hermione's side?"

Harry took a deep breath. He had a feeling this wasn't going to work, but he would not lie just to spare Ron's feelings. Especially not when he was being such a jerk.

"I stood up for Hermione because you were attacking her and not taking any responsibility for your own actions. Just like always. You have been rude, demeaning, and insulting to her pretty much since we met. Even when the troll attacked. Hermione never would have been in that bathroom if not for you picking on her."

"What do you mean, Mr. Potter?"

Oh, yes. Professor McGonagall never did hear the truth about that night. Well...

"The truth is that Hermione had spent most of the day crying in the bathroom because Ron called her a friendless know-it-all after she had the gall to try to help him learn to properly cast the levitation spell in Charms class. I had to drag him along to find her when Quirrell let the troll in because Hermione had no idea what was going on."

"I see. Why did miss Granger not tell the truth?"

"I assume she was embarrassed. Or maybe she just wanted to take the blame for us since we came to her rescue. She never explained it to me, and I never asked."

"Very well. Do you have anything else to say for yourself, Mr. Weasley?"

When Harry looked over at Ron, he saw that he was once again beet red as he shook his head no. Ron always was a hot head. Harry had no expectation that Ron was going to think any of this through tonight. And even if he did see that some of his actions might be his fault, Harry would not waste any time waiting for an apology that looked now more likely to never come.

"Mr. Potter, you are excused. Mr. Weasley, we have more to speak of, including assigning your detention."

Harry got out of there as fast as he could without running. He was sick and tired of Ron's crap and felt more than a little relieved that he hadn't gotten a punishment of his own just for helping to cause Ron's bad behavior.

* * *

"Harry, I need to ask you for a couple of favors."

It was Friday night, and the Easter break had arrived. He had a few assignments to catch up on, as well as a meeting that he wasn't looking forward to, but any of that would be set aside at the drop of a hat for whatever Pansy would ask. She had been in the spare bedroom working on some project that she didn't want him to know about.

"Okay."

"First, I need a vial of your blood."

"Ooh, is this going to be another fun ritual?" Harry smiled up at her from his seat on the couch but she did not look nearly as playful as he had hoped.

"Not that type of ritual, no."

"Aw. Fine, do you have a vial handy?"

"Yes." She handed him a small knife and vial, and Harry immediately gave her the ingredient she needed. She noticed that he didn't even wince at the cut, and it was not the first time that she worried about his lack of reaction to pain.

"I'm glad that you trust me so much."

"Of course I do."

"Good, because the next thing, well..."

"What is it? Pansy, you should know I'll do pretty much anything for you."

"I need to borrow your ring."

"My ring?"

"Yes, the Potter family ring." Harry looked at her, puzzled for a second, before slipping the ring off his finger and handing it over.

"Be careful with that."

"I won't lose it, Harry."

"That's not what I mean, and I think you know it. There is some sort of magic in the ring itself, as we both know after seeing what happened to Draco. You may be a part of House Potter now, but we don't know however that magic might affect you. So, be careful. Or at least let Dobby watch over you with whatever your secret is."

"I will. Thank you, Harry, for trusting me."

"Always." He smiled and she walked back to the bedroom where she and Dobby had everything else already prepared. She looked back at Harry as he started reading one of his books on runic magic. She grinned to herself- Harry was way ahead in that class, but she knew he would always choose the things that held his interest over completing a Potions essay unless she was there to force him to finish it off.

She closed the door behind her and cast a silencing spell.

"Miss Pansy doesn't need to keep all of this from master Harry."

"Harry doesn't need to know any of this, Dobby. I'll tell him about it some day, if it matters. But I have the blood and the ring, now we can complete the ritual."

"Be careful miss Pansy. Dobby will get master Harry if miss hurts herself."

"Just let me get this done, Dobby."

Pansy slid the ring on. She didn't notice, but she put it on her left ring finger, and Dobby's eyes lit up as he saw this. She took the vile of blood and poured out a few drops over the tibia that was already prepared in the large runic circle. While Harry may have been becoming more of an expert, she had been learning runes as well, and she had made sure to go over this ritual a dozen times before she began.

The sapphire on the Potter ring was once again glowing, but this time the light was a much darker blue that bathed the room.

Dobby watched over the mistress and waited patiently.

* * *

It was done.

* * *

"Mistress Pansy? Wake up. Please, mistress."

Dobby paced back and forth over her body. All his elf magic told him she was fine, but Dobby was still worried. She had used powerful magic. The ring had helped, but what should he do now? Mistress would want the secret to be kept from master Harry. Dobby finally shuffled sideways over towards the door, all the while keeping one eye on the sleeping girl.

Dobby opened the door and saw the fire was down to only embers. He quickly popped over to the couch and saw master Harry was asleep on the couch. Then he popped right back to the side of the mistress. Mistress Pansy would want Dobby to do things her way, so he floated her body across the way to the other bedroom. He closed and locked the spare room behind him.

Mistress would just have to finish her other work later.

Once Dobby got her settled in bed, he went back to master Harry.

"Master Harry sir needs to wake up," he said as he gently prodded Harry awake.

"What time is it, Dobby?" Harry asked as he blinked in the low lit room.

"Late, master Harry sir. Mistress Pansy is asleep and needs master Harry."

"Where is she?" The great Harry Potter sir leapt to his feet and grabbed his wand. Such acts always brought pride to the house-elf's heart. Master Harry was the best.

"Dobby has put mistress Pansy to bed, but mistress cannot wake sir."

"Let me see," Harry said as he was already striding into the bedroom. "What happened?"

"Mistress used powerful magic, and Dobby thinks that mistress needs much rest now."

Harry gingerly sat next to her on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead. She was a normal temperature, neither clammy nor boiling from a fever, so that was at least a good sign. She wasn't sweaty either, so physical exertion didn't seem like a problem.

"So, you think Pansy just needs to rest. Is that right, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry sir."

"Is there anything I can do to help her?"

"Put the ring back on master Harry, sir."

"Okay," Harry said as he slipped the ring off Pansy's finger and back onto his own. There was a dim flicker of light as it transferred from Pansy to Harry. "Now what?"

Dobby hopped up onto the bed and leaned down over miss Pansy. He placed master Harry's hands over miss Pansy's and his own atop them all.

"Master Harry must tell the magic to flow into miss Pansy."

"Alright." Master Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. Dobby could feel the magic taking form. It was being pulled from Dobby as well, but master Harry did not need to worry about that. He gripped the hands of both master and miss and held on tight.

There was a draining feeling for Dobby as power seemed to suck in from all around the room for several minutes before miss Pansy's eyes fluttered open.

"Harry?" she moaned weakly.

"I'm here sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Just tired. Dobby, did everything work?"

"The magic was done, miss Pansy."

"Good," she said with a yawn.

"Are you two going to tell me what happened?"

"Not yet, Harry. I'll be alright, I just need to rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's just like the Patronus was when we were learning it. I overdid it and now I'm exhausted."

"Alright. Then get some sleep, my love."

She gave him a small smile as Harry leaned over and kissed her. Within seconds, Pansy had fallen back asleep.

Dobby saw master Harry looking over at him. The house-elf didn't know it, but he looked more worn out than Harry had ever seen him.

"Why don't you get some rest too, Dobby? We should probably all get a lot of sleep tonight."

"Good night, master Harry."

"Good night, Dobby."

Dobby went back to the main room and cast several protective spells over master Harry's quarters. No one would get in here now. Not without breaking Dobby's alarms, which should wake him and master Harry, no matter how tired they might be. If the bad old wizard Black tried to break in tonight, magic would make him hurt.

* * *

Harry heard Dobby muttering something about protecting miss Pansy and hurting anyone that would try to interfere from the other room. It brought a smile to his face. Dobby had become obsessive about protecting his family, and Harry would never take him for granted.

He took off his shirt and socks. It was a warm enough night, and he tended to prefer the shared body heat from sleeping with Pansy over just adding more layers. He also liked getting as much skin to skin contact as he could with her.

Touching her- any part of her- always soothed him. He hadn't had a nightmare in months. There had been a couple that he now chalked up to exposure from the dementors, but even those were brief. Pansy could be a heavy sleeper, and both times that he had woken he just curled up a bit closer with her and slipped back to sleep.

Harry slid under the covers next to her. He listened carefully to her breathing for several minutes before eventually that rhythm led him to nod off.

* * *

Pansy slept almost the entire Saturday. She woke briefly in the early afternoon and Harry helped her to eat about half of her breakfast before she passed out.

For the short periods of time that Harry left their quarters that day, he made sure Dobby was watching over Pansy.

Even then, Harry found it hard to be sociable or get anything else done.

Later, Harry had Dobby fetch a nutrient potion, and he made sure she swallowed it when she woke briefly that evening.

Pansy was so tired and weak that Harry had to help her to the bathroom. It worried him to no end, but she swore that she only felt tired. Dobby confirmed that she should only need more rest.

Harry wasn't convinced though, so he had Dobby "borrow" several of Madam Pomfrey's books, and Harry cast every diagnostic spell he could find, trying to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong with Pansy.

It took him until well after midnight, but eventually Harry accepted that they must be right and joined Pansy in bed. He fell asleep immediately.

* * *

Sunday, Pansy was able to wake more easily and she finished her whole breakfast and even managed to take a shower and do a bit of homework before needing a nap.

Harry had to leave her to Dobby's care though, as he had to head to Hogsmeade.

Waiting for him at the Three Broomsticks Inn was Malcolm Parkinson. Pansy's great uncle.

He didn't look much like her. While Pansy was on the petite side, with pale skin and jet black hair, Malcolm Parkinson was tall and muscular, with light brown hair and tan skin that suggested years spent working outside. From everything she had told him, Harry didn't expect him to be a threat, but he was taking no chances. They would meet in a public place, and Harry kept his wand at the ready.

The letter that had requested this meeting seemed friendly enough, but Harry was paranoid. His nephew had been a Death Eater.

The older man stood as Harry entered the inn and walked over to meet him.

"Mr. Potter, thank you for meeting me today," he said as he held out his hand, which Harry shook before sitting down opposite him.

"You're welcome, Mr. Parkinson."

"Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No thank you. I ate not long ago."

"I had hoped you would have brought my niece along with you."

"Pansy is my responsibility, and I take that responsibility very seriously. The last male Parkinson I knew threatened her, and we both know how that turned out. Before I would let you see her, I had to make sure you wouldn't pose any danger to her."

"Yes, that's understandable. My nephew was never the most pleasant man. I imagine he wouldn't have been a very good father, either. In a way, I'm glad you took charge of Pansy. Who knows what may have happened to her if she had gone back home for the holidays.

"I think you should know that I have been in correspondence with a few people, trying to learn what I could of you, and specifically how you treated her. She is the only family I have left. From what I've heard, the two of you seem close, although there is a fair amount of gossip about just how close."

"There haven't been many people in either of our situations recently at Hogwarts. I'm curious where you've heard this gossip from."

"I have a couple of friends on the staff. After what happened with Edmund, I wanted to find out everything I could. From all reports, you have taken good care of Pansy, and for that I am grateful."

"Your gratitude is unnecessary, Mr. Parkinson. What I have done has been for her sake, no one else's."

"Call me Malcolm, please. I'd like to hope that we can be friends. Or at least friendly acquaintances."

"Alright, Malcolm. Then tell me why I should let you have contact with Pansy."

"That's a fair enough request I suppose. I don't know how much of our family history she's told you about me."

"She told me you weren't particularly close. She said she hadn't seen you since before she started Hogwarts."

"That's true, sadly. I was never close with my nephew, and in the more recent years, that distance grew worse.

"You see, I had a family of my own once. My son, Richard, was a contemporary of your parents. He was killed when he was fifteen. It was a Death Eater attack. He wasn't a target, just someone in the wrong place, at the wrong time. A bystander. It didn't matter that he was a pureblood. It didn't matter that he was a student. Nothing mattered to those animals. They killed anyone who got in their way. I've long hated the type of people who bragged about how the Dark Lord had the right idea, as if he really was a champion of _the pureblood cause_ ," Malcom said with contempt.

"He wasn't even a pureblood," Harry interjected.

"What?"

"His real name was Tom Riddle. He was a half-blood. His father was a muggle. You can look him up; he was Head Boy back in the 1940s."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Malcolm said with a look of disgust. "I always thought they were just a bunch of psychopaths. By the time my son was killed, I knew that my nephew was involved. I didn't know for certain that he was a Death Eater, not that I'm surprised now that that's been revealed, but he was always the type that supported that way of thinking. Disliking muggles. Thinking that he was better than those of 'lesser birth' as he would call them. I'm not sure where he got that nonsense from. My brother certainly never taught him anything like that."

"From what I've learned, the Parkinsons have been purebloods going back many generations."

"Yes, but not because of any prejudice. I had an aunt who was a half-blood. My wife was too; well, depending on who you ask."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are different opinions on what counts as a half-bood. The classic definition would be having one magical parent and one muggle parent. But then certain snobby types like to call someone like you, with a muggle born mother and a pureblood father, a half-blood as well."

"The goblins disagree with that definition," Harry added.

"True, because as they see it, you have magic from both sides of your family tree. The most radical out there like to argue about how many generations you have to go back having all magical ancestors. But the traditional view is that if all four of your grandparents are magical, then you count as a pureblood."

"So, in that regard, they would view me still as a half-blood, but my children could potentially be seen as purebloods."

"Correct. My wife was like that. Two of her grandparents were what is usually referred to as half-bloods. She had a muggle great grandmother on one side, and a muggle born great grandfather on the other side. Not that it ever mattered to me. I fell in love with a woman, not her family tree.

"Then I lost her as well," Malcolm sighed, as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Harry said quietly.

"Thank you. It was a long time ago. Some would say she died of a broken heart. She never fully got over the loss of our son. Of course, I don't suppose I have either. How should a parent ever truly be able to move on after the loss of a child?

"Anyway, she died more than a decade ago. As a man who had lost both his wife and child, it was hard trying to be around the family I did have left. Not to mention how disagreeable my nephew could be. The last few months, I've wondered- did he know who killed my son? Hell, maybe he was even there."

"So, it was hard for you to be around Pansy because of her father and your own losses," Harry said.

"Yes. I admit it's not the best of excuses, but it's the truth. But now, she's all the family I have left, and I would like to try to make up for that."

"I see. The question is whether or not I can trust you. Taking care of Pansy is my job."

"Most people would say that, as a servant of House Potter, it's her job to take care of you."

Harry took a moment to think before responding.

"The muggle world has servants too, at least for the wealthy. It has long been known that while a servant may do a lot to care for the house and family they work for, the smart lords and ladies were the ones who looked after their servants as well. From what I've seen and heard of house-elves, not many wizards and witches have learned that lesson."

"It's reassuring to hear you say that. If it will make you feel better, you would be welcome to join us. I just want a chance to see her and talk to her again. It has been much too long, and I want to try to be supportive, especially as she has lost her parents."

"I would have insisted on being there anyway," Harry answered confidently. "Like I said, I take my responsibility for Pansy very seriously. But I do appreciate your interest in her and desire to be supportive. I will pass this along to Pansy."

"Is there any chance we could meet before the holiday ends?"

Harry noted the hopeful expression, but more so the sincerity behind it. He was starting to like Malcolm Parkinson. He just hoped his instincts were right. His paranoia was usually stronger around most adults.

"It is possible," Harry replied. "We both have work we must get done during the break, as I'm sure you can understand. Assuming she isn't too busy and feels up to a meeting, I will owl you."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Malcolm said as he shook Harry's hand again. "My weekends are pretty much always free. Give Pansy my best wishes."

"I will."

Harry stood and bid Malcolm Parkinson good day. He certainly seemed like someone that honestly wanted to help Pansy.

But if he ever did anything to hurt her, Harry would make him beg for death.

* * *

By the next day, Pansy was feeling almost back to normal. Harry had let her use Legilimency to see the entire conversation with Malcolm, and she agreed with Harry's assessment that it seemed like a genuine desire to reach out to his last remaining family. They made a tentative decision to arrange a visit, but Pansy wanted to wait a bit longer. She had more work to do, although she still wasn't telling Harry anything more about her secret project.

Whatever it was though, she let Harry know that he was going to need to spend much of Friday without her. Therefore, he made plans to spend the day with Hermione. The weather was starting to get pretty nice, so Harry decided to drag her out of the castle (and the library) and get his friend to enjoy some fresh air, even if he had a feeling she would bring a stack of books to study.

Dobby helped put together a picnic lunch, but Harry wasn't going to have any further help from his little friend, as he had made Dobby promise to keep an eye on Pansy and make sure she was safe with whatever she was doing. Her bout with exhaustion was several days past now and Pansy didn't seem to have any lingering effects. Harry was still worried over her, though, but when she asked to borrow his invisibility cloak for the day, he actually felt relieved.

Pansy was more careful than Harry about most things, and if she was taking that sort of precaution, then he hoped that she and Dobby would have everything well in hand.

* * *

Thursday night, Pansy waited for Harry to fall asleep. She was a bit tired herself, but wearing Harry out was always fun. Thankfully, Dobby was going to do the heavy lifting that night.

The two of them went into the spare bedroom and gathered everything they needed.

Dobby's first job was to make sure the coast was clear and the filthy muggle scum were asleep and were going to stay that way.

They were lucky she couldn't use magic there without drawing unwanted attention.

By the time she arrived at Privet Drive, she had done several meditative exercises in an effort to stay calm. She hoped Harry had given her enough blood for all she wanted to accomplish.

The fat muggle's fatter sister was there visiting as well. Dobby had to use magic to make sure the nasty little dog would stay asleep. But this would be even better, Pansy thought with a wicked grin.

* * *

The next morning would have come far too soon for her tastes, but Harry was kind enough to let her sleep in. He made sure that she had a big breakfast and gave her a kiss for good luck before she left.

He then made his way out of his quarters and headed for the library. It would be the most obvious place to start his search for Hermione.

Harry was glad that Dobby had taught him a few stasis spells. A general purpose one would have done well enough, but using one to keep food warm and a second to keep beverages chilled worked out even better.

Sure enough, Hermione was in the library with a table full of parchments and books spread out everywhere. He sighed loudly enough to get her attention.

His threat to carry her out of there if she didn't willingly come with him wasn't enough to get her moving, but when Harry suggested that he would make such a scene as to get them both thrown out of the library, she hastened to gather up everything.

It was just as well. Between the picnic basket, his notebook and two books on runes, Harry had his hands full.

The day was sunny and warm, so Harry led them to a nice shady spot.

* * *

Many miles away, Pansy was in a shady spot of her own. She had a great vantage point for the spectacle. Privet Drive would never be the same.

* * *

"Master Harry sir," the elf appeared without a pop, suggesting to Harry that he was wanting to be sneaky as he approached. When Harry looked up, he saw Dobby actually taking off the invisibility cloak, which the elf then handed over.

"What is it, Dobby?"

"Miss Pansy has finished her work and come back."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you risk being spotted coming here?"

"Dobby made sure that miss Hermione would not notice."

Harry looked over at his friend, and sure enough, she was asleep with her face in a book. It brought a smile to his face.

"Good work. Well, as long as Pansy's okay, why don't you tell her that I'll be in soon? I'll wake Hermione up after you leave. The sun's starting to get a bit low anyway."

"Yes, master Harry."

"Oh, and Dobby- thank you for looking after Pansy."

"Dobby will always take care of his family."

He left with a pop. Harry was very thankful for Dobby having come into his life. Even the night spent regrowing bones was worth it. The elf had done so much for both Pansy and himself, and they would be much less safe without him.

He looked back over at Hermione. She was slumped in a slightly uncomfortable looking position and snoring softly.

"Hermione," he said quietly as he patted her shoulder. It wasn't enough though; Dobby's spell must have been a bit more powerful. He called her name again and lifted her up to a sitting position.

"Wha?" she asked groggily.

"You must have fallen asleep. I did warn you about needing to use the time turner to make sure you were getting enough rest, you know," he teased.

"I have been, Harry."

"Maybe the book wasn't engrossing enough then?"

Hermione looked affronted. You would have thought he just insulted her mother.

"Come on, it's getting late. You'll need to put all your things away before dinner time."

"Alright," she answered as Harry helped her gather her books. "Thanks for this afternoon, Harry. You were right, getting some fresh air was... well, refreshing."

"Mission accomplished."

* * *

As they made their way inside the castle, Harry noticed the stares he was getting from many of the students. They had been very mixed this year. He was a hero for stopping the dementors, but he was also frightening to them after they had seen what happened to the Malfoys. Even more intimidating now that the students owed him life debts and they knew exactly how dangerous those debts could be.

That was not to mention the looks he got from many of the girls. Harry wasn't a fool; he knew that he would be seen as a catch for his fame if nothing else. But this year, he had been much more aware of the female attention. Of course, now it no longer mattered to him, other than a vague annoyance occasionally. Like the persistence of Kathryn Nott.

He stopped at a bathroom on the trip up to the Gryffindor tower and told Hermione he would meet her later. After using the facilities, he slipped on his cloak. The stares didn't always bother him but he wasn't in the mood. He'd had a nice relaxing day with Hermione and just wanted to get back to Pansy without dealing with any nonsense.

Once he was near his destination though, he saw Parvati and Lavender pulling Hermione aside and into an empty classroom.

Harry slipped in behind them.

"Do you not understand how lucky you are, Hermione?" Parvati looked fairly angry for once.

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" Lavender asked. "You had Harry bloody Potter take you out for a picnic today. Just the two of you."

"I would give anything, _anything_ to have been in your place today," Parvati said. "You don't even seem to care."

"Harry just wanted me to not be stuck inside all day. It wasn't anything else."

"I'll bet he even went to the library to drag you outside," Lavender snorted when Hermione's blush revealed she was correct. "If it wasn't anything else, then you're more of a fool than I thought. No one else has a better shot at getting him interested than you, and you're too stupid to try for him. What is wrong with you?"

"Harry's just a friend."

"Do you like someone else?" Parvati asked.

Hermione's indignant sputters were all the answer they needed before pressing on.

"Well, that's good I suppose," Lavender said with a smirk. "One less rival to deal with."

"I'll make you a deal, Hermione," Parvati offered. "I'll help you attract whatever boy you want if you'll help me figure out how to get Harry's attention."

"I don't know. Harry's never really talked about anything like that with me."

"Really? He's never mentioned all the marriage offers?" Parvati asked.

"Marriage offers?" Hermione squeaked out.

"Sure. You must be smart enough to realize how many families would love to have the famous boy-who-lived join them," Lavender said, and Harry saw just how much she was enjoying getting digs in at Hermione's intelligence. He started to realize just how badly Hermione had offended her peers with her constant showing off in class. He'd have to remember to try to talk to her about easing up a bit.

"But, Harry's just thirteen," Hermione argued.

"Betrothals can be arranged much earlier than that," Parvati countered.

"Do you have one then?"

"Both our families sent betrothal offers years ago," Lavender replied.

"Really?"

"Of course," Parvati said. "He destroyed one of the worst Dark Lords ever and somehow became the only survivor of the killing curse."

"You probably need to learn some more about the magical world. Arranged marriage is still fairly common," Lavender said.

"Especially in my parents' culture," Parvati added.

"Oh." Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, I see. That's why you're so interested in Harry. You don't want to get arranged with someone else."

"Can you think of anyone better than Harry?" Parvati responded. "He's handsome, powerful, sweet, charming-"

"And rich, famous, handsome," Lavender continued.

"She already said handsome," Hermione snorted.

"Anyway, the offer stands, Hermione. I'll help you with any other guys. Just help me with Harry." Harry noticed the intense look on Parvati's face. He had a feeling she was going to be just as persistent as the Notts.

"I'll have to think about it. I don't want to go behind Harry's back."

"Fair enough. Let me know when you decide."

Harry waited for the girls to leave and thought about how he was going to have to deal with this new complication.

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

Pansy looked furious as she waved a piece of parchment in her hand. It was not the welcome Harry expected when he got back to their quarters.

"I don't know," he started to answer. "Is it another betrothal offer?"

"Another? How many do you have?"

"I don't know. I haven't counted them. A lot?"

"And you never mentioned them to me, why?"

"Because they don't matter. There's only one girl for me. I've tried to make that pretty damn clear to you.

"And most of them were sent years ago. Families wanting to get a piece of the boy-who-lived. I've had Sam sending out a form letter in response. 'House Potter will be focusing on education while at Hogwarts, and betrothal offers will be considered at an unspecified later date.' It gives us plenty of time to not have to worry about dealing with them."

"That's... actually pretty good, Harry."

"Well, I tried to think about how you would want me to act. No need to offend people yet, especially girls that I'll have to be around for years to come."

"Alright, well that explains some of it. And you did get an offer from the Notts."

"Thank god," Harry sighed. "Now maybe she'll back off."

Pansy snorted, and Harry hoped that he was in the clear.

"But that's not what this is."

"Oh, um, what is it?"

"A marriage contract."

"Oh. That."

"Yes, _that_. When were you going to tell me about it?"

"It doesn't matter either."

"Harry! Of course it matters."

"Pansy, calm down sweetheart. You must not have read the whole thing. It's incredibly easy for me to get out of," he answered.

"It is?"

"Yes. There's not even any penalties or anything. I just have to officially state that I don't want the contract and it will be nullified."

"But... but that doesn't make any sense."

"I've thought about it a bit, and I think I can explain."

"Alright."

"Imagine back to 1981. Riddle and his Death Eaters seem unstoppable. Entire families are being killed. You have a young child and are worried about what could happen if that child becomes an orphan. This is made even worse the more deaths you see. Now imagine what would happen to your family line if you die and your child is left behind in a world full of families like the Malfoys."

"So, it was just a form of protection?"

"I think so. I mean, my family was in hiding when my parents were killed. And, as for the girl, it turns out several members of her family were killed back then."

"But, she's..."

"She's what?" Harry asked. "A girl who has never spoken to me in three years at school together?"

"She's... you know... developed."

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow, then laughed when Pansy mimed having an enormous bosom.

"I really can't believe how jealous you still get sometimes. How often have you made fun of the goofy look I get on my face when I stare at your boobs?"

"Only every time I feel like teasing you," she answered and Harry was relieved to hear the tension seeming to leave her tone.

"Then that should tell you that I'm very happy with the breasts already at my disposal."

"Oh, am I at your disposal? Is that how you see me?"

"I hope so. I'm always at your disposal." Harry smiled and took the parchment from her, setting it down behind him. "You should know how much I love you by now. If you need me to prove it further, just tell me what you want and I'll do it."

"Well, I'm sure I can think of a few things," Pansy said with a smirk. "To start, why don't you take me to the bath? I could use a soak."

Harry lifted her into his arms.

"As you wish."

* * *

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing today?" The sun was setting as they sat in the bathtub together. There were a couple of candles adding to the light from the window.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm still a little mad at you."

"About what?"

"You should have told me about all the contracts."

"I didn't want you to worry about it. Like I said, none of them matter."

"I still want to see them all."

"Okay. Why though?"

"So I can know all the girls that have them and know who to keep an eye on."

"Fine. Just so you know, I have no idea who a lot of the girls are."

"Harry, you're pretty anti-social. Other than Granger, Lovegood, the quidditch team, and the rest of the Gryffindors in our year, you don't really interact with anyone else."

"My social calendar is usually pretty full. I've got a lot of time booked to spend either with my girlfriend in bed, or in the bath, or curled up on the couch, or anywhere else that might strike our fancy.

"Beyond that, I try to keep Hermione from working herself to death, I spend time with Luna because she's a riot, and I play the odd quidditch match. Speaking of which, after next weekend, Wood won't be able to schedule any more practices."

"Yes, but you'll have to start studying for exams one of these days."

"Alright, _Hermione_ ," he teased.

"Don't you dare-"

"Then don't get on my case about exams. I'll do fine, and so will you."

She flicked his arm, but then settled back and they both relaxed in quiet for a few moments.

"Speaking of Hermione, I saw something interesting today."

"Oh?"

"Parvati and Lavender cornered her after we came in this afternoon. They were both annoyed with how Hermione seems to have an inside track on my affections. Parvati in particular. As you might have guessed, they both have betrothal offers in the stack."

"I'm not at all surprised."

"Yes, well the good news for me is that Hermione told them she wasn't interested in me like that. The bad news being that it seems she does have feelings for someone else. Which makes me worry that she still hasn't gotten over her crush on Ron, despite what a total bastard he has been. How many times does he have to make her cry before she realizes that arsehole is wrong for her?"

"I don't know Harry. We girls can be stubborn sometimes. Especially about who we have our hearts set on."

"I've noticed."

The sky had grown dark, and with just the candles flickering, Harry realized that he could easily take a nap. But he was pretty hungry too.

"We should get to dinner."

"If you insist."

"I'll need my strength to try to get back in your good graces this evening."

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" she asked.

"You have your surprises, and I have mine."

* * *

Harry knew that Pansy had been hard at work on something that day. He guessed (correctly, he would later find out) that she might have been on her feet a lot.

Therefore, after dinner he gave her a foot massage.

Harry was honest when he had told her that he found every part of her sexy. So, rubbing his hands all over any inch of her skin he had access to always made him happy.

And Pansy enjoyed his ministrations too. Sometimes, even more than Harry did.

So, it was no surprise that this led to them ending up in bed.

Harry had been so thorough in pleasing Pansy that she even broke a taboo.

When she told him- no, when she _demanded_ that he suck on her toes, they both ended up having overwhelming orgasms. They giggled about it afterwards.

Harry went to sleep that night very pleased that they had taken another step to putting that conflict behind them.

But Pansy still wouldn't tell him what she had done that day.

* * *

The next week passed by fairly quickly, especially with Wood being even more manic than usual about quidditch practice. With the decisive victories over Slytherin and Hufflepuff, the Gryffindors would have to completely blow it against Ravenclaw to lose the trophy that year. And the obsessive keeper was not going to let that happen.

Pansy was often smirking that week as Harry moaned and complained about all the extra time spent on the pitch. As much as he enjoyed the sport, Harry was starting to hate game plans and designed plays. How often did any of it even work? They were still in school, not professionals. Wood was nuts.

It did make him wonder a bit more about his old friendship with Ron. Ron was one of the few who was just as crazy about the sport as Wood. Maybe quidditch strategy mattered at the higher level, but at Hogwarts, some talent and a decent broom was really all it took.

Other than Wood, the rest of the team was in high spirits. They were good his first two years, but now, with Harry's Firebolt, they felt unstoppable. He hadn't lost a match yet, and they all believed that victory was assured.

Harry normally would have been in a good mood because of their faith in him.

Unfortunately, Ravenclaw was trying to use a secret weapon against him. All that week, their pretty little seeker, Cho Chang, was making eyes at him.

It normally wouldn't have bothered him, but he had been a bit more worried about how interested Lavender and especially Parvati were in him lately.

Plus, he was getting a bit cranky at Pansy's secret that she still was holding over his head. She was saving it as a reward for finishing the quidditch season with a win.

Once she saw the flirtations coming from Chang, Pansy told him that if he humiliated the Ravenclaw on the pitch, she would give him extra rewards for the rest of the year.

* * *

That Saturday, Pansy let him sleep in, and when Wood came knocking at the door, trying to wake Harry an hour before breakfast started, she told the obsessed team captain that Harry would be more likely to catch the snitch if he had plenty of sleep before hand and that they would see him at breakfast. Between the wand pointed in his face and her immediately slamming the door closed, he didn't get a chance to argue with her.

Harry giggled about this all the way down to breakfast. Wood was six feet tall and much more muscular than the average lazy wizard, and a little thing like Pansy had scared him off. She really was the best.

The rest of the team all relaxed when they saw Harry come into the Great Hall laughing.

Luna came over shortly thereafter, and a few people were sending her glares but Harry gave her a hug and made space for her to sit next to him.

"Who are you cheering for today, Luna?" Hermione asked. Although Harry knew she drove Hermione crazy at times, she usually tried to be at least polite to his odd little blonde friend.

"Oh, either way I'll be happy. I suppose I could hope that Harry catches the snitch but Ravenclaw wins. That would be a best of both worlds scenario, but really the sport itself isn't that important to me. I'd be more pleased if some other type of creature were to appear for the match. Sentient bludgers my first year and dementors this year- maybe next year a dragon could swoop down over the pitch?"

"Then Harry could introduce it to his Patronus," Pansy added with a smirk.

"Exactly," Luna agreed. "That would be quite the sight, although different types of dragon could react differently. Some are much more aggressive. It would be wonderful if it were a dragon from the Far East. They tend to contrast wildly from the European breeds."

"We could always ask Hagrid to let a hippogriff loose, although I think Harry prefers to ride his broom," Pansy suggested.

"Don't be jealous of Sheila," Harry joked. But Pansy's response of a raised eye brow made him think back to the last time she teased him about the broom and his pants suddenly felt much tighter.

"Anyway, I hope to disappoint you Luna. Gryffindor's going to sweep this year. Sorry," he added with a smile.

"That's alright. You can make it up to me by talking Hagrid into letting me ride a hippogriff."

"I suppose I could."

"Then I'll just cheer for Gryffindor. Hippogriffs are more important than quidditch."

"Harry might disagree with you," Pansy teased as Harry mocked an overly offended expression, "but you're welcome to sit with us, Luna."

"Thank you, Pansy. I shall, as I doubt many of the other Ravenclaws would understand."

"Well, now that that's decided, I need to finish eating so I'll have plenty of energy for the party this afternoon," Harry said as he proceeded to devour another sausage. He always ate more meat before a quidditch match. When Pansy mentioned noticing it and teased him about being more of a caveman, he threw her over his shoulder and dragged her off to bed.

Harry had to put such thoughts out of his head for now, though. He would need to stand up soon enough, for one thing, but he also had a quidditch match to win. Luna needed to ride a hippogriff, Harry needed to shag his girlfriend silly, and Pansy needed to finally tell him all about her secret project.

* * *

"That fucking bitch," Pansy growled as the match began.

"Who?" Parvati asked from her left.

"Chang, that little flirty cunt. Tossing her hair over her shoulder and fluttering her eyes at Harry. As if that's going to be enough to distract him."

Luna was sitting to Pansy's right. One of the nicest things about her joining Harry's circle of friends was that Pansy now had an excuse not to sit next to Granger. That Granger was often driven batty by her just made it that much more fun for Pansy.

"She is rather good looking," Luna said in an airy voice. "But I don't think she's Harry's type."

"Over protective much, Pansy?" Lavender snickered.

"I want what's best for Harry. Some cheap tart trying to make him lose at quidditch would not be good."

"Besides, she's competition," Parvati said. "Knock her off her broom, Harry!"

Lavender joined in, and soon there was a group of girls all yelling for Cho Chang to suffer terrible injuries. Although Luna seemed to be more interested in suggesting strange creatures that could harass her, Pansy appreciated the support. Like Granger, she hadn't shown any interest in Harry, but the fact that Luna approved of their relationship made Pansy secretly happy. She knew that whenever it did come out, there would be plenty of people much less understanding.

The girls all roared with delight when Harry faked Chang into a dive that led to her crashing into the ground about ten minutes into the match.

After another half an hour, Gryffindor was leading one hundred to twenty. Harry once again went into a dive, and Chang hesitated before trying to follow him. She took off just as she realized that Harry actually had seen the snitch this time, but it was all too late.

Gryffindor were the champions.

* * *

Pansy and her friends were jumping up and down, smiling and laughing when Harry looked over and saw them. Luna was hugging everyone and he could just make out her yelling about a hippogriff. Pansy didn't even flinch when Hermione hugged her during the celebration.

Seeing his favorite girls all so happy meant more to him than the rest of the team cheering as Fred and George carried him off on their shoulders.

The chasers all hugged and kissed him when they got back to the locker room. Harry played it off as if he didn't notice that Katie Bell tried to slip him some tongue.

The Weasley twins were even more enthusiastic as they smooched all over his face while saying in matching falsettos, " _Oh, Harry!_ "

Wood was crying the whole time as he carried the trophy all the way back to the common room.

No one dared to say anything either when Harry pulled Luna into Gryffindor tower to join in the party. He promised to take her down to Hagrid's hut on Sunday.

For the next several hours, butterbeer and all sorts of sweets were in abundance as Gryffindor celebrated their first quidditch championship in several years.

About an hour in, Ron came over and congratulated Harry on a good game. They shook hands and Harry hoped that maybe, just maybe, his old friend might be coming around. Or at least he had developed enough good sense to not ruin things at a quidditch celebration.

Harry gave a toast to Oliver Wood, his captain, the guy who had taught him how to play the sport. If anyone at Hogwarts deserved to become a professional quidditch player, it was him. Not only was he the most skilled keeper at the school, but he was also willing to put in the work needed to train and improve so that he could become the best.

The occasional ill will he felt after the grueling and abundant practices was much subdued by the fact that Harry wouldn't have another one for at least five months. And with any luck, next year's captain would be more reasonable. He assumed it would be Angelina or Alicia, as they were senior over Katie, and no one in their right mind would put Fred or George in charge.

He supposed it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility that he could be named captain, but he didn't really want the responsibility. For one thing, he knew that he wouldn't schedule very many practices at all, so much so that the rest of the team might actually complain.

As a seeker, there wasn't really much for him to practice- looking for a small target, flying fast, and grabbing it. Simple.

The chasers and keeper probably needed to practice the most. Therefore, it would make sense for one of those positions to be a captain. The seeker was a loner that didn't have all that much interaction with the rest of the team usually.

He thought of all that while walking back from escorting Luna to the Ravenclaw tower. She had enjoyed the party, but after a few hours, she felt the need to go back to her dorm. Unlike Harry, she put a fair amount of effort into all her work. That meant that she teamed up with Pansy sometimes to nag him. But Harry was far too stubborn to believe that there would ever come a time when writing fourteen inches for Herbology really mattered that much when he could write eight and still get a passing grade. Seriously, fuck plants.

When he returned, the party was winding down a bit and Harry noticed that Pansy had apparently retired for the evening. He faked a yawn so that he could join her, and they were soon entwined in bed, ending the day with a bang.

* * *

Before he let himself drift off to sleep, Harry sat up in bed.

"Are you finally going to tell me about your secret project?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a gleam in her eyes.

"Nope," she said with a smile. Before he could start pouting, Pansy sat up as well. The fact that she was topless immediately improved his mood, and she giggled as his eyes wandered south as usual.

"You're so easy, Harry. Look up, my love." Once he forced himself to stop staring, Pansy smiled at him. "Grab your wand. I'm going to show you."

"Huh? Oh, right." Harry reached over to the nightstand to find his wand. "Ready?"

"Yes."

" _Legilimens!_ "

* * *

The path lay open before him, and Harry saw Pansy's shimmering translucent form leading him.

He stepped into the second bedroom, and saw the runic circle drawn on the floor. He watched her as she was speaking to Dobby, then sliding the Potter ring onto her finger. Harry smiled noticing that it was her ring finger. Then the glow of the ring as she sprinkled a few drops of his blood onto a bone and began to chant.

The light of the ring was darker than the last time he had seen it.

There was a tingling in the air that he could somehow feel as the magic grew from the bone, forming another, then another. Several minutes passed while Pansy continued to chant until an entire skeleton filled the circle.

Almost immediately, Pansy wavered and Harry held his breath until Dobby caught her as she passed out.

* * *

It was a different night now. Pansy was getting up from bed. He saw her kiss his forehead before she left the room. Once again, she led him into the spare bedroom.

Dobby joined her and Harry noticed piles of her clothes spread out on the bed.

Dobby soon had her trunk floating. He grabbed the handle with one of his hands and Pansy's hand with his other. Harry instinctively grabbed her other hand, and there was a louder than usual pop as they disappeared.

* * *

Harry blinked his eyes, then immediately realized where he was. He had spent so many days toiling away in this yard. Sure enough, the hated house on Privet Drive was behind him, but he turned back to see what Pansy and Dobby were doing.

Pansy took something out of a purse that he hadn't noticed slung over one shoulder before. Her body disappeared for a second before becoming ethereal, almost like a ghost. Harry realized she must have put on the invisibility cloak. He wondered at how he could still see her, but he assumed it had to do with this being her mind and how she wanted him to know where she was and what she was doing.

Dobby quietly used his magic to unlock the back door, and Pansy waited a moment before following him inside.

Harry traveled through the house and came across Pansy watching as Dobby put each of the Dursleys deeper to sleep. Even Marge and her awful little terror of a dog were there.

Pansy removed a vial of blood from her purse. His blood, he realized. She carefully placed a drop on each hand of the Dursleys.

Pansy and Dobby then returned to the back yard.

Dobby's magic was once again used as he dug a large hole in the ground while Pansy opened her trunk and began pulling the skeleton out. She spread the bones out on the ground. Harry noticed for the first time that many of the bones were damaged. For instance, the left arm was badly fractured.

He gasped as he realized that it was the exact same place where Vernon had once broken his arm four years ago.

Pansy was whispering, instructing Dobby, about how to place the body so that the bones would be in the right general shape but not laid out too precisely. Dobby floated the skeleton into the shallow grave.

Pansy then leaned over and sprinkled several more drops of blood over it. Bits of decayed flesh and organs took shape in a rather disgusting form of reverse decay. Harry felt nauseous just watching it and was impressed with Pansy's fierce, determined expression. He imagined it must have smelled absolutely terrible.

Dobby then covered the corpse with dirt.

Pansy slipped back into the house and he once again followed her. His phantom steps faltered when he saw her stopping at the cupboard under the stairs.

_His cupboard._

Her hands were shaking as she opened the door. He looked at her face and saw silent tears streaming down. She clenched and unclenched her fists several times. Harry almost thought he could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. Or was that his own? She was trying to take deep breaths to calm herself but clearly wasn't having much luck.

Dobby popped in right behind them and raised both hands. Harry couldn't tell what he was doing, but there was a deep hum of magic that he could feel vibrating the air as it surrounded them.

Pansy let loose a terrible, pained scream.

There was a flash of an image. Her father standing over her, casting the Cruciatus on her. He felt her pain. It was like every inch of his body was being cut open, with salt rubbed into the wounds.

Harry fell to his knees, just as he realized Pansy had also fallen to her knees. She was clenching her hands again, and he looked down at them. There was a bit of blood seeping out of her palms from where her nails had dug in so deeply.

She forced herself to stand and then once again retrieved the vial of blood. There was maybe a quarter of it left. Pansy sprinkled it all around the dark cramped little room.

She stopped herself with only a few drops at most left.

She staggered backwards and Dobby softly took the vial from her and put the stopper back in. He waved his hands over hers and the cuts on her palms healed.

Pansy exhaled and thanked the elf. She led him once again to the backyard. They took hold of the trunk and each other, then vanished.

* * *

Dobby handed Pansy a potion when they returned to Hogwarts. She swallowed it just before climbing back into bed.

She was asleep in seconds.

* * *

It was the next morning, and this part he remembered. A kiss for luck before she left.

Pansy dug some coins out of his trunk. Muggle coins. She once again had that same purse slung over her shoulder. Dobby stepped close to her as Pansy covered them both with the invisibility cloak.

They vanished.

* * *

This time, they were in a different part of his old neighborhood. Making sure they were alone, Pansy slipped out from under the cloak and stepped into a telephone box.

"Hello, is this the police? Please help."

The voice on the other end of the line was muffled.

"I'm trying to report my missing friend again. His name is Harry. I've tried before but somehow no one ever does anything. His family lives at number four Privet Drive. They're called the Dursleys. I know they've hurt him in the past. But two summers ago, he disappeared. The last time I tried to see him, they had put bars on the windows of one of the bedrooms. They claimed he wasn't home.

"He supposedly was sent to some far off boarding school, but they've never said where it was, and I don't believe them. But even if it were true, he never came home last summer. I'm afraid they might have killed him.

"Please, you have to believe me. Harry was my best friend, and now he's gone. You can't let them get away with this. Ask them about the cupboard under the stairs. That's where they made him sleep when he was young.

"They've told all sorts of lies about him when we were growing up. They made out like he was some sort of hooligan, but Harry never hurt anyone. Their son, Dudley, he's the local bully. But the Dursleys blamed everything on Harry. As if the boy who was a third the size of their whale of a son would be the one picking on other kids. Only toddlers were smaller than Harry. I'm pretty sure they never fed him much either as he was always the smallest boy in our class."

The voice on the other end confirmed the address of the Dursleys.

"Please. Please, find Harry. Find out what those monsters did to him."

Pansy hung up, looked around the empty street and nodded. The invisibility cloak was thrown over her and there was another pop.

* * *

This time they were back at Privet Drive. Pansy stepped over to a spot in the yard that Harry now knew was a shallow grave. She let a single drop of blood fall.

Dobby snapped his fingers multiple times and they were once again sneaking in through the back door. The awful family were sitting around the living room watching television. Another snap of his fingers and Marge Dursley and her awful dog Ripper both nodded off for a few seconds. Pansy leaned over and sprinkled the last drops of blood on the dog's face.

A minute later, Pansy and Dobby were across the street, still under the invisibility cloak. They found a nice shady spot and waited.

* * *

The scene flashed briefly, and the waiting came to an end. A police car pulled up in front of the Dursleys. A wicked grin crossed Pansy's face.

They quickly crossed the street just after the police went inside. They once again stealthily moved into the backyard and the plan came to fruition. The Dursleys had been sitting down to eat an enormous lunch and Ripper, the nasty little beast that used to bite his ankles and chase him up trees, had been let loose.

It was digging in just the right spot.

As the police were questioning Vernon, who was turning purple and making excuses for why his 'no good freak of a nephew' had not been seen in nearly two years, Ripper hit pay dirt.

The dog had found his bone.

The police saw the upturned dirt and the small dog traipsing back to the house with what was clearly part of a human arm in between its teeth.

The rest of the afternoon would become legendary in Little Whinging.

* * *

Pansy and Dobby spent much of the day watching the fallout. They had to be careful to stay out of the way as several cars full of police invaded the neighborhood. Forensics was called in, and not only was the corpse of what appeared to be Harry Potter found but also many old blood stains covering the walls and floor of the cupboard under the stairs.

Dobby disguised Pansy multiple times and she kept appearing as random bystanders helping to spread the gossip, which for once was surprisingly accurate.

Before the day was through, everyone would know the violence and evil lurking under the supposedly normal facade the Dursleys had tried so hard to maintain.

But maybe the best thing was how each of the Dursleys felt compelled to admit to so much abuse they had inflicted on Harry.

They all had his blood on their hands, after all. Pansy had made sure of it.

However, despite everything they would admit, all of them claimed that Harry had been alive and they had no idea what had happened to him or how his dead body had come to be buried in their backyard.

The evidence was massively against them though.

And soon enough, each individual Dursley was shoved into the back of a police car and taken away for further questioning.

* * *

Harry's eyes were blinking and he saw Pansy staring at him. She had tear stains running down the sides of her face, and Harry felt his own that mirrored hers.

Her lips crashed into his and their tongues began wrestling with each other. Their arms were clasping their bodies together far too tightly to be comfortable. It was a moment more of desperation than passion.

Pansy pulled back first, and they were both panting for breath. He reached up to wipe her cheeks, but Pansy grabbed his hand and just held it against her face.

"I love you," was all he could manage. What she had done for him was far beyond words.

Pansy smiled back at him but did not let go of his hand.

"You saved me from my father, and then you made him pay for all he had done. You need to know that you mean just as much to me. So, I made sure those fucking monsters would rot for hurting you.

"You are my love, Harry. Anyone that tries to hurt you will have to go through me. Anyone that has hurt you will suffer my vengeance.

"And if I ever get my hands on Sirius Black, he will beg for death before I am done with him."


	39. Not With a Bang but a Whimper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: A quick note about the Fidelius- in the Deathly Hallows, Bill Weasley is the secret keeper for Shell Cottage, his own home, so according to canon there was no reason that James or Lily couldn't have been the secret keeper for their home in Godric's Hollow.

* * *

The laughing girl really brought home the difference a day could make.

The night before, Harry had finally seen and understood the lengths Pansy would go to for him. It really shouldn't have surprised him, not after what he had done to destroy her father. The damage of the years with the Dursleys would still need a lot of work to be completely undone, but that night had gone as far as any one night could in the process.

If Harry thought he loved her before, then whatever this feeling was must be closer to worship. Pansy was his very own avenging angel. If she would smite his enemies like that, then Harry was pretty sure he would do absolutely anything for her. If she told him to completely cut Ron out of his life, despite all his efforts at trying to get his oldest friend to grow up, Harry doubted he could say no.

But today, all they were doing was watching Luna giddily riding Buckbeak.

It was a warm enough day, but there were never that many students brave enough to hang out around Hagrid and all his 'interesting' creatures. Harry was glad that he had introduced Luna to him. As strange as she could sometimes be, she was also open-minded as well as fearless around magical creatures, which made her a great companion to Hagrid.

The visual contrast between the petite blonde and the black-haired giant was amusing as hell too.

Seeing the two of them occupied in a conversation as Luna was finally dismounting the hippogriff and helping Hagrid to feed him, Harry reached down and gave Pansy's hand a squeeze. They were isolated enough that she responded with a smile without even looking around.

Harry felt so wonderful today. And the brilliant, beautiful, vicious girl next to him was the reason why.

It made him so happy that she was developing a friendship with Luna too. He knew that she wasn't too fond of many people, but he was starting to see that she at least understood his own kinship with Luna and seemed to have a similar appreciation for her irreverence and good humor. As cynical and sarcastic as he and Pansy both were, someone so light-hearted and open as Luna was a very nice balance.

Plus, she drove Hermione nuts, and he knew Pansy loved that about her.

Spring was here, the weather was lovely, nature was in bloom, and his friendships all were doing well as even Ron had (sort of) apologized to Hermione. Harry was happily in love with a girl that had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt just how much he meant to her.

In other words, life was good.

As usual, this was never going to last for Harry Potter.

* * *

Another week passed by and they were once again on the way down to Hogsmeade. This time, everyone could see the thestrals pulling the carriages. Professor McGonagall had _suggested_ that Hagrid give all of his classes a crash course on them after Harry's duel with the elder Malfoy. They were pretty fascinating, and despite their ghastly appearance, they were much more friendly and docile than almost any other creature that Hagrid enjoyed teaching them about.

Still, a lot of people found them unsettling. Parvati and Lavender whispered about how Trelawney had spoken of them being omens of death, cousins to the mythical grim in that regard. Of course, from everything he heard of the Divination teacher, omens of death were one of her favorite things.

He was so glad he hadn't wasted his time with that stupid class.

It was no surprise that Pansy liked the skeletal horses. Harry thought that the next time she wanted to watch a movie he should probably try something from the horror section. Muggles didn't have thestrals, but it would be interesting to see how a witch would respond to something like Dracula or Frankenstein.

That reminded him that they would need to get a television and VCR for the flat.

His attention was brought back to the present as the carriage slowed to a halt when they reached the village.

He held out his hand to help all the girls down from the carriage. Today, he was alone among them as the tentative peace between Ron and Hermione wasn't yet to the level of them hanging out at Hogsmeade all day together. Parvati and Lavender were soon heading off, and Harry was unusually pleased when Pansy went with them leaving him alone with Hermione. As much as he loved time alone with Pansy, he was happy to see her developing friendships with the girls.

"So, Hermione, what would you like to do first today?"

"I'm surprised to see Pansy go off on her own. Did you know that some people call her your shadow as a joke?"

"I've heard that, yes."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"Considering all the other things people have said about me behind my back? That's pretty minor. We've got a couple of hours free before we need to head to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. I'll have to leave you at that point."

"Oh?"

"Pansy and I are meeting her great uncle, Malcolm Parkinson."

"I see. I can understand you wanting privacy for that conversation. Well, until then, you'll just have to go to the book store with me I suppose."

"If I must," he chuckled. Harry raised his arm. "Shall we, milady?"

"We shall, good sir," she answered as she took up his offer and replied in her own snooty voice.

Harry smiled. That was much better. He'd have to remember that books were what made Hermione relax. He hoped there was something else as well.

"Hermione, did you have any other hobbies before you came to Hogwarts?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, other than reading or studying? What else did you do for fun?"

"I... I guess not a lot. I was an only child and I never did do very well socializing with other kids my age."

'Imagine that,' he thought. "So you lost yourself in books instead?"

"That's one way to put it."

"I see."

"Did you have any hobbies, Harry?"

"I never really had any time for them. Can I give you a piece of advice, Hermione?"

"Okay."

"Don't take this personally, but I think there is something you could do to have the other students like you more. In class, you are very eager to prove yourself. Too eager, some would say. I'm sure you've been called a teacher's pet before. I think if you would let up a bit, the other students would find you more approachable."

"I'm not going to change who I am, Harry."

"There's a difference between changing who you are and just being less intense. Would it kill you to let someone else answer a question or two in class? Look, I'm really not trying to pick on you about this. You're my best friend. But I think other people would like you more if you didn't come off as-"

"As a know-it-all?" she asked in a whisper.

"Well, yes. You're brilliant, and I think everyone knows that you're the top of our class. You don't have to try to continue to prove that every day for the rest of our time here at Hogwarts."

Harry realized they had slowed to a stop. He turned to look at his best friend, who was trying not to be too upset. He pulled her into a hug.

"I love you, Hermione. That's not going to change, no matter how well you do in any class. I just want you to have a chance to let other people like you as much as I do." He patted her softly on the back.

"Think of it this way. Until recently, you pretty much spent all your time with Ron and I. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm guessing that at some point you'll want some girl time. And I don't think either of us want to see Ron in a dress."

"I think you could pull it off, though," she giggled.

"I'm Harry Potter; I can pull off anything," he said with a smirk. They both started to laugh.

"I'm just saying that you could be off with Pansy, Parvati, and Lavender if you wanted. They all look better than I would in a dress. All it would take is a bit of effort. You're smart enough to learn anything. I'm sure you can figure out how to be more social too."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"I'm not the most social guy, myself," he snorted. "But I would recommend using your observational skills. Watch how they interact if you want to get along better with them."

"Alright, I'll give it a try." Hermione still looked a bit unsure though.

"You don't have to do it for my sake. It won't matter to me if you're never friends with Lavender Brown. But if you do want to be friends with some other girls, I just thought I should try to give you some advice."

"You do have a lot of girlfriends," she snickered.

"Well, not that many, but I do seem to get along pretty well with girls this year. Mostly girls, really, since Ron's been... well, whatever."

"What are we going to do about him?"

" _We_ don't have to do anything. I've given him a lot of chances. I've even tried to give him some hints and pushes at being less of an insensitive, immature prat. If he wants to be my friend again, then it's up to him at this point.

"As for you, that's your decision to make. Ron has treated you terribly, and not just this year either. I think he needs to be a lot nicer to you if he wants to be your friend. But that's not my call, so I can only offer you my opinion."

"We were such good friends, and I haven't had many of them."

"You can always make more friends, Hermione. Ron hasn't been a good friend this year. Maybe he can be again, but you shouldn't be the only one who makes an effort at trying to repair that friendship."

"He did apologize," she countered.

"Barely," Harry snorted. "Setting my own relationship with him aside, I think you've given a lot more than he has. Friendship is supposed to be both give and take. Ron has taken advantage of you. How many times have you basically done all his work for him? And what has he done for you in thanks? Called you mental for wanting to study hard."

"I've spent a lot of time helping you with assignments too."

"And I try to remember to thank you for that. But more importantly, I'm pretty sure I've never yelled at you or made you cry.

"Look, like I said, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but Ron has been rude, at best, towards you, Luna, and Pansy. The three of you are my best friends at this point. Ron will have to seriously improve his behavior towards all of you if he wants to be my friend again. That's what _I'm_ going to do about him.

"Now then, I believe we have reached your destination, my dear," Harry finished as Hermione looked up with a smile, realizing they were in front of the bookstore.

* * *

Two hours later, Harry was just barely able to drag Hermione off to the Three Broomsticks. He had convinced her to try to chat with Parvati and Lavender at lunch while he and Pansy met with Malcolm Parkinson. She wasn't excited by it, but Harry suggested Hermione use the opportunity like an experiment to see if she could learn how to get along better with her dorm mates.

Pansy was waiting by the door outside for him.

"Everything go alright today?" he asked.

"Fine, Harry. I just wanted to wait for you."

"I'll talk to you later, Harry," Hermione said as Harry held the door open for her. "Good luck with everything, Pansy."

"Thanks," Pansy answered neutrally.

"He's already here then?"

"Yes. He does seem eager to want to build some sort of relationship with me. I just hope we can trust him."

"We'll take it one step at a time. That's why we're meeting in public today. And I'll be with you. Okay?"

"Okay, I'm ready."

They entered the inn, and sure enough, waiting at a corner table was Malcolm Parkinson. They walked across the room to join him.

"Pansy, it's good to see you again. Mr. Potter, thank you for arranging this meeting."

"You're welcome, Mr. Parkinson. If you wouldn't mind, why don't we order first and then set up some privacy charms before we begin discussing anything personal?"

"That works for me. I hope you two are hungry."

"I'm not too famished, but I did have a big breakfast. How about you, Harry?"

"I could eat. I might have worked up a bit more of an appetite."

"How many books was that Granger made you carry?"

"Only seven, and she didn't _make_ me carry them. I was being gentlemanly. Besides, two of them were books on runes."

Pansy laughed as Harry smiled. Malcolm raised an eyebrow and she answered him.

"Harry really loves Runes."

"It's by far the most interesting of our electives. Don't tell Hagrid I said that though."

"Are you two taking the same classes then?"

"Yes. I'll have to agree with him too. Arithmancy is rather dry and Care of Magical Creatures is... uneven."

"Uneven?" Malcolm asked.

"Well, Hagrid definitely knows his stuff, but he obviously isn't very polished as a teacher," Harry replied.

"That's putting it mildly," Pansy smirked.

"I can believe that," Malcolm responded. "I'm a bit surprised that Hagrid became a professor, actually."

"Harry likes him. Some of the lessons are pretty interesting."

Finally, a waitress came over and took their orders. They made small talk about their classes while they ate, but eventually as they finished and sipped on some drinks, Malcolm did cast some privacy charms.

"Now, I do have a few things I'd like to ask you. Both of you, really. Mr. Potter, I'll start with you, if you don't mind.

"I know that officially you are responsible for my niece. That being said, I assume you are going to continue her education here at Hogwarts with you?"

"Of course."

"That's good. I would like to contribute. The Parkinson family wealth is all in my name now. While it could raise some eyebrows if I tried to pay for Pansy's tuition, no one would have to know anything if I just gave you a payment while we were both at Gringotts some time this summer."

"That's very generous."

"Yes, thank you, uncle Malcolm."

"You're welcome, Pansy. I know we haven't been close in the past, but I would like a chance to make up for that. Especially after all that I've learned of your father. I'm sorry I haven't done more before now. Besides, I don't have any other family left. Whenever I go, whatever is left will be yours."

Harry looked over at Pansy, who was surprised by this.

"I'm not a Parkinson anymore," she said after a moment.

"Not officially, but you're still my niece, and that's all that matters to me. Speaking of family matters, there is the question of what to do with your parents' home. I wanted to talk to you about it. I didn't know if you would want to live there again, or if I should sell it."

"Sell it." The reply was very quick.

"Are you sure? It's a large and quite nice manor home. It's in good condition."

"Except for my old room."

"How did you know that?"

Oh crap.

Pansy looked over to Harry. What should they say? Harry finally broke the silence.

"Last fall, after I claimed Pansy, her father was obviously angry. Some time later, we received a warning from Leddy."

"Leddy?"

"Their house-elf. Apparently, he went home at some point and destroyed or at least damaged Pansy's old room. Leddy told us he was enraged and he used some sort of magic to hurt her. She didn't say what specifically, but I believe it was the Cruciatus, as she was trembling. Leddy came to warn us because she was afraid Edmund might try to harm Pansy."

"I see. What happened to Leddy?"

"We... we believe that he killed her," Pansy said in a low voice. "I tried calling for her after father's death, but there was no response. If he killed my mother, then I would be surprised if he would spare a house-elf."

"That seems likely. I'm sorry. I can see why you wouldn't want to live there. I will look into selling it then. I'm in no hurry, so let me know if you change your mind for some reason."

"We will. Thank you, uncle Malcolm."

"The next thing I wanted to let you know was that your father was buried with his parents. I assume you remember the cemetery. I can understand that you may not want to pay your respects, especially after the way things ended, but you may want to visit at some point. Getting some closure might help.

"Speaking of which, your mother is going to be buried with her parents in late June. I believe it's at her mother's home town as I recall. Some of her family from France is arranging the funeral, cousins I suppose. They had to contact me about it since it is a rather unusual circumstance. Have you heard from them?"

"Yes. We've owled back and forth a couple of times."

"Excellent. The next time you write to them, please extend my condolences and ask if they would be bothered by my presence. I was not close with Dahlia, but I am saddened by her passing and I would like to be there to support you as well."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"Good. I don't believe I know any of them, although I might have met a few years ago at the wedding. But that has been nearly two decades. Merlin, that makes me feel old," he chuckled. "Please let me know and I will be glad to arrange for an international port key."

"That would be much appreciated, uncle Malcolm. So, how have you been?"

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" he chuckled warmly.

"Well, after all Harry's told me, you have been keeping up with what has gone on in my life, if only second hand, while I haven't heard anything about you since... oh, two summers ago I guess."

"True enough. Well, let's see..."

* * *

The conversation with Malcolm Parkinson had been pleasant enough. Harry had little to contribute, so he mostly just sat by watching the man for any hints of something to worry about. But Malcolm once again came off as genuine and Harry could tell that Pansy seemed to enjoy speaking with him also. She told him of her project to make Neville over so he could try to woo Hermione, and despite the aborted end of that plot, Malcolm was amused by Pansy's actions, even her rather wicked role in Neville learning how to kiss.

 _"It sounds like a better way to learn than how I fumbled about after a dare in a dark broom closet,"_ he had said.

Which reminded Harry that they needed to sneak off into such a closet at least one more time before the end of the year. Not that it was necessary for them, but it felt like a part of the Hogwarts traditions that they were missing out on.

He noticed that Pansy mostly stuck to talking about things that featured people other than just her and Harry, as if she did not want to draw too much scrutiny to their own relationship. He thought they did a fairly good job over all at maintaining the illusion of being nothing more than friends now brought together by both being orphans.

If Malcolm did suspect anything more was going on, he did not show it.

There was one other thing that Harry did ask about while he had the two purebloods for perspective.

Malcolm had said something about how having all four magical grandparents was enough for the traditional view to be considered a pureblood. Harry thought he remembered Pansy saying something similar once, so he asked why this was the case.

The answer was simple enough. Magical people were able to live much longer than muggles on average. Without a muggle parent or grandparent's influence, there would be little exposure to the muggle world. And any exposure for such a child would still be seen through the lens of how the magical adults dealt with the muggle world.

How many people in the non-magical world lived long enough to know their great grandchildren after all? Hell, all four of Harry's grandparents had died before he was born, across both worlds.

A cynical view might say that without a muggle ancestor still around to infect them, the child would be purely a part of the magical world even if their 'blood' was only three fourths magical. But then, Harry was a cynic.

It made him wonder- how truly pure was the blood of someone like Draco?

Unfortunately, that reminded him of Narcissa.

He had written an apology to her after her son's death, but she had not responded. Not that he really expected her to. He had been sorry for her loss, no matter how much he had loathed Draco.

That it was his fault must have made everything that much more complicated for her.

Between the events of New Year's Eve and then ridding her of Lucius, but now contrasted with Draco's demise, Harry was bound to be a very sensitive spot for Narcissa. He had a feeling that they would not cross paths again for some time.

That was definitely for the best, all things considered.

Harry's relationship with Pansy was much better with Narcissa's shadow fading into the distance.

* * *

Hermione had been complaining much more this term about the Divination professor. Harry found this amusing, as she was not one to usually speak ill of any teacher, not even Snape. However, apparently, this Trelawney person had been moaning about Harry being the only Gryffindor not in her class and predicting that he was in grave danger ever since the February break in. She was trying to pass a warning on, according to Parvati.

She was a pathetic fraud, according to Hermione.

Things came to a head the next Thursday afternoon.

Harry and Pansy had a free period, so they had stopped by the library briefly before heading back to the Gryffindor tower.

Along the corridor leading to the Fat Lady's portrait, Harry spotted Hermione angrily stomping ahead of them.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?"

She turned to his voice with a scowl on her face.

"That silly old drunk went too far this time!"

"Drunk?" Pansy asked.

"What would you call it when someone reeks of cooking sherry, even over the smoky incense choking the room?"

Harry snorted, but Hermione's glower remained.

"Why don't we go for a walk and you can tell me all about it? It might help you feel better too." Harry noticed she wasn't carrying her bag or any books, which was shockingly unusual.

Hermione nodded and hurried back in the other direction, quickly passing Harry and Pansy.

"I don't think that pace is going to help her calm down any." Harry shook his head as Pansy smirked.

"I've got to figure out something to do about her," he said as he sped up. "It's too bad she's not a cat animagus like McGonagall. Some catnip might do her good."

"I think there's some sort of charm that acts like a calming draught," Pansy suggested.

"Even then, I might need to use all my power to get her nice and mellow."

"I can't imagine Granger ever being mellow."

"Well, what is she when she's reading then?"

"Still intense. Look at her face the next time she's buried in a book. You're going to owe me for chasing after her like this."

"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement."

They finally caught up with Hermione just outside the main door to the castle. Harry stopped and Pansy caught her breath.

"Hermione, when I said we should go for a walk, that didn't mean we needed to race outside." Hermione's face was flushed too.

"Sorry, Harry, I was just so aggravated."

"It's alright. But from now on, we're going with a leisurely stroll."

Hermione nodded. Harry raised his left arm, which she took.

"Pansy?" She gave him a little smile as she took his right arm, and the trio walked much more slowly across the grounds. It was a lovely spring day, with a few clouds spread over the sky that the sun would occasionally dodge behind.

"So, what happened?"

"Professor Trelawney started in on how you were in mortal peril again. That Sirius Black was going to come back and attack you again. I'm just so sick of it. Your life being in danger is not funny."

"Hey, I agree one hundred percent. I've had more than enough people and things attacking me. I'd love a nice, calm, boring year. Hell, I'd settle for a month like that at this point."

"Just a month, Harry?" Pansy teased.

"Well, let's go back over this year. September started with a dementor attacking me on the train. October had Black's first break in. November had the dementors attacking during the quidditch match. I wasn't attacked during December, but it did feature your father's death, which was plenty stressful. January had Malfoy showing up to challenge me to a duel. February had Black's second break in. March had Draco trying to avenge his father.

"We're now most of the way through April. I don't want to be greedy, so a quiet month would be a nice start. Maybe by fifth or sixth year I could work my way up to an entire term that was peaceful and easy."

"That would be such a pleasant change," Hermione agreed. "This year has been very stressful."

"True. And I'm not even buried under quite as full a schedule as you are."

Pansy chuckled at that.

"We're getting close to Hagrid's. Want to stop by and say hello?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Hermione replied with a smile.

"If we must," Pansy added with a roll of her eyes.

A deep voice answered the knock at his door, and their largest professor invited them inside.

"What're all of yeh doin' here? Shouldn't yeh be in class?"

"Pansy and I have a free period. As for Hermione-"

"I just couldn't stand it, Hagrid!" It wasn't quite a shout, but she was still obviously mad.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"That awful woman. Almost every class she just rambles on and on about all the dangers constantly surrounding us. Which would be bad enough, mind you, but lately she's taken to talking about how Sirius Black is going to come back again to try to kill Harry. I'm sick of people trying to kill Harry."

"Me too," Pansy agreed. "There's been far too much danger in Harry's life. We should take a vacation. Somewhere tropical, maybe."

Harry snorted.

"I'd settle for anywhere at this point. I've never been on a vacation. But I think Hermione could use one just as much right now."

"Yeh shouldn't take professor Trelawney too seriously, Hermione. She's always tryin' ter predict doom an' gloom. I wouldn't worry about 'er. I don't remember a single bloody thing she's spouted over the years that's come true.

"Harry'll be fine. He's always come through okay."

"Thanks for the confidence, Hagrid." He smiled at his largest teacher and friend. It was hard for him to be mad around Hagrid.

"No problem, Harry. Why don't you have some tea, Hermione? That'll help ter calm yeh right down. Always does for me."

She agreed and they all sat down around the table as Hagrid poured some tea for everyone.

There was an odd little squeak.

"Oh, that reminds me," Hagrid started as he stepped over to a shelf. "I found someone that ought ter cheer Ron right up."

He sat a small cage down on the table, and sure enough, inside was the missing, and supposedly dead, Scabbers.

"It looks like Weasley got his knickers in a twist over nothing," Pansy said. "Maybe he even faked his pet's death just to be more of a prat."

Harry was surprised that she was able to keep from calling him any worse names, but they were in the presence of a teacher.

"Now, Pansy, Ron ain't so bad. Jus' got a bit outta shape over thinkin' this little fella was gone. I bet Harry'd be mighty upset if somethin' happened ter Hedwig."

"That's true, but the problem with Ron was how he treated Hermione.," Harry replied. "You were smart enough to put a rat in a cage. If Ron really wanted to keep Scabbers safe, he could have done the same thing instead of yelling at Hermione to lock up her cat. And he was totally out of line with some of the things he's said this year.

"I guess we should take the rat back to him though."

"Don't look at me," Pansy said. "I hate that nasty little vermin, I'm not carrying it, even if it is locked up."

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Hermione grunted as she lifted the cage. "Let's go."

She was immediately off her feet, tea and relaxation forgotten.

"Sorry, Hagrid, look's like we're off," Harry said as he took one last drink. Hagrid's cooking might have been hard to take, but his tea was always good.

Harry held the door for Pansy as Hagrid said goodbye.

Hermione had a head start on them, and once again, her temper led her to striding much faster than she normally would. She was easily twenty yards ahead of them, and Pansy did not seem willing to try to chase her down again, so Harry matched the pace of his girlfriend instead of hurrying after Hermione.

Until the cat appeared.

"What are you doing here, Crookshanks?" Harry asked as the ginger furball leapt out in front of him. It looked back at him briefly then tore across the lawn and quickly caught up with its owner. Hermione was distracted and came to a halt. Harry thought this would give him a chance to join her.

But then, an enormous black dog emerged from the shadows under the Whomping Willow and headed straight for his best friend.

"Hermione!" he shouted, trying to warn her, but the canine was faster and closer. It vaulted over to her and Hermione was knocked over as the dog tumbled into her legs. She was still holding onto the cage with Scabbers as the dog drug her under the branches of the usually violent tree.

Harry broke into a run after her, and Pansy followed behind.

As they approached the tree, they saw Hermione and the animals disappear into a hole hidden in the roots at the base of the Willow's trunk, just under a large knot.

Harry jumped down and saw a tunnel that he remembered from the Marauder's Map. Unfortunately, he did not know where it led. He turned and held out his hand to help Pansy climb down to join him.

The tunnel grew dark not far ahead of them.

"I'll use my wand for light, you keep yours out to blast that thing," Pansy said.

"Good idea. Dobby!" The house-elf popped in. "Do you know where this tunnel leads?"

"No master Harry."

"Alright, well this huge dog grabbed Hermione and drug her off down here. We're on a rescue mission. Stay hidden unless we need you, okay?"

"Dobby can do that. Be careful, master Harry."

"That's an even better idea, Harry. I always feel better when we've got Dobby watching our backs."

"Me too. Let's see where this goes."

They followed the earthen path quietly, listening for any clues as to what was going on. Harry thought they might have gone a kilometer by the time they came to the end of the tunnel, which led up into a very dusty, dirty old house.

It was dark inside, with boards on the windows, which were about the only things that didn't look like they had been smashed or broken. There was a lot of furniture in bad disrepair.

At first, it seemed there was no sign of Hermione.

"Harry, look." Pansy pointed over to the stairs, and the footprints leading up.

Two obviously different sets of footprints. There was a larger set to the left of what Harry guessed was Hermione's.

"It might be Black in here," he whispered. "Lose the light."

Pansy nodded. "Let's wait a moment to let our eyes adjust."

Thankfully, there was still a bit of daylight peaking through the cracks in the windows. They each cast spells to muffle their footsteps and then Harry led the way up the stairs.

The footprints took them to a room just down the upper hallway. The door was ajar.

Pansy grabbed his arm and pulled him back down the hall. She slowly opened a door to a different room and motioned Harry inside. Closing the door behind them, she quietly put up an imperturbable charm to keep sound from escaping down the hall.

"Let's make a plan before we go in there."

"Right. Dobby, go get the invisibility cloak." Two quick pops later, Harry took it from the elf and handed it to Pansy. "Cover yourself with the cloak. It's me that Black's supposed to be after. While I deal with him, I want you to get Hermione out of there. Dobby you make sure Pansy is safe. Both of you stay invisible unless necessary. Let's all be careful and take this bastard down."

Pansy pulled him to her and kissed Harry. "For luck."

She removed the charm from the door and put on the invisibility cloak. Dobby disappeared as well and Harry crept down the hall.

It probably only took thirty seconds to reach the room where Harry knew Hermione was, but they were a very long thirty seconds. His heart was racing.

The last thing he expected to see when he pushed the door open was a filthy man pointing a wand at a rat in a cage.

Harry lowered his wand slightly at the surprising scene.

He felt Pansy's hand push him forward lightly. She needed to get by him- it brought Harry's mind back to focus. He raised his wand.

"What's going on?" he asked Black.

"I've finally tracked him down," he cackled. "It's good that you're here, Harry. You should see this. Your parents will finally be avenged."

The man was clearly a lunatic.

"The rat? You broke out of prison to kill a rat?"

"He's not just a rat, Harry. He's the rat that betrayed us all."

"Alright, drop the wand nutball before I blast you."

"As long as you'll listen to my story," Black said as he tossed aside the wand. Harry picked it up and took a couple of steps further into the room. He could see Black to his right, and Hermione was laying on a bed to his left.

"Are you alright, Hermione?"

"Hand me my wand, Harry. My leg's hurt, but I can at least keep Black covered if you want to listen to whatever he has to say."

Harry shuffled over to her as he kept his eyes on Black, who was still paying more attention to Scabbers than the rest of the room. Hermione took her wand from him and pointed it at Black.

The plan had gone belly up, so Pansy threw back the invisibility cloak.

"I'm not going to be able to move her, Harry. Her ankle is at least sprained if not broken, never mind the bite."

"Sorry about that," Black croaked. "I guess I forgot my own strength."

"He's an animagus, Harry," Hermione added.

"You were the dog."

"Precisely. Just as Peter here is a rat."

"Peter, as in Peter Pettigrew? Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"For twelve years now, but instead he's been hiding out as a rat."

"The Weasleys did have Scabbers for longer than a rat normally lives."

"It wasn't me that betrayed James and Lily, Harry. It was Peter. Your father was the best friend I ever had. I would have died before betraying him."

"If that's true, why didn't you just say that at your trial?"

"There never was a trial. I went after Peter when your parents were killed. He blew up a street full of muggles to frame me. He cut off his own finger then disappeared into the sewers as the rat. I hit my head in the explosion and came to with blood all around me. The aurors showed up and took me straight to Azkaban. No questions, no trial, just twelve years locked away."

"Why did you break out?"

"I saw a picture in the Daily Prophet- look." Black pulled out a crumpled piece of paper which Harry levitated over to his empty hand. It was a picture from last summer of the Weasleys after they had won the drawing that let them go on their trip to Egypt.

"And you recognized the rat in the picture."

"Look close and you'll see the missing toe on his paw. Besides, I spent years around Wormtail; I'd know him from any other rat in the world."

"Wormtail?"

"It was his nickname."

"You were the Marauders?"

"You've heard of us?"

"I've seen the map."

"I'm Padfoot. Your father was Prongs. And Lupin is Moony."

"Moony for a werewolf." Harry rolled his eyes and he just knew that Pansy was doing the same. Well, they were just a bunch of teenagers.

"So, how exactly did he betray my parents?"

"When your parents went into hiding, I would have been the obvious choice to be their secret keeper. I thought I was being so clever when I suggested using Peter instead. Voldemort was sure to go after me. Especially after we let it be known that I was supposed to be the secret keeper. But I was a fool. Peter was a spy the whole time."

"They used the Fidelius charm then?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Harry. It's all my fault."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Harry groaned. "Were you all idiots?"

"What?" Black's raspy voice actually cracked.

"First of all, if you want to keep something secret, you don't drop a bunch of clues or walk around telling people that you know a secret. Letting it be known that there was a secret was moronic.

"Secondly, why wasn't my mother or father the secret keeper? There was no reason to rely on someone else.

"And thirdly, if they were going into hiding, then why did my father have the brilliant idea to let Dumbledore borrow something as useful as an invisibility cloak? Might want to keep that to use if you need to run out and get supplies or need to escape from a madman that is after your family."

"I, I don't know," Black stammered out.

"Dobby? Can you take Hermione back to the castle so she can get her leg healed?"

"No, master Harry, sir."

Harry spun around to look at the elf.

"Why not?"

"Dobby will not leave while master Harry and miss Pansy are in danger." The elf looked like it hurt him to say this, but he was equally resolute.

"Dobby, Sirius Black isn't a danger. He's just an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Dobby will not leave until Dobby knows that everyone is safe."

"Fine." Harry turned back to Black and Scabbers. "How can you prove that the rat really is Pettigrew?"

"There's a spell. Give me your wand and I'll force him back into his human form."

"Yeah, _that's_ not going to happen. See Dobby, he's an idiot if he thinks I'll hand over my wand. Why don't you tell me how to do the spell and I'll turn him back?"

"Okay, but you'll need to get him out of the cage first."

"Set it down," Harry said. He then floated the cage over and cast a stunner at Scabbers before pulling the unconscious rat out and setting it at the foot of the bed that Hermione was laying on. "Now what?"

Black proceeded to describe how to do the spell.

"Hermione, think you can cast that?"

"Sure, Harry."

"Good, then you do it and I'll be ready to stun him again. Pansy and Dobby can keep an eye on Black."

Hermione turned the rat back into a human shape. Even then, Pettigrew looked very rat like. He had a couple of bald spots that matched the patchy areas of the rat's fur and the overbite also was reminiscent of the rodent.

He did not stir even as he shifted though. Harry hit him with a Petrificus Totalis just to be sure.

"Well, I guess we're done here."

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

"What? We need to get you off to see Madam Pomfrey."

"What about them?"

"Oh, right." Harry looked around the room for a moment before he spotted a familiar knife lying on a shelf. He floated it over to a table near Black.

"Let me get Hermione up and out of the way before you use that."

"Harry!"

Both girls looked shocked.

"What?"

"You can't just let him kill Pettigrew," Hermione said.

"Sure I can. You heard Black, that's why he broke out of prison."

"Finally, I'll have my revenge. Thank you, Harry."

"Right, so let's go."

"But he needs to stand trial. You can't just let him be executed," Hermione argued.

"Why not?"

"You have to summon the aurors. They can arrest them and find out the truth."

"There's an easy way to settle this. _Diffindo!_ " Pansy cast the cutting spell at Pettigrew's left sleeve, which fell away to show a faded tattoo.

"That's the Dark Mark, Granger. Believe me when I say that no one that has the Dark Lord's mark is in any way innocent. It's all the proof I need."

"I agree. Let's get you back to the school, Hermione."

"But the aurors need to capture him so that Mr. Black can be proven innocent."

"Why?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone.

"What do you mean why? To correct a great injustice."

"No, I think you miss my meaning, Hermione. You heard what Black said. He broke out to kill the rat. Once he gets his revenge, he'll be guilty of one of the murders he was thrown in Azkaban for. He'll probably be sent back to his old cell. Black's not important, but you are. So let me help get you to Madam Pomfrey so that she can fix up your leg."

"Harry, you think this isn't important? He betrayed your parents. Don't you want to see him pay for his crimes?" Black rasped out with confusion on his face.

"I've seen an evil man die before. I don't need to watch it again. Do what you will. Goodbye, Black."

"Harry, wait! I don't know if you've heard, but I'm your godfather. I'm sorry I haven't been a part of your life all these years, but I'd like to make up for that."

"You're not my godfather," Harry said flatly.

"Your parents made me your godfather when you were born, Harry. You can ask Moony, or even any of the other teachers if you like. You have to believe me. I've loved you since you were born. I was never prouder than when James put you in my arms and asked me to be your godfather."

Black looked expectant for a positive response, but Harry merely gave him a cold glare.

"Oh, I believe that may have been true. But you're mistaken if you think I care.

"You see, Hagrid will tell you anything you want if you just ask him the right way. So I know for a fact that you were there the night my parents were killed.

"Tell me something, Black. What were you supposed to do as _my godfather_ if something happened to my parents?"

"Harry, I know I-" Black started to answer but Harry cut him off.

"What you were supposed to do was take care of me. So, when a fifteen month old infant was crying over his mother's dead body and bleeding from a head wound, what did you do? You let a simple-minded man who couldn't use magic kidnap me while you decided revenge was more important than your duty. You gave up the right to call yourself my godfather when you abandoned me when I needed you most.

"Now all you are is even more proof that my parents had awful disappointments for friends."

There were tears in the eyes of the filthy escaped convict.

"There's the knife and Pettigrew. Take your revenge and get out of my life."

"Harry, I'm sorry. You're right; I made a terrible mistake that night. I should have chosen you, but I thought Hagrid would keep you safe and then-"

"Just more proof that you're an idiot. I did just mention that Hagrid can't use magic, right? On a night when the Dark Lord himself came to wipe out the Potters, when he had untold numbers of Death Eaters out there waiting for him, you thought an already injured baby would be safe with someone without a wand. That's just brilliant."

"I'm sorry, Harry. Please forgive me. I lost twelve years, just give me a chance to make up for that lost time."

"Yes, you lost some time. I lost my entire childhood that night. You're to blame just as much as Pettigrew, or Voldemort, or even Dumbledore. So I hope you suffered in Azkaban."

"Harry, that's awful," Hermione interjected.

"You have no idea what my life was like before I came to Hogwarts, Hermione, so don't you dare get self-righteous on me. As for you, Black, you've already admitted what your priorities are- you broke out of Azkaban to hunt down Pettigrew. You didn't break out to find me, to make sure my life was going well or to find out who ended up raising me after you ran away from your responsibility."

Harry stepped over to Black, picked up the knife from the table and pressed it flat against the man's chest, with the handle up so he could grab it.

"I'm even putting your revenge literally at your fingertips, so you can just say 'thank you, Harry' and then we can both get on with our lives."

"Harry, are you sure?" Pansy asked. Her voice was soft, but her eyes looked harshly at Black as she pointed her wand at him.

"You're right, Harry," Black sobbed. "I put my need for vengeance ahead of caring for you. I'm so sorry for that. I won't make that mistake again tonight. Call the aurors and let them have Pettigrew."

"Harry, please get the aurors. Let people know the truth; it's the right thing to do," Hermione pleaded.

Of course she would be for the less blood thirsty option. Harry actually wouldn't have minded watching the rat get cut open. Traitors didn't deserve anything better. If it could have let him be rid of Black for good, that would have been all the better.

He let out a sigh.

"Fine. Pansy, there should be an auror or two in Hogsmeade. Dobby go with her to keep an eye out. I'll stay here and watch over Hermione and everything."

"I'll be quick," Pansy said as she hurried out the door.

* * *

It took her a few moments to make it into the village, and as night was falling there weren't too many people out on the streets. Pansy checked in at the Three Broomsticks, and thankfully found auror Richmond, whom she had met when Draco tried to kill Harry.

"Auror Richmond, I need your help," she said as she strode over to the bar where he sat.

"What can I do for you, young lady?"

"I'm a friend of Harry Potter's and we've got a situation. Not only have we found Sirius Black, but also the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew. Black claims Pettigrew framed him, and the faded Dark Mark on his arm suggests Black is telling the truth."

"Holy crap," he answered. "I'll need to get some help on something this big. Hold on a second."

He looked around the large open room.

"Hey, Shacklebolt," he yelled, calling a tall black man over, also in auror uniform.

"Richmond, where's the fire?" he answered as he joined them at the bar.

"We're going to need some serious back up. Get to the ministry and get Scrimgeour if he's there. Hell, get Bones if she's there too. We've got a Black sighting, possibly still in the area, but even more than that, we've got a claim that Pettigrew is alive and found as well."

"That will complicate things. If Pettigrew is alive, then..."

"Then Black is apparently claiming that Pettigrew faked his death to frame Black. That's why we need someone from the top."

"I'm on it."

"Hurry."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"You know, Harry, you're not what I expected?"

Harry snorted.

"What exactly did you expect?"

"I don't know. I guess that since you look so much like James that you would act more like him. But you remind me more of Lily tonight."

"Alright, I'll humor you. How do I remind you of my mother?"

"Lily had a wicked temper. And she could really hold a grudge too," Black chuckled to himself. "She was friends with Snivellus when we went to school for the first few years."

"Snivellus, huh? I like that." Harry smiled briefly while Hermione rolled her eyes. At least she didn't interrupt to try to suggest they be respectful towards Snape.

"Yes, well, we really didn't get along. He was a nasty piece of work. A Slytherin of course, he knew tons about the Dark Arts even as a firstie, and it was no surprise that he hung around a whole bunch of little psychos that all grew up to be Death Eaters. The only unusual thing was that he was friends with Lily. As you can guess, a wannabe Death Eater spending time with a muggle born witch raised a lot of eyebrows.

"Of course, I'm sure the fact that she was a total babe clued most people in on what Snape was after."

"Gross. Please don't tell me they ever dated."

"No, he was just a friend to her, at least until one day when he called her a mudblood. Lily never spoke to him again other than to hex him when he and his buddies tried picking on others, usually younger students. Looking back, it's almost surprising that we never had an out right battle at school. It seemed like the older Slytherins were actively recruiting for the Death Eaters. Anyway, like I said, Lily could get mean, and the more Snape hung out with the rest of the thugs and bullies, the more she came to loathe him. She could really hold a grudge.

"I guess I can't blame you for being like that too. I should have thought of you first, but I was young and foolish and impulsive."

Harry just nodded as he sat down by Hermione.

"How's the leg feeling?"

"Not too bad. I think it would hurt a lot more if I tried to stand or put weight on it."

"Well, as soon as we're done here, I'll give you your choice of ride up to the school."

"What choice?"

"I could levitate you, or we could go with the more hands on approach," he said with an exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows.

"Harry, now is really not the time for that," Hermione chided, but Harry smiled as he watched her stifle a laugh.

Black didn't hold his amusement back.

"I really blew it tonight, huh? Not only did I make a terrible first impression, but I bit your girlfriend."

"Oh no, I'm not Harry's girlfriend. We're just best friends, that's all."

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"No, she's telling the truth. I just tease her a lot to try to get her to lighten up. There's not nearly enough silliness in the life of Hermione Granger.

"So, what'll it be my lady?"

"I really don't think you could carry me all the way back to Hogwarts."

"Now that sounds like a challenge," Harry replied. "I did piggyback you up a few flights of stairs last fall. I'm not as short and scrawny as I used to be, and you, thankfully, haven't had any growth spurts this year. So, what do I get if I can carry you all the way?"

"I'm not going to wager on your endurance, Harry."

"Pity. I would win," he muttered. Black let out a guffaw.

"I would prefer to be levitated anyway, and I do trust your magical skill more than your muscles."

"Well, that was almost a compliment, so I'll take it."

Hermione rolled her eyes, which felt even more like a victory to Harry, who smiled in return. Black broke the brief moment of silence.

"I still can't believe Snivellus of all people is a teacher. Especially not with him working opposite Moony."

"Well, I wouldn't call what he does teaching," Harry responded. "More like abuse his authority to sabotage and bully children because he's an awful, petty, pathetic excuse for a man."

Black really started to laugh at that.

"Now that sounds more like your dad. James couldn't stand Snape. And the feeling was mutual, let me tell you. It got even worse after Lily finally agreed to go out with him. I can't even count the amount of times Snivellus tried to curse him in the back. Which must have made the fact that your dad saved his life sting that much more."

"My dad saved Snape's life? Why?"

"James always was a rather noble sort. It was partly my fault. You see, Snivellus used to always sneak around, trying to get the Marauders into trouble. One night when he was being extra obnoxious about it, I let him over hear me talking about the secret path under the Whomping Willow that leads here. The Shrieking Shack never really was haunted. It got the reputation from Moony coming here to transform so he wouldn't be a danger to the other students.

"Anyway, James barely stopped Snape from getting to Remus. If not for that, we might have had two werewolves."

"Or the ministry could have had professor Lupin killed," Hermione interrupted. "The laws are rather harsh for werewolves that are involved in attacking another wizard. I looked them up earlier this year."

"Of course you did," Harry giggled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told Pansy you would figure it out too."

"You mean about professor Lupin being a werewolf?"

"Yes."

"When did you figure it out, Harry?"

"That day when Snape went on his big lecture as a substitute. Three straight months, someone gets a 'mysterious illness' right at the full moon, on top of the rather blatant clues Snape was dropping. It wasn't hard to puzzle it all out."

"I don't know that many other students worked it out, but I am pleased that you did. I guess you really are thinking more critically about things this year."

"Well, since I keep getting into scrapes almost constantly, I thought that I shouldn't keep relying on you figuring everything out to try to keep myself and others alive. You never know, I might not have you around all the time, Hermione."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of, Harry."

"Who said I wanted to get rid of you? I'm just glad I haven't been attacked while I was on vacation yet."

Footsteps and voices coming down the hall interrupted them at that point.

A couple of aurors entered the room, wands first.

"Auror Richmond, as I recall," Harry said as the man in question nodded in agreement. "May I present to you Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. One of whom is supposed to be dead and the other who is apparently terrible at committing murder."

The aurors stepped into the room slowly, and Richmond raised his eyebrows at Harry's glib introduction.

"Well, that does appear to be Pettigrew," he agreed. "This is definitely going to make things complicated when we get back to the ministry. Madam Bones?"

The middle aged witch that Harry had met at Narcissa's New Year's Eve party a few months ago stepped forward.

"Alright, we'll do this by the book. Magical suppressing cuffs on them both. Looks like we're going to have a new trial for Black."

"A first trial, you mean," he replied. "I've never had one. I just woke up in Azkaban after being stunned in the street."

"If that's true this is going to be even more of a nightmare. Alright, Shacklebolt, you'll take the front. Richmond, you'll take the witness statements. I want two men on each of the prisoners. Mr. Potter, it looks like we are in your debt once again."

"You're welcome, Madam Bones," Harry said with a genuine smile. It was maybe the first time someone in authority actually thanked him for doing their job for them. "Auror Richmond, would you mind if we conduct this interview back at the school? I need to get Hermione's leg looked at by Madam Pomfrey."

"No problem, Mr. Potter. Let's get you out of here, miss."

The procession made it's way out of the Shrieking Shack and into Hogsmeade before splitting in two. Most of them headed off to the ministry, while Richmond took Hermione back to school. Harry and Pansy dropped back a bit as they followed him.

"We need to talk later," Harry whispered to her.

"Why?"

"I learned something interesting about our least favorite professor."

"Which one?" she asked sarcastically.

Harry only answered with a sneer, but Pansy saw it and replied with a wicked grin of her own.


	40. An End of Year Unlike Any Other

* * *

"So, that's what Black told me while you were off getting the aurors."

"Snape lusted after your mother-"

Pansy had to pause for Harry's gagging noises to finish.

"...but he called her a mudblood after which she turned her back on him. Then she started dating your father, a man Snape hated who also saved his life. While that explains why he hates you so much, it does give us a couple of other unanswered questions. We know from what Sam dug up and told us that Snape was a Death Eater who supposedly turned into a spy for Dumbledore. Dumbledore vouching for him is apparently what kept him from being sent to Azkaban. Those things are a matter of public record."

Harry looked over at Pansy as he pondered the confusing actions of the Potions professor before he gave voice to those questions.

"So, if he really had turned to the side of the good guys, why does he still act like a Death Eater? Why has he let Slytherin purebloods like Malfoy run rampant? Why has he let bullying and division get worse?"

"Hell, he has made it worse by blatantly favoring the evil little shits like Malfoy, Flint, and so many others."

"Exactly. And why has Dumbledore let him do it?"

"I don't know, Harry. It's pretty worrying. Is Dumbledore going senile? Even if Snape was able to lie to him and manipulate him into believing he had been redeemed, surely Dumbledore would have made sure he actually acted like someone that didn't want another generation of Death Eaters to grow and thrive. But Snape has done just the opposite of that. With what you've told me about the Dark Lord still being out there somewhere, even in the form of a wraith or spirit, the idea that we have a traitor working right under the headmaster's nose- that's terrifying. Snape has been helping to build a new army of brutes and thugs, evil bastards who have never been disciplined, never faced justice for their misbehavior-"

"And Dumbledore has either allowed it or he's completely blind. Even if Snape had fooled him somehow, he must have had years of complaints from the other teachers and three fourths of the students. It just doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't."

There was a moment of silence as they both worried about just what the hell was going on.

"Pansy, I think we may need to do some more research on life debts."

"Why?"

"Well, Snape might have owed my father one."

"Which he almost certainly didn't repay. At least, from what we know."

"Right. And with my father's death, what would happen then?"

"You mean, to the life debt? I'm not sure. You might have inherited it from Snape. That seems likely."

"But I really don't think we can just ask him or cast a spell to find out. We'll need to definitely think long and hard about how to deal with this complication."

"You're right. I hope he does owe you one. We might be able to finally do something about him, and we almost certainly do need to stop him. A traitor and recruiter for the Dark Lord's side blatantly acting right in front of Dumbledore is incredibly dangerous, and if the Dark Lord ever succeeds in coming back, we really, really don't need someone like that so close at hand. We've had more than enough danger this year even after Sam's threats made Snape mostly avoid us."

"Agreed," Harry said as he stood up and began to pace around their little private common room. Snape was dangerous, and Dumbledore's protection of him made that even worse. They needed to get the truth about Snape before they could figure out how to deal with him.

"I've got an idea."

* * *

"How's the leg feeling this morning, Hermione?" Harry asked as she came down from the female dorms into the Gryffindor common room.

"It seems fine, although I've been feeling a bit tentative about putting weight on it. I know magical healing is faster, but I guess I'm just not used to it."

"Well, this is the second year in a row that we've both had to end up in Madam Pomfrey's care. I guess I'm rubbing off on you."

"That must be one of the worst ways you could do so."

"And here I was going to offer to carry your book bag as we went down to breakfast, but if you're going to be insulting my amazing ability to get nearly killed repeatedly, then maybe I shouldn't."

Hermione handed the bag over as Pansy rolled her eyes and headed for the door. Just as they were out in the hall, one of her least favorite people came running after them.

"Harry, there you are," Weasley said as he caught up with them. "I didn't see you last night."

"Well, we were busy for part of it."

"I know. I mean, I heard what Hermione told me. Did you really catch Sirius Black?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we caught him exactly. We did have a conversation with him. Oh, by the way, good news, Scabbers isn't dead. However, bad news, Scabbers is actually a Death Eater animagus who will probably be going to Azkaban soon. So you're still going to be ratless, sorry."

Pansy was snickering at Harry's jibe about that traitorous vermin. It was too bad Crookshanks hadn't eaten the nasty thing in a way.

"Really? That's what Hermione said too, but you aren't just pulling my leg, are you?"

"It should be in the paper soon, although they might keep parts of it secret I suppose. I can guarantee you that I did see your rat forced back into his human form."

"Oh, well, that's pretty incredible. I must have missed out on the adventure this time," Ron said with disappointment. "But I also wanted to tell you something that happened yesterday afternoon, after Hermione ran off from Divination. Trelawney did something really weird."

"Let me guess, she predicted not just my death, but the deaths of half the school this time?" Harry chuckled, but Ron looked surprisingly serious.

"Well, it wasn't a death, but she did go into this deep voice and say some strange things."

"Do you remember what she said?" Pansy asked.

"Let me see. I think it was something about how the Dark Lord was alone without his followers and his servant was going to be freed after twelve years. And that the servant would rejoin his master and the Dark Lord would rise again, great and terrible, and that it would happen tonight. Er, tonight as in last night, that is."

"You said she used an odd voice. Did she remember what she said, or was it like she was in a trance?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Yeah, the second one. Why?"

"Because that sounds like an actual prophecy. You can't just make a real prediction like all that nonsense she spouted off in class. Real visions are supposedly channeled through the seer and they don't ever remember what they say."

"Where does the prophecy come from then?" Harry asked. This sounded pretty damn strange, even for the magical world.

"No one is sure."

"That figures," Harry grumbled.

"Anyway, I might not have even heard it, but since Hermione ran out in the middle of class, I stayed behind to gather all her things too. That's when Trelawney's weird prediction thing happened. Then I couldn't find any of you before dinner, and it was pretty late when Hermione got in."

"Thank you again for bringing me my bag, Ron."

"Right, um, you're welcome."

"If there is something about Black in the Prophet today, it's bound to be on the front page," Pansy suggested.

Shortly after they sat down and began eating breakfast, Hedwig delivered the paper, and Pansy was proven right. In big bold letters, the headline rang out _"Sirius Black Framed? Peter Pettigrew Alive! Trial Soon to Come!"_

* * *

Over the next week, Harry read the ongoing saga of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's trials. First there was the matter of Black's original trial, which was eventually proven to have not ever occurred, just as Black had claimed. Once that was revealed, the Wizengamot was outraged. He was the last son of a very old pureblood family and had been thrown in prison without ever even being questioned.

Needless to say, it was a point in his favor, as much of the Wizengamot itself was made up of members of the old purebood families.

That the apparent culprit who had framed him was only a half-blood was another point in his favor, or at least so it seemed to the cynical Harry as he tried to read between the lines.

With Pettigrew's 'heroic death' being obviously false, his Order of the Merlin was rescinded. Since it had been awarded post-mortem, and being alive he clearly wasn't 'post-mortem' there was no way for Pettigrew to challenge this ruling. His mother was outraged, but she was also glad her son was alive.

At least, until she heard the claim that her son was the betrayer of the Potters. Mrs. Pettigrew might have stood by Peter, but he refused to speak to her when she tried to schedule a visit through the ministry.

Sirius, on the other hand, had a number of friends and well wishers coming out of the wood work. The fact that it was rumored that Harry Potter had helped him capture Pettigrew made people see him in a more positive light. Harry wondered who had leaked to the press the idea that Sirius was his godfather.

While technically true, Harry was still not willing to acknowledge Black as anything more than a foolish friend of his father's.

Finally, the next Friday Hedwig came with the Daily Prophet bearing the ultimate decision.

_"Sirius Black Innocent! Peter Pettigrew Guilty!"_

Pansy noticed the headlines as she was eating her toast. "Give me the highlights, Harry."

"Okay, hold on," he replied as the last of his breakfast was set aside. "Let's see, 'Black willingly took veritaserum, which helped his case quite a bit. Pettigrew tried to avoid doing so, but as he had supposedly died, his right of refusal was suspended.'"

"That's a tricky way they got past that," Pansy offered.

"True. Dead men don't have rights is a quote in the story. Anyway, Madam Bones ran the trial, and the veritaserum testimony made things go quickly from then on. Black wasn't a Death Eater and had not committed any of the crimes they blamed on him. Hmm, that's funny," Harry said.

"What?"

"He must have had a good lawyer- there's nothing in here at all about Black being an animagus. I wonder how he swung that."

"Keep going, Harry," Pansy told him.

"Okay. Pettigrew was given the serum and spilled his guts, it sounds like. He admitted not only betraying my parents, but several other crimes as well. Including three murders, and that's before the muggles he killed in the explosion when he framed Black.

"Pettigrew was sentenced to life in Azkaban as a mass murderer. Black was exonerated and given compensation of twelve thousand galleons."

"That's a fair amount of money, but I doubt it's anywhere near enough to make up for rotting in Azkaban for all those years. Or for abandoning you at the same time," Pansy added.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, Pettigrew is being sent to Azkaban, and in a cell specially prepared for him to keep him from escaping by turning into a rat."

"That's good I suppose."

"Yes. I hope he rots there for a century. That would be a nice thing about wizards being able to live a long time."

"Sounds good to me."

"True. Speaking of hope, with any luck, Black will be getting back to me soon," Harry added.

"You did write to him then?"

"Yes, but I knew a response could be delayed by him getting a trial. Now, he doesn't have any excuses."

"Good. He should be able to give us some more details. We need to know everything we can before we will be ready to plan."

"Agreed. Ready for Charms?"

"I guess. I wish it was Thursday though, so I could get a few more winks in History," Pansy said with a yawn.

Harry snickered before the yawn proved contagious and he joined her.

"And you don't get to complain about being sleepy," she whispered. "It's your fault we were up half the night."

Harry smiled all the way to class as he reminisced about the night before.

* * *

As the next few weeks passed on, Harry finally got his wish. May turned out to be the first month of the year with no major stress or danger.

Well, at least for Harry. Pansy was a bit stressed about the up coming exams.

Which meant Hermione was nearly panicking. Harry had to threaten to expose her time turner in order to make sure she was getting enough rest. Since most of her extra lessons were in the mornings, Hermione began sneaking off after lunch and going back three hours for a daily afternoon nap.

While it did help her to be less frazzled, she was now more rested and had plenty of time to bother Harry about how he was preparing for the end of the term.

Pansy, and on one occasion Luna, also prodded him about studying more, so he reluctantly even cracked open his Herbology text one night. He wasn't worried about most of the exams, although he was rather curious to see how Snape would grade him. Pansy too, for that matter. She was pretty good in the class, and he thought she might even be capable of an Outstanding, but because of her connection to him, Harry thought she might be marked down by the greasy bastard.

Not that it would matter in the long run, as the OWLs (and the NEWTs later on) were scored by people who were bound to be more unbiased and competent. Of course, Peeves the poltergeist wouldn't be as biased as Snape. Might even be a more competent teacher too.

* * *

It was good that May turned out to be such a quiet month as it took Harry multiple attempts to get as much of the story as possible from Sirius Black. The man preferred to ramble about his youthful exploits- many of them featuring James Potter. Stories of pranks were getting quite tiring; the stories of his father's many failures to catch his mother's eye were somewhat more interesting.

But Harry was a man on a mission, and learning just how much leverage he had over Snape was the end goal.

Towards the end of the month, he called it an early night in part to get away from Hermione's study session. It was only History anyway. Harry wondered how Binns was able to score the exams or if maybe a house elf did it for him.

Pansy was quick to follow him as they retreated to their sitting room. She saw Harry waiting for her on the couch.

"Some rich bint," he said with a smirk.

"Which rich bint are you talking about?"

"Remember at Christmas you suggested it was some rich bint that had sent me the Firebolt?"

"Yes."

"Sirius Black is some rich bint."

"He sent it to you?" Pansy laughed.

"Yeah. Makes me really glad quidditch is over for the year too."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess it sort of feels like an attempt to buy my affection. As if a broom, even the best broom, would make up for the years I lost with those fucking bastards."

"I can see that. At least it's over now, though. Besides, you needed a new broom, so you may as well let his rich bintiness spend his money instead of wasting your own."

"Yeah, anyway, that was one of the things Black mentioned in one of his letters. On top of all the lame tales of his teenage years. But, more importantly, I think I've gotten all I can from him about what he knows of Snape. My father definitely did save his life, and Black thinks there's a good chance he owed him a life debt for doing so. Not many sixteen year olds could face a transformed werewolf and live to tell about it."

"That's good news. Anything else?"

"Snape also definitely never repaid the life debt, assuming there was one. He was a nasty little shite to my father in school, and they were on opposite sides of the war after school. At least until Snape supposedly turned spy, but even then, he didn't interact with my parents at all according to Black."

"We really need to make Snape talk."

"I agree, but I think we need to wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Final exams to be over."

"You're thinking of school for once?" Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm thinking that things will be tense over the next couple of weeks. Sneaking around could make it seem like we were trying to steal the answers for a test. Once those tests are all finished, people will relax a bit as the term winds down."

"So Snape will be more vulnerable."

"We can hope. I also figure that if something goes wrong, we'll have the summer to try to deal with any problems."

"So, the night before we leave?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

"How do you want to deal with him?"

"Dobby?"

The elf appeared and stood before them.

"Yes master Harry?"

"I've got a project I need your help with."

" _We've_ got a project, Harry. You're not doing this alone," Pansy stated, and Harry smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Right. We are going to need to question Snape about some things that happened with my parents years ago. We are going to need to do this privately. I'm thinking maybe you should check to see if we could get into his quarters."

"You'll need to be careful, Dobby. You mustn't get caught," Pansy added. "See if you can check for paintings in his quarters or any sorts of protections he might have, but we cannot alert him to what we are going to do."

"Dobby can do that," the elf said with a huge smile. "Nasty bat man won't catch Dobby."

And with a pop, he was gone.

Harry chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I think Dobby gets a kick out of being sneaky."

"Alright, well now that that's settled, let's do a little more studying before bed."

"Do we have to?" Harry whined.

"The less time you waste complaining, the more time we have to relax together afterwards."

"Deal," Harry said with a smile.

"Besides, I could use your help with Runes," Pansy said.

"Grab your book and I'll look over it with you," Harry replied. She retrieved the Runes text and he pulled her down to sit in his lap. Harry looked over her shoulder while kissing her neck.

"That isn't helping me study," she moaned. She felt him throb underneath her, and Pansy knew that Harry was unlikely to focus on anything else until this was taken care of. She pressed against him as she adjusted her seat and Harry slid one hand along her thigh up under her skirt.

"We are going to study afterwards," she insisted.

"Of course," he agreed as she sighed.

* * *

The week of exams came and went. Harry was pleased overall with how well he thought he had done. Charms and Trasnfiguration were both largely practical in nature, which was where his strength lie instead of writing boring essays. On top of that, he knew he had aced Runes- that was one class where he actually could write as much as he needed if not more, and he was positive that he knew every little rune he was asked to identify on the final. He had probably used at least half of them on his various projects over the year.

Herbology, also being largely practical, probably was going to get Harry a better score than he had really earned over most of the year. Just because he hated gardening didn't mean he had yet forgotten all the time he had been forced to spend toiling over Petunia's flower bushes and yard.

Arithmancy was rather dense and boring, but he thought he probably did alright. Pansy would probably beat his score there, and he doubted either of them would give Hermione a run for her money in what she considered her new favorite class. History was another class that he put forth a minimum amount of effort in; Harry thought with some mirth that everyone should get an Exceeds Expectations if they were able to remember anything more than the sleep inducing drone of the ghostly teacher.

Potions saw them brewing a Confusing Concoction, and Harry and Pansy were both able to produce what seemed like well done samples. Hers was a bit thicker than his, and he knew that she would probably score better because of it, but he was fine with that. Pansy had taught him a fair amount about the class that year; certainly more than the sneering arsehole ever had.

And speaking of the school's worst teacher, despite his usual petty behavior, not even Ron or Neville melted a cauldron. Although both of their potions ended up being rather runny, at least neither of them ended up with something as shockingly orange as the chunky sludge that Crabbe produced.

Astronomy was fairly typical for the class, some looking through a telescope and finding the locations of stars and whatnot. Harry still didn't know why this was a core class at Hogwarts. It seemed to have very little to do with actual magic and was nowhere near as interesting (or useful) as Runes or even Care of Magical Creatures. But at least it was a very pleasant night, with a light cool breeze under the stars.

Care of Magical Creatures ended up being rather easy, especially for Harry and Pansy. They were tasked with feeding the thestrals, and neither of them were at all bothered by the appearance of the winged skeletal horses. Several people in the class were afraid of them, which meant that he knew that they would get better scores than most, although Hermione took to the exam quickly enough and spent half an hour asking Hagrid all sorts of extra questions about the creatures. They were very agile in flight it turned out, but Hagrid was not allowed to let them fly the supposedly horseless carriages to or from school.

Harry was disappointed at that and immediately began planning to take a thestral for a ride. He had a feeling that Pansy would want to join in. Luna too, now that he thought about it.

The last test was Defense with Lupin, which might usually have made Harry groan, but it turned out to be fairly interesting. He had set up an obstacle course full of creatures they had to avoid and faster times would be rewarded with better scores. It might not have been necessary to stun the grindylow, but they had strong grips, and Harry didn't want to even give it a chance as he made his way through the pool. The end was a boggart, and while that was a bit of a nasty little surprise, Harry recovered quickly with a Riddikulus and finished with the fastest time in the class. Pansy did very well too, although she seemed to struggle a bit with the boggart- at least that's what he had to assume.

Hermione though, nearly botched the whole test. She came away screaming from the boggart, which in her case had turned into professor McGonagall telling her she had failed all her classes. Harry really struggled not to laugh at her, something that Ron was unable to stop himself from doing. Once he saw how upset that made her though, Harry was again reminded that he really needed to find something else to help her calm down. It was ridiculous to think that Hermione of all people would fail any of her tests, let alone all of them. She was entirely too high strung.

After lunch, they had a free period as Hermione went off to Muggle Studies and Ron headed for Divination. Harry kicked off his shoes when they got back to their quarters. He sat down on the couch and put his feet up. Pansy soon joined him stretched out on the couch, then put her head in his lap.

"All done," he exhaled and rolled his neck back and forth. "I am so ready for summer."

"Me too," Pansy sighed.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. I just didn't like running into that boggart."

"Agreed. What was yours?"

"You first, Harry."

"Okay," he agreed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Harry hadn't enjoyed that part of the test either. "I saw your father standing over you casting the Cruciatus Curse. That sucked, but at least I knew..."

"You knew it was over with. You took care of him for me," she answered after Harry trailed off.

"Yeah. I don't think Lupin would have approved of what my Riddukulus did to the boggart."

"What did it do?"

"It changed to your father gurgling and choking after I made him slit his throat. It felt just as satisfying too."

"Good."

Harry waited, but Pansy didn't seem to eager to share whatever she had seen. He closed his eyes as he played with her hair. Pansy's breathing slowed, and finally she spoke.

"I saw Death Eaters kill you. Then they stepped over your body and came for me. They were reaching out to grab me. I was able to draw my wand, but it felt too close."

"You were able to cast Riddikulus though?"

"Yes. You got up and slaughtered them all before they could get to me."

Harry chuckled. "I doubt any of our classmates had such violent responses."

"I _know_ none of our classmates has humors as black as ours."

"That's definitely true."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Just a few more days, Harry. We need to talk to Dobby tonight."

"I know. But I think I could use a nap right about now."

"Sounds good. Let's go to bed."

* * *

The last days of term passed quietly as Harry spent a bit of time socializing with his friends and made some tentative plans to see Hermione and Luna over the summer break. Ron mentioned something about inviting him over as well, but Harry strongly doubted that would work. He was pretty damn sure the Weasleys would not allow him to share a room with Pansy, and that's assuming they even had a free room available. Not to mention the fact that Ron did not say anything about Pansy being invited in the first place, which was no surprise.

Even after his lame attempts at restarting a friendship with Harry since the quidditch cup victory (and without ever bothering to apologize for his behavior), Harry just wasn't feeling too accommodating to Ron anymore. While he did give a half-hearted apology to Hermione, he never said a word to Luna, and he certainly never tried to befriend Pansy. Admittedly, Pansy wouldn't have made it easy on him as Harry knew she couldn't stand Ron, but it had been nine months now, and Ron still almost acted as if Pansy just didn't exist most of the time.

In the long run, Harry knew that he would always choose Pansy over Ron. A friendship of three years, and a very strained one over that last year, would never stand up against the girl he loved. If Ron didn't start to grow up soon, it would be a very easy choice too.

* * *

It was the last Thursday night when they put their plan into action. The older students had finished their OWLs and NEWTs and the Leaving Feast would be the next night. Saturday morning would see the return trip on the train, and Pansy was greatly looking forward to the end of the year. It was a huge improvement over the first two years at Hogwarts, although at least the year before, she was looking forward to scheming with Harry about getting away from her parents. What a difference a year could make.

They took a nap that evening and woke with an alarm after midnight. She and Harry both dressed and grabbed their wands. Harry retrieved his invisibility cloak while Pansy spread the map out over the bed.

"He's in his quarters. It looks like he isn't moving either," she said.

"Good. Dobby?"

The elf popped in just after Harry called for him.

"Have you checked everything?"

"Yes, master Harry sir. No talking pictures on the walls. Dobby can get master and miss right in."

"Great. Here's the plan. We're going to wake him up and restrain him immediately. Pansy is going to focus on making sure he can't break free, and I want you to help her Dobby. I'm going to get some answers from Snape.

"Okay, everybody ready?"

"I'm ready, Harry."

"Dobby is ready, master Harry sir."

"Alright. Get in close," Harry said as he covered them all in the cloak. "Let's make sure we don't get caught. We get the information and get out. Dobby, take us there."

The elf took a hand from each of them and seconds later they were in a dark room. There was a desk against one wall by a door and on the opposite was a bed. Asleep in it was the detestable man who "taught" Potions.

The trio quietly crept over to the bed.

"On three. Ready?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"Ready," she answered, raising her wand against the Death Eater.

If she had ever had any reservations against doing something like this, they died when she imagined him standing side by side with her hated father among the other Death Eaters. They were all evil bastards. Hell, they not only killed Harry's parents but also her grandfather and her uncle. Both purebloods, just like Harry's father. So much for pure blood supremacy, if the Dark Lord was so willing to shed so much of it.

A thought of her grandmother describing her chevalier flashed an almost forgotten image to her mind, the older man Pansy never got to meet as he died years before her birth. She just knew he would have been proud of her choice for a boyfriend, someone willing to kill for her, just as he had rescued her grand-mere all those years ago. And prouder still of her, standing by Harry's side.

Those thoughts slipped away as Harry woke Snape with a spell which she quickly followed with a Petrificus Totalis.

" _Legilimens!_ "

They had discussed a couple of options of how to get the information they wanted from Snape, and this was the eventual winner. Veritaserum probably would have worked just as well, but they would have needed to figure out exactly which questions to ask. Harry also briefly considered using the Imperius curse, which they knew from his dealings with her father would probably work, but Pansy didn't want any chance of Harry getting caught using an Unforgivable and he agreed. Tearing straight into his mind, Harry should be able to get to whatever he wanted.

Pansy knew there was a possibility that Snape knew Occlumency, especially if he really was a spy and not just pulling the wool over Dumbledore's eyes. But startling him awake in the middle of the night would not give him a chance to put up any sort of defense. Not even a master at it could keep their mind closed in their sleep.

She watched carefully as Harry stared into the black eyes of the head of Slytherin. Her wand was ready in case he should try to fight back. The minutes stretched on, and she bstarted to worry as Harry began to sweat. His focus seemed strained, but he held the gaze, still unblinking.

* * *

Harry tore into those black eyes and slipped past images moving faster than he could keep up with. Eventually, he thought of his father and found the images slowed as he watched memory after memory of them clashing as teens at Hogwarts.

Harry then thought of his mother as well, and a scene played out of Snape firing a cutting curse at his father's face. Although his father's reflexes were good- to be expected from a quidditch star- he was unable to dodge completely out of the way and Snape drew first blood.

James Potter retaliated with a hex that turned the greasy bastard upside down, and Harry smiled at the humiliation of the future Death Eater.

Until his mother showed up and started to defend the loathsome Snivellus. Harry chuckled at the remembered nickname as Sirius was there as well, laughing along. But Lily's defense was quickly ended as he called her a mudblood and she turned an icy gaze of contempt and hatred towards her now former friend.

Harry loved her in that moment of scorn towards Snape.

The memory faded and Harry let it go as he then found the night when James Potter had stopped Snivellus from reaching Lupin down the secret tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack. The event played out much as Black had described it, so Harry once again stepped back and searched for a later memory.

What he found shocked him.

Snape was now a proud Death Eater, with the tattoo marking his left forearm. He was relaying the words he had heard of a supposed prophecy. Harry realized at once what this meant. Who else was born as the seventh month died?

This fucking bastard had led the Dark Lord to attacking the Potters.

An image flashed again, and this time, Snivellus was asking Voldemort to spare his mother. He wanted her for his own, and the Dark Lord chuckled about giving Snape a pet mudblood for his amusement after he ended the Potter line.

That was all it took. Snape's fate was sealed.

Harry fled from the twisted, evil mind as fast as he could.

* * *

Pansy finally relaxed as Harry stepped back from Snape, panting and closing his eyes.

"That fucking bastard," he muttered.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be," he answered with his eyes still closed as he tried to slow his breathing. "Cast the spell to check for a life debt between us."

Pansy complied. "He does owe you one."

"Good because I'm going to make him pay and pay dearly," Harry said with his teeth grinding.

"What's wrong?"

"This piece of scum is the reason my parents are dead."

Pansy's heart ached for Harry and before she even realized she was doing it, her wand fired a cutting curse at Snape.

Harry's reaction was just as fast, though, and he swept her arm up, making the spell fire into the wall above the bed.

"What are you doing? Let me kill him. He doesn't deserve to live," she argued as Harry pulled her into his arms.

"I know, but I can't let you get in trouble over this Death Eater filth. You are worth so much more than him."

Harry kissed her forehead, then turned back to Snape while Dobby repaired the wall.

"Besides, there must be a more fun way to kill him than just slitting his throat in the night. And we all agreed that not getting caught tonight was important."

"Alright, but I want to be there when we get our revenge," she replied.

"Of course. But first...

" _Obliviate! Confundo!_ You had a bad dream about how you betrayed the Potter family, but that's all you remember. Go back to sleep."

Snape's eyes clouded over for a second then his eyelids drooped and he dozed off.

"Dobby, back to our room," Harry said quietly, and with that they were gone.

* * *

Neither of them got much sleep that night. Plans were formed and discarded as they were all too violent and outlandish. Crucifying and gutting the greasy bastard might have been fun and painful, but they would never get away with it.

The night finally ended as Dobby sent them off to the bath for a nice hot soak. He knew his family well, and that did finally act as a remedy for their upset minds.

They awoke the next morning a bit stiff and very pruny. The water was still warm though, something that Dobby must have taken care of. He had a hot breakfast waiting for both of them after they dressed as well.

Harry and Pansy both thanked him and suggested that he sleep for the rest of the day. The elf agreed but only after they both promised not to go near the _evil greasy one_ without him there to watch over them.

The lack of lessons that day was a good thing. Harry and Pansy packed their belongings slowly. When they emerged for lunch, Harry only muttered about not sleeping well the night before. Hermione had obviously noticed his lethargy. Pansy's brooding that day was less noticeable.

Luna tried to cheer them both up that afternoon. Since they were all free that afternoon, she eventually managed to talk Harry into going to visit Hagrid.

Heading towards his hut near the forest reminded Harry of an idea.

And Hagrid was all too pleased to help them take a few thestrals out for a ride that afternoon. Despite their gaunt appearance, the beasts were more than strong enough to fly with riders on their backs. Harry was even able to get Pansy to join him for a flight over the Black Lake. She wasn't much for flying usually, but she did start to relax while pressing herself up against his back.

They both sat quietly soaking in the atmosphere that night at the Leaving Feast. Gryffindor had won for the third year in a row, and Harry had once again been largely responsible. Between the quidditch victory, driving away the dementors, and Snape not being able to take points off of him for things like breathing too loudly, he helped them to come out way ahead.

Pansy was glad that Slytherin lost that night, just so she could see the pained look on that evil piece of shite as he reluctantly clapped for Gryffindor. She knew Harry was treasuring that feeling just as much. The meal was delicious, and the dessert tasted that much sweeter, but Pansy was waiting for tomorrow's final course.

* * *

Harry awoke the next day feeling very energetic. They got dressed together and grabbed their wands while Dobby made sure nothing was left behind, double checking that they hadn't missed anything when they packed.

Pansy followed him down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione and Luna were soon to join them and they made small talk over the eggs and sausage- the bacon of course being reserved for Hedwig. Luna noted how Harry looked particularly free of Nargles today, and he thanked her for noticing. He held up a plate full of greasy treats for his owl, who soon swooped down with the day's paper.

Harry smirked thinking that tomorrow would have a much more interesting headline.

He and Pansy had both finished eating by the time Ron came hurrying to sit down near them. Of course, he had waited till the last minute to pack and was now shoveling a mountain of food onto his plate. Harry shook his head at that, wondering if Ron would still have his appetite in a few minutes.

Looking up to the head table, the teachers were almost all there, although Harry hadn't seen Lupin for a couple of days. He only briefly noted that before scanning down the table to his prey.

It was time for Snape to pay the piper.

Pansy gave him a wicked grin as Harry stood from the bench and stepped into the middle of the aisle. He took a few steps towards the teachers, and raised his left hand. The Potter ring began to emit a faint glow.

"Severus Snape," Harry bellowed out and the head of Slytherin looked up.

"What do you want, Potter?" he snarled.

"As head of House Potter, I am calling you forth." There was a round of gasps as Snape stood.

"What do you think you're doing, you foolish boy?"

"I am calling on magic to make you pay for your crimes, _Death Eater_ ," Harry hissed out. The ring flashed brightly and Snape stumbled as he had tried to make his way down the aisle to Harry's position. "Many of you may not know this, but _Snivellus_ here went to school with my parents. And while they were both students, my father saved his life."

"Harry, stop this-" Dumbledore began.

"This is out of your hands, headmaster. This Death Eater filth should have paid for his sins years ago, if not for your interference.

"As I was saying, my father saved Snape's life. And how do you think he repaid this?"

People were now staring shocked as the light from the sapphire gem glowed darker, almost a midnight blue. Snape was on his knees, obviously in pain, but unable to move.

"He became a follower of the Dark Lord as soon as he graduated Hogwarts. He overheard a prophecy of a child who would be powerful enough to slay his precious Dark Lord, and this led to the Death Eaters hunting my family. Of course, that would be bad enough, but _Snivellus_ here took it a step further.

"When he realized which family Voldemort was after, he pleaded to spare my mother's life. You see this cretin was obsessed with her and wanted her for his own. The Dark Lord agreed to give her to Snape _like a prize_ after he ended the Potter line by murdering my father and I.

"That was how this piece of scum repaid my father for the life debt he owed.

"I call on magic to hear my plea. Punish this betrayer of House Potter. End his line as he tried to end mine."

Dumbledore was attempting to reach them, but the magic pouring out of the Potter Ring was pushing everyone away from Snape, who was now collapsed on the floor. Blood was leaking from his ears.

Harry could hear nothing over the roar of magic itself singing to him.

Pansy was grinning ear to ear as she watched Snape writhing on the ground in pain.

Dumbledore called out once again, but his voice was unable to reach either Harry or Snape. The reactions from the students were varied and loud. Some were actually cheering, including Weasley Pansy noted, who was still stuffing his face with food. Granger looked horrified by what was going on. Luna had her usual wide eyed expression, which could have meant almost anything. Pansy had basically given up on trying to comprehend the little blonde.

She looked back over to Snape, with blood now streaming out of his mouth, nose and eyes as well. He was clearly wracked with pain, and Harry stood over him serenely. The glow from the ring flashed brightly and there was a whoosh that swept through the crowd.

Snape was no longer moving, his black eyes now lifeless.

Dumbledore crouched down by the former Potions professor and felt for a pulse.

"Harry, what have you done?"

"I made a Death Eater pay for his crimes. Something that should have been done years ago. That bastard should have never been allowed anywhere near children. He should have been rotting in Azkaban.

"You know, Sirius told me how he had worked for you all those years ago, fighting Death Eaters at your side. Despite that, you did nothing when he was thrown directly in prison. But then, you stood by and defended this scum," Harry said as he kicked at Snape's leg.

"Some loyalty you showed to your Order of the Phoenix. One man not even allowed a trial. Two others murdered, and yet you stood by this traitor. If that is your idea of justice, then you should be removed from the Wizengamot immediately.

"After all, you're going to need more time this summer to find a new Potions professor. Might try for one that actually knows how to teach this time, instead of this pathetic, petty little man who did nothing but bully and terrorize children. Children supposedly under your care."

Harry stopped himself in the middle of his rant. The old man was actually weeping over Snape's corpse. It made him shake his head in disgust. He had more to say, _a lot more_ , about how Dumbledore's interference had shown just how little he cared for Harry when he took him to the Dursleys.

But today's revenge, today's justice, was enough for now.

"Pansy, I think it's time to leave."

She stood and followed him as they left the Great Hall. There were many whispers left behind in their wake. It was an end unlike any other year at Hogwarts.

But Harry and Pansy were just getting started.

**End of Year 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know that I've pushed the life debt idea a lot further than in canon, and I want to assure everyone that it will not be nearly as important in later years. Harry saving Wormtail in the Shrieking Shack just as James had saved Snape almost twenty years before was an important part of PoA though.
> 
> Ultimately, it seems like both cases of mercy were poor choices as Snape's later actions cost James his life, and Wormtail's freedom directly led to Voldemort's return and untold amounts of death, starting with Bertha Jorkins and Frank Bryce, both victims long before Cedric Diggory, and both often forgotten.
> 
> Now, about Snape: Harry & Pansy looked at him in the worst possible light. Snape fans can argue that he wasn't completely evil, but neither of our lead characters would care about that, and once his role in the deaths of James & Lily came to light, there was absolutely no way in hell Harry would let him live.
> 
> And while Snape might have lamented the death of Lily, he never cared one bit about his part in James Potter's death. As evidence, see six books of how incredibly shitty he behaves towards Harry just because he looks like his father. A father Harry had never even seen until the Mirror of Erised- and all because of Snape.
> 
> That is unforgivable in my book, and it was not Dumbledore's place to offer him redemption, especially not while allowing the petty man to torment Harry unchecked for six long years.
> 
> Strategically, it would have been better to keep Snape alive. Both for Harry to use him to force him to try to repay the life debt in the future, and for Dumbledore, who has now lost his spy for the Dark Lord's eventual return. Snape's death removes an important character from the board and will drive this story further from canon in later years.
> 
> Despite not being labeled as an AU, the further the story goes, the more things will diverge from the books. Harry and Pansy's actions will cause ripples, some deeper than others.
> 
> Until next time!


	41. School's Out for Summer

* * *

"Well, that's got to be the most memorable exit Hogwarts has ever seen."

"I would think so," Harry answered as he closed the door to their compartment on the train. It wasn't too surprising that no one else had yet made it down to the Hogwarts Express. "Why exactly are we bothering to take the ride home instead of just having Dobby pop us back to the flat?"

"We don't want people to think that you did anything wrong," Pansy answered. "Magic itself judged Snape poorly. He happily betrayed the life debt he owed to your father; he deserved no less than a painful death for that. If the other students see you riding the train home as if this is natural, then they will be less inclined to start another wave of disapproval towards your actions.

"And I know at least those raised with magical backgrounds- well some of them anyway- will see what happened as proof that Snape was in the wrong. It's not like you raised your wand to cast anything at him. I'm curious to see how Dumbledore tries to spin this off in the press. It's not like he can Obliviate the entire school. Word of this will get out, and the fact that he let a man who was largely responsible for your parents deaths not only teach at Hogwarts, but also torment you for the first couple of years until Sam threatened Dumbledore, well..."

"Yeah, I can't see how the headmaster can make any of that look like a good idea. Snape was a monster. And since you reminded me, I should probably contact Sam as soon as possible about crafting a statement for the ministry and/or the press. He would be better at handling that sort of thing than I would."

"And that's what you pay him for after all. How do you think your friends will react to Snape's death?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Ron was cheering me on."

"Then you would be correct. Which of course means that I'll be forced to endure his presence for at least part of the ride home."

"I won't let it be too bad, I promise. Besides, the rest of summer should be Weasley free, and I know you're looking forward to that."

"You do know me so well," she purred. Pansy looked out the window and saw that the rest of the students were still not to the platform, so she kissed Harry. "I might not get to do that again for several hours, and you must know how excited I got watching you take care of Snape."

"I could always throw up a half dozen Notice-Me-Not charms, and we could always start celebrating the end of the school year a little early."

"Tempting," she replied, as Harry began kissing her neck. "Stop."

"Don't wanna."

"I don't want you to either, but this is important."

"Fine, but don't expect to do anything else when we get home."

"Don't pout, Harry, I'm not exactly happy about this. But one of us has to be able to control their hormones, and I don't see you applying for the job."

"I'll have you know I control my hormones every day."

"How so?"

"We still go to class don't we?" Harry chuckled and Pansy rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright you goofball, how do you think the rest of your friends are going to react to today's events?"

"Hmm, well I know at least two thirds of my favorite ladies will be alright with it."

"Two thirds?"

"You, obviously, and Luna too I would guess. She told me that he started treating her worse in class this spring, once it became known that she was my friend. Not as badly as he treated Neville or Ron from what I've heard, thankfully. Ironic, that me defending her from bullying actually led to one bully targeting her more. That's yet another reason I'm glad that evil fuck is dead.

"Hermione will be upset and worrying over what I've done and all sorts of fallout from ridding Hogwarts of that vile piece of filth who should have never been allowed to be around children, and probably ten other things too. I'd wear myself out trying to keep up with her trains of thought as it sometimes seems like she has five going at once. I think she'll be on my side, just possibly with more of her usual nagging behavior. I know she means well, but Hermione really needs to learn to relax."

He had an idea about that, but it was a long term plan, and he had no idea how easily he'd be able to pull it off. Well, keeping Hermione sane would just have to be up to her parents over the summer.

"Okay then, who else do you think will bother stopping by on the train ride?"

"Well, the other Weasleys probably. Maybe the rest of the quidditch team. And I suppose Parvati and Lavender will be stopping by to flutter their eyelashes at me."

"That does get a bit annoying at times. I'll be happy to not have to deal with any other girls trying to steal your attention over the summer."

"You always have my attention, and you know it. I would still like to visit Luna at some point, though."

"Why?"

"Well, aside from the fact that Luna is just really fun to be around, I'm curious to see more of how magical families live. I've really only seen brief hints of your family and the Weasleys, and I don't want to live like either of those two examples."

"Oh, what did you dislike about the Weasleys? And Harry, be sure not to leave out _any_ details."

Harry smiled at her pleased smirk but indulged her anyway.

"The house itself was rather odd, as the construction would have nearly been a violation of the statute of secrecy. It was like they added on more floors and rooms as they kept having children, and they clearly didn't know what they were doing because without magic the whole building would probably come crashing down. However, if they were going to do that they should have built it much bigger."

"I thought you said it was something like four stories tall."

"Well, other than the ground floor, the others mostly were just a couple of bedrooms stacked on top of each other randomly. But it must have been a nightmare a few years ago."

"What do you mean?"

"Seven children. Five bedrooms. One bathroom."

Pansy gasped and shuddered, and Harry smiled as he had anticipated that response.

"People actually lived like that? That sounds terrible. Even sharing a bathroom just with you at the flat isn't as nice as when we have access to two at the castle."

"We don't have to both get ready in the mornings at the flat though."

"It's still not polite to keep a lady waiting, Harry."

"As I recall, it's usually me that ends up doing the waiting."

They were interrupted as the door slid open, and Luna stepped inside.

"What are you waiting for, Harry? Me, I hope."

"Oh, I was just talking about waiting in general. It's nice to see you though, Luna."

"Thank you. I wasn't sure if the two of you would want company or not."

"We're all about keeping up appearances, apparently," Harry said with a sigh.

"Good, then that means having a friend sitting with you would not be the wrong appearance I hope. I wasn't looking forward to finding somewhere else to sit."

"You're more than welcome to join us."

"Thanks. I hope I won't be bothering you, Pansy."

"Don't worry, Luna. You bother me much less than some of the people I expect to come visit."

"That's good to know. I do suppose it would be impolite to speculate on the order of those you dislike the most." Luna had said that in her care-free manner, as if gossiping with Pansy about which of his friends (Ron obviously) she disliked the most was no big deal since Luna herself was not at the top of the list. He really liked Luna, but he would never understand her. Cattiness was not something he would expect from the blonde, but it usually amused him when it came from Pansy; so as long as they weren't bitching about Hermione, he really wouldn't care.

"Especially since people are boarding the train now, we wouldn't want to speak ill of those who may stop in," Harry added. "What are you looking forward to this summer, Luna?"

"I'm not sure yet. Daddy often sets out on expeditions searching for rare animals or lost magical places. That could be a fun way to spend at least part of the summer. It's one of his dreams to find evidence of where exactly Atlantis disappeared to. Last year we traveled to Transylvania."

"Isn't that where Dracula is from?" Harry asked, jokingly.

"Yes, but that wasn't why we went there. We were hoping to find the long lost invisible pygmy wolves of the Carpathians. Unfortunately, they are still long lost. However, it was a fascinating trip."

"You know, a lot of muggles also love the idea of finding Atlantis," Harry said with a small smile.

"Really?" Pansy asked. "I thought muggles didn't believe in fantastical things like that."

"A lot don't, but there are still some dreamers out there that hold on to ideas of the mystical and supernatural. Those types of people would absolutely love to see most of the things the magical world takes for granted. Hell, a few years ago, I was one of those people."

Once again, the compartment door opened as Hermione joined them, followed by Ron.

"Harry, what have you done? You killed professor Snape!"

"Hermione, that scumbag never taught anyone anything in his life. We would have learned more in Potions with a ghost like Binns- at least he wouldn't have actively encouraged people like Malfoy to sabotage the rest of us in class.

"As for what I was doing, I was avenging my murdered parents."

"And good riddance!" Ron cheerfully agreed.

"But Harry is going to get in so much trouble."

"Why?" Pansy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"All Harry did was call for a traitor to be judged. He did not lift his wand, nor cast any spell. If you hoped some awful person in the muggle world were to be hit by a bus, do you think they would arrest you if that did actually happen? Magic itself made Snape pay for his crimes. If you have trouble thinking that's true, then think of it like karma."

"But-"

"Hermione, believe me, I've done more research on life bonds than probably anyone you know," Harry added. "Don't you remember what happened when Draco attacked me? The only reason I can think of that didn't happen to Snape is that he didn't personally try to murder my father and I. But he certainly didn't care when my father was killed, and he wouldn't have cared if I died either. All he wanted was my mother. Because he was a creepy fucking pervert who seriously thought she would love him after her husband and infant son were murdered. What a fucking lunatic!"

Hermione was so shocked by Harry's outburst that for once she forgot to chide him about his language.

"But, Harry, how do you even know that?"

Crap.

Harry looked at Pansy and she raised an eyebrow as if she expected him to come up with something.

"It's a secret, Hermione. Let's just say that if it weren't true, then Snape wouldn't have been found guilty. But obviously he was, so therefore, you can be assured that I was right."

Luna nodded along, as if that made all the sense in the world to her, so Harry knew that it wouldn't pacify Hermione Granger.

And sure enough, it didn't.

"If this was some secret, then why did you tell everyone in the Great Hall?"

"Because I wanted that fucking bastard to pay! He may as well have killed my parents, and Dumbledore not only let him terrorize children, and behave like an absolute twat to me, but he actually protected him from going to Azkaban. He should have been put on trial, and all of this should have come out right before they fed him to the dementors. Snivellus Snape deserved no mercy, and I'm glad he's dead."

That put an end to the discussion, as everyone looked around uncomfortably. The twins took that opportunity to step inside.

"Sounds like there's a party going on in here. Celebrating the demise of the former Potions nightmare, are we?"

"Well, I was trying to," Ron answered. "But Hermione had to get all worried about things and set Harry off."

"Hermione, I'm sure you mean well," began the twin on the right. Fred, maybe? "But you don't understand how important family is in the magical world. Old family lines are a big deal. There are a lot of people that try to make sure they marry people from other old families."

"Not only because they believe purebloods are better," the other twin added. "That's just gits like the Malfoys. But there is a lot of prestige in marrying well. Not just for marrying someone from a rich family, but also someone from a magically powerful family. Harry's parents were Head Boy and Girl, which meant they were smart and good at magic. Add in that Harry's dad was an only child and the last of the Potter line, and you have a fair amount of money too.

"Snape almost single handedly ended that out of spite and malice. If not for the little miraculous boy wonder, that is."

"The magical world is already a small place; losing entire families made it weaker. That's one of the reasons you-know-who's reign of terror was such a big deal- the entire British magical culture suffered a lot. It's a miracle Dumbledore has held onto his post with the ICW. Britain is not nearly as powerful as it once was."

"How do you guys know so much about this?" Harry asked.

"We pay attention to things that are important. Percy's been wanting to get into politics for years now, and as annoying as he can be, he is smart enough to have made Head Boy. Plus, our oldest brother Bill works for Gringotts and travels a lot. He tells us all sorts of things about the rest of the world."

"And from everything he says, Britain has fallen pretty far from the top position that we used to have. Just don't tell that to anyone in power. They like their illusions, and that's one of the reasons we give Percy so much grief. Who would want to work for a government that is run by people that are just full of it?"

"That does help explain some of the stupidity I've seen," Harry agreed. "If the ministry knew what it was doing, those dementors never would have been let anywhere near Hogwarts. It only took a near catastrophe, and hundreds of angry letters, to make them see reason."

"Exactly. Our brother must be mad to want to join them," the first twin agreed. "So, what's next on the agenda for our illustrious Lord Potter?"

Harry laughed at the twin's snooty voice. "Going home to take a nap."

"Big things then." The second twin nodded knowingly.

"Well, I've done a good day's work already. I might even take a nap on the train ride for awhile."

"Harry, you're going to be as lazy as Ron talking like that," Hermione chided.

"It did actually feel a bit draining with Snape being judged," Harry admitted. A second later, a yawn further drove the point home.

"Well, don't let us keep our favorite seeker from his nap time."

"Right, George, see you later ladies and gentlemen." The twins stood, doffed imaginary caps, and left the compartment.

Harry yawned again and Luna stood up.

"Scoot over, Ronald," she said.

"What for?"

"So that Harry can have his nap."

"Do you mind?" Harry asked as he looked over at Pansy.

"Fine, but you still owe me for last time."

"Last time?"

"Lap rental from the beginning of the year's nap."

"Are you sure I never paid you back for that?"

"Not officially," she said with a smirk.

"Alright," Harry said, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a pouch full of coins and handed it to her. "You can either wake me when the food trolley comes around or just get me something."

He stretched his legs out and laid his head in Pansy's lap. She squirmed for a second and Harry heard just a hint of a growl come from her. If not for the company, he would have teased her about it. But as much as he wanted to have some nice, physical fun with her, Harry really was starting to feel more tired by the minute. Must have been the adrenaline wearing off.

Harry only briefly felt fingers brushing through his hair before he drifted off to sleep...

* * *

By the end of the train ride, Harry wished much more that Pansy hadn't talked him out of using Dobby to go straight back to the flat. Snacks from the food trolley were nice, but a far cry from an actual lunch. More people than he thought he knew came by to say something to him, many out right thanking him for getting rid of Snape, others just wanting to wish him well for the summer. He had an idea that people were extra nice to him since they all knew all too well about the life debts they owed him.

Christ, it wasn't like he was going to ask any of them to do something for him.

Although, it must not have seemed that way to the rest of the student body, he supposed. There were two deaths now attributable to life debts- but as long as the other students were not actively trying to kill him, that really shouldn't matter.

But then, he did have Pansy too. Not that many people had figured that one out. Other than Luna, of course.

Hermione seemed to just accept that Pansy was his other best friend, and she did at times (like the most recent lap pillow incident) dote on Harry, so there was clearly a close relationship there. However, most of the other students their age weren't really dating yet, so the much more intimate nature was still a secret. Harry was tired of that deception; he would definitely savor not having to worry about it for the next couple of months.

They said their goodbyes to their friends and watched as the others all met up with their families. Pansy smiled at that- for the first time, the summer didn't mean returning to a depressing house with a violent father and an alcoholic mother.

A sex-obsessed boyfriend and a fanatically loyal house-elf were huge steps up by comparison.

She just hoped that Harry would want to do a few other things this summer.

"Take us home Dobby."

* * *

Almost as soon as they appeared in the flat, Harry's hands were all over her. Pansy felt his lips trailing down her neck and managed to groan out "bedroom" before feeling him lift her up and carry her.

She was kissing him, her eyes closed as they moved through the hall and then crashing into the bedroom. Every inch of her felt inflamed; she felt the mattress sag underneath her as Harry set her down and leaned back. Pansy reached down to begin unbuttoning her blouse, but Harry took her hands in his.

"It's a lot more fun when you let me do that," he smiled. She grinned back and responded by tearing his shirt open, buttons popping off.

"Oops," she purred.

Harry threw his shirt off and across the room, then pushed her back down against the bed. He took her shoes off, then slid his hands up her legs and underneath her skirt. He really seemed to love doing that, but she wasn't going to complain. His hands running up her thighs was always a turn on.

"This is why I love you in a skirt," he said as he slid her panties down, then kissed up the inside of her thighs.

"Easy access," she managed to say before a gasp as he reached his target.

Pansy had been massively turned on earlier in the day, and that feeling had never really passed all through the train ride. It had ebbed now and then, especially when one of his more annoying friends was talking, but watching Harry stand over Snape as the bastard finally got what was coming to him was enthralling. She didn't have the nerves and worry that she'd had when he dueled Malfoy; this time she could just enjoy seeing the demise of one of their enemies.

It was even more exciting than when he had shown her the memory of her father's death.

Now, though, she was soaked, and yet Harry was still taking his time, driving her over the edge. It didn't take long before she was shivering in pleasure, but he still wasn't stopping.

"Harry, please," she moaned. When he still didn't answer, she grabbed his hair and pulled him up, but Harry resisted, kissing up her stomach to her breasts. He still wasn't in her grasp.

"Dammit Harry, fuck me!"

She felt him chuckle against her right breast, but he finally, _finally_ slid inside her. And when he started, he held nothing back. 'This was more like it.'

She knew he had been excited as well, so it was no surprise that Harry was as energetic, frantic even, as he had ever been. And she needed that, she needed to feel him pounding them into the mattress. If they broke the bed, that would be a good sign. Besides, Harry had claimed to have pretty much mastered the Reparo spell.

She lost that train of thought when he began swirling a wet fingertip around the nipple that his lips weren't clamped onto. That was a wonderful new trick. Oh god, there it was- she felt the spasms come deep from her core and spread out through her whole body.

(It would be two weeks later before she remembered to ask him about the nipple thing.)

Just after coming down from the wave of her own orgasm, she felt Harry begin to peak, and a warm contentment filled her just as he did. She loved it when he came inside her. Pansy didn't know if other girls liked it as much as she did- that wasn't something she could talk about with Parvati and Lavender, obviously- but she assumed it must be pretty normal. That's what our bodies were made for, anyway. The biological urge.

Harry's urge was almost ever-present. He was still hard as he rolled them both over so she was astride him. He liked to wait to pull out for as long as possible. She tried to catch her breath and began to realize just how hungry she was.

Harry summoned the sheet up over them before calling for Dobby.

"Dinner will be ready soon, master Harry," the elf said without even being questioned.

"You're the best, Dobby," Pansy answered, feeling Harry's heart still pounding against her chest.

"What she said," he agreed.

* * *

"This tub needs to be bigger," Pansy said as she wriggled, trying to get more comfortable with Harry behind her. She felt his approval at this movement. "That will have to wait. Don't you ever get enough?"

"Enough of sex? With you? God, I hope not." Pansy harumphed in his lap and he smiled at the smirk he just knew he provoked when his arousal poked at her again. "Look, just because you've already hit double digits doesn't mean I have. I'm not lucky enough to have multiple orgasms, and I have to take breaks when I do finish."

"If not for the refractory period, I think guys like you would fuck till their cocks fell off," she huffed.

"Probably," he laughed. "Seriously though, we'll be having this same conversation in reverse in twenty years or so. It's not my fault men and women don't have sexual peaks that line up by age."

"Yes, well, I'll just have to remind you then of how indulgent I am now in the future when you start complaining."

Harry chuckled.

"Does that mean you admit you're complaining now?"

Pansy's response was to reach back over her shoulder and pinch his ear.

"Ow!"

"Be good or no more sex tonight."

"You should really take it as a compliment, you know?"

"We have other things to talk about."

"Alright, like what?"

"Like everything we want to do over the summer."

"Okay. We've got almost a week until we meet with Malcolm to go to France. What do you want to do in the mean time?"

"Nothing having anything to do with school, or the magical world in general. This last year was fucking stressful. Plus, I'm not sure how bad the funeral might be. I just want to relax for the next week."

"Fine with me," Harry agreed. "Everything will be alright. At the funeral, I mean. Whatever you need, you know I'll be there for you."

"I know," Pansy sighed. "I'm still not looking forward to it, but I think you're right that it's something I need to do."

She laid her head back against him, and Harry kissed her neck while wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she answered. "Let's talk about something more pleasant. What else do we want to do this summer?"

"Well, we've got a standing invitation to visit Luna any time other than the last two weeks of July. And Luna is pretty much always fun."

"True, but she's even more fun when I get to watch Granger's reactions to her."

"We could always take Hermione along with," Harry suggested. "She would probably enjoy seeing a magical family's home."

"And I could encourage Luna to try to make her head explode. You're so nice to me, Harry," she giggled.

"Well, I've been thinking of a number of things to try to get Hermione to be less uptight. Luna could help with that if I could just get Hermione to be more open minded. You would think going from the muggle world to the magical would make her more inclined to believe in things that seemed impossible. I know that's how it is for me."

"Yeah, I don't know what Granger's problem is. Or problems, really. Sometimes, I almost think I could like her, but then there are things like how she still seems to actually like that buffoon Weasley."

"I still like Ron, too."

"Maybe, but you've been less inclined to put up with all his stupidity and bullshit this year. My wonderful influence, _obviously_ ," she drawled out. "Besides, you don't have a crush on someone that treats you like crap the way he does to her."

Harry snorted.

"Yeah, I don't get that either. And for the record, I've been harsher with Ron because of how much of a git he's been to the women in my life. When it's just him and me, he's not bad, but whenever he's around you, or Luna, or even Hermione, it's like his inner arsehole comes out. It doesn't make sense to me. It just seems natural to be nicer to girls, not more of a jerk like Ron. He's pretty crappy towards his sister too."

"You're just a natural gentleman, Harry. Most of the guys at Hogwarts could take a lesson or two from you, and that's before we even get close to some of the entitled pureblood dickheads."

"Hey, I did get rid of one of the worst of them."

"Yes, you did, and I will be rewarding you more for that this summer. But with Malfoy gone, believe me, there will be others strutting down the halls thinking that their family is now the richest and most obnoxious. It almost makes me feel bad for some of the upper years. Can you imagine how poor the school must have been to put a pompous brown-noser like Weasley as the Head Boy?"

"Honestly, I kinda expect that type to get the Head Boy and prefect positions."

"Well, in the past it has gone to much more dynamic and charismatic people more often than not. Like your parents."

"I hope you don't expect me to live up to that. Trouble seems to follow me like a shadow."

"I expect to help keep you from getting caught, keeping you out of trouble is probably impossible. And as long as you don't get caught, then you could become Head Boy. Just think of all the things Black keeps writing you that he and your father got away with when they were at Hogwarts."

"I suppose. Sirius likes the stories where they got caught too. It seems like they were both pretty shameless."

"And you're only shameless when we're in private," she chuckled. "What do you want to do about Black?"

"I'm not sure yet. For some reason, I find it hard to hate him. I haven't forgiven him for not choosing to take care of me."

"Good. I'm not forgiving him for that either. Stupid wanker fucked up your childhood with his idiocy. And that reminds me, whenever we have children, there is no way in hell that some moron like Weasley will be the godfather."

"Sure," Harry snorted. He couldn't imagine Ron becoming responsible enough even in a decade or two, so that wasn't an argument he was interested in pursuing.

"But, about Sirius, I am a bit more inclined to... I don't know. Not forgive him, precisely, but... give him another chance? I guess.

"It's not like Lupin who just fucking forgot all about me for twelve years. Self-centered prick. Sirius at least suffered too. Azkaban and the Dursleys probably weren't too far apart in some ways. Because of that, I guess I'm willing to keep talking to him. Does that make sense?"

"Yes. Alright, so we'll probably have a visit with Black later this summer too then. And I assume you'll drag me along to go see Granger as well?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to go. But Hermione probably does have a lot more experience with things in the muggle world than I do, really."

"Muggle libraries, soooo interesting."

"I'm sure her parents at least took her to restaurants, films, the theater, things like that occasionally. I mean, the first time I ever went to see a movie was with you last Christmas."

"And it was wonderful, Harry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of the past."

"It's alright. I'm just saying that Hermione wouldn't necessarily be as driven during the summer. At least, I hope not."

"Fine. But I think I want in on whatever plans you have to get her to relax."

"I'll tell you later. If I didn't think she would give us all ulcers with her constant 'study, study, study' demands, I might have considered trying to talk her into going back to Divination. That time-turner could have come in handy some time in the future, I'm sure."

"Maybe, but I don't think dealing with the incredibly high-strung Granger for four more years would be worth it."

"Probably not. And I'm not quite that manipulative, either. You know the one thing I'm not looking to about seeing her, though? Hiding this. Us."

"I know, Harry."

"That's one of the other things I like about Luna. Why do we have to keep hiding it? The Malfoys are gone. Your father is gone. Snape is gone. I don't think I can do that for another year, Pansy."

"It will change things if other people know."

"But we got rid of so many enemies already. I did it to protect you. I just... I want everyone to know that you're my girlfriend. I don't like having people like Lavender flirt with me constantly."

"Or Parvati?"

"Parvati doesn't bother me as much. She isn't as extremely blatant about things. Hell, Lavender proposed taking me to a broom closet and quote "blowing my mind, or something else.'"

"That was pretty funny," Pansy giggled.

"We were in Charms!"

"That's why she did it. Flitwick is a push over; she wouldn't have tried that if MacGonagall could over hear it."

"Anyway, I'm tired of it."

"You know that will just mean all those girls will shift their attention to me, and giving me nasty stares. Don't you want to protect me from that?"

"You're taking advantage of my heroic nature," Harry grumbled. "Of course I want to protect you from that."

"Look, Harry, in a lot of ways I want to stop hiding too. I just think there will be some ramifications that neither of us will like. People will talk about you taking advantage of your servant, you know."

"People talk behind our backs constantly. The dementors, the Malfoys, Black, Snape. I'm sure there will be ten more reasons next year too."

"I understand. Let's just try to think everything through before we decide on changing things like that, okay?"

"Okay."

They relaxed after that. It had been a long day, after all. And judging by what was still poking up against her bum, Harry intended to make it a long night too.


	42. Funeral in France

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This chapter features Genevieve Lalaurie, an OC created by my friend ReluctantSidekick who appears in his stories Partners & Your Love Is All The Magic I Need. I highly recommend Narcissa's Chance, my favorite of his stories, in which Harry ends up back in the 70s teaching at Hogwarts. I might be a bit biased, as it features a Potter/Parkinson pairing as well, plus it has some very interesting twists compared to the typical canon. Mademoiselle Lalaurie is used with permission.

{French}

* * *

"Just hold me."

It was all he could get out of her, but he accepted her somber mood. He had sort of seen this coming anyway.

The week had flown by faster than he had expected, but he always tried to keep her entertained. Getting a telly set up made that pretty easy. Harry was surprised that Dobby had somehow figured out a way to steal cable- he assumed from the Brightwells downstairs. Since they would only be around for a couple of months during the summer, Harry didn't feel any guilt over it.

He should have known his beautiful dancing girlfriend would get stuck on MTV. Pansy got to experience more new music in a few days than probably the rest of her life in the magical world. Or at least so she claimed. Harry smiled thinking about how she had been dragging him off to the record store almost daily.

Harry didn't get to become much of a music fan with the Dursleys either, so this was a nice treat for him too.

And they (mostly) tended to agree about which bands they liked. True, Pansy did think he liked too many of _those damn Yank bands_ , but Soundgarden rocked and she would never convince him that was a bad thing. She complained that you couldn't dance to it, and he supposed that would matter more to her than him.

Pansy had become immersed in Depeche Mode for the last couple of days. He thought they were okay at first, certainly a couple of songs he liked. But then he heard the song Blue Dress, which she danced to while wearing that blue dress from last summer- the first time they really snogged- and from then on Harry would have to admit they were bloody brilliant. Especially since she was wearing _only_ that blue dress.

As this evening had gotten late though, Pansy had grown quiet. Tomorrow morning, they were to meet her great uncle Malcolm for the trip to France, and Harry had been sadly correct that she needed closure over her mother's death. The few tears he felt against his chest were proof of that. They would also go uncommented on. Pansy had made it clear that she would tell him when she wanted to talk about things, and Harry had sworn not to push ever again since that awful fight last December.

So he just lay there with his arms around her. He hoped it would be enough.

The worry kept him awake. But he also felt her breathing slow, finally, just after noticing his right arm was tired. How long had he been softly running it up and down her back anyway?

Now if only he could relax enough to get some sleep too.

* * *

The next morning was stressful as hell for him. Pansy made him change four times before his outfit was up to her standards. Meanwhile, she was stressing over her own appearance as well. How much make up was too much? Or not enough? Should she do something special with her hair? Was she sure that the other black dress wasn't more appropriate for a funeral?

Harry tried to suffer silently. He greatly preferred taking her shopping to this. At least then she was happy, even if he did have to wait for an hour for her to try on half a dozen outfits. This nervous, frantic Pansy was not something he had really had to deal with before.

Noticing the clock striking eleven put him out of his misery. Pansy made three more minor changes before Dobby told miss Pansy that they had to go.

Harry was going to have to thank Dobby for that.

* * *

"That wasn't too bad," Pansy said as they landed from the portkey. She had managed to land on her feet, while Harry only had to take a knee as he stumbled a bit on arrival.

"Yes," Malcolm agreed. "Many people think that international port keys would be worse because of the greater distance, but I think the spinning sensation is just the normal part of the magic."

"Someone should try to get rid of that," Harry groaned.

"They'd make a fortune if they could create a smoother method of travel," Pansy added.

"True, but regardless, here we are."

"Bonjour, and welcome to France," a smiling, dark haired woman said as she walked over to them. She was of average height with a slender build. "I'm Camille Durand. You must be Pansy; we're terribly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Malcolm introduced himself, then Harry kissed the back of her hand.

"And of course, we have the famous Harry Potter. Thank you for bringing Pansy here."

"Malcolm is the one to thank, as he set all this up. I'm just here to support Pansy." She gave his arm a grateful squeeze.

"You are far too humble for someone of your reputation, Monsieur Potter," Camille smiled. "Do any of you need translation charms?"

"I do," Malcolm said.

"We're fine," Pansy answered.

"Oh?"

"I've been teaching French to Harry," Pansy replied with a small grin.

"Excellent." One quick charm for Malcolm later, and Camille switched languages. {"I was chosen to greet you as my English is better than most of the family."}

{"We appreciate that,"} Harry said. {"I assumed the funeral service would be in French, hence why Pansy started teaching me."}

{"That was smart of the two of you."}

{"I should have thought of something like that,"} Malcolm chuckled. {"Thank you for thinking of the charm, Mademoiselle Durand. I was more focused on the travel arrangements."}

{"Think nothing of it, Monsieur Parkinson. We are grateful that Pansy was able to come. There were some in the family that worried she would be unavailable."}

Harry noticed a brief glance in his direction, but said nothing of it.

Camille then led them over to the gathered family and three rows of chairs arranged before the grave. Harry noticed that most of the guests were female. A particularly tall older woman was looking keenly at them as they approached.

{"Auntie Evangeline?"}

{"Pansy, darling, I'm glad you remembered me. It has been far too long. Malcolm,"} she said with a nod. Harry noticed that she had dark greenish hazel eyes that were very similar to Pansy's but otherwise her features were only vaguely familiar. {"And you must be the one and only Harry Potter. We have heard many stories and rumors of your deeds."}

{"I would guess few of them were true,"} he answered. {"Some of the newer ones perhaps, depending upon how competent your press may be."}

{"I was more interested in the ones having to do with my family. Pansy's grandmother, Amelie, was my favorite cousin. Unfortunately, mostly due to that bastard Edmund, I have not seen either Dahlia or Pansy since Amelie's death.

{"It was _fascinating_ to hear of you claiming Pansy,"} Harry saw the fierce expression, but did not blink at her tone. {"It became even more of a wonder after what happened with Dahlia and Edmund. One might think you two planned it out in advance."}

Harry blinked but did not respond. He had been stared down by the likes of Dumbledore and McGonagall for years now- he was used to this sort of thing. Evangeline looked over to Pansy and he saw her flinch. It was small but out of character for her, and that worried Harry. Today was already getting to her. He hoped he would be enough to help her weather the day's events.

{"Regardless, it is good that you were able to save her from that Death Eater filth. A shame that you couldn't save her mother as well, but from what I had seen of Dahlia, I'm afraid she was lost to us years ago.

{"Enough of that now. Come and sit with me, child."}

The older woman took Pansy's other arm and led her (and Harry) to the front row of seats. He remembered his manners quickly enough to help both of them to sit, and Pansy was now between two people that cared for her. It gave him a bit of hope that this wouldn't be as awkward as the trip to his parents' graves.

Malcolm followed them and sat next to Harry. The older man patted Harry on the shoulder as he sat down next to him. It was a small gesture, but he appreciated it. Despite the ingrained paranoia they both sometimes felt, Pansy was warming to Malcolm, which meant Harry was as well. It was nice to have an adult other than Sam, who was friendly but still an employee, that they felt like they might be able to count on.

The Brightwells were wonderful people, but to Harry it was like they belonged to another part of his life. In the regular world, he and Pansy had to hide both more (everything magical) and less (their relationship) and because of that, Harry felt at times a bit schizophrenic. Only when they were alone did he really feel...

What exactly? Normal? Relaxed? Sane? He wasn't sure what to call it. Much better than the usual deceptions.

A priest stepped to the front of the grave as the rest of the crowd settled down into seats, drawing Harry's attention. Pansy had been listening to the whispering voice of "auntie" Evangeline, and he had allowed his mind to wander as he tried to respect their privacy.

The garb was a bit different from what Harry had seen of the British clergy. Later, he would realize that it was because the priest was Catholic.

{"Thank you all for coming today,"} he began. {"It has been years since I have seen some of you, and less than a week for others. In all cases, it is both a sorrow and a blessing for us to be gathered here today.

{"A blessing that so many could come together to remember the life of our beloved Dahlia, while at the same time a sorrow for us to have to mourn her passing all too soon. Years ago, I was honored by my old friend Amelie and her husband Stephen to be allowed to baptize their daughter. Dahlia Giselle Monroe may have been born in England, but a part of her heart always belonged here in France with us. The bigger part, obviously."}

The joke brought a few chuckles, even a small one from Pansy. Harry ruefully thought that she would have been better off if more of her mother's heart had been in England with her daughter. But then again, maybe there had been too much trauma done over the years of being married to a Death Eater. If only the damn ministry had done their jobs, Pansy could have grown up with a mother that could focus on her.

{"I was also there for her confirmation. Dahlia was a kind-hearted girl, if a bit small for her age. She was smart, and I still remember her telling me how excited she was to be going to Hogwarts. Our parish had been mixed for decades, and I still feel blessed to have known so many good people with the ability to do magic. Some of my faith would never say such a thing, never admit it even if it were true. Witchcraft is always evil according to many.

{"I notice many of you smirking at the fact that it is almost always denigrated as _witchcraft_ more so than magic. I'm sure I don't have to tell you good ladies the history of women alone being blamed for the sins of magic users. The dark witch is still a much more common idea than the dark wizard, even though the vast majority of those who followed both of the monsters of this century were men.

{"Thankfully, few of ours were lost to either period of darkness. But our small community has been different for centuries. I'd like to believe that the fellowship of our church has helped bring us together. If things had been different, maybe Dahlia could have been more involved with us. I still remember the joy in her eyes when she would come back to us in the summers. She would talk to several of you about your schools, and I still remember having to break up an argument between her and Mademoiselle Lalaurie over the merits of Hogwarts compared to Beauxbatons. Even though I may have been partial to our own school, it was not something the two girls needed to fight over. After all, Dahlia could not be blamed for having a British father."}

Again there were a few chuckles, and Harry thought he liked this priest more than he had expected he would.

{"Alas, I saw much less of her after her father's death. Strange that it was an Englishman's loss that drove her away from our home. But maybe we can see now why that large part of her heart was left behind here while she suffered under the darkness of that cowardly piece of filth.

{"No offense meant to our guests from across the channel, but it has always angered me that a British wizard would butcher our language to come up with his pseudonym. He couldn't even pronounce it properly. And still today they fear this foolishness,"} the priest let out a very impolite snort, and that was the thing that finally made Harry chuckle. He couldn't agree more. {"Even in France, we felt some of the pain during those days. We were not without our own losses, after all, but we were lucky in comparison to our neighbors.

{"If only the dark times had ended with the fall of that madman, but now we know that at least some of his followers bribed and lied their way to freedom. Monsieur Potter's miraculous survival may have stopped the leader of that darkness, but now we know that the lesser shadows were able to hide their evil deeds. The peace was restored to magical Britain, but now we know that behind closed doors, the darkness was still claiming victims.

{"And sadly, Dahlia became one of those victims. We can only be thankful that her daughter Pansy was not lost as well. The British may have been thankful for Monsieur Potter's survival all those years ago, but today I am thankful that he may be responsible for Pansy's survival. Even though she was not born here, we all claim her as part of our own. Know that you will always be welcome here child, for you are family to us all."}

Harry could see a lone tear running down her cheek, and he was, for just a moment, envious of her. It passed though, and he felt grateful that so many cared for her.

{"Dahlia was lost to us for many years, but now she has come home to France. May we all some day rejoice when we see her again. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace."}

A moment of silence swept over the mourners as Evangeline stood and used her wand to lower the coffin into the grave. In a matter of seconds, not only was the hole filled in with dirt but grass also spread out covering it. You would not be able to tell that it was a fresh grave. It was the sort of thing that Harry saw the others taking for granted but he found amazing.

The next twenty or thirty minutes were a blur of activity. The priest came over and spoke to Pansy, offering slightly more private condolences, and he was only the first of many. Malcolm was nearby, and the two British men received a few words of thanks for bringing Pansy to them. They were welcomed somewhat warmly as guests, but only Pansy was family.

Evangeline was keeping a close eye on them though, and Harry noticed her expression soften a bit as he stood by Pansy's side through it all. He had an idea that her family, or at least some of it, could see through them more clearly than the magic users back in England.

He also noticed that there were a couple of words of French that slipped through his mind during the conversations- and that they were the same words that Pansy had to ask about as well. He supposed it was a flaw in the charm they had used. Harry had learned French directly from Pansy's mind, and that meant he now possessed the exact same vocabulary that she had known at the moment she cast the spell. Regardless, it was enough for them to be able to almost completely fluent.

As the family gathering began to break up, Harry noticed one witch standing off to the side. She had long auburn hair and would have been roughly the same age as Pansy's mother. She seemed to be waiting for a bit more privacy, and sure enough, once all but Evangeline had wished them well, she stepped over to join them.

{"Pansy, let me introduce you to Genevieve Lalaurie. Malcolm, if you have a moment, I believe our younger kin need a moment to themselves."} The older witch took Malcolm's arm and they strode away.

"We may speak in English if you two don't mind," Genevieve began.

"As you wish," Pansy answered. "Is there something secret you wish to speak about?"

"It is nothing secret so much as potentially... shall we say, embarrassing?"

"For you?"

"For all of us possibly," Genevieve responded with a hint of a smile. "As was hinted about by the priest, you aren't the only one to have lost close family to the Dark Lord.

"I hadn't seen your mother since the day of your parents' wedding. I had thought of warning Dahlia away from Edmund as even then I knew what he was. It probably was too late to save her from him, but I suppose you also would not be here if I had."

"You knew he was a Death Eater?"

"I did."

"How?"

"It's a bit of a story. My father was a cold and merciless man, which did not lead to the most pleasant of childhoods. Although, I suppose I don't have to tell you much about that, do I?"

Pansy merely raised an eyebrow in response, and after a moment, Genevieve continued.

"My twin sister Jeanette was always somewhat more affected by our father's behavior. As the years went on, what drove me towards solitude and loneliness drove Jeanette to madness and the darker paths of magic. And that led her to joining the Dark Lord.

"Our father would have been proud, if he had still been alive. But Jeanette had killed him by then, and I can hardly tell you how thankful I felt. I failed my sister in the end, and I will always regret that all the more because of the debt I owed her for ridding me of him. It was the summer before our final year at Beauxbatons, and with my coming of age, you can probably imagine the type of man he would have arranged for me to marry.

"That was actually what drove Jeanette to kill him. She had a boy that was not up to our father's standards, and so he killed him. Or, more likely, he had him killed. He would not have bothered to dirty his hands with the killing of someone so insignificant as a peasant boy that my poor sister had taken a liking to.

"My sister was never the same though. Within a couple of years, she was gone. Off to England to follow this Brit with a fake French name. And within another couple of years, she was dead."

"I'm sorry," Pansy murmured as Genevieve looked away, composing herself.

"Merci," Genevieve replied. "At the time, I was seeing a man, nothing too serious. Not that Louis wasn't interested in being something more, but I had long ago built a wall around myself. He tried to comfort me when my sister died, and that led me to pushing him away.

"I was such a damn fool. Hearing about your mother and Edmund finally made me realize that, in a strange way. I was reminded by my lost British cousin's death. You see, I hadn't been doing much living of my own.

"Anyone who isn't blind can see there's something between you two," she finished as she looked between Harry and Pansy. "I know Evangeline saw it as well, and I suppose that's why she wanted me to talk to you. For your sake, Pansy, I hope you can learn from my mistake. I took someone who could have loved me for granted when I needed him most.

"You two are hiding what you are, and I can understand that what with Monsieur Potter's fame. But never take each other for granted. If he can help you, let him in. I wish someone had told me that all those years ago. I wasted a decade being alone and have only started trying to fix that mistake this last year. Of course, it was too late for me to find Louis- he had married and had two beautiful children since I last saw him. Thankfully, I might have found another decent man recently, but a part of me will always wonder what could have been."

"I don't take Harry for granted," Pansy insisted.

"I hope not. It is obvious how much he cares for you. Even as we speak, he instinctively pulls you close."

Harry realized she was right, as his arm had gone around Pansy's waist.

"I have no regrets for the things I have done; I only regret the things I was too afraid to do.

"If I had stood up to our father, maybe I could have protected my sister. If I had killed him, perhaps she could have found love with her stable boy. If I hadn't been such a coward, I could have married Louis and had those beautiful children with him. Do not let your fear push away the best parts of your life."

"I won't," Pansy answered in a quiet voice.

"I still say Dahlia would have been better off at Beauxbatons."

Genevieve started to laugh, and Pansy blinked in surprise before joining her.

"You were the one the priest joked about fighting with my mother?"

"We were both argumentative girls. And it was easy to infuriate Dahlia by telling her everything in France was better. The school, the food, _the boys_ ," she chuckled. "She was a year older than me, but I always knew how to push her buttons. I'm your third cousin, I believe. I can never remember how the once removed, twice removed thing goes. Dahlia was my second cousin, once removed. Grand-mere Evangeline made sure I remembered that before the funeral.

"As for you, Harry Potter," Genevieve said as she stared him down. "Take good care of my cousin. Or else."

"Believe me, I plan on it."

"Good. Now, you are officially invited to my home if you need a place to stay after the funeral. I'm sure grand-mere will offer as well."

"Actually, we're planning on going to Paris tonight," Pansy replied.

"Ah, young love. So, he is taking good care of you then?" Genevieve smirked at Pansy who grinned in response. "Excellent. Then for today, I bid you both adieu."

"Adieu, cousin, and merci beaucoup."

"Bonne chance, Harry Potter. I have a feeling you will need it."

"Thank you, madame," he replied.

They watched her walk away and Pansy then bid her auntie Evangeline farewell, while Harry explained to Malcolm that they would not need to join him for the trip back home as they were going to spend some time in France on vacation.

Once they were alone, Harry nodded over to the grave that Pansy was staring at.

"Do you want me to say something? That's what you did for me."

"No, just give me a minute."

"Alright."

Pansy took Harry's arm again and they stepped over right in front of the headstone. He looked to the side and noticed that Dahlia was buried next to her parents.

"I'm surprised your grandparents were buried here."

"My grandfather died fighting the Death Eaters. Grand-mere was afraid they might desecrate his grave, so she brought him here to her home. Her parents are buried just a bit further to the east." Harry watched as her finger pointed off to another headstone.

"That makes sense."

Pansy became quiet then, and Harry went with her as she knelt down. The stone had her buried under her maiden name- Dahlia Giselle Monroe- and he thought that was fitting considering how her marriage had ended. 'Daughter, Mother, Friend' it read, with no mention of wife.

Harry once again wished that Edmund hadn't gone free after Voldemort's downfall. Pansy deserved a better childhood than what she'd had.

They waited in silence. Once they were alone, Pansy began to speak.

"I learned of your death months ago, mother. Before we even knew for sure. Harry wouldn't say it, but when you and Leddy disappeared, we both knew what had happened.

"For awhile, I tried to not care. It wasn't as hard as you might think. How many years had it been since it seemed like _you_ cared? It felt like everything I remembered about you was disappointment, sadness, and loathing. What was wrong with you? Why couldn't you have tried to love me?"

Harry saw the tears flowing freely now, but he could not interrupt. He just held on and hoped his presence was some comfort.

"What was wrong with me? Wasn't I good enough? That's what I wondered for so long. Until a year ago, roughly. By then, I had Harry, and since I knew that I had lost you long ago, I was planning on leaving you to be with him. Within days of meeting him, or at least getting to know him, he was doing more for me than you had done in so long.

"I didn't regret leaving you with father. You didn't stand up for me against him, so why should I have bothered to stand up for you? Even once we knew for sure you were dead, I still wouldn't let myself care. Why should I mourn someone that had given up on me long ago?"

Harry felt her squeeze his hand as she paused. He turned to her and Pansy grabbed him with her other hand and brought him down for a kiss.

"I have this wonderful, sweet guy who puts up with me without too much complaining, and you know what? You were the cause of our biggest fight. He tried to get me to open up about you, and I yelled at him. All he wanted was to help me, and I pushed him away. I guess I learned it from you, from years of being pushed away.

"He was so cute and pitiful afterward. At least the make up sex was great," she chuckled and took a deep breath.

"I was wrong not to let Harry in. I learned it from you, like most of my bad habits. You never let me in. I doubt you ever let father in, either, although I can't say I blame you for that. But from now on, I'm going to try to let him help me. Every time I start to do something you would have done, I'm going to try to remember how bitter and awful your life ended up being. I will not let myself fail the way you did. I deserve better than that. Harry deserves better too."

She looked around for a moment, making sure they were alone. Then, in a hushed voice, she continued.

"Harry killed father for me. He loves me and he hated him for hurting me. He made him pay. And he got a sort of justice for you too. I didn't think I cared about that for months.

"But this spring, I realized I was wrong. Once again, it was thanks to Harry, at least in a round about way. He let me in- he told me what the dementors did to him. It takes a certain kind of bravery to be that open, to allow yourself to be vulnerable, and it's definitely not something I'm comfortable with. But if I'm ever going to be able to do that, it will be with him. He has the right to see me when I'm weak after all he's done for me.

"It scares the hell out of me, but I'm going to try.

"That night, I sang him to sleep. I didn't really understand everything I was feeling, but I knew what I needed to do for him; maybe it was enough. So I sang to him. Do you remember, 'A la clair fontaine,' mum? I remembered you singing that to me when I was little. I dreamt of you and that lullaby. It was so vivid, but I'm not sure if it was real. Did you at least love me then? Or was that just something I wanted so badly that it was all a dream?"

"It was real," Harry said firmly.

"You can't know that," Pansy argued in a shaky voice.

"Your mother may have been broken and bitter by the time she died, but there's no way she didn't love you when you were young. You're far too wonderful. You were just her beautiful little girl. I refuse to believe she didn't love you."

"Maybe," Pansy sighed. "I've often thought that it was the still birth of what would have been my brother that crushed the life out of her. I know I heard father be cruel to her about it on more than one occasion."

"That I can believe."

"You see, mum. Harry didn't even know you, but he's sticking up for you now for my sake. He knows it will make me feel better, and he's right. It's scary, sometimes, how well he knows me. Of course, we have lived together for almost a year, and we've both been a bit clingy. But that's okay. It seems to work for us, and after all we've been through, being inseparable is hardly the worst thing we could be.

"Anyway, we survived a year together on our own. That's got to be a good sign. I'm a lot better off than I was before Harry. Father would have probably signed me away to some vile little worm like Malfoy. Harry, on the other hand, took out that disgusting wretch for me. I think I made the right choice," she chuckled.

"I hope you're happy for me, mum."

Harry let the silence stretch on for a minute, making sure that Pansy didn't need to let anything else out.

"We never got to know each other, Dahlia. I'd like to think you would have liked me, or at least liked how I treat your daughter. And I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about her anymore. I swear to you that I will always do everything I can for Pansy. She probably saved my life by getting me away from the Dursleys. She definitely at least saved my sanity. And she loves me. Your daughter is the most precious thing in the world to me, and I won't let anything get in the way of our lives together."

"Thank you for talking me into coming here today, Harry."

"I'm happy to be of service, my love."

"I think this has been enough for one day," Pansy said as she shifted. Harry stood and held out his hand to help her up just as her stomach began to rumble. "Besides, we clearly need to go eat."

"I did try to talk you into eating something this morning," Harry teased.

"I was too nervous, and you know it. Now I have plenty of room for a late lunch anyway, and I expect we'll find a most wonderful little cafe somewhere in Paris."

"If that's what you want, I'm sure we will."

"Dobby knows just the place, miss Pansy," the ever-excited elf announced as he faded into view.

"And I may have had our friend do a little scouting before we came to France."

"See, mum, Harry's so thoughtful that I don't even have to train him sometimes," Pansy said with one last look down at the grave.

"Alright, Dobby, take us to Paris."

* * *

Harry felt strangely sophisticated eating with Pansy at the little sidewalk cafe. Of all the people in the world, he would have never believed he could be doing something so cosmopolitan. Vernon would be rolling over in his grave at the thought- not just sitting there in the center of the land of 'frogs' but speaking their language and eating their food. It almost made him want to take a picture to show his worthless bastard of an uncle. Maybe Dobby would feel up to a little mischief later?

Unfortunately, after the meal, Pansy's mood began to falter. Harry had a lot of experience with brooding, and he could hardly blame her after the funeral. Walking hand in hand through the streets of Paris, taking in the sights, that would normally be the type of romantic thing he thought she would love, but today it just wasn't in the cards. The question was what to do about it.

When they got to the hotel for the night, Harry got his answer.

And it was not at all what he expected.

She burst into tears just as he closed the door.

Harry moved to wrap his arms around her, but Pansy pushed him away.

Then she began quickly taking her clothes off.

"Well, Harry? Aren't you going to fuck me now?" she asked, seemingly mindless of her own weeping. There was something unusual about the look in her eyes though.

"Isn't that what it always comes down to? Sex? You don't bring a girl to Paris just to hold her fucking hand," Pansy growled as she threw aside her bra.

Then it clicked for him.

Before she could slip off her underwear, Harry grabbed her wrists and pushed her down on the bed. He started to kiss her and she responded by biting his lip.

"Did I say I wanted tenderness? Are you going to fuck me or not?"

His hand roughly grasped her through the panties. She was not wet, and no matter what she might say, that was not what a good thing. He stepped back for a moment and removed his own clothes as quickly as he could. By then she was nude, still crying, and her legs were spread wide.

He fondled one breast while sucking at the other nipple. His right hand went lower and he slid a finger inside her.

"You don't need to-"

"Shut up," he cut her off. "I'm going to enjoy you, and you can either like it or be quiet."

Harry pulled back briefly, and saw that despite the tears, she was pleased. He hoped he was doing this right.

He moved her thighs further apart and licked her slit up and down twice before shoving his tongue as far inside her as he could. Her body was starting to respond; as his tongue wriggled, so did he feel her writhe. Her hands were pulling at him though, trying to draw him away.

She didn't want pleasure.

Or at least, not the type he usually knew how to give her.

He looked at her expression, both eager and miserable, and he didn't know if he could do it.

"Turn around."

She did as she was told, and he felt his own tension decrease, just as he could see a shiver go down her spine.

"Show me."

When she paused he spanked her bum hard enough to leave a pink hand print.

"Now."

She followed his command then, reaching back with both hands to spread herself open to him. That was enough to bring him to focus more fully on the moment, letting the worries and distractions fall away.

He knelt behind her and thrust inside. She wasn't as wet as he was used to, but it still felt nice- he belonged inside her.

She let out a gasp and it was a brief reminder. He grabbed her hair near the back of her neck and pulled. There was a sob that he answered by spanking her again.

"Harder," she begged.

He wasn't sure if she meant the spanking or the hair pulling. So he did both. The crying was now interspersed with moans and whimpers.

Harry's pace increased.

"Harder."

He slapped her arse again, and pulled her up by the hair while turning her head a bit. He could still see the tears running down her face, so he sucked at her neck. Her skin tasted salty as she was really starting to sweat.

He leaned back after spanking her one more time and saw how red her right butt cheek was. His hand stung a bit so he could only imagine how she felt. He switched hands, his left going down to spank her while his right went up to pull her hair.

He could feel his own arousal spiking; he knew he was close. He grabbed her breasts and pinched her nipples just as he came.

Pansy let out a shriek, and startlingly, he felt her climax as well.

They moved together and rode out the end of their orgasms, then collapsed on the bed.

Pansy curled onto her side and Harry spooned in behind her.

"Thank you."

She pulled his arm around her and held it to her breast.

"No more words now. Just hold me."


	43. Up the Beach

* * *

Harry didn't just feel spent, he felt thoroughly drained. He wasn't exactly sure why that had come over her, but he hoped it was gone now.

Pansy had drifted off to sleep probably twenty minutes ago, but he could only lay there. His mind felt dull, while his heart was still pounding. No longer from exertion though, now merely from the tension that would not abate. He was still spooned up behind her, and her hand that had pulled his arm around her was still clutching tightly to him.

It had been one hell of a day.

He hoped Pansy would still feel up to a vacation, as Harry really could use a break. The first week away from school had been nice, but the funeral made things messy, and that night, well...

Sex is always fun, he supposed, but sex with a crying girl is really not a turn on.

Maybe it was to someone. He'd really start to worry if it ever were to him though. After all, if a Death Eater had enjoyed that sort of thing with his wife, then Harry really didn't want to follow in _those_ footsteps.

He was so distracted by his own rambling thoughts that he didn't notice Pansy stirring.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?"

"Yes."

"Are you alright?"

"Better. A lot better actually."

"Really?"

"Yes. It felt good to put those ghosts to rest."

"I think I understand."

"Really?"

"Your mother, naked and crying. That's what sex was to seven year old Pansy."

"You remembered that?"

"Of course. I do pay attention to you, you know? Especially the important things."

"Well, yes. That was...

"I don't know. I guess I felt like I needed to commune with my mother. If that makes any sense. Like I could put myself in her place so that I could let her go."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Please don't make me do that again, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm really not into seeing you cry. That's sort of the opposite of arousing."

She laughed.

"Good. It shouldn't be. I guess it's a good thing that your hormones were up to the challenge then."

"That's why I made you turn around."

"Oh." Pansy pulled his hand up from around her chest and he felt her place a soft kiss on his palm. "At least that made it easier for you to spank me."

"You really like that huh?"

"Sometimes. Not always, but when the mood strikes, yeah, I really do."

"Okay."

"You don't like it?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly. I guess I'm just afraid of hurting you."

Pansy giggled at that, and the sweetness of her tone both surprised Harry and finally helped release that tension that had been constricting his chest for the last half hour.

"I promise I'll tell you if you ever hurt me. Or at least, hurt me enough that I want you to stop. Sometimes, I have to remember that you're actually even more of a sappy romantic than I am."

"I don't hide it the same way you do."

"Oh? Does anyone else see that side of you?"

"I think Luna sees that side of both of us, at least to some extent, but that's not what I meant. I'm an open book. You, on the other hand, my dear are a mysterious, befuddling, confusing, bewitching woman."

"You know what they say, Harry. A girl's got to have her secrets. It makes things more interesting."

He snorted.

"My life is interesting enough. I'll take simple and content instead."

"Well, I do feel pretty content right now. I'm starting to get a bit hungry though."

"Do you want to go out or have Dobby whip something up for us?"

"Let's go out, but not just yet."

"Sounds good," Harry answered as he curled up a bit closer to her. They relaxed into the peace and calm of the evening.

He felt his own hunger growing soon though, and while it felt wonderful curled up behind her, he needed to get up before he drifted off to sleep if they were going to go out.

Harry kissed the back of her neck and pulled away a bit.

He saw that spot again and found himself planting a trail of kisses down her spine.

"Harry?" she moaned in response.

"Did you know that you have this cute little mole on your back? It's _right here_ ," he whispered as he kissed just to the right of her spine between the bottom of her shoulder blades. His stomach rumbled a little.

Her skin was so soft though.

He kept kissing down her back. Her bum was still a bit red, so obviously he needed to kiss there as well. And then, well, he got to one of his favorite parts of her body...

Fuck it.

Dinner could wait.

* * *

After that first turbulent day, they decided that Paris wasn't where they wanted to spend their time in France. It was summer, and Harry had never been to the sea. They decided to go to Nice.

After the first day there, Harry decided that it would be impossible to feel depressed while on the French Riviera.

Not only was there a beautiful curving coastline, and incredible blue water, but also it seemed like everywhere they went there were French restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating, just perfect for the wonderful summer weather.

Plus, they went to a different beach almost every day.

And that meant that Harry got to see his girlfriend in a bikini for the first time.

It was black, of course, and of a rather classic cut. Certainly not the most revealing swimsuit, especially considering they often saw women sunbathing topless, but to Harry, it made Pansy look even sexier than usual.

Since they were two pale Brits who lived up north in Scotland most of the year, sunburn would have been a concern. Harry had suffered through that before, when Petunia had made him slave away doing yard work during the summers, so he knew to exercise caution.

And if that caution meant that he just had to spend a lot of time covering Pansy head to toe in sunscreen, well, he would just have to grin and bear it.

While it might have been true that there was a spell that could have done the same thing, Harry pleaded ignorance of it. She caught him surreptitiously casting it on himself twice that week.

She didn't mention it though. Harry was getting really good at knowing just how and where to rub every little inch of her body. Why complain about something that felt so good? Especially when it let him have some harmless fun in public. The fact that they would both end up ridiculously aroused every time they made it back to their hotel room just meant they were having slightly more sex than usual.

Okay, maybe more than slightly.

But Pansy was convinced that Harry would never turn down a chance at sex, and after the catharsis of her mother's funeral, Pansy needed it more than usual too. It was a fun, sweaty, and lately quite often _primal_ way to connect.

Plus, Harry was a very giving lover.

He was also always willing to cuddle afterwards, something that supposedly a lot of guys would not do.

She remembered seeing her father roll away from her mother to go to sleep after sex. Not only had he ignored her physical pleasure, but seeing her mother crying into her pillow- well, it still sent a shiver down Pansy's spine to think of that.

That was the type of fate that she had dreaded being forced into, and every time it came to mind, she would curl in just a little closer to Harry.

It was a thought that came back to her for the first few nights in France.

Every night though, she fell to sleep in Harry's arms a little more easily.

By the end of the week, the ghosts of her parents were well and truly put to rest.

* * *

"Harry, we have to go back home one of these days."

"But we just got here."

"We've been here almost two weeks!"

"Time flies when you're having fun," he snickered. "Besides, I still have another bottle of sunscreen to use."

"How many of those did you buy anyway? I swear you must have been coating me in half a bottle every day."

"I don't want your wonderful skin to get burnt. It leads to cancer, you know? Besides, you've never had a sunburn, and I'd like to keep it that way. It sucks. Trust me."

"What is cancer, by the way?"

"It's a disease that causes tumors and often leads to death. I don't really know much more about it, but it's one of the leading causes of death, at least in the muggle world."

"Oh," Pansy said quietly before slumping back in her chair.

"What's wrong?"

"I think that's what my grandmother died of. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now that you mention it, I believe that's what she had. It's kind of a hazy memory."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. That just hit me out of the blue."

"Well, if you're feeling down, I know something that always cheers me up."

"Oh, fine," she muttered. "The beach does tend to cheer me up too. But this is the last day. We have other things to do this summer rather than just going to the beach and having sex all the time."

"I can't think of anything else, really," Harry said with a smirk.

"Don't you want to visit Luna before she goes off with her dad for a month?"

"Oh, fine. I do miss that girl."

"Strangely enough, so do I," Pansy admitted.

"I knew she would win you over. Luna's a sweetheart. And we could both use someone like that to balance us out at times."

"Are you saying I'm not sweet?" She gave him a challenging glare that made Harry laugh.

"You're sweet to me, which is all that really matters. But I think both of us tend to be cynical and snarky more often than not. Luna is like our opposite. Open, happy, innocent. She's like a breath of fresh air."

"And you're going to do everything you can to protect her innocence."

"I am?"

"Oh, come off it Harry. We both know you've pretty much adopted her like a little sister. It's not surprising really, with you rescuing the girl from bullies. I'm just glad she seems to have not fallen in love with you like-"

"Like you did?"

Pansy groaned.

"I didn't fall in love with you because you rescued me from bullies. I didn't even fall in love with you because you rescued me from my family. I think I fell in love with you because of how you trusted me. You took a chance, you believed in me, even though most of the school would have never believed a Gryffindor should ever trust a Slytherin.

"Plus, I thought it was pretty cute how you flirted with me. That took me by surprise."

"It took me by surprise too," Harry agreed with a smile. "I'd never really flirted with a girl before. I just listened to my instincts."

"You do have good instincts."

"Then you should listen to them now because my instincts are telling me that we need to go to the beach."

"Alright, Harry, but this is the last day."

"Fine, but if this is our last night in France, then we're going out with a bang," he said with a wink.

"Or three?" she giggled.

"Or five, if I have my way."

"To the beach then, Harry. I have a feeling I'll need some rest before tonight."

"Now we're talking!"

* * *

They had been at the beach for nearly an hour, and Harry was _almost_ finished applying the sunscreen. Not for the first time, they had gotten a few looks as Harry was thoroughly enjoying his task. Pansy was stretched out in a lounger looking out at the waves while Harry was very slowly rubbing lotion onto her calves. Only the tops of her feet were left.

He was becoming like an amateur masseuse, and she loved how much he enjoyed practicing on her.

She sighed and laid her head back.

The vacation had been a great stress reliever for both of them.

Some whistles and catcalls drew her attention. About twenty yards down the beach was a young woman that was making all the men stare and more than a few of them actually drool.

"That has to be the blondest French woman I've ever seen," Pansy muttered.

The girl in question was a silvery blonde that was highly unusual. She was dressed in a relatively conservative one piece bathing suit, but she had a body to die for. A sting of jealousy grew in the pit of Pansy's stomach- those breasts were incredible and probably twice her size. Plus, the bitch was tall and had legs that just went on and on. Pansy had been stuck at five foot three for almost a year now and was doubtful that she would grow any more.

"Which one?" Harry asked, briefly looking up from covering the top of her right foot with sunscreen.

"Which one? Don't play dumb with me, Harry. The babe that everyone's drooling over." She would have been more annoyed with him if his hands weren't making her feel so good.

"Okay. I think her little sister might be slightly more fair actually."

Pansy looked down at him as Harry went back to his work, taking her left foot in his hands.

"Little sister?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Harry grunted in agreement while he squirted out a bit more sunscreen.

It was pretty ridiculous how much of the stuff he was using, but it felt oh so good. Especially when he did that. Pansy almost purred as Harry rubbed between her toes and then along the bottom of her foot. She doubted anyone had ever gotten a sunburn there.

"All done," he said a moment later.

Pansy felt absolutely incredible. The fact that Harry had been doing this daily to her, no matter how much she teased him about it, was part of the reason her sex drive was rivaling his own for once.

Despite this, something got her attention. Pansy looked back over towards the blonde that looked like a model. She was watching a younger girl, almost certainly a little sister based on the resemblance, splashing in the water. The younger blonde was incredibly fair skinned and had even lighter hair.

"You might be right."

"Hmm?"

Pansy looked back to Harry who was scooting his own lounger over next to hers. She couldn't help but smile at him.

"You know Harry, I think you might be the only guy here that even noticed the younger blonde. It seems likely everyone else is too busy ogling her big sister."

"Oh."

"Why aren't you staring at her?"

"Is this a trick question? I know you don't want me to stare at other women. Why would I want to upset you?"

"But don't you think she's gorgeous?"

"Sure, I guess. I mean, I'm not blind. But I'm also not interested. I've got plans for tonight with a different gorgeous girl."

Pansy could only sigh.

"One of these days, Harry, you're not going to have such a good answer. And then I will be very cross with you."

"Well, hopefully it will be about something much less important. Like how you don't like one of my friends, or how I'm too lazy about writing obnoxiously long essays for McGonagall. Interfering in our awesome sex life is not something that I'm willing to risk."

"Alright, let's go."

"Go?"

"Back to the hotel. You're being a very good boy, so it's time for your reward."

"Oh!" Harry quickly stood and gathered their things.

"Plus, it's a huge turn on the way you rub sunscreen all over me," she whispered in his ear.

Harry took her hand and they nearly ran back to their room.

* * *

They made love through lunch and on into the afternoon. Eventually, they collapsed together and drifted off for a nice afternoon nap, with the sea breeze blowing in through the open window.

* * *

The shadows were nice there in the dark, overgrown forest. It was an inhospitable place. Humans rarely ventured there. Animals did, or at least they used to. Now, they mostly avoided it.

Something in the woods was hungry.

It had been hungry for so long, and so angry too.

Was it just a night ago that the deer came upon the wrong path? Maybe it was three nights ago. Maybe a week. It was getting harder to tell.

Despite the occasional comfort, something was calling to the West.

The darkness moved, following that call- _that instinct_ \- that said destiny awaited.

The shadows slid around it as the trees fell away.

The clouds helped to grant some minor concealment, but soon the darkness slithered out into a clearer path.

Bright lights came around a corner and swerved out of its path.

Two red glows peered out of the darkness.

_Soon._

* * *

A cry of pain awoke Pansy.

Harry was groaning with both hands pressed to his forehead.

"What? What's going on?"

"Head... hurts."

She sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes. Harry's scar looked pinker and more pronounced, as if the wound had only recently healed.

"Is it your scar?"

"I think so." He gasped as she lightly touched it. The famous lightning bolt was hot to the touch.

"Dobby!"

The elf popped in to answer Pansy's call.

"Something's wrong with Harry. Get me a cool damp cloth, then see if you can find something for a headache."

"A potion for master Harry?"

"We don't have time to find a potion. Just get something muggle."

"Yes, miss."

In a flash, and two pops later, Pansy was sitting up while softly placing the cloth over his forehead.

"Is that better?"

"Yes," he groaned. "Thanks."

"Just try to relax, Harry."

"Okay."

She heard his breathing slow as she tried to clear her head.

"Do you have any idea why this happened?"

"I don't know. The last time my scar hurt like this was when I was near Quirrell while Voldemort was possessing him."

"That's not good."

"Probably not," Harry answered with a very mild attempt at a chuckle.

"Does anything else hurt?"

"No."

"Can you think of anything else?"

"I...

"I was having this really weird dream."

"About what?"

"Darkness. Darkness in a forest somewhere. But the darkness was moving. And I was moving with it as it slid through the trees and brush."

"Is that it?"

"I think there was something calling to the darkness, drawing it out of the wilderness."

"Hmm."

Dobby popped back in and handed Pansy a bottle of pills.

"These are muggle pain pills, miss Pansy."

"Thanks, Dobby. Let's see. It says you should only take one of these pills. Could you get a glass of water please, Dobby?"

A moment later, she was helping Harry sit up so he could take the pill with a swallow of water.

"I wonder how long this will take to help you feel better."

"I think usually non-magical medicine takes awhile to work. Maybe half an hour or so. I think that's how long it takes things to get into the blood stream, if I remember right from science class."

"Science class?"

"You don't think the Dursleys would ever waste money on medicine for me, do you?"

Pansy growled briefly.

"I still sometimes think I should have just killed them all."

"No, I think I prefer the idea of them all having to suffer for years. That's a fitting pay back. You ruined their oh so precious reputations too. That reminds me, I don't think I've told you how much I love you today."

Harry managed a smile as she kept holding the wet cloth to his head.

"I'm actually starting to feel better already."

"Maybe the medicine helped faster than you remembered."

"Maybe. I think it might have been just waking up from the dream though."

"What does that tell you?"

"I don't know if I want to think about it."

"You told me that when the Dark Lord left Quirrell's body, a shadow flew out of it."

"I know."

"So was the dream...?"

"About Riddle? Probably. That's why I don't want to think about it."

"Have you ever had any other dreams like that?"

"Not that I remember. And if it hurt like this, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered."

"I'd think so too." Pansy looked down and saw Harry close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. "So, what does this mean?"

"I'm guessing his ghost, or spirit or whatever, is on the move.

"I wonder why now, though."

"Me too. Maybe leaving Quirrell's body behind weakened it. It had to rest for a couple of years before it would be strong enough. But strong enough to do what? What was calling to it?"

"Who knows? How did the Dark Lord _not quite die_ all those years ago when I somehow destroyed his body? That's really not what's supposed to happen when you cast the killing curse."

Harry sighed before he continued.

"I wish I could trust Dumbledore. He would probably have some idea of what this all means."

"That would be nice," Pansy agreed. "Do you ever think about what happened that night?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

"It's just...

"How do we even know that the Dark Lord did cast the killing curse at you?"

"I don't know. I've wondered that myself. There weren't any witnesses. I certainly didn't tell anyone what happened, and I doubt Riddle's spirit did either."

"Plus, well, the killing curse doesn't leave behind a mark. So why did it leave your scar the one time it didn't work?"

"All good questions. I'm not holding my breath on getting any answers though.

"I mean, why was my scar famous anyway? Dumbledore wanted me hidden away from the magical world. How exactly does everyone somehow know what I look like happen despite those ten years I lost? Wouldn't that kind of put a bigger target on me instead of helping me to be anonymous?"

"To be fair, that could be Hagrid's fault. You did say that he was the one who took you to those damn muggles, and he couldn't keep a secret to save his life."

"True, but knowing that, why would Dumbledore even have him involved then? Not a damn thing about the 'official story' of that Halloween makes sense.

"And I'd still like to know why my father wasn't using his fucking invisibility cloak while we were in hiding."

"It's all pretty damn frustrating," Pansy said.

"Tell me about it."

"Like you said, it would be nice if we could trust Dumbledore."

"Yes, but even when I did try to trust him those first couple of years, he never gave me a straight answer. And when I did ask him why Riddle was after me, he flat out refused to tell me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, at the end of first year, when I woke up in the hospital wing."

"That fucking bastard."

Harry chuckled.

"I'm not feeling to kind towards him lately either. I mean, it was one thing when he spoke kindly of Draco, as if he were just a student who made a poor choice. Tried to cast an unforgivable curse in Hogwarts, just a tiny mistake really. But then, the headmaster does seem all too forgiving.

"Snape, though," Harry had to take a deep breath before he started yelling. "That worthless bastard is the reason I don't have a family. I hope there is a hell, so that he can burn there forever."

Pansy shushed him with a kiss, so he lay back down and was quiet for a moment.

"I actually feel fine now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My head doesn't hurt at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We slept through lunch anyway. Aren't you starting to get hungry?"

"I guess so. But for the record, we fucked through lunch. It was already almost three by the time we fell asleep."

Harry just smiled at that.

"What?"

"Two things. First of all, that makes me very happy. And secondly, I love it when you curse."

"All the time when I curse? Or just when I'm talking about sex."

Harry hummed in appreciation.

"Can't it be both?"

"Alright, if you're going to be teasing and flirting like that, you must be feeling better. Let's get cleaned up and dressed so we can go eat somewhere."

* * *

That last night in France started out well enough, but Harry got oddly loopy during the meal. Afterwards, they were both ready to get some more rest.

Harry decided there was one last thing they should do. They called it an early night, but he set an alarm for half an hour before dawn.

They started the month of July by sneaking down onto a private beach, one of the few actually sandy beaches in the area.

Harry cast a notice-me-not charm and didn't hold back any of his power.

He and Pansy made love as the sun rose.

Harry did want to end their vacation on a high note, after all.

It was beautiful.

Thankfully, he remembered to bring a large beach towel, so sand didn't even get anywhere too uncomfortable.

Afterwards, it was time to head home, but they both had a feeling they would be coming back to Nice someday.


	44. A Day Out with the Girls

* * *

"Are you ready yet?"

"Almost. I'm getting a few things together. It'll be just a few minutes," Pansy answered from the other room.

Harry sat on the couch and rolled his eyes. This might be the one thing that bothered him the most about her- when she took forever to get ready to go somewhere. It was one thing when she was stressed about the funeral, but they were just going to visit a couple of friends today. Why would she need to impress Luna or Hermione? She didn't even like Hermione most of the time.

The Dursleys had pretty damn well beaten punctuality into him. That was one of the things that made him enjoy the last year at Hogwarts so much; he no longer had to worry about them ever again, and he could be a lot lazier about making it to the Great Hall for breakfast due to Dobby. He was going to have to do something nice for the elf soon. Dobby had certainly earned it.

"Okay Harry, let's go."

She strode into the room dressed in jeans and her Depeche Mode t-shirt. Harry had to smile a bit every time he saw her wearing something so thoroughly muggle. For someone who had a rather sheltered childhood as a pureblood, Pansy had largely taken to the regular world with ease. It made him shake his head a bit more to think of talking to Mr. Weasley two summers ago. Despite his enthusiasm, Ron's dad really didn't understand the non-magical world at all.

"I'm surprised you're not wearing a skirt for once."

"Well, the weather is nice enough for pants, and I didn't want to tease you too much since we'll be busy all day. We're away from school and I don't trust you to keep your hormones that under control, which could be a problem in front of Granger."

"Not Luna though?"

"No, I rather like the thought of corrupting sweet, innocent little Luna. She did say she wasn't interested in sex yet, but that was four months ago."

"Well, corrupt her later when we won't be corrupting Hermione too."

"I thought you wanted to corrupt Granger as well."

"I do, just not in that way. I'm interested in keeping her from getting an ulcer, which means making her less stressed. And I'm pretty sure that flaunting our sex life in front of her would be a huge shock."

"You're going to make me very unhappy if you don't let me play with her at least a bit."

"I'm pretty sure just seeing you dressed like that will be a big surprise for her."

"Fine," Pansy agreed. "Now, weren't you in a big hurry a few minutes ago?"

"Right. Dobby, if you would?"

* * *

With a crack, they appeared on an almost flat, grassy meadow. In front of them was...

"It's a chess piece." Harry's disbelieving eyes turned to Pansy, who merely shrugged.

"They do call their home _the Rookery_. I guess I'm just glad it doesn't look like a slum."

"Oh. I was kind of thinking of like it meant they had a lot of bird nests."

"Not whatever those plants are around the house then?"

"You don't know what those are either? I figured they were something that only grows in the magical world."

"Probably true, Harry, but even for the magical world, our girl Luna is pretty unusual."

"That she is," Harry chuckled. "You know, I try not to expect anything normal where she's concerned. But then, seeing her house still just...

"I guess we'll never be bored around Luna."

"That is definitely true," Pansy giggled. "Alright, I admit it. I like Luna too, and you're probably right that we need someone like her to keep us from getting too serious and cranky."

"Can you imagine a cranky Luna?" Harry asked.

"I've seen cranky Luna."

"Really?"

"You don't remember when Weasley stole the last piece of plum cake from her?"

"Oh yeah," Harry laughed.

They were quickly approaching the building- Pansy refused to think of it as a house, as even by magical standards it was an oddity. The door opened before they could knock, and the wide-eyed face of Luna Lovegood smiled at them.

"Welcome to my home," she said before turning over her shoulder. "Daddy, Harry and Pansy are here.

"Come on, I want to show you something." Luna grabbed Harry by the arm and led him towards the stairs going up.

"You'll have to excuse my daughter," a voice said from off to her left. In the sitting room, Pansy saw who could only be Mr. Lovegood. He made Luna look normal. Pansy had to stifle her response to the man's robes. Whoever decided orange, burgundy, chartreuse, and aquamarine could all be a part of the same outfit must have been blind.

She would have said insane, but she was coming around to Harry's point of view that most wizards were a bit mad.

"Luna has been very excited to have friends come to visit. Almost as excited as I am for our trip to Nepal later this month. You must be Pansy."

"Yes, Mr. Lovegood, a pleasure."

"I would have been surprised if you had been Harry. You don't look like a Harry. Neither did that boy, though. More of a Horatio, I think. Oh, and do call me Xenophilius. I don't like the word mister. It makes me think of miser, which is a terrible thing, and that makes me think of the Kaiser, who was also terrible. Did you know my grandfather died fighting against that ruffian?"

"No, I didn't, mister- I mean, Xenophilius."

"That's quite alright, my dear. Now, what can you tell me of this Harry boy? All I really know about him is what Luna's written me and what's been in the papers. And you know what they say, never trust what's written by the press."

"Aren't you part of the press?"

"Exactly. That's how you know that I know what I'm talking about. I would never expect one of my readers to blindly believe what I print."

"I think I like that policy, sir," she nodded. Pansy realized she probably didn't need to be overly formal and polite, but she figured better safe than sorry. Besides, she'd had manners drilled into her for most of her life, and that minor bit of normality might help keep her sane when dealing with people like the Lovegoods.

"Well, what would you like to know about Harry?"

"He quickly became a large part of her letters home this spring. I was wondering how they met, for starters. Also, whether or not I should run up the stairs to protect my daughter's virtue from a teenage boy."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Pansy snorted. "Harry is very protective of Luna; he's kind of adopted her like a little sister. They met when he found her after she was being bullied by some girls at school; they were stealing her things, hexing her, and whatnot. Harry absolutely detests bullies. He stood up for her and has taken her under his wing ever since. I would be very surprised if anyone was stupid enough to try doing something like that again to Luna."

"Well that's good. I can't be too surprised that people wouldn't understand my little girl- most people seem to think I'm rather strange after all, and you know what they say. The apricot doesn't fall too far from the pear tree."

Pansy blinked and held in a snort.

"So, what all are you planning to do on this excursion into the muggle world?"

"I'm not sure yet, Xenophilius. I suppose it depends in part on what Granger wants to do. It is her neighborhood, so she'll know better what our options are."

"Have you spent much time in the muggle world?"

"A fair amount over the last year. Harry still has to explain things to me occasionally, but for the most part, it isn't that hard to adapt."

"That's good. I hope Luna enjoys herself." He paused as they heard a rather loud thump come from upstairs. "You might want to check on them."

"I'll do that," Pansy agreed as she made her way to the stairs.

Luna's room was on the top floor. The door was open, and inside the circular room, she saw Harry sprawled out on the floor while Luna laughed.

"Did I miss something?"

"I was just showing Harry my newest painting," Luna said, pointing to a section of her wall.

Luna apparently had quite the talent for art. It wasn't as realistic as the portraits at Hogwarts, but the figures were all clear enough. A smiling Luna flying atop a hippogriff with Hagrid cheering and waving below. And off to the side, under a shady tree, she and Harry standing hand in hand.

And the painting moved, which is probably what had startled Harry.

Especially since the painted version of her and Harry would surreptitiously look around before starting to snog.

It was a fitting representation, actually.

"Very nice, Luna."

"Thanks. It seemed to surprise Harry though."

"I wasn't expecting the shriek from Buckbeak." And then, said painted hippogriff let out just such a cry. Which was very loud. Pansy flinched back in alarm, but at least she didn't topple over.

"See?"

Pansy nodded as Harry climbed back to his feet.

"It's very impressive, Luna, but we should probably be going soon. Are you ready?"

"Just let me get my bag," she answered.

Luna's bag was made of bright yellow canvas and she proceed to stick her head inside it.

"Yep, it looks like I packed everything."

Harry looked over at her and Pansy didn't even bother to roll her eyes. Who knows what all she might have packed? It was only going to be for a day or so. Pansy wasn't going to sweat worrying over it.

"Then I guess we should tell your father goodbye and be on our way."

* * *

A few minutes later, the trio stood in front of a two story home in a very nice neighborhood. They had all squeezed together under Harry's invisibility cloak with Dobby so as not to just randomly appear out of thin air in a muggle area but quickly found a spot hidden from any prying eyes.

"Oh, I like that. I didn't know muggles had such a pleasant way to announce guests had arrived."

Harry was puzzled only for a second before Luna pushed the door bell again. It was a simple but lyrical little tone he realized. Which meant that Luna then pressed it three more times before Hermione opened the door looking rather annoyed.

"Hello, Hermione. I was just admiring your musical guest announcer."

"It's just a door bell, Luna, and usually people only ring it once."

Harry couldn't contain his snort. It was going to be one of those days.

"You all look nice."

"Thanks, Hermione. I wasn't sure if I would blend in with the muggles or not," Luna replied. Her sundress was a light blue with an asymmetrical pattern of silver stars and moons across it. Pretty subdued compared to what Harry had guessed she might wear.

"I think you'll be fine, Luna, and Pansy, you look...

"Wow, I'm actually kind of shocked. You definitely could just be a regular teenager. I would never think you were a pureblood based off that outfit. I guess Harry has been helping you on things like that?"

"Not very much, really," he answered. "Pansy's just a natural at looking good."

"I am quite good looking, aren't I?" She gave him a saucy wink before turning back to the girls.

"Come inside and I'll show you around." They all followed after Hermione. The entry hallway opened up to a large living room off to the left with a kitchen and dining area to the right and stairs leading up. The backyard was rather large, well maintained, and had a swimming pool- which immediately brought to Harry's mind images of Pansy in a bikini.

He dropped back behind the girls so he could adjust and hide his erection. Sometimes his hormones could be a bit troublesome.

Hermione led them upstairs, which was where all the bedrooms were.

"You'll have this one, Harry," she said, pointing to the guest room next door to her parents. They then went to the other side of the stairway, to Hermione's bedroom as well as a second guest bedroom.

"Pansy and Luna, you'll have to share in here."

"Okay."

"Sorry, Harry, but my parents insisted that you be over there by them. I don't think they want the temptation that you might try to get up to something with three teenage girls all under the same roof."

"That's fine, but they do know that we all have a lot less supervision when we're away at school, right?"

"I think they're in denial about that. When we're at Hogwarts, we're out of sight and out of mind, you know?"

"I guess I shouldn't tell them too much about what goes on there."

"Definitely not."

"What all are you hiding from your parents, Hermione?" Pansy asked, forcing herself to not call her Granger. It wouldn't be worth the aggravation of keeping her at a distance today, plus she knew it would make Harry a bit happier.

"Pretty much anything having to do with death."

"So, we shouldn't mention the Malfoys or Snape, then," Harry said with a nod. "I'm sure we had more than enough other interesting things happen to talk about."

"Alright, what does everyone want to do today?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it's your home town, so you probably know what all there is to do around here. But it is almost lunch time, so maybe we should start by going somewhere to eat," Harry suggested.

"That sounds good to me," Luna said. Harry wasn't surprised by that- Luna's metabolism was almost as impressive as Ron's. Maybe it was a magical thing?

Thankfully, her table manners were much better.

"I hope none of you mind walking," Hermione replied. "There are a few places we could eat fairly close by, but they are all at least a few blocks away."

"It's a nice day, so I wouldn't mind building up my appetite," Harry said as they all headed for the front door and started their trip.

"Maybe afterwards we could go see a movie," Hermione suggested as she locked the door behind them.

"That sounds fun," Pansy agreed.

"What's a movie?"

"One of the better muggle inventions. You'll love it, Luna," Pansy answered.

"I take it that Harry has taken you to see one before?" Hermione asked.

"Last Christmas."

"What did you see?"

"True Romance."

"I don't remember that one off the top of my head."

"It was a sort of black comedy," Harry interjected. "Lots of violence, swearing, and sex."

"I loved it," Pansy added with a smile.

"How did you get in? That sounds like it would have been rated at least 15 or 18."

"Hermione, aren't we all teenagers? Aren't fake IDs a requisite part of the teenage experience?"

"I imagine Harry also learned a glamour spell or two," Luna suggested.

"I may have," he said with a smirk.

"You just have to get in trouble even when you're not in school, don't you Harry?" Hermione was clearly frustrated, but Harry found it hard not to chuckle in response.

"If we didn't get caught, then we didn't get in trouble.

"Hermione, you're my best friend, but I think you really need to learn to relax. The world isn't going to end because some teenagers sneak in to a movie they aren't old enough to see. That only happens thousands of times every day somewhere in the world."

"Alright, but we can't all do that today, and besides, I would rather not have to lie to my parents about whatever we might see."

"Spoil sport," Pansy snorted.

"We should have plenty of time so I imagine we'll be able to find something we can all agree on. I haven't really even checked to see what all is coming out this summer." Harry had a feeling that the girls would be choosing the movie in the end.

"So, what have you been up to so far this summer, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"We went to France for my mother's funeral," Pansy answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry-"

"It's alright. Harry was kind enough to take care of me. And afterwards we spent almost two weeks there on vacation. It was a nice break, and very relaxing after all the stress of the last year."

"I cannot recommend the French Riviera highly enough," Harry added. "Especially since we spent most of that time on the beach."

"You don't look too tan," Hermione said as she looked them both over.

"Harry was rather paranoid about us getting sunburns. So he bought a lot of sun screen."

"Lots and lots of sunscreen," Harry sighed contentedly.

Hermione watched him a bit closer, noticing the small smile on his face. Harry had let his guard down, and Pansy saw the brunette's curiosity being peaked.

"Anything else interesting?"

"Not too much," he answered. "Taking Pansy to the record store over and over again."

"As if you weren't buying just as many albums as I have been," she replied with a snort.

"True, but you're usually the one who instigates it. I'm just the poor sap along for the ride."

"You just keep telling yourself whatever helps you sleep at night, but we both know the truth," Pansy teased.

Harry snickered briefly, thinking of just what actually helped him sleep at night. He was glad he didn't feel a blush coming over him, but he saw that Pansy had no such reaction. It still amazed him at times how she could be so thoroughly shameless.

"Excuse me, Harry," Luna said as she tapped his left shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"I just realized I don't have any muggle money with me."

"Oh. Don't worry about it, Luna. I'm sure I can take care of it."

"My parents gave me plenty of spending money for the day," Hermione added. "I can probably help too."

"It shouldn't be necessary, Hermione. If I have enough money for a two week vacation in France, I'm sure I can handle an afternoon out with some friends."

"Just how rich are you Harry?"

"Luna! You don't just ask people that sort of thing."

"Why not, Hermione?"

"It can be considered more than a bit intrusive," she answered.

"But I'm pretty sure Hermione is curious too," Harry added with a grin. "I'm not like a billionaire or anything, but I have plenty to take care of whatever I need for the foreseeable future."

"Including Pansy?" Hermione asked. "I'm sorry if that sounds rude, but I just worry that you have someone else that you're financially responsible for now. Not to mention hiring a lawyer to sue people like you did."

"We'll be fine, Hermione. My lawyer has made more than a fair amount for us as well by dealing with all the people that had been profiting off my name for years. Plus, as distasteful as I sometimes find it, being the boy who lived has been helpful in a couple of ways too."

"How so?"

"More than a few people left me something in their wills after I was orphaned. There were a lot of families that were devastated during Voldemort's reign of terror, not just my own. And some of them wanted to show their appreciation for the miracle that stopped the Dark Lord. So, yeah, I'm doing fine as far as money goes."

"Alright. I just worry about you, Harry."

"I appreciate it, Hermione."

"On the subject of me worrying about you, have you even started your summer home work?"

Harry laughed in response.

"I'll take that as a no."

"We've still got almost two months. Don't worry so much."

"Just don't put things off till the last minute, Harry."

"I'll make sure he gets everything done," Pansy replied.

"Speaking of school, what electives are you taking next year, Luna?"

"Hmm?" The little blonde had drifted off into her own little world as she was looking around, taking everything in about the muggle world around her. "Oh, Care of Magical Creatures, of course, and Harry was most insistent that I take the Study of Ancient Runes as well."

"I'm glad he's being a good influence on you then, as I agree that Ancient Runes was one of the more fascinating classes. I would have recommended Arithmancy, personally."

"It doesn't appeal to me," Luna replied. "I also assumed that I could learn about the muggle world just as easily by spending time with Harry, like today. And I'm not a seer, so Divination was right out. Plus, I've heard that the teacher has one of the worst cases of wrackspurts, and I don't want to catch any."

"Wrackspurts?"

Harry started to giggle as Luna went off into one of her tangents, describing the invisible creatures to a thoroughly disbelieving Hermione. Thankfully, before they could start to argue about such things, they had arrived at the more commercial area of town, with a shopping center just across the street and a hand full of places to eat.

* * *

_Several hours later..._

"We're home!" Hermione yelled as they came in through the front door.

"We're in the kitchen," her mother answered. She was sipping a cup of tea while her husband was sorting through some mail.

"Mum, Dad, you may remember meeting Harry two summers ago. This is Pansy and Luna," Hermione said, finishing the introductions.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. & Mrs. Granger," Pansy said.

"It's nice to meet you as well. I trust you all had a pleasant day?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Oh, it was very nice, ma'am," Luna replied. "Although I think I may have bothered the other girls at lunch."

"How so?"

"They had something called tiramisu for dessert at the restaurant."

"Luna has a massive sweet tooth," Harry chuckled.

"It was _soooo_ good," Luna added with a dreamy expression.

"And she may have had three servings of it," Pansy snorted.

"Technically, she only had two," Harry said defensively.

"She ate most of your serving too, Harry, so it still counts."

"I didn't mind."

"Harry is very nice to me."

"You deserve it, Luna."

"Well, speaking of food, your father and I were just discussing what to do about dinner tonight. Do any of you have a request?"

"I'm open," Pansy replied.

"Me too."

"I think we'll be okay as long as there is dessert for Luna." The girl in question smiled at Harry's response.

"Luckily, we stopped at the store and brought home a cherry pie for this evening. Would Chinese take out work for everyone then? We had a long day at work and we're not really feeling up to going out tonight."

"Sure."

"Harry, would you mind coming with me to pick the food up?" Hermione's father asked.

"Okay."

"Why don't you also grab some drinks and snacks for later?"

"Fine dear."

* * *

A few minutes later, the order was placed and Harry was riding in the car.

"I thought we might let the ladies have some time for girl talk and get a little peace of our own for awhile, Harry."

"I spend most of my time around girls, so I'm kinda used to it."

"I was a lot less comfortable with girls at your age, Harry."

"I didn't really have many friends growing up, so the people at Hogwarts sort of forced some socialization on me, and one of the first ways that happened was when I joined the quidditch team. Has Hermione told you much about it?"

"Oh yes. I'm pretty sure she has written a letter after every one of your games," Mr. Granger said with a chuckle.

"Well, half of my teammates are girls, so I've obviously had to spend a lot of time around them. And since I was the youngest, they all sort of looked after me a bit. It was pretty nice really. Then I became pretty close with Hermione too."

"What about the other two?"

"I didn't really get to know Pansy until about a year ago. It turned out we had more in common than we would have expected, and things have just progressed since then. I met Luna a few months ago."

"You seem pretty close to her after only a few months."

"It's easy to love Luna. She's just such a sweet person. She doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her body, and I could really use someone like that in my life. Especially after the last year. Well, really, after the last few years."

"Hermione told us about those creatures- dementors I think she called them?"

"Yeah, that was part of it. Pansy and I started joking about the magical ministry's Department of Terrible Ideas because of them. What type of genius decides to send soul devouring monsters to surround a school full of children? Bloody morons."

Mr. Granger laughed at Harry's impression of the magical government.

"We were definitely not pleased to hear about them either. I think Hermione didn't really want to let on about how bad they were until they were gone from the school. Something which she gave you all the credit for."

"I did what I could."

"She said you gave a very stirring speech. Not to mention casting some sort of powerful spell to protect everyone at one of your quidditch matches."

"Yeah, well..."

"Not very comfortable with the spotlight, Harry? Hermione said that as well, which was why she was so surprised by your speech that led to getting those things sent away from the school."

"It was necessary. I'd rather just spend time with my friends. You know, be a normal teenager and all that. But whenever there's something dramatic and dangerous going on, I always seem to get involved."

"Since my daughter apparently owes you her life, I'll have to say that I'm glad you did get involved. And speaking of that, she mentioned life debts, which I wanted to ask you about. Hermione said you had thoroughly researched them. Can you explain them to me?"

"I can try. From what I've gathered, magic isn't just something that we can do. It's alive, maybe even sentient. There are different theories and arguments, but from what I've experienced, I think there is definitely something to that. I mean, it's not just witches and wizards but also magical creatures and magical plants out there. And we've seen some pretty strong evidence that magic has a mind of its own and can get angry if you cross it.

"The idea of a life debt is that, when magic is involved, saving someone's life means they then truly owe you. Magic doesn't let people skip out on a debt like that. Magical society has developed some rules to try to keep life debts from causing problems."

"Hermione also said something about that. That you had taken Pansy away from her family after you saved her life. But then she also said that her father was some sort of criminal and that it was a good thing, even if she was technically your servant. I wondered about the 'technically' part of what she said, but you didn't seem to treat her like a servant."

"I'm not sure exactly what Hermione might have told you, but I assume she's told you about the Dark Lord Voldemort's reign of terror that was stopped when he tried to wipe my family out. Voldemort had a group of followers. They were terrorists, really. Violent, bigoted psychopaths. Pansy's father was one of them. I'm sure you can guess why he wouldn't have made a very good father. And at the end of the year, it came out that he was a terrible husband as well. He murdered Pansy's mother.

"She's an orphan now, just like I am. We help take care of each other. So no, I don't treat her like a servant, but you can be sure that I have absolutely no regrets about how I got her away from her family."

The car stopped as they pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store.

"Maybe we should pause this conversation for a few minutes?"

"Sure, Mr. Granger."

They went inside and Harry helped pick out some treats for later. Sure enough, just as Hermione had mentioned before, her dentist father avoided anything loaded with sugar.

Once they were back in the car, he turned to ask Harry the question that was obviously on his mind.

"Hermione now owes you a life debt as well from what she has told us. Do I need to worry about that?"

"Hermione has been my best friend for years now. I would never do anything to hurt her. And I'm pretty sure neither you nor your wife are murderers that I need to rescue her from."

"You're still teenagers, Harry. What's to stop you from using one of these life debts to take a girl you were romantically interested in? I'm sure you can see why a father might worry about that."

"Well, as Hermione's father you really don't need to worry about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He seemed a bit insulted.

"Don't get me wrong, I do love your daughter, just not like that. I mean, Hermione's cute enough, but we've grown to really know each other pretty well since we've been together for so much time at Hogwarts. That's a part of the whole boarding school environment, I suppose. I think Hermione and I both know that there are certain things that would drive us both nuts if we tried to date. We're both rather strong willed. We haven't often had disagreements, but when we did, it was pretty harsh.

"I think we've both come past that pretty well, and it seems like we're even better friends now, but like I said, we're just not the right type of people to try dating."

"Hold on a minute." Mr. Granger pulled up to a drive through window. They got their food, which Harry held, and they started back on the road home.

"I understand why you're saying that now, Harry, but you're at the age when hormones start running rampant and things can change."

"That's true, but Hermione's friendship means a lot to me. I'm not going to risk it just because one day she looks really hot. And I have plenty of female admirers, believe me."

"Really? Just because of this boy who lived business?"

"Well, that's definitely a part of it. I'm also fairly rich, and this last year I turned a lot of heads with some of my exploits, such as my Patronus at the quidditch match. It's not a spell that many students would be able to cast, and certainly not as well as I did."

"How did you manage it then?"

"You know the old joke, 'how do you get to Carnegie Hall'?"

"'Practice, and lots of it.' That's all there was to it?"

"I'm also rather powerful, magically speaking. I'm not exactly sure why, but some people seem to have a bit more oomph to their spells, and I'm one of those people. Plus, magic just seems to come fairly naturally to me. I'm one of the best in our class at the practical side of things at Hogwarts, the actual casting of spells and whatnot. Now, if I put as much time into all of our writing assignments, your daughter would be a lot less put out with me."

"That does sound like our Hermione."

"Yeah, and that's one of the things we disagree the most on. If I have mastered how to cast a spell, I just don't see the need to write two feet of parchment describing the history and minutiae surrounding it."

"That would definitely describe what Hermione would enjoy about magic."

"She's much more of an academic than I am."

"Despite that, she told us that you actually beat her out in a couple of classes."

"I know, and I've really taken the mickey out of her about it," Harry chuckled. "I'm willing to put in the work to do well when something interests me. Runes just happens to be right up my alley. It's one of the most amazing parts of magic, in my opinion."

"Why?"

"Well, it's just like a completely different type of magic. An older type of magic, actually, which makes it more primal, but also more powerful, and in some ways, more capable of things that we just can't do with our wands. Wand based magic tends to be a lot more about finesse and precision.

"Think of it this way: if you want to magically clean and sort all of your dishes after a meal, you would want to use a wand. On the other hand, if you want your home to still be standing after a hurricane, you would want to use runes. Runes tend to be used for such permanent effects like enchanting a home to be more durable or to resist fire."

"Could you do that for our home?"

"Probably. I don't know those specific runes yet, but I'm sure I could figure it out. Hermione could do it too, I imagine. You would just need to convince her it was part of her homework and therefore worth focusing on."

"She does tend to get overly set on her schoolwork. It's been a problem ever since she started going to primary school."

"I do my best to try to get her to relax, but she doesn't always listen to me."

"Thank you for that, Harry. She sometimes needs a reminder that there's more to the world than just books."

The car pulled back into the driveway of the Granger home.

"If you'll get the food, I'll get everything out of the back."

"No problem, Mr. Granger."

As they opened the front door, they heard laughter coming from the living room.

"Welcome back," Mrs. Granger said, as she led the girls to the dining area.

"I hope my husband didn't grill you too much, Harry."

"Not at all."

The table was already set, so everyone found their seats.

"So, what did we miss?"

"The girls were just telling me about the movie they saw today."

"It made me want to go to a zoo the next time Harry invites me to spend time in the muggle world," Luna replied. "Of course, I'll try not to get my hopes up because of the movie."

"Sorry, Luna. There are a few birds that can mimic human speech, but that's about the limit.

"We saw the Lion King," Hermione explained as she turned to her father.

"Ah, the newest Disney flick. I trust you all enjoyed yourselves?"

"I loved it!" Luna enthused.

"It was the first animated film I'd seen, so it was fascinating just on that level for me," Pansy stated.

"It was okay," Harry said.

"Just okay?" Mrs. Granger asked with a grin.

"Singing animals aren't really my thing," he replied. "But I was with my three best friends, so that part of it was fun. And when I'm the only guy in a group of girls, I have to expect to be out voted sometimes."

"No explosions or car chases, huh?" Mr. Granger asked with a grin. Harry just shrugged in response.

"I'll take you to see something else next week," Pansy smiled.

He knew that she was interested in the commercials and posters they had seen for The Crow, and if it hadn't been for the presence of Luna, they probably would have chosen that today. Harry wasn't in a rush to corrupt the little blonde, but getting Hermione out of her comfort zone by forcing her to sneak into an 18 rated film would have been something worth doing.

Her father had (sort of) suggested that he was in favor of Harry's efforts to get Hermione to be less uptight.

Oh well, maybe next time.

The meal progressed nicely as everyone chatted about the events of the last year at school and what they were looking forward to for the coming term.

* * *

A few hours later, Harry was trying and failing to fall asleep in one of the guest bedrooms. It had been ten months since he'd had to sleep alone, and it just wasn't working.

But then he heard the door, and soon enough Pansy was slipping out from under his invisibility cloak as she approached the bed.

"I just couldn't sleep without you, Harry," she whispered as she also pulled her pyjama top over her head.

"If the Grangers catch us, this could be a huge problem."

"But the danger will make things a lot more fun."

"I'm not sure if I can safely use a silencing charm."

"Even better," she purred as she reached the bed and stepped out of her panties. Harry was quickly removing his own sleep wear.

"You're amazing," he said as she climbed in next to him.

"Then shouldn't you show your appreciation for me first?"

"Of course," he answered as he slid down beneath the covers.

* * *

Pansy was smart enough to have Dobby wake her early the next morning so that she could sneak back to the room she was supposed to share with Luna before anyone else got up. Thankfully, the bed somehow hadn't made too much noise the night before.

Pansy had a wicked little gleam in her eyes all through out breakfast.

Harry didn't know if he could love her more than he did. She really was amazing.

* * *

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent at the Lovegood home. Hermione was thrilled to be able to do magic while outside of school, and Pansy felt like she should get some practice in as well since they had not been very productive yet this summer.

Harry hadn't been worrying about it since there wasn't anything specific he really knew to be planning for, just a general threat of the Voldemort wraith trying to cause him harm again. If only there were a book of spells for dealing with incorporeal Dark Lords and banishing them to the afterlife.

So, instead, he gave all of the girls a lesson on the Patronus charm, since Hermione still hadn't gotten it down and Luna had not yet even tried it. She got a bit of mist after a couple of attempts and slowly improved from there, while Hermione eventually produced something that tried but ultimately failed to take shape. It was much smaller than Harry's dragon, but then Dumbledore's phoenix Patronus seemed just as powerful despite being quite diminutive comparatively.

Size really wasn't everything, after all. Dobby was proof of that.

And finally, Pansy got her own Patronus to fully form.

A silvery fox shot through the air and climbed on top of Harry's dragon, before curling up and seeming to take a nap on the dragon's back.

"Harry's a pillow!" Luna yelled with glee. She then tackled him to the ground and proceeded to test his cuddliness.

Harry's _oof_ was ignored by all of the ladies laughing at him.

"You could use a little more padding," the little blonde giggled while poking him in the side.

"Sorry to disappoint you Luna. I guess I could wear a big coat. Or maybe a puffy bath robe. That could help."

"I'll forgive you this time, but you should warn your dragon that whatever my Patronus turns out to be will be wanting to try that out too. Oh, maybe mine could ride yours when it goes flying!"

"I don't know if I could make a saddle for the dragon," Harry pondered.

"It's magic silly. No one needs a saddle to ride a dragon."

"But what if your Patronus is something that can already fly?" Hermione asked.

"Why would that matter? It still wouldn't be as fun as making Harry give it a ride."

"Do you think your fox wants to go flying?" Harry asked as he turned to Pansy.

"I think she's quite comfy already."

"Fair enough. I wouldn't want to anger her and have claws digging into my back."

"Smart man."

"Well, I guess the lesson's over for now. We probably shouldn't push too hard anyway as this spell can be rather draining."

"It's about lunch time," Luna replied. "Let's go eat."


	45. Visions of Darkness and Desire

* * *

The next week sped by, and soon enough Hedwig was off delivering their last letter to Luna before she would be away on the trip to Nepal with her father for most of the rest of summer.

_"Don't wake at night to watch her sleep."_

The music played loudly from the living room, and Harry smiled as Pansy was once again blasting the Crow soundtrack. True to her word, she had taken Harry to see it just a couple of days after their weekend they spent with Hermione and Luna.

The dark atmosphere and the music were both things they enjoyed, but it was the idea of a spirit rising from the dead to take revenge that really appealed to them.

The fact that the film's opening tragedy happened at Halloween did hit a little too close to home for Harry's liking, though.

The next day, they had immediately gone back to the record store to buy the soundtrack.

And now, she was of course making a list of more music to look for.

Harry had a feeling that they were becoming Rob at Championship Vinyl's favorite customers.

This summer had been so much more pleasant than any time in the past. Even the previous year, he had mostly spent working with the occasional secret visit to Pansy when they could get away with it.

Never before had Harry felt so much like a normal person.

It was liberating.

He just hoped that whatever Voldemort was doing wouldn't get any results for awhile.

He should have known better than to tempt fate.

* * *

It was unbelievable, but his hormones took up the reigns when his mind could not handle the task.

The blonde hair shocked most of his thoughts right out the window, and her smirk as she rode him in ecstasy took him back to last New Year's Eve despite his promise to put that night out of his mind.

But her body was still amazing, and he reveled in it.

Until Pansy climbed atop him and then he had a second nude beauty with which to indulge his lust.

He descended into a haze of positions and so much flesh to touch, see, and taste.

Exquisite legs wrapped around him, pulling him in as deep as possible.

A breast before him, a nipple to suckle upon.

Wet fingers slipping inside her.

Lips meeting his, before trailing down his jaw.

His hands always busy, caressing all the many different curves.

A tongue licking him as he erupted.

If this was a dream, he hoped to never wake...

* * *

He wasn't sure why he was drawn there on that night.

But as he slid into the shadows of the inn, he soon found his prey.

A young, foolish witch. Get a pint in her, and she would tell you anything. The man across from her wasn't paying too much attention to her words, only hoping she would finish her drink and maybe a couple more so he could enjoy the end of the night with her.

The lurker in the shadows had other concerns. Tonight, he could be patient. This foolish woman was giving him ideas- ideas of how to get revenge.

He waited.

When the witch and the lecherous cretin beside her slipped out into the night, he followed. Their minds were already weak, and the alcohol made them much easier to control.

If only he could do more. Slaughtering a wretch or two would make him feel so much better. Soon enough, blood would be spilled again.

A brief moment of domination was enough to send the fool off, the night and the witch both forgotten. A black out and pain similar enough to a hangover, with only an unanswered question of what happened to the woman from the night before.

She stumbled into an alley.

He was shadow, and he waited as she drew near.

Closer now.

Even closer.

One last step and she was in his grasp.

He slid into her effortlessly.

Her resistance was pitiful. Only a half second to begin to scream. She felt the eyes- the red eyes- bore deep into her, and she was lost.

* * *

It was far from the first time that Pansy had been awakened by an amorous Harry, but it was the first time she could recall him already being inside and on top of her.

And worse, it hurt.

"Harry, stop," she said, but looking up she noticed his eyes were closed and his scar was much darker than usual. Even more so than when he'd had the nightmare in France.

"Harry, wake up!"

But there was still no response, so she reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling it hard and up away from her.

"Harry!"

His eyes finally flashed open, and for just a second they burned crimson in the shadows of their room.

She saw Harry look around the room in a daze before there was a flash of recognition.

Then he tried to roll away from her only to crash onto the floor.

And before Pansy could get to him, she heard him heaving and retching on the floor.

She called for Dobby, who thankfully appeared sooner than she could even finish saying his name.

"Master Harry!" the little elf cried as he took in Harry's pitiful state. He began cleaning up the mess immediately.

"Let's get him to the bathroom, Dobby."

Harry stumbled as they tried to get him to stand, so the house-elf finally just popped him directly there.

Pansy rushed in behind them as Harry knelt on the cold tile floor in front of the toilet and continued throwing up. She was worried even more now that she could see him in the light- he was drenched in sweat, shivering, and had tears rolling down his cheeks.

It took him a few minutes before Harry finally stopped dry heaving and unsteadily sat back, leaning up against the side of the bath.

Pansy settled down next to him as Dobby handed her a cool damp cloth that she pressed to his forehead. The scar almost looked as if it were about to break open and start bleeding.

"What happened?"

"He raped her.

"No, that's not right. Not rape exactly.

"It wasn't just her body. Deeper. Her very soul. She would never be clean again. She was defiled by him. Contaminated by his darkness.

"I could feel it. I could feel her agony. And also his triumph. It was disgusting.

"And then I woke up, and it was even worse. I didn't want... I can't..."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I was afraid that I was somehow infecting you with that... that monster. I'm so sorry."

"Harry, it's alright," she cooed at him, as she slipped an arm around him. "Let's get you cleaned up and go back to bed."

"I don't know if I can go back to sleep after that," he admitted.

"You're forgetting something, Harry."

"What's that?"

"I'll be with you, and we'll figure out a way I can protect you from these nightmares."

"That would be nice," he groaned as he climbed to his feet and stepped over to the sink. Harry splashed some water on his face and then let Pansy lead him back to the bedroom. He grabbed his wand from the night table and used a breath freshening spell on himself- twice actually- before sinking down under the sheet next to her.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Shh, it's not your fault," she whispered. "We'll get through this."

"But how do I-"

"Don't worry about it right now, Harry. Let's just try to get some more rest."

"If Voldemort will let me," he sighed.

"The Dark Lord is just going to have to piss off. You're mine, Harry. He can get his own boyfriend."

That brought a chuckle that soon became matching giggles from them both.

"Can you just imagine?" Harry joked.

"What type of boys do you think a Dark Lord would be interested in?"

"I would have said Draco, but then he'd be out of luck."

"It does seem like he must have had an enormous inferiority complex the way he played up to the pureblood supremacy nonsense," Pansy snorted.

"I don't know, I mean, I know at least one pureblood who is pretty damn fabulous," Harry answered with a grin.

"Yes, I am, but you don't need to flatter me."

"I think you deserve it for tonight. You take good care of me. Well, you and Dobby."

"We should do something nice for him."

"I know, I've been trying to think of exactly what for awhile now."

"That's going to have to be another thing for tomorrow, Harry. I'm too tired for scheming." Harry curled up behind her and she took his hand in hers as his arm instinctively wrapped around her.

"Me too. I love you."

"I love you too, Harry. But sleep now."

"Good night, sweetheart."

* * *

"Occlumency."

Harry turned over and looked at her. They'd had a light breakfast to try to insure his stomach didn't have any further problems that morning and then laid back down to rest some more.

"What about it?"

"You need to work at it more. It should help keep your mind clear."

"Will that even work in my sleep?"

"Only one way to find out," Pansy replied.

"I suppose it's worth a shot."

* * *

_Later that afternoon..._

"I thought of something else that might help."

"I'm all ears," Harry answered as he looked up from the couch. She had strongly _suggested_ that he try to learn from her notes of how she had worked at Occlumency the year before. It was all he had done since lunch.

"I think we should try to try to make love every night."

Harry had a huge smile for her suggestion.

"Not that I'm in any way objecting to this idea- at all- but don't we pretty much already do that every night?"

"We didn't last night. Remember?"

"Hmm? You're right."

"It might help, you know, sort of put you in the wrong frame of mind. Love is supposed to be the opposite of hate and all that."

"This may just be the most brilliant plan of yours yet."

"You would say that," Pansy said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault that you're a genius."

"Harry-"

"Nope, too late to take it back. We're both going to have to work very hard at this new project."

* * *

_That evening..._

Harry had been going through Occlumency exercises for at least an hour. Since it was similar to meditation, he hadn't noticed Pansy leave the room, nor the fact that she had been gone for quite awhile.

But he did notice when she came strutting back into the living room.

He immediately felt his pants get _a lot_ tighter.

She was wearing a sexy nurse outfit.

The white dress (if you want to call it that) prominently displayed her cleavage, had red highlights that drew his eye to her curves, and barely covered what couldn't have been more than three inches of her thighs.

And her legs were even further flaunted by the white thigh high stockings and red high heels.

Harry had to remind himself to breathe.

"Mr. Potter, I hear you've been feeling a bit under the weather. I'm here to give you a thorough examination, and then we'll have to see what type of treatment you might need."

"I have a few ideas," he grinned.

"I'm sure you do, but I am the healer, so I expect you to follow my instructions."

"I'll do anything you say."

"That's what I wanted to hear. You can start by taking off your pants..."

* * *

_Hours later..._

"You are a goddess," Harry panted out.

"And don't you forget it," she said with a smirk.

"If I ever do, just remind me of tonight."

Pansy laughed in response.

"Think of it as an early birthday present. Remember when you took care of me last summer? You suggested you might enjoy something like this."

"I love you," he chuckled. "Please tell me you'll wear the costume again some time?"

"Only if you're good, Harry."

"I'll be on my best behavior."

"I know." Pansy rolled over, halfway on top of his left side and he felt them both shifting a little to get into the most comfy position. It was second nature now how they fit together.

"There's only one problem."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Now I have to top that for your birthday."

"Best girlfriend ever," Harry said with a happy little sigh. Soon, they both drifted off to sleep.

Needless to say, there were no nightmares that night.

* * *

"Hey Dobby, can I ask you a couple of things?"

"Of course, master Harry sir!"

"I'd like to know more about house-elves. I-"

"We," Pansy interjected.

"Right, _we_ both appreciate everything you do for us. We would like to give you something, like a gift, but we don't know what we can do for you. What do you like to do with your time? Other than taking care of us, of course."

"Dobby is not sure what master Harry wants to know."

"I mean, I assume that house-elves have relationships with other house-elves." Harry quickly stopped himself from saying anything about where baby house-elves would come from, as he thought that might be too private to mention. "Friendships and whatnot. You do know other house-elves, right?"

"Yes, master Harry." Dobby looked uncomfortable and nervous.

"Dobby, I'm sorry if this isn't something you want to talk about. I just wanted you to know that _we_ " he looked over to Pansy, who nodded, "support you and want you to know that if there's anything we can do to help you with something, just let us know."

"Thank you, master Harry and miss Pansy," Dobby answered before looking down, deep in thought.

"Dobby does have some personal house-elf things to take care of."

"Well, feel free to do whatever you want, okay? We just want you to be happy," Pansy replied.

"Yes, you mean a lot to us, so we want you to know that we'll be on your side just as much as you've been on our side."

"Dobby thanks you both, master and miss. Dobby will be leaving at night after dinners sometimes then."

"That's fine," Harry agreed. "In fact, if you need more time, Pansy and I can always go out to eat."

"Or we could drop in with the Brightwells, we haven't seen much of them this summer," Pansy suggested.

"That's true."

Dobby gave them a deep bow before popping away.

"He's getting better at that," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"Next time he leaves like that, listen to the sound. It's a lot quieter lately than it used to be."

"Maybe Dobby's getting stronger. Or more practiced. It could be both."

"Could be..."

Harry looked over at Pansy with a grin and an eyebrow waggle.

"So, what do we want to do tonight?"

* * *

They did end up spending more time with the Brightwells after that. Ruby was delighted to have them over as guests for dinner, which they made a regular weekly occurrence for the rest of the summer.

Harry and Pansy also started coming down to the shop for afternoon tea more often than not. Ruby refused to let them pay, as Harry had been very generous in allowing the same terms from the late seventies originally set up with his mother continue on unchanged. Not having their rent go up for more than fifteen years had let the Brightwells do a lot better financially than they otherwise would have. In fact, Ruby had confided in Pansy that they would have been likely forced to close their business when the recession hit in the early eighties if Lily hadn't given them such a bargain.

However, just because she wouldn't let Harry pay didn't stop him from leaving behind large tips.

It was amusing to Pansy watching Harry and Ruby try to out do each other while being polite yet as stubborn as possible.

The older woman had completely won Pansy over. She was somewhat of a far cry from Pansy's grandmother, or at least what she remembered of her, but Ruby was warm and kind. And funny too, especially when 'their boys' weren't around. Pansy tried to tell her that Harry would be highly entertained by her more crude side, but she had gotten it into her head to try to be a good influence on him for some reason.

Pansy didn't bother arguing with her about it. She could be Harry's bad influence to balance things out anyway.

Not that Harry was necessarily a good influence on her either.

But she did insist that they get their summer assignments done as quick as possible, so they could enjoy their free time before heading back to Scotland in the fall.

Pansy didn't even complain when Harry put in his regular amount of effort at most of the essays. McGonagall scowling at him for his parchments being a few inches short was sort of a tradition now, and she knew that Harry secretly enjoyed it. Especially when he then mastered the spells, often even faster than Granger last term, and proceeded to grin at her for the rest of class.

Pansy had come to accept that Harry would apply himself where necessary, or when it suited him, but that otherwise he did not care at all about his grades. Their final results from the last year proved that. He had barely scraped by with passing grades in Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy as he just didn't see much point in those classes.

Potions didn't count, since there was no way that Snape graded anyone fairly- which was even clearer after Pansy's grade had dropped from an Outstanding the two previous years to only Exceeds Expectations despite her skills and the fact that she knew she had not missed a single question on the final exam.

Oh well, the petty bastard had tormented his last group of children. It's not as if she had to worry about her parents' reactions to her grades. Harry was proud of her regardless and would happily tell people that she got better grades than him.

Well, on average at least.

She beat him in all four of those classes, as well as Transfiguration. They had both gotten Es in Arithmancy with Os in Charms and Care of Magical Creatures.

However, when Harry chose to shine, he really went all out.

Pansy was proud to have gotten Os in both Runes and Defense as well, but Harry got the highest score in both of those classes out of their entire year. Granger had checked after all, and seeing the bookworm pout at not being the best at everything put a huge grin on Pansy's face.

The funny thing was that Harry didn't particularly seem to care that he had done so well. His top scores and his four Os were all in classes that were useful to him. He was just pragmatic like that.

The fact that those worthless muggles had probably caused his complete lack of care towards his studies for anything other than real life applications was just one of the many reasons she still wished she had just killed them all. If Harry had been raised even semi-decently, he probably could have given any Ravenclaw a run for their money.

Still, thoughts of their grades did bring about an interesting question they had not yet decided. Should they drop Arithmancy?

On the one hand, they only needed to take two electives. Runes was obviously in, and both of them had enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures fairly well, although Hagrid's teaching skills were _uneven_ (as Pansy was being kind for Harry's sake.)

Arithmancy was their least favorite of the three, and its lack of practical applications (at least so far) gave Pansy the impression that Harry could quickly lose interest in the class.

On the other hand, it wasn't really that hard, and an extra OWL always looked good on a resume.

Assuming either of them ever needed a resume, that is.

And speaking of an extra OWL, Pansy was almost positive that she and Harry would both get one for Muggle Studies without ever taking the class. Granger's utterly ridiculous 312% on the final exam was proof that experience in the non-magical world was more than enough.

In the end, she was leaning towards continuing the class for at least another year. Harry said he didn't care and was willing to do whatever she decided.

* * *

Would anyone be surprised that Harry ended up doing something romantic _for her_ on _his_ birthday? Of course he did.

Harry told her he had made a reservation for a late dinner in Paris at a restaurant that was supposed to have an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower to the west. It would be perfect for sunset.

And of course, it was.

He wanted to make sure that they had some good memories of Paris, considering the rather traumatic night after the funeral.

This made Pansy decide to go all out for Harry's birthday. They would be very busy for the entire day.

Two nights before his birthday, they were cuddling in the bathtub when the idea finally came to her.

"Harry, what's the most times we've had sex in a day?"

"What do you mean? Like a total? Or the longest amount of time? Or the most orgasms?"

"Do you keep track of all that?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am?"

"A sex-obsessed teenager?"

"That's right," he proudly agreed.

She could only giggle in response. At least he was honest.

"I'm pretty sure the most amount of orgasms I've ever had was on my last birthday. You were going for a record, after all. But what's the most amount you've had? It's got to be at least four or five, right?"

"Six, actually."

"Do you remember when?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Take a guess."

She groaned and reached over her shoulder to pinch his ear. "Just tell me, you goof."

"Come on, just one guess?"

She hummed and thought about it for a moment.

"Was it on my birthday as well?"

"Yep."

"Well, that's fitting, I suppose." Pansy paused to think, before continuing. "I had an idea of something special to do for your birthday."

"Now you're getting me excited."

"I can tell," she purred as she rubbed back against his arousal that was now poking her bum. "I want to give you as much fun as possible for your birthday. I'm not sure if we could get to fourteen, but I'm willing to try."

"That might take all day long," Harry moaned as she continued to slowly writhe against him.

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"Never."

"Good."

The water soon sloshed over the side of the tub as they began to get a lot more comfortable.

* * *

In the end, they didn't get to fourteen, but they had a lot of fun trying.

They were both pretty damn sore the next day though.

* * *

A few days later, after yet another trip to the record store, they were on their way back home when Pansy grabbed a flyer.

"Oh Harry, do we have any plans for Friday night?"

"I'm guessing we do now?"

"Good guess."

"Well, tell me what we're doing because my hands are full."

"You're taking me dancing."

"Okay. Where?"

"Euphoria."

"That sounds fun."

"It's the name of a night club that opened earlier this year."

"Close by?"

"Let's see...

"Where is 137 High Street?"

Harry thought for a minute.

"I think that's near that pub Mortie took us to last winter. High Street was a couple of blocks over."

"We might not want to walk all that way then. Maybe we could ask Dobby for help that night."

"Probably should do it soon then. Who knows what he's been up to lately."

"We also need to run a couple more errands this afternoon."

"Where to?"

"We'll need something to wear."

Harry could only shake his head. It was all his fault really. He never should have encouraged her.

In the end, shopping for clothes didn't actually take too long. However, Pansy also felt the need to drag him along to multiple shoe stores. Because of course she needed something new to go out dancing in.

The next few days she broke in both of her new pairs of shoes, as she was having trouble deciding on which of them to wear. She also tried dancing in them, which meant Harry got a lot of practice as he was 'damn sure not going to just watch her dance' as she explained.

Going along with her demands was easy enough, really.

Dobby was happy to help them out that upcoming Friday night. Harry had secretly asked him to follow them when they went dancing too. He wanted to make sure no drunken louts caused them any problems. Pansy was a sexy girl, and sexy girls tend to attract the wrong type of attention sometimes.

Harry was also thinking of carrying a knife when they went out. He wasn't going to be taking any chances. Pansy was his sexy girl, and if anybody tried anything, he would gladly leave them bleeding.

He might have relaxed some that summer, but he was still paranoid about their safety. Well, mostly about her safety really.

* * *

Harry was pretty good with glamour charms by the time that Friday night rolled around. It was easier to tweak someone's appearance more than just doing an entire different persona. He and Pansy were getting used to seeing older versions of themselves. The fact that she was probably her full height (and yes, he heard her grumble once or twice about not being taller) was helpful.

For his own part, Harry made it look like he was a couple of inches taller, with another stone or two of weight, and actually needing to shave. The growth spurt from the last year had slowed a lot, but he had gained at least another inch since last winter. However, the hair growing on his body was at very different paces. His legs looked like a full grown man's, but he had just started getting hints of facial hair. And the less said about his single chest hair, the better.

(Pansy made fun of him for it.)

But she had been nice enough to teach him a depilatory charm.

It was well after dark before they arrived at the club. This allowed Dobby to find the perfect hidden spot, a little alley between two closed businesses on the other side of the street, for him to drop them off. They had all huddled under the cloak to avoid anyone seeing their sudden appearance.

Harry nodded to Dobby just before they crossed the street. The little guy was going to keep an eye on them, just in case.

The line at the door wasn't too long. They could already hear the pulsating music, and shortly they were inside where the noise and atmosphere was almost overwhelming.

Pansy's eyes sparkled with delight as she led him down into the crowd ontp the dance floor.

Harry followed her happily.

Moving in time with her had become second nature, and following her lead as they danced was more than instinctive at this point.

He only recognized one of the first few songs, but they all tended to have similar, steady beats.

It was hot in the densely packed room, and they were soon sweating. Harry wished he had worn a short sleeve shirt, but he would have felt more awkward not having his wand with him.

Pansy hadn't bothered, as she could still get in trouble for being underage. Plus, she trusted Harry to keep an eye on things.

He would certainly be watching her closely all night. The way she moved, how could he not?

Before long though, he felt the need for a drink.

Pansy told him to get her something too, so he made his way over to the bar while she finished dancing to another song.

He ordered a couple of cokes. As he waited, he felt two arms go around his waist.

Harry turned his head and saw her smiling over his shoulder.

"Let's sit for a minute," she said, loud enough to be heard over the din of the crowd and the blaring music. He nodded in agreement and followed her as she strolled through edge of the crowd. They found an empty booth in a corner towards the front door. Pansy slid in first as Harry sat down the drinks and scooted over next to her.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she said with a smile.

"Of course."

"I know this is more my thing than yours, Harry."

"I like seeing you having this much fun. Besides, you look really hot, and I might be looking forward to taking you home tonight. You know, that's usually the reason guys go to a club. Trying to pick up a hot chick."

"Well, keep it up and you might even get lucky," she teased.

Harry waited for her to finish taking a drink before leaning over for a kiss. Pansy returned it eagerly, and soon they were snogging, off in their own little world as the music kept throbbing in the background.

When they came up to breathe, they saw a couple walking towards them.

The man was maybe thirty, with shaggy light brown hair down to his shoulders. He was trying not to spill his drink while laughing.

The woman looked to be a bit younger. She had long auburn hair and was smiling at them.

"Couldn't he wait till he got you home for the night?" she asked.

"Harry can't keep his hands off me."

"Why would I want to?"

"I'm Vanessa and this is Steven. Have I seen you two somewhere? You look familiar."

"The record store, babe. When we were putting up flyers for the last show," Steven said.

"That's right. Are you new to the neighborhood?"

"Sort of," Pansy replied. "We're back from school for the summer. I'm Pansy and this is Harry."

"Mind if we join you?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure."

As Pansy answered her, Vanessa slid in around the other side of the booth and Steven came in next, sitting opposite Harry.

"Steven and I like to keep an eye out for people new to the area. See the guy in the far corner. Dreadlocks and that silly hat?"

"With the really big black guy next to him?"

"That's the one. Watch out for him. Lenny's a dealer and he's not very scrupulous about it. Two summers ago a friend of ours got some bad molly from him and OD'd."

"Shelly nearly died," Steven added. "We try to warn people since then to be careful. You know what they say- always know your dealer."

"Thanks for the advice," Pansy answered.

"So, how long are you two going to be around?" Vanessa asked.

"We head back to school at the beginning of September."

"Pretty soon, huh? What are you studying?"

Harry's brain froze at that, but Pansy was up to the challenge.

"We're still just doing general classes."

"No majors picked out yet?"

"Not yet."

"You might not think it just from looking at her, but Vanessa just finished her LPC."

"LPC?"

"Legal Practice Course."

"Oh, so you're a solicitor?" Pansy asked.

"Well, I'm still in training for a couple more years," Vanessa replied. "But it's a firm started by my family, so I'd have to really blow it for Uncle Reg to kick me out."

"Congratulations," Harry said. "That must have been a lot of work. I wouldn't have the patience for something like that."

"I'm just happy that you don't cut classes," Pansy grinned at him.

"Pansy's the more academic one of us."

"I can relate," Steven answered with a smile.

"My drink's finished," Pansy said.

"Want another one?"

"No, I need to hit the loo."

"I'll join you," Vanessa said, and both of the guys slid out of the booth to let them past.

Harry sat back down to finish his drink.

"You two been together very long?" Steven asked him.

"More than a year now."

"I thought so."

"How about you?"

"I've been with Vanessa for almost five years now. But we've known each other since we were kids. Her big brother and I went to primary school together."

"Pansy and I met at school too. But we hung out with different groups, so we didn't get to know each other until last spring."

"And you got together almost immediately?" Steven asked with a grin.

"Well, I knew what I wanted, so why bother waiting? Life's short."

"You sound like Vanessa."

"Smart girl."

"Smarter than me, at least," Steven replied. "I should have asked her out sooner."

"Why didn't you?"

"Oh, you know. I had a girlfriend. Then when I was single, she was seeing some guy. It went like that for a couple of years."

"Well, better late than never I guess."

"I'll drink to that," Steven said as he finished his drink. Harry's was already empty.

"You know what, Harry? We are two lucky guys."

"Huh?"

Steven just pointed out onto the dance floor.

And there she was. He didn't even notice Vanessa dancing with her.

Pansy was wearing a black sleeveless top that would ride up while she danced, and it made Harry want to go out there and lick her bellybutton. Her skirt was short enough to let him ogle her legs, although she claimed to have chosen it so she wouldn't feel restricted while she moved.

Yeah, right. She just wanted to drive him nuts.

Well, it was working.

The shoes she had eventually decided on were also black. They had only a small heel, but it was a thick wedge compared to some of the more pointy things he usually thought of as high heels. Pansy admitted that the other pair she considered had better ankle support, but didn't look as good with her outfit.

This was all very important apparently, but to Harry it was just a time for him to nod in agreement.

But now she was out there, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

A song by the Cure came on, from Pansy's newest favorite album _Disintegration_. The driving beat pulsated and Harry felt like he was falling into a trance as he watched her. Pansy was hypnotic. She was all in black and dancing with abandon and glee.

She was a vision of desire, and for some reason it felt familiar.

Steven brought his attention back around as he patted him on the shoulder.

"You looked like you zoned out there. You alright?"

"Yeah."

"Are you on anything tonight, Harry?"

"Nope. Just nuts about a girl."

Steven nodded at him as Harry stood up and quickly hopped over a rail onto the dance floor. Pansy was laughing as Harry weaved through the crowd to get to her. But soon enough, he was next to her, and they were moving in rhythm together. Everything felt right.

* * *

The night ended with them even sweatier. As soon as they got back home, Harry took her up against the wall. He barely even bothered to close the front door. Her legs were wrapped around him and Harry was in bliss.

* * *

They would end up going back to Euphoria a couple of more times before the summer ended. Vanessa also invited them to a party, which Pansy was quite keen on. They got along fabulously. It would be the first party in the muggle world either of them had ever experienced, and that meant it was probably going to be quite different from either the quidditch victory celebrations at Hogwarts or the fancy New Year's Eve ball at the Malfoys.

Pansy spent three days deciding on the perfect outfits for each of them.

* * *

Hedwig had just finished the bacon and gone to her bedroom to sleep through the day after dropping off a letter. They were sitting on the couch, having recently eaten their own breakfasts. Harry read it quickly with a frown growing before letting out a frustrated growl.

"How thick can he be?"

"Who?"

"Ron," Harry sighed.

"Pretty damn thick, Harry. What did the moron do now?"

"He had his dad get an extra ticket for the Quidditch World Cup for me. As in a _single_ extra ticket. It's been a year, I would think even Ron would have realized by now that we live together."

"You're not going?"

"It was a nice gesture on Mr. Weasley's part, but no. Don't get me wrong, I like quidditch. But I love you."

"Harry, you don't have to skip this on my account. I'm sure I could keep myself occupied for a couple of days."

"Well, let's think about the options.

"On one hand, I could camp out in a tent full of Ron, his pushy, overbearing mother, his blushing sister with the obvious crush, his dad who will ask me all sorts of inane questions about the muggle world, and who knows how many of his older brothers.

"On the other hand, I could go to a party that night with my sexy girlfriend.

"I could spend the night trying to sleep despite Ron snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

"Or I could sleep with my sexy girlfriend.

"This is really such a hard choice."

"You're sweet even when you're being a sarcastic prat."

"I've learned from the best."

Pansy kissed his cheek then leaned back and put her feet up in his lap.

"Rub," she said.

Harry chuckled but took one of her feet in hand and began.

"So, just for clarification, any time I take you dancing, I also have to give you a foot massage later?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky that I love you."

"Don't complain, Harry. You love how turned on I get from dancing."

"True enough." He switched feet and she sighed happily.

"Are you sure you don't want to go? To the quidditch, I mean."

"I'm sure. You've been planning for this party for days now, and I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I ditched you on that night. Besides, I like Steven and Vanessa, and I can snog you in front of them without worrying about it. That's something I'm going to miss when we have to go back to school."

"Yeah, me too. I guess we could always snog in front of Luna, at least. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind."

"Probably not."

"You should write back, explaining that you already have plans. The Weasleys should have enough time to find someone else to make use of the ticket that way."

"I thought you didn't like the Weasleys?"

"I don't, but that doesn't mean that I want them to think you're rude."

"Okay." Harry found something to write on and began to scribble a response for Hedwig to take back to Ron.

"Hey, Harry."

"Yeah?"

"Who is even playing in the Quidditch World Cup?"

"I have no idea. Honestly, I don't follow the sport at all. It's not like I grew up with it or anything. I guess I'll have to start rooting for a club if Wood gets signed by someone."

"And yet, it seems so important at school."

"Well, it's just an excuse to fly really fast for me."

"So you don't think about playing professionally?"

"Well, it could be fun in some ways. But I have a feeling all of the preparation, designed plays, and endless practice that Wood put us through would be even worse at that level. So, probably not."

"What do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"Assuming we don't have any more psychopaths or terrorists trying to kill us?"

"Obviously," Pansy snorted.

"I don't know. Maybe we could travel the world? There's lots of places I'd like to see. Lots of beaches."

"Is that just an excuse to see me in a bikini again?"

"Did you know there's something like two hundred countries in the world?"

"No. Why?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Because that means there are about one hundred ninety eight countries that we haven't had sex in yet."

"And you want to try to set a record?"

"Let it never be said that I don't have my priorities straight."

Pansy shifted over to snuggle into his side.

"Harry?"

"What is it?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Choosing to go to the party with me instead of to the Quidditch Cup."

"Well, like I said, I have my priorities straight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had the image of Pansy dancing to Disintegration stuck in my head since before I started writing this story.


	46. When the Party's Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was confused about the dreams last chapter- Harry was dreaming about having a threesome with Narcissa and Pansy which was interrupted by his vision of Voldemort possessing the witch. Voldemort did not actually commit sexual assault, but Harry's mind was already thinking about sex, and the violation of having a spirit force its way inside of your body and then take control over you was a rather spot on metaphor for rape. Also, it makes Quirrell even creepier in hindsight.
> 
> Anyway, I try to make all of Harry's dreams and visions a bit surreal instead of clear and obvious.
> 
> I understand why Rowling did otherwise for narrative reasons, but I personally don't find it believable that a 15 month old baby (who would just have started learning to speak) could have perfect recall of entire conversations the night his parents were murdered. That's why I had Harry only see confusing images when he was near the dementors.

* * *

Harry could only grin at Pansy's excitement. She had been a blur of activity all that afternoon, with Dobby 'helping' her for the last two hours in the kitchen. She just had to bake fresh brownies for some reason, and Dobby had already stopped her from causing too much damage and was now carefully watching over her as Pansy learned to do it the muggle way. Dobby could have had it all done in a fraction of the time, but Pansy wanted to do it herself.

Well, Harry liked sweets as much as anyone not named Luna or Ron, so he was just staying out of the way and hoping to enjoy the results later.

But it was pretty cute how much Pansy wanted to impress Vanessa. He wondered what the reason for that was.

They had run into her the other night when they went back to Euphoria, this time without Steven. She had explained that he had to work that night. They ended up spending half the night just talking and drinking with Vanessa instead of dancing. She introduced them to a few of her other friends that night- Vanessa was a bit of a social butterfly. Pansy later admitted to Harry that it was so relaxing to be able to just talk to people without worrying about any of the crap they would have dealt with in the magical world.

And after growing up with the expectations of her pureblood parents before being sorted into the cutthroat house of Slytherin, it was a relief to be at ease around other people for once. Even if they ran into some sort of conflict, they probably wouldn't see any of these people again for a long time after the party.

That most recent night at the club had been pretty nice, although it did feature a new experience for them. They both ended up rather drunk. Thankfully, with the good company, it turned out that they were both happy drunks, but the night did end with them too sick for sex.

And Harry had to be pretty damn sick to pass up sex. But they took turns throwing up once they got home, and even Harry's hormones were shut down for the night.

He felt pretty lucky the next morning when he didn't have a hangover. Pansy cursed him briefly before Dobby brought her a potion.

Maybe she felt a bit embarrassed at getting drunk in front of Vanessa? But they all had fun talking that night. Even if they almost slipped once or twice in mentioning how they were both orphans. Oh well, Vanessa had seemed just as out of it by the end of the night, if not more so, when Steven had come by to pick her up. Harry doubted she would think twice about it.

But now Pansy was becoming a bit frantic. Harry had been sent downstairs for a container to transport the baked goods. Ruby was very helpful and suggested that Harry just be supportive and not do anything to make Pansy any more stressed before the party. She seemed to understand why Pansy was freaking out, but Harry was still at a loss while he waited for her to finish getting ready in the bathroom.

Maybe it was a girl thing?

He certainly wasn't worried about impressing Steven- or anyone else that may be there. After all, it was meant to be sort of a belated house warming party, so wouldn't the hosts be the ones trying to make a splash?

In the end, he just waited on the couch until she finally came out and told him it was time to go.

One quick house-elf ride left them standing on the front steps to a surprisingly nice house. It was not what they expected from a young woman just starting her career and her musician boyfriend. Steven at least was the type to hold a steady job while still pursuing his dream at night, but neither of them could possibly afford the place.

Pansy handed Harry the food while she smoothed down her clothes before ringing the doorbell.

"Pansy, Harry! I'm so glad you guys could make it," Vanessa said as she invited them inside. "It's a good thing you showed up so soon, too, as we could use your help."

"Hey, Harry. Reduced to a pack mule today, huh?" Steven asked.

"I've been called worse things," he shrugged.

"I'm the one who did all the work in the kitchen, so it's the least you could do," Pansy teased him. He briefly considered Dobby's supervision and laughed to himself.

"Follow me to the kitchen," Vanessa said. "So, what did you bring?"

"Fresh baked brownies," Pansy proudly announced.

"Ooh, chocolate. I knew I liked you for a good reason," Vanessa joked. "Hey, Lizzie, this is Pansy and her boyfriend, Harry. This is my cousin."

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Now, Pansy, if you don't mind, I'd like to make use of your guy. Someone forgot to make sure we had plenty to drink tonight, so Steven needs to run to the grocers and he could use an extra pair of arms."

"I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind, would you?" Pansy asked with a smile.

"Not a problem."

"Let me just grab my keys." Harry nodded and Steven left the room.

"Thank your boyfriend for me, Pansy," Vanessa teased.

But then Pansy grabbed him and gave him a searing kiss.

Steven gave a wolf whistle as he came back in. "What was that for?"

"He's a good boyfriend," Pansy replied with a Cheshire grin.

"Aren't I a good boyfriend?" Steven asked as he turned to Vanessa.

"Maybe later we'll see. Don't you have an errand to run?" She poked him in the chest.

"Alright, alright, we're going. Come on, Harry, I know when I'm not wanted."

Harry followed him outside and around the side of the house to a small, blue, two-door car. He wasn't aware enough of automobiles to know what type it was, but it was clearly older yet it looked to still be in good shape.

"I guess I really am a pack mule today," Harry chuckled.

"Can I tell you a secret, Harry?" Steven said as he started up the car.

"Sure."

"I think this was a bit of a set up."

"What do you mean?"

"Vanessa could have sent me to the store earlier. She did polish off the last bottle of wine last night, so I'm sure she knew what she was doing. I think she just wanted some time for girl talk with Pansy. Well, Lizzie too, but she can drive Vanessa crazy sometimes. It's too bad you guys are back off to Uni soon."

"Yeah, believe me, I prefer screwing around all summer over school too."

"How long till you graduate?"

"Uh, well, it depends on what we decide to do." How should he answer this exactly? "Neither of us has any plans for jobs yet, so picking something to focus on is something we'll have to do sooner or later. I'd say at least two more years, maybe as many as four."

"You're lucky to not have to work while you're at school. How did that happen?"

"It's for a couple of reasons. Pansy's got a rich uncle who offered to pay for her since she lost her parents. My story is a bit more complicated. The simple version is that I inherited a fair amount from my parents."

"Really? You don't seem much like a trust fund kid."

"Well, I wasn't raised that way. I didn't know anything about the money for most of my life."

"How come?"

"Let's just say my childhood wasn't too pleasant. I got emancipated as soon as I could, and finding out that I had access to what they had left me made it a lot easier."

"So, I guess that's why you aren't too concerned about a job."

"The only thing I've thought of so far would be having to do with security."

"Security?"

"Yeah, like home security. My parents were killed when someone broke into our home."

"Damn, Harry. That's awful. How'd you survive?"

"Just lucky I guess."

Once they arrived at the store, Steven led him around the store as he picked up a few bottles of alcohol, juices, and fizzy drinks. Harry didn't have much of an opinion about what to get. He barely had any experience with alcohol anyway.

On the ride back to the house, Steven asked him a question.

"Hey, Harry, you ever think about marriage?"

"You mean with Pansy?"

"Yeah."

"Sure." Harry had to hold in a chuckle. He wondered what Steven would think if he knew he was asking this of a fourteen year old.

"Vanessa's been dropping hints, and I'm not sure what to do."

"Well, you love her, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"I don't know. Part of me worries that one day she'll wake up and realize she could do a lot better. Especially now that she's got her career starting. It wasn't a big deal when we were younger, you know, but- I don't know."

"Has she talked about having kids?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't think she'd bring up having kids with you if she wasn't pretty sure you'd still be around."

"Good point."

Steven got quiet, and Harry let him think without pressing.

"How'd you get so wise, Harry?"

"The hard way."

"What do you mean?"

It was time for more bullshit, but Harry was starting to get good at it. He had learned that he could often tell a version of the truth if he just left out a lot of the details.

"I nearly died." He paused as he heard Steven exhale and swear under his breath.

"It was more than a year ago. I got bit by this really poisonous snake. I was lucky that the school had some anti-venom available, otherwise I wouldn't be here today.

"Something like that happens and everything becomes a lot clearer. The small stuff matters a lot less, but the things that are really important, well..."

"I get it. Life's short, right?"

"Exactly. Pansy and I got to know each other just after that happened. Thirteen days after that snake bite was the first time I kissed her. And I've never looked back."

"Shit, Harry." Steven paused and took a deep breath. "You know what this means?"

"You should start thinking about getting a ring?"

"I guess so," Steven chuckled. "You know, Vanessa's going to love you if I tell her about this conversation.

"So, do you already have a plan for asking Pansy?"

"Kind of. I figure we'll do it as soon as we finish school. That seems like a good time for a honeymoon, before we get involved in any careers."

"You're pretty sure you'll last, huh?"

"Pretty sure," Harry nodded. "But then, if someone didn't have faith in their relationship, that would probably be a sign it was time to break up."

"Well, I think the two of you seem pretty well matched. So, I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks. I hope it works for you and Vanessa, too."

They made it back to the house and proceeded to carry in the drinks. A couple more guests had arrived while they were out. Music was playing from the living room. Vanessa instructed them on what to put out and what to stash for later. There was a table set up with all sorts of snacks and sweets- now with the addition of a ton of things for people to make mixed drinks.

"What'll you have Harry?" Steven asked as they filled the table.

"I don't know. I've never been much of a drinker."

"Well, we'll start you out with a classic. Gin and tonic."

"Okay."

"You know the story of how gin and tonic came about?" Steven asked as he mixed one up for Harry.

"Nope."

"You've heard of the East India Company, right?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "Well, a couple hundred years ago, they were getting malaria over in India and other tropical places like that. A doctor discovered that quinine, which was in tonic water, could treat the malaria. But it tasted awful. However, they also had access to gin. And some of the British officers figured out that they could mix together the tonic water with gin, throw in a lime, maybe some sugar, and voila," Steven finished as he passed Harry the drink.

He took a sip and nodded.

"Pretty good. Thanks."

He crossed the room over to a couch where Pansy was sitting next to Vanessa and her cousin.

"You started without me," he pouted at her. Pansy handed her cup to Vanessa and stood up. She gave him a quick peck, took his cup, and pushed him down onto the couch. Then she climbed on his lap, arranged his arms around her and handed him back his drink.

"I was just saving you a seat," she teased. "And you were making me wait for my seat to get here."

"A thousand pardons, my love."

She giggled at him. He could tell that Pansy was already tipsy. This was one of the problems with their glamours, as they did not have the experience the others might have expected them to, due to the fact that they looked like they were about twenty.

"So what are you drinking?" he asked.

"White Russians. We all are," Pansy smiled. "If we ever want to get Luna drunk, this would be a good choice."

"Oh?"

"Have a sip?"

It was rich and creamy, but the sweet coffee flavor was what she obviously meant.

"Like the tiramisu." She nodded in agreement. "I can't even imagine a drunk Luna."

"Who's Luna?" Lizzie asked.

"A friend of ours from school. She's pretty strange, but also a total sweetheart," Harry replied and took another drink. He was going to have to race to catch up with her, but the contrast at switching back to his own drink after tasting hers was not the most pleasant thing.

"Is Luna the one you told me about? The little blonde Harry rescued?" Vanessa guessed.

"Yep," Pansy smiled. "That's my Harry. Always there for damsels in distress."

"Pansy told me she was getting bullied and you put a stop to it," Vanessa told Harry.

"Yeah, well, I was bullied as a kid, so I can't stand seeing that happen to other people."

"So, what's this about tiramisu?"

"Well, Luna's got a massive sweet tooth, and we took her out to eat earlier this year. She hadn't tried tiramisu before and she ended up eating two servings."

"Three servings, Harry," Pansy corrected him. "She ate yours too, remember?"

"Fine, call it two and a half servings then," he shrugged.

"Shouldn't you be sharing your dessert with your girlfriend?" Lizzie mocked him, but Pansy answered, ignoring the dig.

"Harry was just protecting me so that I could actually eat my own dessert. He's a good boy. And good boys get rewards when we're alone."

"I certainly did." He smiled thinking of how she had sneaked in to his guest room at the Grangers that night.

"What's got that smile on your face, Harry?" Vanessa asked with a grin.

"Can't you guess?" Pansy replied. "Harry is such a guy sometimes. You should have seen him at the beach."

"What happened at the beach?"

"Harry spent half his time covering me in sunscreen."

"Oh, you loved it," he teased her back.

"I did," she admitted with a giggle. "Harry's wonderful with his hands, so I let him rub me _all over_."

"You two are kinda sickening, you know?" Lizzie got up and walked off in a huff.

"Oh, don't mind her," Vanessa said. "She's just bitter because her last guy left her for an old flame.

"But she's right in a way. You are pretty adorable together."

"I don't think most of our friends would agree."

"Luna would," Harry argued.

"Which just goes to show why I like Luna more than most of the cunts we go to school with."

"Yeah, so do I."

"Why's that?"

"Harry has a bit of a fan club. Sometimes I think I might need to beat them off."

"I'd imagine you would have more than a few admirers too, Pansy," Vanessa replied.

"Nope. For one thing, I can be quite intimidating when I want to."

"Yep," Harry agreed with a laugh. "Pansy can be a huge bitch when she feels like it."

"And I usually do. Plus, Harry would kill anyone that looked at me wrong."

"Have you had anything to eat yet, Harry?" Vanessa asked.

"No."

"I'll get you something, Harry," Pansy said as she jumped up, handing him her almost finished drink.

"Get yourself something, too," Vanessa suggested as she walked off. "Sorry, Harry, I think I might have forgotten that Pansy's a bit of a lightweight."

"Well, she had a kind of sheltered life before we met. I did too, just in a different way."

"Okay. Just make sure you both get some food in you before you have any more to drink."

"No problem."

"Good. I'll leave you to it." Vanessa got up as Pansy sat back down next to him with a plate full of snacks.

"I'm going to feed you," she grinned as she shoved a bite into his mouth.

"Feed us both," Harry said after he managed to swallow. "You don't want to wake up like the last time we had too much to drink. Also, what was that?"

"I don't know, but it looked yummy."

"Fair enough."

"Hey guys," Steven said as he walked over. "This is Paul and Richie."

"Your band mates?"

"Yeah, I'm the drummer," Richie replied as he shook Harry's hand. "Paul plays bass. It's too bad you guys won't be around much longer. We've got another show in three weeks."

"That would be at the beginning of term for us, so we couldn't make it. Maybe some other time though," Pansy suggested.

"So, Steven's never told us what you guys sound like."

"Really?" Paul asked. "We've been called dream pop. You know, like My Bloody Valentine or Lush." He turned to Steven and asked, "do you have any of our tapes unpacked yet?"

"No, we've still got a guest room that's just full of boxes. Vanessa's got most of her music out though."

"Cool, put on Gala next then," Richie suggested.

"Sure."

Within fifteen minutes, Harry knew that they were going to have to go back to the record store tomorrow. And it reminded him of something else he would need to buy soon as well.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, the magical world was having a lot less fun than Harry and Pansy as chaos broke out at the Quidditch World Cup.

* * *

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. Harry met at least a dozen people, but between the alcohol and eventually his first time trying marijuana, most of them were forgotten in the haze. There was the girl who had dyed her hair green named Jenny, and the brief flash of a Weasley with that hair color made him giggle to himself for at least a solid minute. And the guy with all the piercings obviously stood out, but he couldn't remember his name, although he was about sixty percent sure it started with a J.

By the end of the night, Harry and Pansy were both pretty out of it, but they were able to convince their hosts that they would be fine getting home. They staggered out into the night and stumbled behind some bushes where they were hidden and could call Dobby for a pick up.

As he somehow managed to get his sleeping girlfriend out of her shoes and then fumbled with his own, Harry slurred to Dobby that they would both probably need potions in the morning.

And when the morning glare woke him, he was proven correct.

Dobby was once again a life saver.

Harry and Pansy spent most of the morning curled up in bed, slowly drinking water and eating a bit of toast while trying to feel less than terrible.

They were eventually able to doze a bit more before waking for good close to noon. They took a nice hot shower together, and for once Harry didn't even try to start anything.

After getting dressed, Harry sat down on the couch where Pansy joined him while getting ready to paint her toenails. It was one of the many little muggle things that she had instantly taken to, and it made him think that most of their peers who had grown up in the magical world could probably adjust fairly well as long as they were introduced to the non-magical world while still young.

He reached over to the end table where the Daily Prophet lay and had to rub his eyes. This was just what he needed.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Hmm? What is it, Harry?" Pansy asked without looking up from her task. He cleared his throat and read aloud to her.

"' _Death Eaters Attack Quidditch World Cup Celebration! Dark Mark Sighted! One Dead, Two Captured! Several Bystanders Injured!_ '"

"Shit," she repeated. Harry nodded as she looked over at him.

"I'm so glad I decided to skip that," he wryly added.

"I can't believe they would pull something like that."

"I can't believe they weren't all slaughtered," Harry replied as he read. "There were roughly one hundred thousand witches and wizards from all over the world and apparently only a couple dozen Death Eaters. Yet of course, almost all of them escaped. What fucking bullshit."

"Read the rest of the story and tell me if there's any good news," she told him as she went back to work on her nails.

"Okay, give me a minute." Harry quickly skimmed through the first few pages as there were multiple stories about everything that happened.

"Well, the important news is that Ireland won."

That got him an arched eyebrow of annoyance.

"Seriously, they beat Bulgaria," he continued.

"Harry, please don't make me hit you. Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Sorry," he answered while trying to hide a grin. "Okay, here's some good news. Remember that auror we met, Joe Richmond? He's apparently the one whose squad was working security that had the decency to actually try to do their jobs, and thus, are responsible for the Death Eaters that didn't escape."

"I knew I liked him," she agreed.

"Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, he is now on desk duty pending the full investigation."

"I guess someone did die, so that might not be suspicious."

"How much do you want to bet that the Death Eaters that were caught or killed were purebloods?" Harry challenged. "Ten galleons say they try to screw him over because of this."

"I'm not taking that bet."

"I didn't think you would. No names released yet. I wonder if it's anyone we were aware of as Death Eaters."

"I hope it was Yaxley," Pansy suggested. "Getting rid of a dirty auror would be awesome, and it might even be the kick in the arse that the ministry needs to stop being so fucking worthless."

"We should be so lucky."

"We really can't have a quiet year, can we Harry?"

"Knowing my luck, this is just the beginning. But look at the good news. Someone else has finally dealt with some of the Death Eaters for once. I won't have to kill absolutely every one of them by myself."

Harry wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry at that thought.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it," Pansy sighed. "You're still ahead of the entire government three to one, though."

"To be fair, there were some that were either caught or killed way back when," Harry admitted. "Not nearly enough, obviously, judging by the twenty plus at last night's festivities."

"Can you give me some good news, please? About anything else?"

"Well, from what I remember, we both enjoyed ourselves last night."

"Yeah, so what?"

"So, I might have asked Steven to hook me up with a large amount of weed before we go back to school."

"I didn't really like smoking, Harry."

"Well, I didn't either, but you did just learn to make brownies the other day."

"Oh yeah, Vanessa mentioned we could do that last night. It sounds pretty good actually."

"Exactly. And that means we can also give some to our friends. Luna on pot brownies should be _amazing_."

"Can you imagine? Even worse with her sweet tooth," Pansy laughed. "We would have to keep an eye on her, though."

"See, you do care about our girl," Harry teased.

"Luna drives Granger nuts, and I would love her just for that. But yes, she has other good qualities too." She looked over at him suspiciously. "Is there another reason?"

"Another reason for what?"

He tried not to wilt under her glare.

"Is this all a plot to feed Granger pot brownies?"

Harry looked down in defeat.

"Alright, you caught me," he admitted. "But it should totally work to get her to chill the fuck out when she's driving us all nuts with her obsession with school work and tests. I know you take that sort of thing more seriously than me, but even you would agree that Hermione is way over the top. I'm going to get an ulcer just hanging out with her at this rate."

"Fine," she huffed. "But you need to learn to bake brownies too then. I wouldn't mind making some for people I like, but Granger pissed me off one too many times last year."

"Fair enough. I did watch you and Dobby in the kitchen the other day, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Two things, Harry. First, I bet she catches you. Second, I think you'll be wasting it on her."

"Noted, but I still have to try."

"What about Weasley?"

"Ron? He doesn't need something to make him relax."

"No, I mean are you expecting me to have to put up with him while he's high?"

"Oh. I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it. I guess we'll have to see how well we get along this fall."

Pansy went back to work finishing off her toes.

"Anything else of note in the paper?"

"Let me look." After flipping through it some more, he replied, "there appears to be some confusion about the Dark Mark's appearance. It apparently wasn't cast by the group of Death Eaters, but some distance away from them."

"So, by someone else? A rogue Death Eater?"

"Maybe. That sounds a bit odd."

"Someone they didn't invite to their little terrorist club reunion," Pansy snorted. "We need something to take our mind off this crap."

"We could go rent some movies," Harry suggested. "We haven't watched much this summer."

"A night of just relaxing in front of the telly does sound pretty good. Plus, it would let us rest up more. I'll be ready to go soon."

"Maybe we could order pizza for dinner too, so we won't need to bother Dobby tonight."

* * *

"Oh crap," Harry said the next morning, as he opened a letter.

"What is it?"

"Sirius."

"Black? What about him?"

"He wants to meet. Apparently, he thought I was at the Quidditch World Cup and wants to make sure I didn't get hurt or killed or something. He sounds pretty upset."

"Ugh," Pansy groaned. "Just what we don't need- some nosy adult worrying about us."

"Yeah. I guess he still wants to try to get back in my good graces as my godfather."

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I mean he has been helpful, in some ways. And he hasn't been too pushy about anything until now."

"We could manage a brief, little meeting. Maybe meet for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron? He could get a private room there."

"Yeah, that might work." Harry crafted a short response. "We did get our school letters, so we could get our shopping done either before or after."

"Let's do that first. Get it out of the way, just in case the meeting goes long or we run into any trouble with Black."

"That means we'll have to get up early for once tomorrow."

"I'm sure we'll live. Besides, we're going to have to get used to that again in a couple of weeks anyway."

"Don't remind me," Harry moaned.

* * *

Pansy suggested they call it an early night. And Harry, mostly, complied. Although she did have to make sure he was tired enough to go to sleep.

Regardless, the next day they were able to make it to Diagon Alley with plenty of time to get their shopping done before their scheduled lunch with Sirius. Among the typical supplies, they also found a listing for formal robes. Pansy smiled at the idea of dressing the two of them up, and so that part of the trip was longer than the rest of it combined.

After trying three different stores, she still wasn't pleased by the selection, before finding a small clothing shop off the main section of the road that was much closer to muggle styles of dress. The fact that it was run by a half-blood with his muggle born wife and sister-in-law in charge of the designs was surely the reason for this. Harry's outfit wasn't too hard for her to choose- it looked much like a tuxedo, with a couple of slight changes to the cut.

Harry was not allowed to peek at Pansy's selection. It was going to be custom tailored to her, which meant that it would not be ready for pickup for a few days and it also cost more than three times what Harry's had.

She promised it would be worth it once he saw what she wore, though. He liked the look in her eye when she said that, so Harry kept his complaints to himself.

They had almost an hour to kill before the meeting, so Harry browsed the bookstore for awhile. He eventually came across a book about using runes to ward buildings, which he immediately snagged, as well as one written by a veteran who had fought in the magical side of both World Wars that was all about combat. He only had a few minutes to flip through it, but it looked promising.

Pansy was not as interested in trying to find any books in particular as she knew she had plenty that she had stolen from her parents' library the year before that she had still not gone through yet. But she did spot a very old book about house-elves that she thought might be worth reading, so she showed it to Harry, who added it to the stack.

Dobby popped their purchases back home while they made it to the Leaky Cauldron with a few minutes to spare.

Pansy noticed that Sirius had beaten them there though, as he was chatting with Tom behind the bar. She pointed him out to Harry, and they crossed the room.

"Hello, Sirius."

"Harry, it's so good to see you again," he answered, shaking Harry's hand although looking like he wanted a friendlier greeting. "Pansy, a pleasure to see you again too. I trust you're taking good care of our boy?"

"Of course," she replied neutrally.

"Excellent. Well, I've got us a room upstairs and was just talking about having some lunch sent up. What would you like?"

They both looked over the menu listed above the bar and ordered light lunches then followed Sirius up the stairs.

He led them down a hall to a room that already had the door open.

Unfortunately, inside they had two other people waiting on them. Pansy felt Harry tighten up as he stepped inside just before her.

She shouldn't have been surprised that Black would bring his old friend Lupin along, but it was an obvious mistake. Harry had no patience for the Defense professor.

Also sitting in a chair at a table across the room was Madam Bones from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Whatever she was doing there, Pansy doubted it would be good.

"Maybe I should have asked for my lawyer to be present if I knew this was going to be an interrogation," Harry joked, although she heard the edge in his voice.

"Actually, I contacted Mr. McKenzie just after Sirius suggested we all meet today. I'm sorry to be springing this on you, but I was hoping that you could be of some help, Lord Potter," Madam Bones replied.

"I see."

"And I'm sorry to be running a tad late," came Sam's answer as he entered behind them and closed the door. "Harry, Pansy, good to see you both again."

Harry shook his hand as they all sat down around the table.

"Thanks, Sam. Now, what's this all about?"

"The Death Eater mess at the Quidditch World Cup," Madam Bones said. "You had some dealings with them yourself this year at Hogwarts."

"Amelia, I need to know just how official this meeting is before I let you say anything else to my client," Sam interrupted.

"This is all off the record, Sam. I wanted you to be here so your client wouldn't feel that we were trying to take advantage of him."

"But that is what you want," Harry replied. "You want to take advantage of what I know about the Death Eaters, right? How did I know Malfoy and Snape were Death Eaters?"

"Well, in a way, yes," Madam Bones admitted.

"Harry, Amelia's one of the good guys," Sirius interjected. "She fought them in the last war. Hell, she lost family to those bastards. We're all on the same side."

"I see."

Harry looked over all of the faces waiting on him before turning to Pansy. She could see the question in his eyes but she had no answer.

_Could they actually trust them?_

She gave him a brief nod. Maybe it was worth a try.

"Alright, well with Malfoy it was easy. For one thing, his idiotic son strutted around Hogwarts proudly proclaiming their views; how they hated muggles, muggleborns, and pretty much everyone. Then, Lucius slipped a cursed diary to a student that possessed said student and forced her to open the Chamber of Secrets in my second year. It was a damn miracle that no one died.

"Malfoy basically admitted his guilt right in front of Dumbledore and I before suggesting that we couldn't prove his involvement."

Madam Bones let out a groan.

"Why the hell didn't Dumbledore tell me any of this? We could have at least launched an investigation."

"I don't know. Did you investigate the petrifications that year? Or professor Quirrell's death the year before?"

"Unfortunately, there was a great deal of pressure placed on my department not to do anything about the petrifications for several months."

"And let me guess, this pressure came from Minister Fudge, no doubt on behalf of his good friend Lucius' recommendation."

"Not just that, Lord Potter, but Dumbledore played the attacks down, saying that there was no great danger," Madam Bones replied.

Harry just closed his eyes and shook his head. Pansy squeezed his hand in support. She could feel his frustration growing and it was mirrored with her own annoyance at how badly the people in charge had screwed things up.

"I think I may hate that senile old man," Harry muttered.

"Now, I would love to hear more about professor Quirrell's death as well. Dumbledore reported that it was some sort of terrible magical accident that caused his demise. I've already had to investigate one professor's death this year, and I need to know if I need to open a second belated one as well."

"And the question you should be asking, is why was there any reason to investigate Snape's death if Quirrell's was so unimportant. Especially since there were hundreds of eye witnesses to what happened to that worthless traitorous scum and only one witness to Quirrell's death. I know for a fact that you never questioned that witness."

"I have a bad feeling that I can already guess, but I have to ask, who was the witness to professor Quirrell's death?"

"I was."

Sirius swore while Lupin gasped and looked away.

"And for the record, I'm not going to say a word about what happened. Dumbledore apparently doesn't trust the ministry to do its job, so I'm going to bow to his experience and stay the hell out of it. The Daily Prophet made that very clear to me. Auror Richmond and his team should be given medals and treated like the heroes they are, but that's not happening, is it?"

"No, it's not, and that's the main reason I'm here. Joe is one of the better people I've got working for me and it infuriates me with how he's being treated. I'd love to tell Fudge to go to hell, but officially, there has to be an investigation any time an auror kills someone."

"Even violent terrorists, members of a group that tried to destroy this country? What a fucking joke."

"Not a very good one, either," Madam Bones agreed with a frown.

"Maybe you could do some good though, Harry," Sam suggested. "We could give a statement that you support our aurors who were protecting people from terrorists at the World Cup, and that it's good we have people like that."

"I would be happy to do that. I met auror Richmond and I liked him. Plus, I feel like I owe him a drink for taking out one of those scumbags."

"Thank you, Lord Potter," Madam Bones responded.

"You can call me Harry, Madam Bones. It's not like we're in a courtroom, and Sam trusts you, so I'm willing to work together on this."

"Then you can call me Amelia, Harry. Look, I'll be blunt. I need all the help I can get to deal with the Death Eaters. We all know that some of them went free after you-know-who's down fall. But seeing that it was apparently at least two dozen or so of them was shocking. Please, tell me anything you can."

"Alright. Well, from his confession last winter, you know that Pansy's father was a Death Eater."

"Did you know that, miss?" Amelia asked as she turned to Pansy.

"Of course. I doubt anyone could grow up in a house with one of them and not know."

"Do you know of any others?"

"I could tell you of some of my father's associates, but what would it really accomplish?"

"The more of us that know who to keep an eye on, the better we'll all be in the long run," Amelia replied.

"There are several obvious names. Draco Malfoy never went anywhere without Crabbe and Goyle, his faithful goons. Their fathers would be the same."

"You're right, they aren't surprising."

"If you really want a name though," Harry interrupted as he looked over at Pansy questioningly. She nodded in agreement. "You should take a look at Yaxley."

"Yaxley?" Amelia gasped.

"Yes, a senior auror. It's no wonder that the ministry can't get much done since they have terrorists working in the heart of the government."

"Shite," Sirius swore. "Amelia, this is bad. You've got to keep him away from the prisoners."

"I'll be heading back there as soon as this conversation's over. Any other names you could give me?"

"The other ministry worker I know of is named MacNair," Pansy answered.

"Walden MacNair, why am I not surprised?" Bones muttered. "He always seemed like a creep to me."

"Well, he's still a killer, only now he gets paid by the government for his work," Harry smirked. "I'm sorry, Amelia, but maybe you can start to see why I don't think much of the ministry. Who knows how many of those bastards are in the ministry, or even worse, the Wizengamot?"

"At least there's one less now. This is not for the public to know yet, but the Death Eater that was killed was Theodore Nott, senior."

"Again, not a surprise," Pansy replied. "Just look at the bigoted old pureblood families and you'll probably find several more of them. There are also rumors about the Carrow twins, for example."

"But no others you know of for sure?"

"I would recommend pumping the two you have captured for information. Veritaserum exists, and I can't see any better reason for it than getting every last scrap of knowledge you can out of two terrorists," Harry suggested.

"Then I had better get back to work," Amelia said as she rose from her chair.

"I'll work with Harry to get a statement prepared to support your aurors, Amelia. We can't have good guys like that getting in trouble for taking out the trash."

"I appreciate it, Sam. Thank you Harry and Pansy for all your help today."

"You're welcome, Madam Bones," Pansy answered.

"Good luck," Harry stated as she walked to the door.

"Now, are there any other surprises that I should be aware of, or should I start writing something to help the aurors?" Sam asked.

"I just want to talk to my godson," Sirius replied.

"Harry?"

Sam looked at him and Harry nodded.

"I shouldn't need any help with these two, Sam. Thanks for today."

"I'll send over a copy of the statement this evening. Look it over and with any luck we might even have it in tomorrow's Prophet."

"Alright," Harry agreed as he shook Sam's hand before the lawyer also headed out.

Once the door was closed, he turned back to Sirius and Lupin.

"So, what do you two want?"

"How's your summer been, Harry? I haven't heard from you since last month," Sirius said with a smile. "Getting into all the right types of trouble I hope."

"What's he doing here?"

"Look, Harry, Remus told me about how you gave him the cold shoulder, but I think you should give him a second chance."

" _A cold shoulder_?" Harry replied with a sneer. "Let me tell you about _a cold shoulder_. While you were rotting away in Azkaban, there was still one of your old friends out in the real world. So when your godson was left an orphan, did your old friend take care of him? Did he make regular visits, playing the role of Uncle Lupin? Did he ever do _anything_ to show that he gave a damn?"

"Harry, please-" Sirius tried to interrupt. Lupin was merely looking away in shame.

"No, he didn't do anything. He abandoned me. I've got a lifetime of Lupin giving _me_ the cold shoulder. So, if you think I'm willing to let all that go just because you grew up with him, then you're more of an idiot than I thought."

"I told you this was a bad idea, Padfoot. I'll just go."

"Remus-"

"You should talk to him, Sirius. Maybe you've still got a shot. Good luck with your next year at school, Harry," Lupin said as he got up and left.

"Good riddance."

"Harry, you don't know how hard it's been on Remus. Being a werewolf means a lot of people treat him like crap."

"I don't hate him because he's a werewolf. I hate him because he's a self-absorbed arse. You don't hear me moaning about being an orphan."

"You didn't have to be so cold to him. He just wanted a chance to apologize."

"He had twelve fucking years. He's out of chances."

"And what about me?"

"You at least had an excuse. And you suffered for abandoning me. Any suffering Lupin did was just self-pity."

"So, are you willing to give me a chance?"

"I might be, but don't try to push Lupin on me."

"I don't really get it."

"Do you have any idea what a simple phone call would have meant to me? Just to hear from someone that my parents weren't unemployed drunks who died in a car crash? That somewhere out there someone actually gave a shit about me?"

"A car crash? Who told you that? Where were you living?"

"My mother's sister's family," Harry replied in a flat tone of voice.

"Harry," Black exhaled. "Did they hurt you?"

"Hurt me?" Harry looked at him with a flash of anger. "Hurt me?

"You want to know who hurt me? How about a godfather who forgot all about the one person he swore to care for? How about a meddlesome old man who dumped me on a doorstep like a fucking newspaper? How about an entire society that proclaimed me their miraculous savior and then proceed to let me disappear for a decade? A society that still to this day celebrates my parents' murder."

"Harry, I just want to help you. I'm sorry I wasn't there all those years. You can't know how much I wish I could change what happened that night. But I will do everything I can to prove that I'll be here in the future."

"Fine."

There was a moment of very uncomfortable silence that stretched out. It was broken by the delivery of their lunch, which they all started to eat instead of trying to restart the conversation. Black eventually broke the ice.

"So, you never answered my question. What were you up to instead of going to see the quidditch match?"

"Pansy and I were at a party."

"A party? With who?"

"It was in the muggle world, so I'm pretty sure you wouldn't know any of them. Besides, everyone there was a lot younger than you, old man."

It was one part joke and one part insult, but it looked like Black took it in the best possible manner to Pansy.

"I'm only thirty four," he protested.

"Well, it must be an old thirty four."

"Twelve of those years were pretty hard, you know. Besides, just give me a few more months, and I'll be a knock out. The ladies will be all over me, and if you're lucky I might even give you some pointers, Harry."

"Sure," Harry dryly replied.

"I'm glad you were at a party though, that sounds like what teenagers should be doing during their vacations. I always hated that the teachers would send us home with summer assignments."

"Now that I definitely agree with you on. Pansy made sure I got them all done though."

"It's not my fault that you don't care about your grades, Harry."

"I never said it was, but do either of you really think I won't be able to get whatever job I may want in a few years? As if what the boy who lived scored in Herbology would matter?"

"Maybe, if you wanted to work in a magical greenhouse," Sirius suggested. "Of course, a place like that would probably hire you anyway, just for the publicity's sake."

"Precisely. I'm not even sure I will need to work."

"The life of a lazy playboy was always my dream," Sirius grinned with a sigh. "Now that I'm basically the last of the Blacks, it is even coming true in a way. Therefore, I heartily approve of you doing the same, Harry.

"But I'm still a bit surprised you passed up the chance to go to the Quidditch World Cup. You're a pretty brilliant seeker from what I've seen. James would be so proud that you got on the team as a first year.

"Maybe a bit jealous too," he added with a smile.

"I enjoy playing the game a lot more than watching it," Harry shrugged. "And I don't follow it outside of school. I hadn't even heard of it until I went to Hogwarts, you know? So I don't have a favorite team or anything like that.

"Besides, I already had plans, and from what I heard afterwards, it's probably a good thing that I didn't go."

"I'm glad you didn't get caught up in that mess with the Death Eaters," Sirius agreed.

"Oh, that's not what I meant. I would have been right there with the aurors blasting those Death Eater bastards with every painful spell I could think of. I can't believe more people didn't try to take them down. Even so, I'd probably have been arrested."

"I can just see the head line now, 'Boy who lived kills Death Eaters, Justice or Revenge?' You're right about the incompetence of the ministry. Hell, I'm proof of that."

"Why not justice _and_ revenge?" Harry replied. "How many people lost family members and loved ones to the Dark Lord and his followers? I would have thought a lot of them would have attacked instead of running away."

"I don't want you to have to jump into danger like that, Harry."

"I usually don't have a choice."

"Still, I hope this year won't be as much of a mess as last year was, and for my part of that, I apologize."

"Thanks."

"I owe you for helping to deal with Wormtail. I'd like to help you in the future, if you'll let me."

Harry thought about it for a moment before responding.

"I think today's meeting was probably a good idea. If Madam Bones can get some results, or at least if I can help to keep some good aurors from getting in trouble for doing the right thing, then that's at least a start at fixing some of the stupidity in this country."

"You're too jaded for a fourteen year old, Harry."

"How many times had you been nearly killed when you were fourteen, Sirius? I think I've earned my cynicism."

"I guess I can't really argue that," Sirius allowed with a grimace on his face.

"So, tell me about something less serious. Like, what are your favorite classes?"

"Runes," Pansy answered with a grin.

"She's right. Runic magic is awesome. I mean, there's so much variety there. I don't get why it isn't a mandatory class. It's way more useful than half of the main classes."

"I can see that argument," Sirius agreed. "I don't remember ever using anything I learned in Astronomy, unless you want to count it as an excuse to escort young ladies back to their dorms late at night. With a stop or two at a broom closet along the way, of course."

"Of course," Harry smirked. "But it's not just that, how many years has Binns been putting people to sleep? It's no wonder the magic users in this country haven't learned from the mistakes of the past since no one knows anything about it other than some droning nonsense about goblin rebellions.

"And don't even get me started on Potions- Snape actively sabotaged non-Slytherins that tried to learn in that class. Even when he wasn't doing that, 'instructions on the board, get to work' doesn't teach anyone anything.

"As much as I dislike Herbology, professor Sprout at least knows her subject and is a competent teacher. Despite my feelings about the class, it's not completely useless, but I would still argue that Runes is more important."

"I take it you like the teacher then?"

"Professor Babbling is pretty good, yeah. I think Flitwick is probably the school's best teacher, but she's one of the better ones."

"Speaking of teachers, I've heard some rumors about who will be joining the school. Or re-joining, as the case may be."

"I imagine anyone would be a step up from Snape."

"Oh, that won't be a problem. His predecessor, Horace Slughorn, is coming out of retirement. Old Sluggy definitely knew his stuff, but you should watch out for him, Harry. He's very much the collector of influence, contacts, favors, and friends in high places. He'll be all over you, I imagine."

"I've been learning how to deal with people like that. It seems most people want something from me, so I'll manage."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a bad guy. Just a consummate Slytherin- you know, when that meant something other than just being a dangerous thug."

"One of my best friends is a Slytherin, so I don't have a problem with that," Harry said with a nod towards Pansy.

"I think that would be some kind of story, how the two of you became friends. No offense intended, but especially with who your father was, Pansy."

"Because of who my father was, I was pleasantly surprised by Harry's willingness to get to know me."

"Can you tell me about it?" Sirius asked. "My whole family was in Slytherin, so I can probably relate."

"I suppose so..."

* * *

The rest of the meal and conversation went well, and soon enough, Harry and Pansy were bidding Sirius farewell and about to head back home.

But before they could make it to the Leaky Cauldron's exit, a voice called out Harry's name.

He turned to see Kathryn Nott walking towards him. She was in a conservative but well fitted navy blue dress, with her long blonde hair cascading down her back. Pansy tensed up, and Harry had to stifle a groan. He had a feeling this was going to be yet another unneeded complication.

A lovely complication, but still, Harry knew this day was just going to be full of even more stress.

"Miss Nott, a pleasure to see you again."

"You as well, Harry. Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure."

She led him over to a table in the corner. Harry pulled out her seat, which brought him a smile from her, then he did the same for Pansy before sitting down.

"What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to give you a warning."

"Oh?"

"I assume you heard about the Death Eater attack at the World Cup?"

"I did."

"You should know that my father was the one who was killed."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"As am I," Pansy added.

"I guess you can relate, huh?" Pansy gave a small nod but kept her expression as neutral as possible. She wondered briefly how bad a father Nott might have been, but something about the blonde across the table gave her the impression that he wasn't anywhere near the monster that her own had been.

"Anyway, the condolences aren't really needed. He wasn't a very good father, and with my mother now in charge, the house has been a lot more bearable. But you might want to keep an eye out on little Teddy."

"Teddy?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

"Yes, he hates it when I call him that. It's Theodore, or Theo if he thinks he's trying to sound suave. My brother is a stupid, conniving little worm. He's already started talking about how he'll bring the family back to prominence. Just keep an eye out for him this term. Without the Malfoys there, he might try to step into the power void, although he, or our family really, doesn't have the influence or money to manage it.

"But that doesn't mean he won't try anything stupid, and as the one who stopped the Dark Lord, you would be a potential target for him."

"A son of a Death Eater trying to step into his daddy's shoes, huh?"

"Right in one, Harry."

"Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome," Kathryn responded. She lowered her voice and leaned forward towards him. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You aren't interested in signing the betrothal with me, are you?"

Harry looked in her eyes and thought about how to respond. She didn't look worried or upset, so he decided to be honest, as she had gone out of her way to be helpful.

"It's nothing personal, but there is the fact that I will be away at school for a few more years. It doesn't seem right that you should have to wait for me."

"The age gap itself doesn't bother you?"

"Wizards live a long time. Five years might be a big deal as teenagers, but it wouldn't matter in the decades to come. That being said, I hope you can find someone else worthy of your attention."

"That's very gracious of you, Lord Potter," she smirked. "But seriously, that's sort of a weight off my shoulders. With father out of the picture, mother and I will have a lot more options at finding a match."

"I wish you well in that endeavor, miss Nott."

"Thank you. If you could, have your solicitor send back a cancellation, so I can tell my mother that I'm officially out of running for the boy who lived. I think she was worried about how to deal with the inevitable conflict that would have occurred between you and my father. What a mess that could have been."

"I'm sure it would have been," Harry agreed.

"Well, I'll let you get on with the rest of your day. I should probably get home soon. Mother and I will need to have a conversation about all of this."

"Good luck, Kathryn," Harry said, kissing the back of her hand as she got up.

"You too, Harry," she answered with a smile.

As she walked off, there was a definite strut and he could hear Pansy quietly growl.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home."

* * *

Harry had to soothe an annoyed girlfriend when they got back to the flat that afternoon. He had some experience with it, though, and a long hot soak in the bath led to a night of relaxing on the couch and watching Bram Stoker's Dracula again. Harry had been proved right in thinking that Pansy would enjoy horror movies, but this one in particular was something of a favorite for them. Maybe it was the combination of sex and violence, romance and horror? Ultimately, it was no surprise that Harry and Pansy were thoroughly disappointed at the ending, as they were both rooting for Dracula.

The movie also brought about the question of how much popular culture got right or wrong about vampires. From what Pansy knew, while feeding on blood was true, the whole needing to sleep in the earth of their home was wrong. The movie's connection to Christianity was also false, as vampires had been around since before the founding of that religion. However, Pansy was no expert, so they both decided to see if they could learn more once they got back to Hogwarts. Surely there would be a book or two in its massive library that could teach them more.

* * *

Harry, Pansy, and Dobby finally got to work checking out the various other properties he owned as the last of the Potters.

They started with his grandparents' home. It was a pretty nice two story house just on the outskirts of a small town in eastern Wales. It was not as impressive as the Parkinson family manor, and nowhere near approaching the ostentatious Malfoy Manor, but still pretty nice, even if it was now covered by fifteen or so years of dust.

There were four bedrooms, one of which had been converted to an art studio, with a still unfinished landscape sitting on an easel. Harry spent several minutes looking around that room, discovering that his grandmother was a fairly skilled painter.

It was a little thing, really, but Pansy saw how greatly it affected him. When Harry finally managed to stagger out of the studio's door, she took his hand and led him outside.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be," he whispered. "It's just all a bit much, you know? This place... I should have grown up coming here to visit my grandparents. Instead, I didn't know anything about them. Nothing at all, not even their names."

"Is there anything you want to do here?"

"Nothing important I guess. It's good to know about this place, but I think I'd rather keep living in the flat rather than out in the middle of the country like this."

"Me too," Pansy agreed. "Do you want to go check on the next one then?"

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

The next stop was a home that had belonged to his great-uncle and great-aunt. They too had died in the seventies, and the house they left behind was quite a bit larger than his grandparents' place.

It was also two stories but had a wing on each side with a total of seven bedrooms upstairs, as well as a very large library.

Downstairs featured a huge dining room with a table long enough that it could have seated at least twenty people. There was also a large living room, as well as a lounge with a table for billiards. The rear of the house had a conservatory that opened out into a garden area that was now overgrown with weeds. There were even stables at the rear of the property, although who knew how long they had been empty.

Pansy was thoroughly impressed.

"With a bit of work, this place could be amazing."

"Yeah. Maybe someday we could live here. Would you like that?" he asked.

"I might. I don't know if I would ever want to live in the country, but if I did, I like this place more than your grandparents' house."

"Me too. But yeah, I know what you mean about being used to more of an urban living. I guess we would have easy magical travel in the future, once we can apparate ourselves instead of relying on Dobby."

"True, but that would still be a problem with any muggle friends."

"Look at you, little miss pureblood worrying about muggles," Harry laughed.

"Oh, shut up."

"How eloquent of you, my dear."

She pinched his arm and he apologized for the teasing. Then, they were off to their next destination.

* * *

The third home was more of a cottage really, nestled in Whinfell Forest in the northwestern part of England. It had belonged to a cousin of his father, and it was the very definition of quaint, at least on the outside- a picturesque little cabin in the woods.

The inside was a different story, however. Numerous space expansion charms had been used to make it at least twice as large as it appeared from the exterior. The front of the house was an open floor plan consisting of a sitting room with a fireplace on the far wall to the left side of the front door, with the right half taken up by a kitchen and dining area. A hall led to the rear of the home, with two bedrooms and a bathroom behind the kitchen and a large master suite on the opposite side.

Harry immediately saw the possibility of using this cottage as a safe house. It was remote and seemed to be very unassuming.

Plus, it would be much easier for Dobby to make it ready for habitation, as it was by far the smallest of the three homes. It wasn't that much larger than their flat, and Dobby and Harry had been able to clean all of it in only a couple of days.

Neither Harry nor Pansy saw anything unusual about the idea of a couple of teenagers needing a safe house hidden in the middle of nowhere.

As for Dobby, he was thrilled at having so many more tasks to work on.

The bad old master had a very large home, with much work for Dobby to do. But it was always thankless drudgery, and the elf had never felt a sense of accomplishment like what he got for taking care of his new family. Dobby knew just how much danger could come, having seen many of the bad old master and his bad old friends getting up to all sorts of terrible things when he was younger. Oh, how Dobby loathed those days.

But now, with a noble family to serve, he was thrilled to think of the days to come. House Potter would have a strong future. Master Harry and miss Pansy were both smart and powerful, and together, Dobby knew they would defeat all of the bad old master's bad old friends. Even if Dobby had to kill some of those nasty wizards' himself.

Ultimately, a house-elf would never have a problem with getting his hands dirty taking out the trash.

To that end, Dobby started thinking of house-elf magic he could use to further protect this cottage. This safe house, as master Harry called it. A safe house was exactly what all house-elves lived for, and Dobby was sure that he could help make this place into a fortress.

It would be small and humble, but immensely powerful. As master Harry would say, just like Dobby.

Oh, how his master liked tomake Dobby blush.

* * *

"Alright, where have you been?" Pansy asked as Harry tried, and failed, to sneak back into the flat one morning. He had hoped that she would take longer to shower and get dressed, but he got bogged down trying to make a selection.

"I had Dobby helping me run an errand."

"An errand for what?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Harry replied. "But you caught me, so I'll just have to cancel that plan. I was doing a little shopping."

"You went shopping without me?" she grumbled.

"It wasn't that kind of shopping. Anyway, first off, the World Cup got me thinking about something. There were tens of thousands of people camping there before the match. And they were using magical tents, with all sorts of extra room and things for convenience, right? Now, obviously, a lot of those tents would already be owned, but surely a lot of people would only be renting them, or selling them off afterwards. I've never heard of wizards going camping, other than this occasion, you know?

"So, I thought that it would be a good time to buy one, as they should be a bargain."

"That makes sense."

"Too much sense, actually. The shop had so many of the damn things that it took me awhile to try to find what I wanted. In the end, the owner was so glad to have someone interested in buying, instead of selling, that he gave me a huge discount."

"So, we've got a wizarding tent?"

"Uh, no. We've got three of them," Harry sheepishly answered.

"Why?"

"Buy one, get two free? Like I said, the owner was happy to be able to get rid of some of them. I picked out a pretty nice one that should fit any of our needs, and it was on the pricier side, so he threw in a couple extra. And, well, his granddaughter graduated last year from Hogwarts."

"So let me guess, he was thankful for you driving off the dementors and wanted to help out the boy who lived who also saved his granddaughter."

"Pretty much."

"Okay, but I don't see why that needed to be a surprise."

"That was my second stop. Hey, Dobby, will you bring out the present?"

"Give Dobby just a minute to make it nice for miss Pansy," the elf's voice rang out, although they were unsure where it was coming from.

"Voila!"

The elf popped in with a gift immaculately wrapped up, with a huge bow on top. Pansy looked at the package curiously- it was almost as big as she was.

"Great job, Dobby," Harry enthused. "Come on, open it up!"

Pansy removed the bow before tearing off the wrapping paper. Inside was a charmed phonograph, more than old fashioned by muggle standards, but still capable of playing the records they had been buying all summer.

"I don't think either of us was looking forward to not being able to listen to music while we're away at school."

"Harry, this is brilliant," she replied before pulling him down for a thoroughly rewarding kiss, which soon led them back to the bedroom.

Dobby chuckled at his humans. He wondered how long until they would start making baby witches and wizards. They certainly got in enough practice at it.

* * *

The shell was weak but still had enough to make the journey north.

In the distance, there stood a castle. It was not nearly as majestic as the one remembered from a youth so long ago.

But the building was not important.

It was the man who resided within. The man who would serve him once again.

It was time to call on that _old friend_. And he better pray that his worth would outweigh his guilt.

Even this pitiful creature had enough power to call on to show displeasure.

* * *

Harry awoke with a start. At least this time he didn't feel like vomiting.

He still sat up so quickly that Pansy was roused from her sleep as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Another damn Riddle dream."

That got her focused and more alert.

"Are you alright?"

Harry rubbed his forehead for a second.

"I think so. The pain isn't too bad. Of course, the vision or whatever wasn't nearly as awful as last time either."

"What did you see?"

"Riddle was still possessing the witch from the last time. Using her body to travel. They were at some castle, but I didn't recognize it. It wasn't as large as Hogwarts, but it was in a remote area. He went there to find an old friend."

"That can't be good."

"I know."

"What are we going to do, Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"About these visions?"

"I don't know what we can do. I don't think we can really trust anyone with this. Maybe Sam, but he's just a lawyer. I'm only counting on him fighting for us in a courtroom. Sirius seems like the next best choice, but..."

"But he hasn't proven himself yet."

"Exactly."

"It would be great if we could trust Dumbledore," Pansy sighed.

"Maybe. Even if I could, I just haven't seen him actually do anything to fight against any of the problems I've had these last few years. I know he got his reputation for defeating the Dark Lord Grindlewald back in the day, but it fell on me to stop Quirrell without any help from him."

"The basilisk too."

"I did get a hand from his bird, but yeah, Dumbledore wasn't down in the Chamber. It was just me."

"And you were the one who rallied the public to get rid of the dementors."

"True. You would think the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot would have had the influence to stop that, or at least called on the parents of all the students to bombard the ministry with howlers at such a stupid idea."

"Then he tried to give you a guilt trip because Draco attempted to kill you."

"Yeah," Harry chuckled. "I actually wasn't even bothered by that very much. It just seemed so natural, you know? Like a disappointed grandfather trying to scold me. I would have been surprised if he'd had any other reaction, really.

"But the thing that makes me not trust him the most is Snape. He protected that fucking bastard even though he knew what Snape took from me. I don't care if he felt remorse for getting my mother killed. He certainly didn't lose any tears about repaying my father's mercy with his murder. And he treated me like scum from the very moment he met me. So fuck Snape, and I hope Hell is real so he can suffer there."

Pansy wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to lay against her bosom.

"But you got rid of him. Let's try not to think about him anymore. I know it infuriates me, so I'm sure it makes you feel even worse." She felt Harry nodding in agreement against her chest.

"Maybe this year will be different. Maybe Dumbledore will start acting like he's ready for a fight after seeing the Death Eaters come out of the shadows at the World Cup."

"That would be nice," Harry agreed. "I'm not going to hold my breath, but maybe the old man will surprise me."

* * *

They had just a few days before they would head back to Hogwarts. Harry realized there was one more thing he could do to try to prepare for the Dark Lord and his followers causing more problems. That dream about him seeking out an old friend had brought the idea to mind.

The problem was going to be talking to Pansy about it.

He needed to see Narcissa again.


	47. Return to the Scene of the Crime

* * *

Harry stood looking at the large, imposing door. He had knocked twice already and was wondering how long she might keep him waiting.

She had responded to his message requesting a meeting though, so he wondered if this was just a bit of passive aggressive punishment.

He probably deserved it if it was.

It might not have been his best idea coming here. Pansy certainly had voiced her opinion against it. Loudly, and with a lot of swearing.

Harry could be stubborn though, and he hoped that getting past this mess would not take too much work.

Finally, the door swung open and he stepped inside Malfoy Manor.

It had been eight months since he had last been here, and the circumstances could hardly be more different. He just had to hope that the lone occupant would be willing to hear him out.

A female house-elf told him that her mistress was waiting for him in the lounge, the farthest room on the ground floor of the eastern wing.

It was a long walk too. She was making him work at coming to see her.

Harry could have laughed if the situation weren't quite so screwed up.

He felt like a condemned man walking to his doom.

But finally, he stepped into the doorway and saw her. She looked as immaculate as ever. Not even a single hair was out of place. Her red lips looked succulent. She was a vision of elegance and allure.

'Crap. Maybe it _was_ a mistake coming here _._ '

Harry took a deep breath and knocked at the door frame. She had almost certainly seen him already, but she had not given him any notice yet. She was making him make the first move. It was the same complicated dance their earlier meetings had always been.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, Narcissa."

"I considered refusing," she admitted. "However, I assume that you must have a good reason for disturbing me."

"I do." Harry walked across the room to a chair opposite her. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry.

"Are you sure of that Harry? Didn't you hate my son? You didn't celebrate his death, even a little?"

Her blue eyes were a storm of emotions, and Harry could only guess at all of them.

"I didn't," Harry replied. "I never liked him, that's true, but I cared about you. And I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain."

"Part of me wants to hate you for my son's death, but I know it was as much my fault as yours. Although Lucius shoulders most of the blame for raising Draco to be so headstrong and foolish. For thinking that the rules didn't apply to him because he was a Malfoy. I should have done more to try to offset Lucius' stupidity.

"But more so, I should have known how irrational you made my son. He hated you, and the fact that he discovered that we had been together inflamed that hatred even further. It certainly drove him to try to get his father to kill you.

"I was so grateful when you cut that bastard's throat open. Seeing his blood spill out over the floor gave me a new lease on life." She paused and looked away.

"If only Draco would have understood that he had to let it go. I know I had warned him about owing you a life debt."

"I wish that he had listened to you. I never wanted to take your son from you."

"I believe you, Harry. It might be easier if I didn't, but I do," she said with a small sigh. "I suppose I owe you a second life debt for killing Lucius as well. Who knows what he may have done to me if he had succeeded in killing you."

"I told him that I would have killed him if he had laid a finger on you."

"What?"

"Just before I killed him, I told Lucius that I would have killed him _slowly_ if he had hurt you. I meant it too."

That brought from Narcissa a mirthless chuckle.

"I suppose that was romantic of you, in a strange way."

Harry found it impossible to look away from her. He wished that he could have had sex with Pansy before coming here. His hormones did not care about anything but wanting to take this gorgeous woman into his arms again. To slide her dress up and have her legs wrapped around him. It was maddening trying to remain in control.

"So, what do we have now, Harry? A memory of a night filled with passion now buried under two deaths. One glorious and the other horrible. I don't know whether to kiss you or try to claw your eyes out when I look at you. Why did you come here?"

"I knew it would be hard to see me again, but I felt that I had to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"I'm sure you heard about the Death Eaters gathering at the World Cup."

"Yes. If he had been alive, I'm sure Lucius would have been the ringleader of that idiocy. Muggle-baiting- for what? To make themselves feel like big men? To soothe their egos that they were still powerful, that the sheep would still flee before them? I'm glad that someone stood up to them."

"I agree, but I think you are in danger."

"Why? Because some of my husband's former friends might try to take advantage of a lonely widow? I am not naive, Harry."

"It's not just that, Narcissa. Although, yes, I do worry that they might try to do you harm, especially if they believed Lucius' claim about us sleeping together. But there's something else you need to know."

Harry took a deep breath to steady himself. It was a risk to confide in her, but Harry could not leave her vulnerable. He would never forgive himself otherwise.

"Do you know anything about the death of professor Quirrell from a couple of years ago?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Quirrell had been possessed by the spirit of the Dark Lord. Although, I'm not sure if possessed is the right word, as he did seem a willing host to that parasitic wraith."

"How do you know this?"

"The headmaster had hidden the Flamels' legendary philosopher's stone in the school behind some traps. Unfortunately, at the end of that school year, Dumbledore was called away from the school. No doubt a ruse to merely get him out of the way. Quirrell had gotten past all but the last of the defenses when I found him."

"You found him?"

"I tried to warn McGonagall, but she refused to listen. After all, how could mere first years know better than the wisdom of their elders?" Harry snorted. "The stupid bitch never apologized for doubting me, either, but that's another story.

"Anyway, it came down to just the two of us. Dumbledore's last defense made it so that Quirrell and Voldemort were unable to get to the stone, so they tried to force me to fetch it for them. We got in a physical struggle. Quirrell tried choking me to death, but his hands started to burn when he touched me. So I grabbed onto him and his body burnt away.

"Dumbledore later claimed that it was due to my mother's protection, that just as she had stopped Voldemort from killing me as an infant, he could not bear to touch me now. I don't know if that's true or not, but then, I also don't know what my mother might have done to make Riddle's killing curse fail all those years ago either.

"Regardless, the point is that the Dark Lord is still out there, still trying to regain a body."

A moment of stunned silence followed.

"That is not a comforting thought," Narcissa finally replied.

"No, and that's what worries me. If Riddle comes back, he'll be looking for his former followers, looking to use them to rebuild his power just like he previously did."

"But with Lucius dead-"

"Do you really think that would matter to him? He would demand that the Malfoy wealth and power would be his to use again. Why would he care that you weren't one of his branded minions? Riddle thinks that everyone should bow down before him. You would be obliged to serve him because he would never take no for an answer."

"So what do you want me to do, Harry? Flee for my life? This is my home."

"You don't understand. Can you honestly tell me that this place was never used as a meeting place for the Death Eaters? Hell, as large as this house is, it would be a perfect headquarters for them. And would it be any difficulty for Riddle to force his way in here? To put you under the Imperius to gain access to your wealth and then cast you aside? Or even worse, to keep you around for some other unspeakable fate?

"I know he is working on coming back. I don't want any harm to come to you. Please, Narcissa."

"Then what do you think I should do?"

"Sell this place and move."

"Where would I go?"

"You could go anywhere. You're still young, beautiful, and rich. The world is your oyster."

"Harry, it's not that easy. England has always been my home."

"But what do you really have keeping you here? Forgive me, but the only family you have is a disowned sister and an obnoxious cousin freshly out of prison, neither of whom you have spoken to in years. Am I right?"

"Actually, Andromeda and I have tried to mend things since last spring. As horrible as I had been to her all those years ago, she still came to Draco's funeral for my sake." There were unshed tears in her eyes, but Narcissa pushed on nonetheless. "Maybe you're right. I wouldn't mind seeing more of the world."

"I pray you do. It may not be next week, or next month, but in the next few years, I'm afraid that England is going to be much more dangerous. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"That's kind of you, Harry. But what are you going to do?"

"Try to prepare myself as much as possible. I would be in danger wherever I went. Riddle made me a target all those years ago, and it's clear that he won't stop until he finally kills me. So, I'll just have to work at everything I can think of to try to kill him instead."

"That will be an unfathomable task. He has decades of experience on you and an immense amount of knowledge of magic, not just the Dark Arts."

"I know. But I'm not planning on challenging him to a duel. If I could slit his throat in his sleep, that would be ideal."

That brought a wry laugh from Narcissa that Harry answered with a half-smile.

"Life isn't fair, so I have no plans to fight fair against a psychopath. I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive and win."

"I like the sound of that. And I wish you good luck."

"Thank you."

Narcissa stood from her seat and Harry did likewise.

"So, what now, Harry?"

"Hmm?"

She had a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Shall I give you a kiss for good luck?" Narcissa asked as she stepped towards him, her movement slow and sultry.

"Or maybe a bit more than just a kiss?"

He could feel her breath hot against his skin, and it took every last drop of his willpower to pull himself back.

"I- I can't."

"Why not?" Both the raised eyebrow and the smirk on her face made her that much more appealing to him.

"I have a girlfriend."

"Oh? Since when?"

"Months now," Harry said, turning away from her gaze.

"And who is the lucky girl? Can she satisfy you the way I can?"

"Narcissa please..."

"Don't you want to Harry?"

He looked back at her and her sexy little grin drove him mad. Harry felt his pulse hammering as the blood flew through his veins, most of it heading south.

She was delectable. Temptation itself made flesh.

Glorious, beautiful, delicious flesh.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. He was almost panting with desire. Why was she doing this to him?

And when he opened his eyes again her gaze was still fixed on him.

"Yes, dammit! I want to drag you upstairs and shag you all day and night long, until neither of us can move. My hormones are screaming at me to do just that. But I can't- I won't. Please don't make this any harder on me."

Narcissa chuckled at him and stepped back.

"She's a lucky girl, Harry."

Harry felt himself exhale as a bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck.

"You know, we could have just enjoyed ourselves today. We are all alone right now. I could be discreet; she would never had to have found out."

"I couldn't. I love her. I'm sorry."

"I am too, Harry."

Narcissa turned and walked away from him, and Harry felt both relieved and troubled at watching her go.

"If things don't work out with your little girlfriend, maybe you should write me. Of course, by then I might have companionship of my own. You could be out of luck," she teased.

"I'm sure I will be," he replied. "There's no way men won't be lining up to try to win your affection."

"You'll regret your decision today then," she smirked.

"I already do," he muttered.

She laughed at his honesty.

"It probably wouldn't have worked anyway. My loss of Draco would always be between us. But today could have been fun."

"I know."

"In another world though, we could have been brilliant together. We'll always have last New Year's I suppose."

Harry stepped over to her and kissed the back of her hand.

"I wish you all the best in life, Narcissa. But I should go before you convince me to stay."

"Yes, you should."

Harry turned and began to walk away. He had to force himself not to run. It felt like he was escaping from a predator, a succubus that he did not want to leave behind.

"Good luck, Harry. Take care of yourself."

* * *

Dobby took him back to the flat, and Pansy was waiting for him with a scowl on her face as she sat on the couch.

Before she could start in on him, Harry pulled her to her feet and smashed their lips together. She tried to get loose for only a moment, but he held her close until she reciprocated.

"Bedroom. Now."

Harry had a brief thought that she would be resisting or arguing, but instead he saw a look of triumph on her face.

She jumped up and he caught her as she wrapped her legs around him.

It was hard steering his way to the bedroom without looking. They bumped against the wall twice. But eventually they tumbled onto the bed together before tearing each other's clothes off.

Narcissa had left him aroused but rattled, and that brought Harry's more aggressive side out.

Pansy groaned in pleasure as Harry took his frustrations out on her body. She could feel his tension begin to melt as he slid inside her, then she clamped her legs around him, pulling him in even more. She had been angry and doubtful when he left that morning, but his return had shown that she had won without even having to be present.

It had been a worrying incident, a juncture that could have changed, or even ruined, everything between them.

But now, there was nothing but bliss. Harry was hers, and she was in the clear of that old uncertainty.

She felt his lips and fingers playing with her breasts and she could only purr in content.

She tried to smirk at the thought of Narcissa Malfoy being unable to succeed, at her failed enticement. But her vindication was overwhelmed by physical pleasure for the next several minutes.

When Harry was finally spent and her body was covered with sweat, she let out a cackle, mad with glee and contempt.

A moment later, Harry raised his head to glance at her with a droll little smile.

"I like your evil witch laugh."

* * *

They did everything they could to enjoy the last few days of their vacation. One last trip to the record store. One last night dancing at the club. One last dinner with the Brightwells. And one last visit with their new friends.

Pansy gave Vanessa an address she could use to write them (using Sam's law office as a middle man), before explaining that phone service was spotty at best at their rural school. Both ladies were hopeful they could visit again some time that fall. Harry would just have to help think up an excuse for how they could arrange a weekend trip at some point. He was already dreading Halloween weekend- nothing good ever happened in the magical world on that day as far as he was concerned, and avoiding it as much as possible the year before seemed to prove this even further when they missed Sirius' attempted break in.

Even though Black turned out to be innocent, had they been there, he and Pansy would have been forced to sleep separately in the Great Hall with all the other students. And that just would not have worked for them.

In the end, they packed up their clothes, supplies, and their burgeoning record collection for the return to Hogwarts. Dobby would be popping several things to their quarters while they rode the train.

* * *

"Harry!"

A blonde threw herself at him almost as soon as they made it to King's Crossing. Once she disentangled herself from the hug/tackle, Harry saw that Luna must have grown more than he had noticed the last time he had seen her. She was now as tall as Pansy, if not a smidge taller.

"Hey Luna," he answered with a smile. "Did you have a fun trip?"

"Oh yes, Nepal was lovely. A bit cold up in the mountains though," she replied before turning to his companion. "Hello Pansy. Did Harry take too long getting up today? I looked all through the train before I realized you must not have been as early as I was."

"It was hard to get him out of bed. As usual," Pansy said drolly.

"I would imagine so." Luna gave Pansy a huge grin, and Harry could only shake his head. She clearly wasn't going to be much help keeping the truth of their relationship hidden, although Harry had grown plenty tired of the deception as well.

Harry shrunk Luna's trunk down and put it in his pocket.

"Shall we find a compartment then, ladies?"

They each took an arm and went to board the train. Climbing aboard, they soon found one empty and claimed it for themselves. Harry removed all three trunks and stashed them out of the way as Luna began telling them of coming across Yeti tracks in the Himalayas and her father being disappointed that they could not find one to interview.

The fact that Yetis were known for attacking and eating anything they came across would never be enough to deter a Lovegood.

It was really good to see Luna again. She was one of the best things about going back to school.

And moments later, Harry was joined by another as Hermione slid open the door.

"Hello Hermione," he said as he grabbed her trunk and helped her put it away.

She greeted everyone and slid into the empty seat while Luna finished an anecdote about a cave her father had discovered with some promising examples of Yeti leavings that sadly turned out to be nothing more than yak droppings.

It was good that she got this story out of the way now, rather than when the food trolley came along.

Hermione started telling them of what all she had done over the month of August, which didn't involve anything as fancy as her family's trip to France of the year before. She also confessed that she did drop her electives down to only the three that Harry and Pansy were also taking. Luna was excited to be starting her new classes as well, and Harry offered to let her borrow any of his extra books on runes or go over any questions she might have had in the class.

Hermione looked a little put out that for once someone else was an expert on something, but she quickly got over it when Harry mentioned having picked up a new book on the subject over the summer, which she would just have to borrow.

A few minutes before the train was set to depart, the Weasley family finally made it onto the platform. It was hard to miss the pack of redheads, even in the midst of a large crowd. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over her four youngest and giving them all what looked like bone crushing hugs before the siblings could escape to the safety of the train.

The twins were as boisterous as ever, and Harry could hear them coming down the hallway before he saw them. They opened the door and peaked in when they came across Harry's group.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't dear Harry once again surrounded by lovely ladies," one of them said as they slid open the door.

"Of course. I like to travel in style," he replied with a grin. Pansy snorted, Hermione rolled her eyes, and Luna laughed far too enthusiastically. The twins were both staring at her when Ron tried to shove his way past them.

"Oi, will you two get out of the way?"

"Sorry, Ronnie, we were just dazzled by Harry's companions."

"Whatever," Ron muttered as he pushed his way into the compartment. "Hey Harry, have a good summer? You really missed out on the Quidditch World Cup."

"My summer was pretty great," Harry answered with a smile as Ron sat down across from him next to Hermione. "And I think it was a good thing that I wasn't there. You just know I would have been in the middle of all that Death Eater nonsense, and I really don't need to go looking for trouble when I can avoid it."

"Yeah, you're probably right, mate," Ron nodded. "In fact, it was my wand that somebody swiped to use to cast the Dark Mark."

"Really?" Pansy asked with a suspicious look.

"Yeah. I had it with me when we went to our seats to watch the match. I'm not sure when I lost it."

"We almost got stunned when whoever it was cast the spell," Ginny added before looking down with a blush. It was going to be like that again this year Harry realized with a sigh. He felt a little bad for her.

"In all the commotion once the attack hit, dad asked us to help get Ron and Ginny clear, but it was bedlam," Fred said.

"Fred and I could barely keep us all together with so many people dashing like mad to get away from the Death Eaters," George continued. "We were near some woods when the spell lit up the sky and suddenly all these ministry people popped in and started throwing stunners everywhere."

"Our quidditch skills came in handy. George and I tugged these two down just in the nick of time."

"It all happened so quick. There was this guy who immediately started accusing us of casting the spell," Ron added. "As if we were even old enough to remember seeing it before, let alone knowing how to cast it. He was a git."

"But then this ministry guy, Crouch, found his own house-elf in the woods holding Ron's wand."

"A house-elf had your wand?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, pretty weird right?"

"But house-elves don't use wands," Pansy stated.

"I don't know why she had it," Ron answered. "But Crouch got real serious and presented her with clothes. He was furious."

"What does presenting her with clothes mean?" Hermione asked.

"House-elves are basically a symbiotic servant class," Pansy replied. "When their master presents them with clothes, they are freed from that bond but they also lose access to the magic of the family they served."

"It's how I freed Dobby," Harry piped in. "I tricked Lucius Malfoy into giving him a sock."

"What happens to a house-elf that is freed?" Hermione was as inquisitive as ever.

"Depends on the elf," Pansy answered. "Some try to find another family or a business where they can work. Some, if they think they have disgraced themselves, waste away in sickness and sometimes even die."

"That's horrible! Wizards should treat these poor creatures better."

"Some people do. But there will always be those who treat others with scorn and contempt." Pansy could only shrug.

"Remind me to ask Dobby about this later," Harry whispered to her. Pansy agreed with a small nod.

"Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, we must be off," Fred said.

"Our adoring public requests our presence elsewhere," George added. "See you all later."

"Bye guys."

Just after they left, Harry realized he had forgotten to ask if they knew who was going to be the new Gryffindor quidditch captain. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

* * *

The next few hours flew by as the group of friends talked about their summers, although Harry and Pansy had to edit certain things for their audience for a wide variety of reasons. However, there was a lot to think about, as the Death Eater attack had awoken not only Harry's paranoia but also worried the others, especially Hermione. His best friend still felt the need to fret over him and just knew that trouble would be coming his way.

The fact that he had openly called out and been responsible for the deaths of two Death Eaters meant that Harry would be in danger of reprisals, which she noted. He replied that just being the boy who lived would have made him a target anyway.

It was all the norm for another year in the life of Harry Potter. At least his eyes were open to the dangers around him.

* * *

Thunder crashed as the rain began pouring even harder outside the train's windows.

"Poor first years," Harry said.

"Will they still have them take the boats across the lake in weather like this?" Hermione asked.

"Of course they will," Pansy replied. "It's tradition."

"But it's like a monsoon out there!"

"Hermione, I hate to have to remind you of your own wisdom, but don't trust wizards to have an ounce of logic. Remember _our_ first year? We got in trouble for being out after curfew. What was our punishment?

"Being sent out into the forbidden forest in the dead of night, with Hagrid, who should have told the truth so that we wouldn't have gotten in trouble in the first place. Oh, and a bunch of first years were supposed to help track down whatever was murdering unicorns."

"Still, one would think McGonagall would want to make sure the students were taken care of," Hermione argued.

"Hermione, McGonagall was the one who gave us that detention back in first year. I know she's like your favorite teacher, but wake up. We lost one hundred fifty points in one night from her. When did she ever stand up for her students? I'll remind you that she was there when Draco called for 'the deaths of all mudbloods' right in front of her and he didn't lose a single point nor get a detention.

"Besides, a little pneumonia never hurt growing children did it? It's not like we didn't have to play a quidditch match in weather just like this last year. Oh right, we did. At least the first years won't have dementors trying to kill them before they even arrive at Hogwarts."

Pansy snorted at his flippancy, while the others looked trouble. Though Luna, of course, had a different point of view as she stared wide-eyed at Harry.

"The dementors did have some positive effects in the long run, though. People started taking you more seriously, and the children of Death Eaters owing you a life debt should, theoretically at least, make them less likely to try to attack you in the future. Furthermore, if the events of last year played out differently, we might never have met, and I prefer having you as my friend."

"My life would definitely not be as much fun without you in it Luna, so I'll have to agree with you."

Harry could only smile as she curled up against his side. Maybe she could be helpful actually. If people noticed Harry's fondness for the Ravenclaw girl, they might pay less attention to his behavior with Pansy.

* * *

The trip up to the castle wasn't pleasant for their group, as they were getting almost as soaked as the first years were. The only saving grace was the fact that the carriage ride was a few minutes shorter.

Peeves bombarding as many students as he could with water balloons didn't help either.

Harry gallantly placed himself in front of his friends and took a direct hit to the chest. Professor McGonagall showed up to chase the poltergeist off and Hermione began using drying charms on them all. Harry was grateful that Pansy knew it as well as it took them each two tries before he felt only mildly soggy instead of like he was swimming in his wet clothes.

Luna parted ways with them as she went to the Ravenclaw table while the rest found their seats. Harry looked up to the staff table. There were a few empty seats and one new face, an older portly fellow with a large bushy mustache.

"I wonder which of our new teachers that is." Hermione was observant and curious as ever. Parvati and Lavender said hello to everyone as they sat down beside Pansy, who was to Harry's right. He had not missed their flirtatious looks, and if he was honest with himself, they both looked surprisingly nice, even with their hair soaking wet.

"I believe that is professor Horace Slughorn, Potions Master," Harry revealed.

"How do you know that?" Neville asked, as he sat down across from Harry next to Ron. Seamus and Dean followed him in.

"I met Sirius about a couple of weeks ago and he told me about him. Slughorn was his teacher until he retired and Snape took his place."

"I still can't believe professor Snape is gone," Hermione said in a small voice.

"Me neither," Ron agreed. "Great work, Harry. No more greasy git. Potions might only be my third or fourth least favorite class this year."

"Ronald, don't speak ill of the dead!"

"Sorry, Hermione, but don't expect me to say anything that isn't criticizing that slimy bastard," Harry interrupted before the two of them could get their first argument of the new term started. "I lost my parents in part due to him. Not to mention his bullying and his horrendous lack of teaching ability. Good riddance.

"On another note though, according to Sirius, Slughorn was a pretty good teacher. He was also always interested in connecting with the famous and influential."

"In other words, you should stay on guard around him," Hermione stated knowingly.

"That's why Sirius warned me. I might not mind so much if he's a decent teacher, especially if no one in the class can get away with sabotaging each other's work."

"Was he also the head of Slytherin by any chance?" Hermione asked.

"He was actually. How did you guess?"

"I always thought it odd that someone as young as professor Snape was a head of house. The other heads all had a lot more seniority. When we started, I believe he was the third youngest member of the faculty."

"Right, that's interesting and all but where are the firsties? I'm starving."

Ron's complaint wasn't surprising, but Harry had to agree with him. It was a few more minutes before professor McGonagall led the wet young students into the Great Hall. The sorting hat sang a song and then went about its work.

Hermione quietly asked if Harry knew anything about who would be that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he didn't have a clue. Even after Hagrid made it inside during the sorting, there was still an empty seat to the right of the headmaster.

One of the newest Gryffindors appeared to be Colin Creevey's little brother, and he could practically feel Pansy glaring at them. Harry found him annoying at times as well, but Colin's photos last year of the dementors and Harry's dragon Patronus at the quidditch match had been very helpful, bad press forcing the ministry's hand into acting like they weren't all complete morons.

As the sorting finally ended, the feast began and everyone began filling their plates. Harry unfortunately was sitting directly across from Ron, whose table manners were still atrocious.

He covertly patted Pansy's thigh, trying to soothe her anger. Harry knew very well how obnoxious she found his redheaded friend, and her having to watch him eat was something that Harry tried to avoid whenever possible. She gave him a brief look, and her scowl was prominent, but he watched her close her eyes to calm herself. Then she gave Harry a small nod and made small talk with Parvati and Lavender while averting her eyes from the other side of the table.

As all this happened, Harry noticed Seamus and Dean talking in low voices while giving surreptitious glances to the various girls all on Harry's side of the table. It seemed they were both paying a lot more attention to the ladies this fall. He wondered how long till Ron would be doing the same.

When the meal drew to a close, Dumbledore began making announcements. He welcomed professor Slughorn out of retirement and once again placed him in charge of Slytherin, and the majority of students applauded him loudly as clearly almost everyone was looking forward to someone who couldn't help but be better than Snape.

The old teacher seemed quite pleased by this, and Harry couldn't help but like his jovial expression.

'I might actually get a Potions lesson with no sneering for the first time ever,' he thought with a snort.

A synchronous cry of alarm from the Weasley twins brought Harry's attention back to the headmaster who announced that quidditch was being canceled for the year...

Due to what, he did not say because the doors of the Great Hall banged open followed by a deep rumble of thunder.

The figure in the doorway was illuminated by a flash of lightning as he lowered the hood of his black cloak. The man had long, dark grey hair, and as he made his way down the middle of the room, there was an odd clunking sound that was not being made by his long staff.

Another flash of lightning as he passed by Harry revealed what could loosely be called a face. Or what was left of one anyway. There were countless scars, a large chunk missing from his nose, and his mouth looked like a knife wound.

And then there were his mismatched eyes. One small, dark, and suspicious, the other huge, electric blue and moving in a thoroughly unnatural way, rotating around to take in every bit of the environment.

Every eye in Hogwarts watched as the grizzled man stalked up to the staff table. He went around one side, giving a small nod to Hagrid and then McGonagall before shaking hands with Dumbledore and sitting in the empty seat next to the headmaster.

He was introduced as professor Moody, the new Defense teacher.

"Now that's a man that knows how to make an entrance," Harry said quietly, although he could tell that everyone close by could hear him as only a few of the teachers were applauding, the students all shocked by the weathered man's frightening appearance. Moody sniffed suspiciously at a plate of sausages, pulled out a flask that he took a swig from, and began to eat while seeming to completely ignore his stunned audience.

A moment later, Harry was able to figure out what the odd clunking sound was caused by- a wooden prosthetic leg with a clawed foot. This was a man who had seen combat, and probably lots of it. Hopefully, Harry would be able to make use of his expertise. This might be just what he needed, a mentor to help prepare him for the enemies gathering on the horizon.

Professor Dumbledore then began talking about the Triwizard Tournament, a prestigious competition between the three largest European magical schools. Delegations of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving, and some sort of impartial judge would select a champion from each school to participate in three magical tasks.

There were several other salient details which Harry noted.

There would be a prize of a thousand galleons, which excited much of the school, including one of the Weasley twins who enthusiastically announced that he would go for it.

However, only those students of age would be allowed to enter. Both of the redheaded twins were outraged by this, as they would not come of age until next spring.

Also, the tournament had been halted more than a century ago due to the rising death toll, which alarmed Hermione who looked right at Harry.

Because the selection of the champions would be held on Halloween, of course.

'Fuck.'


	48. Meeting the New Professors

* * *

Luna had intuitively known that he could use a hug after the opening feast. Of course, who wouldn't want a hug from a sweetheart like Luna?

Still, it kept Harry's bad mood at bay for at least a few minutes as he climbed the stairs up towards the Gryffindor tower.

Ron and his brothers were very animated as they discussed the Triwizard Tournament and trying to enter it, regardless of the age restriction. Several others joined them in this conversation, as a crowd of brave Gryffindors all ignored the part about the death toll. Hermione and Pansy were both staying beside Harry though, who had nothing to say. Both of them understood the scowl on his face- Hemione had looked right at him when Dumbledore mentioned Halloween, knowing Harry's belief that the day was cursed for him.

Pansy was already running ideas over in her head of what might be the best way to take his mind off it.

Parvati and Lavender were straggling a bit behind the rest of their year mates, having a hushed exchange of their own. They were unaware of how much Harry hated the holiday and thus didn't understand his bad mood.

When they got to the Gryffindor common room, Ron noticed Harry wasn't taking part in the talk about the tournament.

"Hey, Harry, what do you think? The tournament sounds pretty exciting, right?"

"I think I'd prefer just playing quidditch, actually."

"Yeah, it's lame that they're canceling quidditch, but it should be pretty thrilling whatever they come up with, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Harry shrugged.

"What's the matter, mate?"

"Don't worry about it, Ron. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry wasn't surprised that Ron didn't understand what was bothering him. He had been keeping so much from his old friend for the last year, the distance continually growing between them. Halloween was still just a reason to have a celebration for Ron- even last year, with Harry's absence and Sirius' break in, didn't get across just how much the day felt like it was under a curse.

Hermione understood though, as she hugged Harry before she headed off to her dorm, whispering that she would help him with whatever happened. It was nice to know just how much he could count on her.

Pansy followed him through the entrance to their quarters and did not let him sit down on the couch- she took him directly to the bedroom.

Before he could begin to speak, she pressed a finger to his lips, pulled off his robe, and slowly started unbuttoning his shirt. Harry let her lead as she worked to calm his temper. He was lucky that she knew how to take such good care of him.

* * *

Waking the next morning, Harry looked down at the witch in his arms, in his bed, and closed his eyes as he softly kissed her forehead. He wasn't religious but he privately thanked God or anyone else who might have been listening for having Pansy in his life. He didn't know what he would do without her.

Pansy was surprised when Harry didn't press for a shared shower, but he admitted that they should try to hurry so they would have time to deal with the new term's schedule and breakfast, especially if they wanted a chance to talk to Luna for a few minutes. It was pretty inconvenient having a close friend in a different house and year.

There were more than a few people having trouble getting up that first morning back at Hogwarts, so only Hermione joined them as they made their way to the Great Hall.

Luna was waiting for them with bright eyes though and a plate full of a properly strange breakfast combination. Harry was used to pouring syrup on pancakes, waffles, or even sausage occasionally, but scrambled eggs and apple slices had not occurred to him before.

He had to admit that Luna was right, as they all tasted pretty good together. Meanwhile, Pansy rolled her eyes and handed him a more standard, and healthy, plate of food that she had made up for him.

The rest of their class mates trickled down to breakfast over the next half hour. Neville, Parvati, and Lavender all arrived fairly soon and started talking about which classes they were looking forward to the most and wondering about their new teachers. Dean, Seamus, and a grumpy looking Ron joined them a few minutes later, and all three quickly started to eat as they listened to Harry telling everyone what he had heard about Slughorn.

If Sirius was right, they might be more than just relieved at having someone other than Snape teaching Potions. Professor Slughorn could possibly even make some of them enjoy the class, which would be a hell of a shock to the system.

Luna had to go over to the Ravenclaw table all too soon though, as the teachers eventually started to pass out schedules. The fact that people tended to congregate with the rest of their year mates made the process simpler on the staff.

Harry's first day would start with Transfiguration, and he and Pansy then had a free period before lunch. That was a blessing as he hoped to speak with McGonagall immediately.

Interestingly, their afternoon class was going to be one of the first Defense classes taught by Moody, which perked Harry right up. He had high hopes for the class and the professor in particular this year.

* * *

Sitting through Transfiguration was a struggle, especially since McGonagall lectured the entire time and there was nothing practical to the lesson. That meant Harry had time to stress out and worry. Not only could he feel his own nerves building, but he could tell that he was bothering Pansy as well.

As soon as it ended, Harry got up and walked over to the Gryffindor head of house.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Mr. Potter, do you have a question already?"

"A request actually. I would like to leave the school again on Halloween. It will be on a Sunday this year, so I am assuming that I could make a similar arrangement as I did last year, professor."

"I see. The Triwizard Tournament does complicate things a bit. I believe you would be allowed to leave for the day but would have to be back in time for the feast, as this will be a rather special occasion for Hogwarts."

Harry shrunk at that.

"I was hoping that I would not have to be back until curfew actually."

"May I ask your reason, Mr. Potter?"

"I can give you three, professor McGonagall," he answered with a grimace. "My first year, the Halloween feast was interrupted by a troll that nearly got myself and Hermione killed. My second year, the feast was marked by the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. Last year, during the feast, Sirius Black tried to break in. Frankly, professor, I hate Halloween. I pretty much expect nothing but the worst on that day."

"I can understand that," she replied with a hint of a frown. "I will speak to the headmaster about your request, but I believe he will answer the same as I already have. Unfortunately, this is going to be a bit of a spectacle, and that means that Hogwarts' most famous student will be expected to attend."

Harry had to sigh.

"I see. Well, please let me know once you've spoken with the headmaster."

"I will, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, professor."

* * *

Pansy took him for a walk outside during the free period they had. The rest of the Gryffindors had all scattered while he had been speaking to McGonagall. They saw Dean and Seamus headed towards the quidditch pitch as several people were flying during the warm, sunny day.

Harry was feeling thoroughly disgruntled already, just a day into the new school year. Pansy led him down near the shore of the lake and told him to stretch out and put his head in her lap, where she proceeded to begin running her hands through his hair as Harry closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.

"I really wish it was still summer," he grumbled.

"I know, and I agree to some extent. But we have things that we need to get done. Just concentrate on what we can control. We'll deal with the rest later."

"Okay. I know you're right, it's just frustrating. You know something bad is going to happen with this stupid tournament."

"You're probably right," Pansy admitted. "However, we do have one of the most decorated aurors ever teaching us this year, so at least Defense should be a strong point, and hopefully he'll be willing to teach us a bit more about what it was like to fight Death Eaters."

"That would be nice," Harry agreed. "I don't think I'll be able to count on having the situations as in my favor as they have been so far."

"I know. That's what scares me most."

"Remind me to talk to Dobby later. I wanted to ask him about the whole house-elf caught with a wand at the World Cup thing, but I forgot to mention it last night because I was so stressed out."

"Okay."

They relaxed quietly in the sunshine for a moment. Harry broke the silence with a content sigh.

"Thanks," he said as he opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I'm feeling better."

"Good. Want to go inside? We could get to lunch early and see how Luna's first day has been."

"Because you know she cheers me up," Harry smiled.

"She cheers us both up. You're not the only one worried about things."

"Sorry. I'll have to think of a proper way of repaying you for taking care of me like this."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something."

* * *

Luna had been having a wonderful first day, as she got one of Hagrid's first classes of the year. Just as he had done the previous year, he introduced the third years to hippogriffs.

Having already met, Luna was very happy to get to see Buckbeak again. The hippogriff was looking lovely according to her, and said creature apparently remembered her, as he was quick to return her bow. Hagrid gave her ten points for 'showing proper respect to a magnificent creature.' Harry had a feeling that wasn't quite how Hagrid would have put it, but he was glad to hear that she was enjoying herself.

Hermione, Ron, and the others were all speculating about what Defense Against the Dark Arts would be like this year, and Harry listened attentively to people like Ron and surprisingly Neville who both knew a fair amount about "Mad-Eye" Moody's impressive reputation for capturing more Dark Wizards than anyone else in recent history.

It was no wonder that he had so many wounds from such a dangerous career. Sadly, Moody's appearance was a good reason to not want to be an auror, although maybe not so much to people like Seamus and Dean, who both thought he looked wicked.

Harry would rather keep all his limbs and eyes, personally.

The discussion continued as they headed to the class, although Harry noticed Pansy drop back to speak with Parvati and Lavender, who were whispering about something. It brought a little smile to his face. Whenever Pansy was gossiping with the girls always entertained Harry. For one thing, he knew it was a form of stress relief for her, as strange as that may have seemed to him just a year ago. But also, some of the things he heard because of them were hilarious.

Others were just down right mean. It made Harry wonder if Pansy's vicious streak wasn't necessarily unusual among his female classmates.

And then some of the things they talked about were absolutely filthy. Harry thought that Seamus' mind lived in the gutter, but from what Harry heard second hand via Pansy, apparently there were at least some girls that would put him to shame.

They arrived at the classroom where they saw a couple of Slytherins waiting for them.

'This could be interesting,' Harry thought to himself as he saw Crabbe and Goyle coming down a different hallway. He knew both of their fathers were Death Eaters and wondered if Moody had had any previous dealings with them. Both boys were as taciturn as ever, and he wondered if either Nott or Zabini would try to step into Malfoy's old shoes to become the leader the thuggish boys seemed to need to follow around.

Harry was more right than he had guessed about just how interesting Moody's teaching could be. That day's lesson was both intense and informative. He covered the three unforgivable curses, and by the end of the period, most of the students were unnerved. Harry saw even a stoic like Daphne Greengrass flinch when an enlarged spider was hit with the Cruciatus curse.

Of course, silence was the only response to everyone else seeing the green of the killing curse in action for the first time. Harry recognized instantly what that flash of light the dementors had made him think of was. The confusing hazy images of an infant trying to understand murder.

Neville might have been the most unsettled though, as he was visibly shaking when he left the room, although only Pansy spotted this as Harry was already moving to speak with the professor.

"Professor Moody, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Potter. What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping to pick your brain about the Death Eaters."

"Aye, that's not too surprising. I heard you've run into issues with a couple of them yourself."

"That's one way of putting it," Harry answered. He tapped his scar and continued, "I've had a target on my head my whole life, and the attack at the Quidditch World Cup suggests that I should be on guard more than ever."

"That's a good quality to have. Especially rare for someone your age to have their head screwed on right. And I assume your miss here has reason to be wary as well. I don't imagine growing up with a Death Eater father was too pleasant, eh?"

"You would be right, professor," Pansy admitted. "Both of us want to be as prepared as we can if they are trying to mount a come back of some sort."

"I guess I'll have at least a couple of students really wanting to learn this year then," Moody said with a look that Harry couldn't read. It looked like a cross between a grin and a scowl, although with that many scars, who could know for sure? He quickly thought that professor Moody would probably be great at poker.

"I'll tell you two what. I've got a lot on my plate right now, getting into the swing of things as a teacher. Give me a couple of weeks and I should be able to arrange a time when we can really sit down and talk, and maybe I can give you both some extra things to work on."

"Thank you, professor," Pansy said gratefully.

"Yes, that would be greatly appreciated," Harry agreed. "Thank you, and for today's lesson too. It was the best class I've had in Defense yet."

"Alright, no need to kiss up. Go on you two."

As they left the class though, Harry was pretty sure that the old man had something like a smile on his face.

* * *

Dinner involved a lot of gossip, and not just by the usual duo, about what professor Moody's teaching was like. Pansy saw her boyfriend ignoring most of it, as he was just thrilled to have a massively experienced teacher for such an important class. Especially this year, with the rising external threats.

Plus, he had Luna to talk to again. Pansy had missed her too, even as odd as their growing friendship might seem to most of the school.

Harry wanted to go back to his quarters, supposedly to take a nap before Astronomy. She had a feeling he had something else on his mind though. And she was right as usual.

But they did end up getting more than an hour of sleep before going to the class late that night. Thankfully, they had a mostly free morning the next day after breakfast, and Dobby was already prepared for them to sleep in.

It was a nice, cool night, with only a hint of a breeze, but Pansy still used the darkness as an excuse to be much closer to Harry than they would have otherwise done in public. He would not have had much interest in the class anyway, and even after three years, she was still trying to justify the course as being anything other than a niche elective. Tonight, Saturn was in opposition. So what?

Following Harry's whispered instructions, they were the first two to leave as the lesson finally ended, and he threw his cloak over the them both as soon as they were out the door and around a corner from anyone else. Pansy felt a finger press against her lips and she nodded as he wrapped an arm around her and they slowly crept down a hallway that none of the others would probably take, as it didn't lead downstairs, nor towards either the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw towers.

Several minutes later, they were on the sixth floor when Harry pulled open a door to a broom closet.

"Is there a reason we aren't already back in our rooms?"

"Tradition," he answered smugly.

"Tradition?"

"Last year, we were probably the first couple in a broom closet."

"True, but that was also the only time we bothered with using a broom closet."

"I know," Harry agreed. "But I think last year, even with some messy parts, went pretty well for the two of us. We got to be together, we rid ourselves of several enemies without too many brushes with death-"

"That's a qualifier that I don't like hearing, but I guess you're right. The worst was probably Malfoy."

"Right, and even then, I wasn't too worried as he was clearly not taking me seriously, since he was so unraveled due to the dementors, as well as your devious little ploy."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I even had an entire month of peace."

"May 1994. Harry's quiet month at Hogwarts- I've got it marked in my journal," Pansy teased.

"Not to mention, we met Luna last year. That was a definite highlight."

"I still wish I could have seen you threaten to kill a bunch of twelve year old girls," she snorted.

"I'll show it to you the next time we're working on Occlumency."

"Deal. Now then, I believe we're in here for a reason."

Pansy remembered to silence the door before Harry's libido took over.

* * *

The next day they got to meet the other new teacher, Horace Slughorn. He was probably the oldest member of the staff other than Dumbledore, his hair was long gone other than his mustache, and it was clear that he had led a rather sedentary life as he was one of the most rotund wizards Harry had ever seen.

He also had the most pleasant and kindly demeanor of anyone from Slytherin that Harry had ever met, although Tracey Davis did seem fairly friendly and much more willing to interact with people from the other houses compared to any of the children of Death Eaters like Malfoy. According to Pansy, Davis was an even worse gossip than Parvati and Lavender, and much meaner behind closed doors as well. Harry could only wonder if Slughorn's act was all a facade too. Sirius had suggested that he was a schemer but certainly not evil.

The professor began the class by taking roll, and Harry noticed only a minor pause as Slughorn noted not only Harry but also Pansy. He had to assume that their situation had been explained to him, what with one of the Slytherins not rooming with the other girls of her year, since he was now the head of that house once again.

"Right. Now then, with that introduction out of the way, I've decided we'll start with something not too difficult to get this year off with a bit of a refresher. The Wideye Potion or otherwise known as..."

Several hands went up at his expectant pause, including Pansy's and Hermione's on either side of Harry. Interestingly, Slughorn pointed to Pansy first.

"The Awakening Potion, professor," she answered.

"Yes, well done my dear. A point to Slytherin. This potion will prevent one from falling asleep, and that can be useful in a variety of situations, I can assure you. I have had to take it on occasion when brewing something particularly delicate.

"Now, as you can all see, the instructions for this potion are on the board," Slughorn noted a couple of muffled moans but continued on with a cheerful expression. "However, let us discuss the ingredients a bit. The directions are the how, but it is very useful to know the why as well.

"First of all, we have billywig stings. Can anyone tell me why they are the ingredient we start the brewing with?"

There were fewer hands raised this time. The witches on either side of Harry were only joined by Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin.

"How about a Gryffindor for this one- miss Granger?"

"While the sting of a billywig can cause levitation, it also causes giddiness. The billywig is also a very fast moving creature, and its components are thought to retain this quality in that they act as a form of stimulant."

"Excellent and thorough, miss Granger. Three points to Gryffindor. Yes, a stimulant is an obvious necessity for a potion meant to keep one awake. Giddiness is also a plus, as keeping one's mood positive when working long hours can be just as useful as the physical benefits.

"Next we come to our second ingredient of note- snake fangs, which are crushed in this instance. Who can tell me why they are used?"

Harry noticed that the same four students raised their hands, and this time Slughorn called on Zabini.

"Snake fangs help make potions more digestible, although only from non-venomous breeds of snake. Fangs from venomous snakes, on the other hand, are used in poisons."

Leave it to the son of a serial killer to know about poisons.

"Correct, and good work on knowing why we specifically use the fangs only from certain snakes. Three points to Slytherin.

"While those are the two main active ingredients for the beginning of the potion, also of note, we add two sprigs of aconite before we are finished. Who can tell me why?"

Only the three witches had their hands raised this time.

"Gentlemen, it looks like the ladies will be outdoing you today," Slughorn said with a smile. "Miss Greengrass, your turn."

"Aconite has been long used for medicinal purposes, but for this potion in particular it is thought to give a bit of an extra kick which can both increase the duration of the effect for those wanting to stay awake, as well as strengthen its secondary use- to awaken someone who has been drugged or suffered a concussion."

"Indeed, well done, miss Greengrass. Three points for another thorough explanation. Now then, although I doubt any of you would have had the occasion to need such a thing, have any of you had experience with this potion before?"

This time, only a single hand was raised, and it was Harry's.

"Mr. Potter, what a surprise!" Slughorn chortled. "I'm not sure if you want us to know why you might have had need to take such a potion, but I wonder if you could tell us about it's potential downside."

"While it will allow you to stay awake, your body will still need to rest eventually, so once it wears off you will feel exhausted," Harry replied.

"Exactly. Three points to Gryffindor," the professor added with a smile. "Thus we come to the potential danger of taking this potion too often. The body needs rest, and even magic can not stem that need for too long without severe consequences. There was a Greek wizard two centuries ago who became addicted to the potion as he worked on a new spell to strengthen the body's muscles. After three straight weeks without sleep, he started telling everyone about his discovery that the pyramids of Egypt were built by Swiss Gnomes before being stolen by a talking nundu that was nearly a mile long."

A few laughs broke out at that, which was probably not a sound that had been heard in that classroom in many, many years. They went along well with the first positive points Harry had ever received in the class.

"Alright, enough of that. This is a simple enough potion that everyone should be able to make it with plenty of time in today's class. While gathering your ingredients, please take a look at the cauldron on my desk. In it, you can see what you are aiming for. Please note both the green color as well as a nice smooth consistency. Now, get to work."

Harry did take a quick peak at the teacher's cauldron. Everything about this lesson was a step up from Snape, especially being given the chance to see an example of what they should create before they began. Slughorn was already looking like one of the best instructors Harry had seen at Hogwarts.

And that estimation went up even more as the man went around the room actually helping to correct the students, answering questions, and offering advice when he saw someone about to make a mistake.

By the end of the period, everyone had successfully brewed an acceptable potion- including the perpetually dense Crabbe and Goyle as well as the previously terrified Neville. Ron had only been corrected once by Hermione, which Slughorn gave her another two points for assisting a fellow student and that made her very pleased, and Ron ended the class with one of the best potions he had ever produced.

Similarly, Harry breezed through the lesson with so much less stress than the three previous years. Slughorn happily told him that his potion could have earned an outstanding if he had crushed the snake fangs a bit more thoroughly. It had ended up the correct color but was slightly too thick. The professor said that it was certainly good enough to use, but not up to snuff for what a shop would sell.

One other difference was that the professor took small samples from the three best potions (produced by Pansy, Hermione, and Daphne, all of whom earned another 3 points for outstanding work) and handed out small vials to the class with the suggestion that they could be most useful for their next late night Astronomy lesson.

The period came to an end and everyone gathered up their things, preparing to leave.

"Mr. Potter, could you stay behind for a moment?"

"Certainly professor."

Pansy waited with Harry as usual, which the old professor nodded at with a smile as the room emptied out before he began to speak again.

"When Albus visited me this summer, I must admit that the idea of teaching you was one of the main reasons I was convinced to come back to dear old Hogwarts. I taught your parents, you know. Yours as well miss Parkin- er, excuse me, Pansy."

"Thank you, professor. We had heard as much from Sirius Black," she responded.

"Ah yes, Mr. Potter's recently exonerated godfather," Slughorn said with a small titter. "I taught him as well, of course. He and James Potter were as thick as thieves all throughout their time here. I always wondered at how quickly everyone assumed he would betray your father, Harry. Just because the Blacks had a sometimes negative reputation. Bah! I taught all three of his cousins as well, and both Andromeda and Narcissa were outstanding witches, no matter how different their choices in husbands later on.

"Unfortunately, dear Regulus did get mixed up with a darker crowd. We never did find out what exactly happened to the poor boy," the professor trailed off for a moment, reflecting on his old students.

"Look at me, getting off on a tangent," he said with a pause before beginning again, merrily. "While Black and Potter were good students, I was never as close with either of them as I might have liked.

"However, your mother Lily was one of my absolute favorites. So brilliant and lovely, and quite the cheek on her as well. She would tease me so when I bemoaned the fact that she wasn't a member of my house. No matter the circumstances of her birth, she was more than cunning enough to have been in Slytherin. As for ambition, well, she could have gone so very far. She could have been a potions master, definitely. If only things had been different, I would have liked to seen her replace me rather than Severus. Of course, Filius often argued that she would have made a better apprentice to him instead. Not to mention that I know, unofficially of course, a member of the Unspeakables who wanted to recruit her.

"Poor Lily," he lamented. "The end of the war was not celebrated in my home, not when it cost such an incredibly gifted young witch her life."

"I appreciate that, professor," Harry answered. "You know, I've long thought that she must have done something that night to stop him. The idea that a spell failed for some unexplained reason has always bothered me. Who knows what truly might have happened? As the only living survivor, I certainly never testified about it.

"I would prefer for people to credit her with the Dark Lord's defeat. That would be better than people thinking I somehow have a magical forehead."

"Ho-ho, indeed Harry, indeed. A magical forehead, hah! I can understand why that scar might bother you. However, you should also realize how much it, and all it entails, can help you in the long run. You and your famous scar are a symbol to a great number of people."

"I've come to better understand that some over the last year," Harry agreed.

"Yes, well, I won't keep you too long this evening, but I would like to extend to you an open invitation to speak with me more about your parents. To you as well, Pansy. I wouldn't want to presume, but I think I might be able to tell you some things about your mother that you may enjoy hearing. She was in my house as you must know. Class of 1975, a good year for Chateau Petrus as I recall. In fact, I may still have a bottle," he chuckled to himself.

"Anyway, swing by some time. Maybe some weekend afternoon we could share some tea?"

"I would like that professor Slughorn," Harry answered.

"Yes, thank you, professor," Pansy added.

"Excellent, well off you go then. Enjoy dinner. I believe there may even be roast duck tonight," he said to himself happily as Harry and Pansy headed for the door, bidding him goodbye.

They walked in silence for a few moments before they got to the stairs heading up out of the dungeons.

"Maybe this year won't be so bad," Harry suggested. "It looks like we have two more really good teachers at least."

"Slughorn was a breath of fresh air compared to Snape. I take it his ingratiating little talk didn't bother you then?"

"It wasn't nearly as bad as Sirius led me to believe. I mean, he basically admitted that he was excited to teach me. He was more honest than I would have thought about it, and I'll take that over the alternative. Plus, that's the first time any teacher has ever talked to me about my parents willingly, which is especially nice with all he had to say about my mum. Even with Sirius, he always talks a lot more about my dad.

"I mean, yeah, I have her diaries, but it's still nice to hear from someone else about her."

"I understand, Harry. That's one good thing going for us so far."

"I'm just worried what we're going to have thrown at us next."

"Look at it this way. We're three days down, twenty seven more to go before we can officially label this as the second quiet, peaceful month of your time here at Hogwarts," Pansy said with a small giggle.

"You probably just jinxed us."

"We'll see. I'm going to take a page out of Luna's book and try being more positive."

"Good luck with that," Harry snorted. "I'll stay vigilant, like Moody would want."

"Look out, Harry. Keep talking like that and Granger won't be the only one who's a teacher's pet."

"I'll take the label if it keeps us safe."

"Good, you should probably start getting used to it. Professor Slughorn looks like he'll be fawning over you as well."

"I'll have to readjust to my fame now that we're back here. At least the professors won't be sending me any betrothal offers."

"You never know, Harry. Slughorn is known for all of his contacts with famous witches and wizards. Maybe he could set you up? Or there are other options here too. Professor Sinistra is pretty young, after all."

Harry groaned as they neared the Great Hall, which was already starting to fill up with people arriving for dinner.

"Please don't joke about that. I was having such a good day."

"I'm sure Luna can cheer you up," Pansy smirked. Said blonde was waving at them, already at the Gryffindor table, as Ron came by clapping Harry on the shoulder.

Harry waited a moment as he passed then leaned in to whisper in Pansy's ear.

"Now that the weekend is here, we have all night to cheer each other up."

"Would that work better than Luna?" she asked quietly.

"Do you even have to ask?"


	49. Lessons and History

* * *

The next week of classes began with a crankier than usual Pansy. Waking up with cramps would do that.

It was made even worse by the fact that they had a morning Herbology class. Harry partnered with her out in the greenhouse in an attempt to cover for her, allowing Pansy to not have to do very much. She quietly thanked him for his efforts.

Working next to them, Hermione of couse saw what was going on. This led to questions, but at least they were quiet questions. Pansy admitted why she wasn't feeling well, and thus why Harry was doing her work for her, which got Hermione to seemingly back off on her curiosity.

Neither of them noticed, but Hermione started keeping a closer eye on the duo.

Otherwise, the school year got off to a fairly quiet start. People were almost universally enjoying the two new teachers, although there were more than a few people who found Moody to be upsetting. The former auror did not believe in coddling children. He was not a cruel man though, and for the most part, the students got used to his demeanor. Even the first years quickly understood why the Defense professor was so paranoid, what with the obvious signs of damage he had occurred over the years.

One of his early lessons that the fourth years got to experience on a Thursday afternoon would really push Harry and Pansy even closer to the grizzled old professor.

Moody was going to place the class under the Imperius curse to give them a very hands on, practical lesson. He wanted to see what they could be up against and see if anyone had any ability to resist the spell.

Harry gave Pansy a satisfied grin while the rest of the students were shocked into silence, which was finally broken by Hermione's exclamation that it was illegal.

"Miss Granger, do you think any of the Death Eaters cared that it was illegal? Do you think someone like that would listen to your protest and just let you go on your merry little way? If any of you would rather find out the hard way what being under this spell is like, then you are excused from today's class. Take your things and go. But do so now. I'm not going to have you line up or do this alphabetically. Part of the lesson is that you would not just know that this curse would be coming, so your will to fight it off would have to always be strong and not just when you are prepared to defend yourself."

Moody stalked around the front of the room for a moment, looking over the Gryffindors and Slytherins as a few people looked around nervously, but no one got up to leave.

"Humph," he snorted. "Glad to see none of you are complete cowards. I have a good feeling about this class. I think at least one of you will be able to fight off the curse."

After saying that, everyone looked around wondering who Moody might have confidence in, and more than a few eyes landed on Harry.

"I see several of you thinking our illustrious Mr. Potter is who I might be referencing. And you would be wrong!" he suddenly roared, putting everyone on their toes again. "No offense, Potter, but I had someone else in mind.

" _Imperio_!" Without a second more warning, Nott was in his total control as he went to the floor and began doing press-ups. It happened too fast for anyone to laugh, but after a dozen, Moody cancelled the spell and the Slytherin boy stopped and shuffled back into his seat with a sour look on his face.

"No such luck yet, though. Shall we try someone from Gryffindor instead? Brown!"

Lavender looked up in fright at the teacher, having been caught whispering to Parvati, but it was her friend who quickly stood and began skipping around the room as Moody placed her under the curse, seemingly without any challenge.

"I do expect you to pay attention, especially in such an important class," he said as Lavender was now even more worried about when her turn would come. Parvati finished her lap and settled down into her seat again with a flushed face.

" _Imperio_!"

Again and again the professor cast the spell, and even as the surprise wore off, no one was able to muster up a defense, although Harry thought that Hermione might have delayed the effect for a couple of seconds at least. But the next victim was Pansy, and Harry felt something strange, a sharp pain in his chest. It passed after a second though, and then the oddest thing happened...

Nothing.

Pansy had always struggled with defending against the spell when Harry had cast it on her the previous year when they were trying to learn this very thing. But now, against Moody, she didn't even flinch.

"Well done, Pansy! Ten points to Slytherin. I knew one of you could do it."

She gave him a nod with a pleased smile on her face. But Moody wasn't done, and before anyone could register their shock at who had brushed the powerful curse aside, Ron was now kneeling before Milicent Bulstrode, proclaiming his undying love for her. A few nervous giggles broke out.

"There'll be no fraternization in my class, laddie," Moody snorted as Ron grimaced and blushed as he nearly ran back across the room to his seat. "I'll excuse it this time though, Mr. Weasley. And take a point for being willing to cross that oldest of house rivalries. We don't see that enough these days."

Harry thought that the professor's gaze lingered briefly on him and Pansy.

"Now then, who's next?"

A few more minutes passed as the class began to laugh at some of the more ridiculous things that Moody forced people to do. Daphne Greengrass was forced to sing the national anthem as she stood and hopped. She sat back down with a scowl, but Harry didn't think that was so bad. At least she had a decent voice. Poor Neville was next, as he did gymnastics around the room. Harry didn't think he could have been so flexible, and his shy classmate hid his head in his hands as he went back to his seat in embarrassment.

Crabbe and Goyle got off even worse though, as Moody had them stand and do a waltz together. The brutish boys were obviously angered by the mortifying act, especially as it drew laughs from the entire class, but Moody gave them two points for good teamwork.

Harry had a second to think that the professor had also given out points to the other couple of people who had seemed the most humiliated by what he made them do.

" _Imperio_!"

He didn't really hear the spell or his teacher's voice, but he felt a presence sliding over his mind, telling him to jump up onto the desk. There was a brief feeling of acceptance that he immediately slammed back at with all his willpower. Harry felt himself straining against this pressure and then there was something else helping him, reinforcing his will to shake off the voice that was trying to control him.

It seemed like several minutes had passed before Moody lifted the spell and Harry leaned back in his chair exhausted.

"Well done, Potter!" the professor barked out. "It seems some of your peers were right in their assessment. Ten points to Gryffindor."

With that said, Moody went back around the room and the few people he hadn't gotten to yet all took their turns trying, and failing, to throw off the Imperius curse. No one else managed to put up a noticeable defense.

"Alright, Potter, feel up for a little display?" Moody asked once the period was nearing its end.

"Sure professor."

"Come on up to the front then."

Harry soon stood by the professor's side as Moody had him face the class.

"I'm going to cast the spell on Potter again and I want all of you to pay close attention, especially to his eyes. You will see in them his mind working to fight off the spell.

" _Imperio_!"

Once again, Harry had a fresh, calm feeling descend upon him as what he now recognized as Moody's presence pushing onto his mind the idea that he should do a headstand. This second time it was even easier to fight off as Harry better understood what was going on as well as not being caught off guard. Whatever he felt helping him was also there again, pushing him to resist that much more.

Moody was pleased as Harry threw off the curse entirely, and he gave him a moment to rest before repeating the process three more times. Harry managed to fight it off almost instantly the final time, even after having his will battered over and over again.

The professor gave him another five points for the demonstration.

He then was told to stay behind for a moment as the rest of the class gathered their things and headed for the door.

"I must say I'm pleased by today's performance, Potter."

"Thanks, professor."

"You too, miss. Although, I knew you would have no problem with today's lesson."

"Really?" Pansy was surprised by that. "Why not?"

"Your relationship with him. Or more specifically, how you are bound to Potter. Magic is not something to be underestimated, which I think you youngsters just might have done. Haven't you noticed unusual effects from casting spells on each other before?"

Pansy looked over to Harry, and they both reluctantly nodded.

"I thought as much. From what I've been told, you used a life debt to escape your Death Eater father with Mr. Potter's help. But now you should also realize that by using such old magic to bind yourselves together would have long-lasting effects. I'll wish you good luck in getting along, as this is not something that you can turn off when it gets complicated.

"However, for the Imperius curse, this can be a blessing," Moody continued with a look at Pansy. "Your magic is already bound to Mr. Potter's will, so someone else trying to gain control over you would have to overcome not only your own willpower but that bond as well. Old magic is powerful- in a lot of ways, more powerful than almost any spell you could cast with a wand. But it can also be dangerous, so I suggest you both be very careful whenever you cast any spells upon each other. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, professor."

"Good. Now then Potter, I have something else that you might like to try. You did well in resisting the curse, but I think you might like another lesson to make sure this is really drilled home. You up for that?"

"Sure."

"Alright, take off your ring."

Harry slipped the Potter ring off his finger and handed it to Pansy.

"Did you feel anything from the ring when I cast the curse on you earlier?" Moody asked.

"Maybe. I felt like there was something helping me to resist, especially at first. Was that the ring?"

"Probably. There are all sorts of tales of old family rings with a wide variety of magical powers. Abilities to protect the mind, neutralize poisons, turn invisible, and who knows what all else. Now, many of those stories are probably nonsense, but family rings often do possess some sort of magic, especially the older they are. The theory is that a family's magic will imbue itself into the ring, passing down a bit of power to protect its bloodline. The older the ring and the bloodline, the more magic it should have absorbed.

"It's not as popular as it used to be, but there are still some that believe that magic is alive. Maybe even sentient. And a family ring's magic is a hint of that. There have even been legends of rings that could talk to their wearer, although that's an old myth that hasn't had any evidence for centuries. But I read the report from when the younger Malfoy tried to attack you last spring. Your ring was glowing- everyone in that hallway saw it. Obviously the old Potter family magic was looking out for you.

"And it would similarly do so to help reinforce your will against something like the Imperius."

"So it would be a good idea to practice fighting the curse off without having my ring on," Harry responded.

"Precisely. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Absolutely. Thank you, professor Moody."

"Don't thank me yet," the teacher said with a wicked look.

* * *

They were late to dinner that night, as Harry found that throwing off the Imperius curse was much harder without the Potter family ring to help him. But Harry persevered, and Moody kept pushing him as he cast the spell over & over again for almost another hour before Harry was able to fight it off just as well as he had eventually been during the class while he was still wearing his ring.

Harry had a new favorite teacher. He hoped that Moody would be willing to make him work just as hard in the future.

To most people, that would have been a strange thought, but Harry knew that taking it easy was not something he could afford to do. Who knew how long it would be before the Death Eaters or the Riddle spirit-thing would make the next attempt on his life?

He tried to think positive though, as Pansy would suggest that they both take a cue from Luna to keep their moods up. And it was the middle of the month already, so maybe this September could turn out to be a peaceful one at Hogwarts. That would be nice, especially since he was already dreading Halloween.

* * *

"Harry! Pansy! Welcome, do come in," Slughorn said as he answered the door one Sunday afternoon. "The tea should just about be ready."

"Thank you professor."

It was the last Sunday of September and Harry's luck was still holding strong. It had been nothing but classes, hanging out with his friends, and spending plenty of time with Pansy of course. Without Malfoy there to run his mouth, none of the other students had even been mildly annoying. That could be because many of them were still intimidated by Harry, but it was a nice change regardless of the reason.

"I'm glad you could come. I've always thought that teaching the young never stopped once they stepped out of my class room. There is so much more to learn as you grow up." Slughorn was his normal happy, congenial self. He led them inside and sat down in a very cushy looking chair, while Harry and Pansy sat across from him on a couch. They both were liking the new professor. In fact, Potions was now a class Harry actually enjoyed, and that was an amazing turn of events.

"Ah, Lily Evans and Dahlia Monroe," he continued with a fond smile. "It would be hard to find two witches with less in common, you know. Dahlia was a pureblood, rather spoiled, but also friendly and outgoing, whereas Lily was from a working class muggle background, and like many muggleborn she was rather star struck by the magical world at first. I don't know that they ever interacted- Dahlia was three years older, and in a different house of course- but I think both of the girls I taught so many years ago would be pleased to see their children as friends. Dahlia's group of best friends included a Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaws, after all. Let me see, what were their names...

"Oh yes of course, miss Lucy King. How could I have forgotten her? Lovely girl, and they bonded over their similar backgrounds. She was a half-blood, with a muggle father who had been a soldier back in the forties. An American at that! Her parents met during the war, and he had a rather rude awakening to the world of magic. One of those German bombings was going on and miss King's mother Mary protected herself and a group of her friends from an explosion with a well-timed shield spell. And that spell just so happened to also save a young muggle man who was passing them on the street. Now, as you can probably imagine, in such a chaotic time, there weren't nearly enough Obliviators to deal with every thing like that, so she and her Yank soldier got to know each other before he crossed over to the continent. They wrote each other during his service, and after the war was over, well...

"Anyway, I assume you know that your grandparents also met during the war."

"Yes."

"Right, so of course, Dahlia and Lucy were fast friends. Magical society was fairly open then, with everyone trying to come together after all the destruction had ended. I believe they had met a year or two before they started here. Lucy had three older brothers, and they sort of looked after both girls while they were still at school. The other members of their little clique were the Moody sisters, Ann and Lizzie."

"As in professor Moody?"

"Yes, his nieces. Lovely girls, quite bright obviously, being Ravenclaws, but not the introverted sort. Now, Ann was in the same year as Dahlia and Lucy, and Lizzie was a year behind, although she was almost two years younger than her sister. That little foursome was very close right through their OWLs. But things were getting worse and worse back in the seventies.

"It was the summer after your grandfather was killed. Stephen Monroe. He was a damn fine man. We went to school together, you know? He was a Gryffindor, a couple of years younger than me. Very skilled with a beater's bat too. Not surprising that he would become such a fighter.

"Sadly, Dahlia was never quite the same after his death. It was a dark time, and I saw more and more children burdened with such pain back then. Things got even worse the next year. There was an attack on the Moodys. Ann spent a month at St. Mungo's, but little Lizzie was killed. Poor girl. Alastor was so much more driven afterwards, and he was already the most skilled auror we had, mind you. But losing his niece made him that much more cynical. Not that I can blame him."

"What happened to the rest of his family?" Harry asked.

"Well, once Ann was well enough to travel, they left. Her parents moved to the States. Never came back either. Too many memories, I suppose.

"Dahlia was even more withdrawn for the end of her time here at Hogwarts. Lucy never did manage to draw her out of her shell. About a year after she graduated, she married Edmund Parkinson. Such a shame, that. Not that I'm not glad you're here, Pansy my dear. But Edmund Parkinson always had something dark about him."

Slughorn trailed off again, this time with a much more speculative expression, his friendly aura faltering for once. He poured them all some tea as he got himself composed and shifted topics.

"Yes, now then, Lily on the other hand was friends with Severus for the first few years of their time here, and that was one of the oddest of pairs. He was a rather introverted boy, and the few friends he had were all other Slytherin boys. All but Lily, who was such an extroverted girl. Friends across the houses, and with many different years as well. She was a prefect, and she was the type to always be looking out for the younger students, even if they weren't Gryffindors like her.

"Of course, in her later years, she became friends with your father and his gang. I would assume Sirius Black has told you some of the things they got up to back in the day. I was so disappointed that he was the one member of the Black family that didn't end up in my house, although I suppose that might have saved me a lot of trouble in the long run. He and your father were never very fond of the rules," he chuckled for a moment. "I remember Minerva complaining about the two of them making her tear her hair out.

"Still, I think their shenanigans did more good than harm. It was a dark time outside these walls, and Albus did everything he could to keep those problems from infesting the school. He always did want the students to be able to be children and not have to worry about the rest of the world while they were here to learn. I'm not sure how successful that was, but we never had any of you-know-who's followers attack here."

He might not have meant for the point to get across, but to Harry it sounded like Dumbledore had always been foolishly patronizing and optimistic. What good would protecting their innocence at Hogwarts do if they were murdered when they were away from school, like Pansy's uncle that she never met, or Moody's niece? Neither of them even got a chance to grow up- could they have been better prepared if they were taught to fight?

Moody's call for constant vigilance was an idea that resonated with Harry much more than Dumbledore's kindly grandfather shtick, seemingly wanting them kept ignorant of the cruelty in the real world.

Harry was brought back from his train of thought when Slughorn mentioned his mother again.

"Now on the other hand, Lily was a model student. She was much beloved by all the teachers, not just me. I've heard that you're particularly interested in Runic magic, Harry. Professor Babbling speaks most highly of you. You'd probably be pleased to know that was Lily's favorite of the electives as well. It was one of the classes she took through the NEWTs. Professor Lynch, Bathsheba's predecessor, always had good things to say about her. Despite Runes being by their very nature ancient, she still thought there was more to explore in the field of Runic magic."

"I can believe that," Harry interjected. "In fact, I've wondered if she might have done something, possibly with Runes if not some obscure charm, that Halloween. Professor Dumbledore thinks it was her sacrificing herself to save me, but I can't believe that was the first time someone ever stood in front of a loved one to protect them from a curse."

"No, certainly not. Lily was brilliant enough that I could believe she had found some sort of forgotten magic or if not that she had invented something of her own to protect you. Alas, we may never know..."

* * *

An hour later, Pansy was positive that she had never met anyone who liked the sound of their own voice as much as Horace Slughorn. It had been fascinating at times, but it was much more of a monologue than an actual conversation. Still, she and Harry had heard some interesting stories about their mothers, when he didn't follow a tangent off to ramble about all sorts of other things and the various people he had known over the years.

Harry had to bring things to an end with the excuse that they needed to get some assignments done, which was actually true. But she knew that he needed a break from the gregarious and long-winded Potions teacher.

She waited until they got back to their quarters.

"So, what did you think of all that?"

"I still like him, but damn could he go on and on."

"True enough. But I meant more about his idea."

"This Slug Club of his?"

"Yes. He brought it up clearly to see if you would be interested. Are you? I could tell you were just deflecting when you said you would have to think about it."

"I can't say that it's something that would be at the top of my things to do list, but I probably should participate to some extent. I'm sure you're going to advise me to do just that."

"It could be pretty useful."

"I know," Harry sighed. "I'm just not particularly comfortable mingling with strangers like that, but I suppose I could manage it every now and then. I'm not too enthused about giving up so much of our free time for it though."

"I do think you should go to the first one at least."

"You mean, we should go," Harry replied. "He did say you were welcome to come too, and I'm not going to suffer alone."

"Don't be such a baby, Harry. There are much worse things in life than being sociable every now and then."

"Fine."

"Don't be grumpy, or we won't be doing anything fun after dinner."

"You wouldn't dare!" he mocked.

"I know you haven't even started McGonagall's recent assignment yet."

"Which isn't due for several days."

"Which I won't make you start on tonight if you behave yourself," Pansy teased.

Harry pulled her close and slid his thumb along the waist of her skirt. He leaned in and whispered to her.

"Does _this_ count as behaving myself?"

* * *

Another week passed by and Harry had succeeded in having a nice, easy month at Hogwarts. They celebrated after midnight, once their Astronomy class had ended, and both of them ended up sleeping very late the next day.

But as Harry would say, 'it was so worth it.'

When they headed down to the Great Hall on Saturday, the second of October, he was looking forward to an extra lesson with Moody, who had finally cleared some time. The old auror had grumbled about how long he had to spend going over papers. He had jokingly indicated that they would have less written assignments for the rest of the year as he hated grading the damn things.

Harry was thrilled by this of course, as he much more of a hands-on learner, and even Pansy had to agree that for many classes like Defense it seemed to be the better method for learning the subject.

"Hey Harry," Ron said as he waved him over to sit down. "The twins said that they were going to get a pick up quidditch match going this afternoon. I'm going to be one of the keepers. Are you in?"

"What time?"

"Right after lunch."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Ron complained.

"I've got a meeting with professor Moody."

"Will it last long?"

"I hope so."

"But don't you want to play quidditch with us? I thought you said that you would prefer that over the Triwizard Tournament."

"Sure, but this is important," Harry replied.

"What are you doing with him?" Ron looked offended that anything could be more important than quidditch. "You can already throw off the Imperius curse. Fred and George said Moody's been bragging about having fourth years that are better at it than anyone in their year. I can't imagine you need any extra credit, you're already top of the class."

"It's not about extra credit. I want to talk to him about fighting Death Eaters."

That made several people turn their heads. Hermione gave Harry a look of great concern.

"Why?"

Pansy snorted as Harry stared at his friend in disbelief. Ron really just didn't get it.

"Several reasons. We know they're active again since they pulled out their masks at the Quidditch World Cup. I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and just hope that they aren't going to do anything else." Harry pointed to his scar and continued, "I've got a target on my head. If they are going to attack anyone, I'm going to be at the top of their list. Not to mention what happened last year with Malfoy and Snape.

"Moody's fought them before. If anyone can help me prepare for when they come after me, it's him."

"Can I do anything to help, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Thanks, but not right now," Harry answered with a smile. "I'll let you know if that changes."

"Okay."

"Seriously, Harry?" Ron looked perturbed. "I think Mad-Eye's paranoia is wearing off on you, mate."

"There were roughly two dozen Death Eaters at the World Cup, Ron. That's a lot of people that would do me harm whenever they get the chance. And knowing my luck, I'll run into most of them sooner or later."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Sorry. If I have time later, I'll come by the pitch and see if you guys are still flying."

"Sure, Harry."

They both went back to eating. Harry knew that it was just that much more distance separating him from his oldest friend. But this was too important, and Harry couldn't worry about playing quidditch with Ron when he needed to make sure he could stay alive.

* * *

"Come in, Potter!"

The former auror's voice boomed out before Harry had even knocked at the door. That magical eye could come in very handy for someone like Moody. Harry still preferred keeping both of his eyes intact though.

He opened the door and held it for Pansy as they stepped inside. The desks were off to the sides, leaving a wide open area in the middle of the room.

"So, what's this book you mentioned the other day?"

"It was 'War and Surviving It' by Nicolas Lancaster," Harry answered.

"Ah, good old Nicky," Moody grunted.

"You knew him, sir?"

"Aye. He was one of the people who trained me. Good auror too. What did you think of his book?"

"Honestly, sir, I was a bit disappointed."

"Why? And Potter, you can lay off the sir business when we're not in class. I already feel old enough around all you kids without being reminded of it every time one of you says something."

"Right, well I think I was just hoping for more about actually learning how to fight. It seemed like Lancaster was mostly writing about the mental aspects of fighting for your life, dealing with taking someone else's life, that sort of thing."

"That's important too, lad. There have been plenty of aurors and hit wizards I've known who went looking for other careers after they had a brush with death like that."

"That makes sense, but it just isn't very useful to me. I've had more than my share of brushes with death already- I need to know more about how to make sure that it's the other guy whose luck runs out before mine does."

"That's understandable, especially with what I've heard of some of your adventures so far. Albus tells me you're a magnet for trouble."

"Yeah, it seems like it to me too."

"So, you want to learn how to fight then?"

"Yes."

"What about you missy?" Moody asked as he turned to Pansy.

"Honestly, I'm not looking forward to this the way Harry is, but I need to learn to protect myself. If nothing else, just to be ready for when I inevitably get caught in the crossfire by Harry's misadventures."

"Better to know how and not need it than the other way around then."

"That's how I see it too, professor," she replied.

"Well, anything in particular you want to start with, Potter?"

"Yes, the lesson where you cast the Imperius on us so we could learn what it was like gave me an idea. I'd like you to cast the Cruciatus on me."

Pansy gasped behind him while Moody whistled and shook his head.

"That's not going to happen, Potter. For one thing, Albus would never give me clearance for it, but for another, why would you even want to experience that? You can't fight the spell off the way you can the Imperius. If someone casts it at you, you better either dodge or find cover. I'd say summon or conjure something too, but that's probably beyond you now, at least in the heat of the moment."

"I want to know what it's like so that I'll know if I might be able to get back up and keep fighting if I get hit with it. Also, to know how bad it is in case I'm ever captured."

"You're saying you want me to teach you how to withstand torture." Moody gave him a strange look and Harry wasn't sure if he was impressed or just surprised. "Lad, are you sure you're only fourteen?"

"I've had a lot of things happen to me in those fourteen years," Harry said with a shrug.

"I might need to borrow Albus' pensieve then. See what you're already capable of. Let's start with some simpler things. Do you know the shield charm yet?"

"Yes. I know the summoning charm too."

"Really? I'd heard that wasn't something you'd be learning till later this month."

"I learned it a year ago. It seemed incredibly useful, especially if you lost your wand in a fight."

"Can you do it wandlessly then?"

"Yes."

"Good thinking. I always suggest that as the first spell that any auror work on trying to learn wandlessly for exactly that reason. Not that enough of them listen to me, especially in these recent peaceful years. Bunch of lazy arses. That's a big part of why I retired. Too many young fools who think it would be a 'cool job.' Idiots.

"What about you, miss?"

"I know them both too. The summoning charm is the only spell I've been able to get down without a wand so far. Harry gives good advice some times."

"Good. You're both ahead of a lot of people your age. Not too surprising with Potter pulling off a Patronus as a third year. Did you learn that with him too?"

"Yes, Harry helped me. I got a corporeal Patronus only recently."

"I knew I liked you two. Alright, here's what we'll start with. Show me your repertoires. I want to know what all you can do and we'll see where we can go from there."

* * *

Pansy waited until they were back in the privacy of her quarters, but she could wait no longer than that.

"What the hell was that, Harry? The Cruciatus curse- how could you ask him to do that? How could you expect me to just stand there and watch that happen to you?"

She wanted to slap him, but she was able to control herself. It was a close call though.

"I'm sorry if that upset you, but I need to know. The Death Eaters won't have any reservations about using that spell on me, especially if something terrible happens. I need to know what my limits are. And then I need to move past those limits, as far as I can. I don't really have any other choice.

"Besides, I..."

"You what?"

Harry wilted under her stare and sat down on the couch. He took a deep breath before he said anything more.

"I need to know. To really understand. How he hurt you. Sometimes I still think about that night, about failing you. I can't let that happen again. Never, not under any circumstances.

"Whenever I think about your father, about forcing him to slit his own throat, I don't feel satisfied. I feel like I should have done more, made him really suffer. Like I could never do enough to make that up to you. I'm sorry, Pansy. I'm so, so sorry..."

She sat down beside him and leaned against him, allowing Harry to wrap an arm around her.

"It's alright. All of that is in the past now. I understand, I think, your reasoning. It's rather sweet, in a twisted sort of way."

Harry let out a snort, and she cuddled in closer.

"But I don't want- no, I can't watch that. If you do somehow talk Moody into it, I'm not willing to go that far. I'll train with you, learn any new spells he wants, but I draw the line at seeing you get tortured. Even if it is just practicing to resist torture, you crazy man.

"I love you, Harry, just don't ask me to do that."

"I won't," he answered quietly. "Besides, it looks like Moody draws the line there too."

"Yes, but I know how stubborn you can be. If anyone can talk him into it, it's you.

"Now then, a second matter," she continued. "Are you going to bring anyone else in on your insane need to learn to fight? I assume Granger will be joining us, at least to some extent. She's as stubborn as you are, and I'm sure that she'll want in on a chance to learn something new. I don't know if this would be Luna's cup of tea, though. I have a hard time trying to imagine her fighting off Death Eaters."

"Yeah, I can't really see that either. But if she wants to join us, I won't stop her. Hermione will almost definitely want to know what we did today. And it's like you said, she's been caught up in plenty of my misadventures too, so she probably needs to learn how to fight about as much as you do."

"Weasley won't be joining us though."

"No, I can't see Ron wanting any part of this."

"That wasn't a question, Harry. I'm not willing to put up with that lazy moron anymore."

"Is this because of him bitching about Potions the other day?" Harry asked with a slight grin.

"That Potion wasn't hard, and even you got an Outstanding on the essay. Slughorn is the best teacher in the school, but Weasley still complains about him favoring Slytherin just because three of the four best students in the class are from my house."

"Yeah, that's Ron for you. Extra work isn't something he's ever been inclined to do anyway. Not to mention he just doesn't see the Death Eaters as something that he might have to deal with. I think it's his mother's fault. She's incredibly overbearing, so the idea that she would 'coddle her babies' and try to keep them from knowing what the world is really like, well, I mean...

"Did you know that his brother Percy moved out? He just graduated last spring and has already found a flat of his own."

"You're suggesting that even a stick in the mud like Percy Weasley couldn't stand living with her any longer than necessary," Pansy giggled. "I love this mean, gossipy side of you, Harry."

"Thanks," he snorted. "But it wasn't just Percy. Ron's brother Charlie works at a dragon reserve in Romania, and he moved there pretty much right out of Hogwarts too. His oldest brother Bill went all the way to Egypt to work as a curse breaker for Gringotts."

"He had to go to a whole other continent?" Pansy cackled with glee. "Oh, that is hilarious. Does Weasley actually understand this about his family?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the twins do, as I've heard them talking about trying to open their own joke shop. I can just see them living in a flat above the store."

"Rules breakers like those two, hmm. Do you think they act like they do just to rebel against a domineering mother?"

"It would make sense," Harry agreed. "It was nice enough for me those couple of weeks that I spent with them, but considering I had been locked up and starved before hand, pretty much anything would have been a step up. Even then, Molly Weasley was just too smothering."

"Alright enough talk, we both need showers after what Moody put us through. I noticed you didn't show him everything you had already learned."

"You never know when having an extra trick up your sleeve might come in handy. And I only trust you and Dobby with all of my secrets."

"Fair enough, Harry," Pansy said as she stood up. "Before you even ask, we're taking separate showers. I need to soak in the hot water for awhile if you want me to feel up to having fun later."

"You do know me so well, my love. Don't take too long though. Dinner starts in half an hour and I'm starving."

"I won't. I'm pretty hungry too. But Moody doesn't believe in doing anything by half. I'm sore in places that I didn't even realize I had muscles."

"I can always give you a nice, sensuous massage later." Harry was already getting excited just thinking about it.

"I'll take you up on that."

"Yes!" Harry raised a fist in triumph as Pansy laughed at him all the way to the bathroom. Harry had missed out on quidditch that afternoon, but everything else made it worth it. And the night was looking to cap everything off just perfectly.


	50. Harry's Halloween Curse Strikes Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon leaves things a bit vague about just when the Longbottoms were attacked by Crouch and the Lestranges. Re-reading the book, the three pensieve memories of Death Eater trials occur in chronological order. First, Moody claims to have spent six months tracking down Karkaroff, and I assume that the ministry's top auror would not have committed that much time if the war was still going on- which suggests this takes place in 1982. References to Bagman's performance in a match against Turkey would also suggest 1982, as the Quidditch World Cup takes place every four years.
> 
> The attack on the Longbottoms clearly happens after both of those events, as Crouch looks gaunter and greyer in the trial afterwards, obviously due to his son's crimes. I'm using this as my point of reference for the idea that the Longbottoms were attacked roughly a year after Voldemort's downfall

* * *

"Hey, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry?"

"I've been meaning to ask you about something. I heard that there was a house-elf caught with a wand at the Quidditch World Cup this summer when the Dark Mark was cast. Can house-elves use wands to cast magic?"

"No. House-elf magic is... um, Dobby doesn't know the word. Our magic doesn't work with wands."

"You mean it's incompatible- because of the differences between how our races cast magic, right?"

"Yes, master Harry! That's the right word."

"Okay," Harry said as he sat back on the couch. Pansy shifted a bit, stretching her legs out into his lap. She was looking over the Arithmancy assignment that was due in a couple of days. Harry was pretty sure that he hadn't made any mistakes, but he wasn't going to stop her from double checking his work. She had outscored him on the last test by twenty points after all.

He didn't say anything, but he hadn't been able to focus very well in that previous class because of her. She had woken him up with a really amazing blow job, and Harry was pretty useless the rest of the day.

His Arithmancy work would just have to suffer. Harry had priorities.

"Master Harry sir?" Dobby asked, noticing his vacant look.

"Right, um, what was I saying? Oh yeah, the World Cup. I was wondering if you knew the elf that got caught with the wand. I heard that she was freed by Barty Crouch after that happened."

"Dobby does know poor Winky. Winky got clothes and has been so very sad ever since. Winky loved her family and misses them, master Harry."

"That doesn't sound very good. What has happened to her since?"

"Dobby brought Winky here to work. Dobby didn't know what else to do, and there are lots of Hogwartsies house-elves, so Dobby hoped they could help look after Winky. But Winky is not doing well."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Dobby is not sure, sir. Let Dobby find out."

"Okay. Do you know anything more about what happened that night? When she got blamed for the Dark Mark, I mean. I can't believe that a house-elf would conjure that, even if they could."

"Winky would not tell Dobby."

"Hmm, why not?"

"Dobby cannot say, master Harry. House-elves are very protective of their families."

"Even when freed?" Harry asked curiously. "I mean, you were happy to help me against Lucius Malfoy."

"The bad old master deserved what happened. Dobby would always help master Harry. But Winky still loves her old family, and won't give out any secrets about them."

"That suggests that Crouch knew something, that he was hiding something."

"Dobby can't say for certain."

"We'll have to keep him in mind then. Crouch didn't seem like the Death Eater type to me, though."

"Maybe not, but a lot of old pureblood families like his have skeletons in their closets," Pansy suggested. "I don't remember for sure, but I think I've heard something about the Crouch family before. We need to look into that."

Dobby popped away, and Harry assumed he was going to check on Winky.

"Maybe we could ask Moody?"

"He would know if it was something to do with the Death Eaters back then," she agreed.

"I'll try to remember to ask him next time then. How did I do?"

"Much better," she said as she stood up and looked down on him.

"No more Acceptables for you, Mr. Potter. I expect you to do well on your next test."

"Of course, _professor_ ," he crooned. "Is there any way I can get some extra credit?"

"I'm sure you can think of something."

Pansy raised one leg, her foot slowly trailing up his thigh. Harry smiled, leaned down, and kissed her calf.

"I can think of a lot of things, but only a couple come to mind when you do that."

He slid his hands up her thighs and under her skirt, and she stumbled onto his lap.

Pansy giggled for a second, breaking character before sitting back and composing herself into an authoritative expression.

"You had better take me directly to bed, Mr. Potter. You've got a lot of work to make up for."

He chuckled as he braced himself to stand up with her legs wrapped around him.

"What would your colleagues think if they knew you were doing this with a student, ma'am?"

"They would want to know how good you were at extra credit," she teased. "Your reputation is at stake. I expect a minimum of three orgasms tonight."

"Then I should aim for six, right? This is supposed to be extra credit after all."

"Good idea, Mr. Potter. There may be hope for you yet."

* * *

Fashionably late. It's not something Harry was comfortable with, but Pansy had insisted, so that's what they were.

The obsequious professor Slughorn saw their entrance and of course came over to happily greet them. The man was clearly in his element, holding court with about a dozen students, many of whom Harry recognized. In fact, half of them were in Harry's year, a fact that he did not think was any accident.

Sure, Susan Bones made sense, with her aunt Amelia being the head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, an obvious connection. Daphne Greengrass a bit less so- she was from an old pureblood family but they had only a moderate amount of influence and wealth. Blaise Zabini's mother was very wealthy, but Harry thought that the rumors of just how she had become a widow six times (or was it seven now?) would have made the old professor less inclined to want to associate with someone like that. He certainly hadn't been receptive to the advances of 'little Teddy' Nott, whose father had been an old friend apparently. Slughorn might be a cunning collector of people, but he drew the line at indisputable criminals.

However, the most surprising invitees to the so called Slug Club were Hermione and Neville.

Harry cynically guessed that Hermione might be there in part just as a way to draw Harry in. It wasn't a secret that she was his best friend, although Slughorn's ability to pick out up and coming witches and wizards could be part of it too. Hermione was a driven student, and if she could find the right situation that would not allow her muggle ancestry to hold her back, Harry could see doing all sorts of things. Probably not at the ministry though- it was far too hidebound and resistant to change. He could already predict the purebloods calling her an "uppity mudblood" because she would want to change things.

Harry thought that she would probably be best served in a more anti-social role. He could see her as an author, for example. She probably knew most of the textbooks backwards and forwards, so if anyone was going to update them, she would be an obvious choice.

There were a few from other years as well. The only two he recognized were Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, and Cormac McLaggen, a Gryffindor fifth year. Harry wouldn't call either of them friends though. McLaggen was obnoxious and arrogant, while Diggory was a pretty boy- what type of guy looks like he bathes in glitter anyway?

They were all seated around a large table, with five other students he didn't recognize. While there was an empty seat by Hermione, the only place with room for him to sit together with Pansy was between Daphne Greengrass and Susan Bones, which felt a little too convenient to Harry. It was also annoying in that he would have had to decide which of the two girls to sit next to, but thankfully Pansy took that out of his hands by heading for the spot next to Susan. He pulled out a seat for her before sitting down next to Daphne, who he had at least been able to be cordial with on occasion.

Harry saw a brief flash of disappointment on Susan's part.

"Excellent. Now that we're all here, I thought I'd surprise you all with some treats," Slughorn said. With a snap of his fingers, he said, "Voila!"

Four platters appeared in the center of the table.

"I think you'll all enjoy some cheesecake. The choices are strawberry, passionfruit, raspberry, and lemon. We all may as well get to know each other a bit better over something sweet."

The old professor smiled as he reached for one of the platters. Soon, everyone was joining in, passing the desserts around and taking slices for themselves.

"Which one do you want, Harry?" Pansy asked. "Not strawberry, obviously."

"Obviously."

"What's wrong with strawberry?" Susan interrupted.

"Harry doesn't like strawberries," Pansy replied. "The seeds get stuck in his teeth."

"Maybe passionfruit? Or lemon, I guess."

"Here," Pansy said as she put a slice of lemon on his plate but took his fork and cut off a small bite of the passionfruit cheesecake from her plate. "I'm pretty sure you'll like the lemon a lot more."

Harry followed her suggestion, and she was right, as usual. He nodded and thanked her when his mouth was no longer full.

Two sets of blue eyes followed their interaction from either side.

Meanwhile, Slughorn began asking the various students around the room about their families, and the connections of the people Harry didn't know very well became clearer. McLaggen and Diggory both had family high up in the ministry. A girl named Melinda Bobbin came from a family that owned a large chain of apothecaries, and it was no surprise that a Potions master like Slughorn would be on good terms with them.

There was a Ravenclaw named Belby whose uncle had invented the Wolfsbane potion, but Slughorn looked quite disappointed when he admitted that his father and that famous uncle were not on good terms. Harry had a feeling that Belby might not be invited to the next Slug Club meeting.

Then lastly there were two identical girls who caught Harry's attention when Slughorn came to them. Flora and Hestia Carrow, twins who were third year Slytherins. He remembered the little he had learned of them from Pansy and her father's confession. Their father and his twin sister were Death Eaters, however they had been devious enough to stay under the radar and were never caught so they didn't have to bother with the Imperius defense lie. Slughorn seemed to know nothing of this, as he was speaking of their grandfather Diomedes who had been a colleague of his as the Arithmancy professor back in the fifties and sixties. He also fondly reminisced about an Amaltheia Carrow who he had gone to school with and apparently had a crush on oh so many years ago. That got a couple of snickers from most of the students, but Harry actually smiled. It made the old man that much more human, a person worth relating to rather than just a distant, scowling authority figure like McGonagall.

Unfortunately, with the Carrow twins in the club, Harry now knew he was going to have to do a lot more schmoozing. Anything he could learn from them could be invaluable, as he only had so many Death Eater names on his list and the World Cup attack had shown that there were a lot he knew nothing about.

Neville's questioning came next, and it was by far the most uncomfortable. Harry had known that the timid boy was raised by his grandmother, but he had never known why. It turned out that his parents had been aurors who had fought against Riddle and his Death Eaters. While they had survived the war, a year later they were captured and tortured by four Death Eaters who were convinced they could find the missing Dark Lord. Harry saw Hermione's look of shock, but the rest of the room seemed to know all about this aspect of Neville's past. His parents had been confined to St. Mungo's ever since, never regaining their faculties after the attack.

Harry's fellow Gryffindor made a bit more sense now. Having something like that happen to his parents was in some ways worse than just being killed. At least he had other magical relatives to take him in, although Harry did remember him talking about how the things they had done to get Neville's accidental magic to trigger, like being accidentally dropped out of an upstairs window.

It seemed even the supposedly good purebloods were prejudiced against having non-magical family members, like the Longbottoms and Weasleys. Ron had mentioned a squib cousin who was an accountant, as if that was such a terrible fate. Harry would be happy to claim someone like that as family compared to what he had been given.

Unfortunately for Neville, he was still the same nervous young man, and being in the center of Slughorn's spotlight brought out a small stutter as he anxiously hoped for the topic of his family to come to an end.

It looked like he might not be invited back to the club either.

Harry and Pansy were the only ones who didn't get the third degree. She was probably only invited because of Harry, which they knew, but allowing her to stay away from the center of attention was fine with the both of them anyway.

For his part, Harry was proud to hear the old professor glowingly speak of his mother as one of his all-time favorite students, especially as he noticed the pureblood Zabini scowl a bit at his head of house saying something positive about a muggleborn.

Slughorn also asked what Harry thought of the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, and he admitted he was not looking forward to it, preferring to just have the regular quidditch season instead. That got some agreement, especially from Diggory and McLaggen, both of whom were also quidditch players. The fact that McLaggen was hoping to replace Wood as the Gryffindor keeper did create a small positive spin to it, as Harry had heard Katie Bell complain about what a 'boorish arse' he was on a few occasions.

Diggory was looking forward to trying out for the tournament though, as he had turned seventeen back in September.

Discussion about the Triwizard Tournament and the other schools was underway with that, and Harry let himself zone out a bit, not interested in it whatsoever.

* * *

It was a couple of weeks later, and if not for Harry's warming charm, Pansy would have been freezing.

The end of October saw some typical Scottish chilly weather. The students of Hogwarts had to all line up in front of the school while waiting for the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations.

Why did they have to wait until after dusk? Thankfully, it had at least been a dry day, but with the lack of sunlight, the temperature had started falling quickly and she thought it might have been barely above freezing. As soon as this ridiculous spectacle and the requisite feast was over, she was going straight to a nice warm bathtub.

If Harry was smart, he would be right there with her.

There was a lot of chatter as the students started to get impatient. No one had revealed how the other schools would be arriving. She had to expect that it would be something special, as they clearly weren't just taking the train. Next to her, Harry was on edge, as he had been more and more the last few days. With tomorrow being 'the cursed day' as he had started calling it, she couldn't really blame him.

November couldn't come soon enough.

She thought back to the plans they had made. As soon as they were up and dressed, they would head directly for Hogsmeade and then go to Godric's Hollow, which was their official reason for leaving. Dobby was going to give them a tour of the other inherited Potter homes afterwards, to show off all the work he had been doing to make them livable. The little guy was excited, and she had to hope that his good mood would help to keep Harry from brooding too much.

Pansy was anticipating that they would have plenty of time to head to the muggle world for awhile afterwards. A movie should help take Harry's mind off things for awhile, and they could find a wider variety of places to eat compared to the typical Hogwarts fare. If it was going to be this bloody cold, she might want something hot and spicy.

That thought took her back to last Christmas break, when Harry had first taken her out to a dinner and a movie, the prototypical non-magical date. Maybe they should have curry again? Watching Harry sputter and choke after ordering his food too spicy had been pretty funny.

And that brought a smile to her face just as the headmaster called out that the French were coming, then Harry pointed out into the distance over the forest. Once it was a bit closer, she saw an enormous carriage pulled by a dozen winged horses flying towards them. Its landing was loud and eye catching, as the carriage skidded to a halt not too far from the front doors.

An enormous woman soon stepped out, a Madame Maxime from what she heard of Dumbledore's greeting. Pansy wondered if she had some giant ancestry- that was the only explanation she could think of for Hagrid's size, and this woman might have been even taller than he was. The French students were dressed in a light blue uniform that appeared to be made of silk. She thought how nice that might be to wear, although only in a much warmer climate. The dozen or so witches and wizards from Beauxbatons had clearly not been properly prepared for the Scottish weather judging by the lack of outer wear.

Madame Maxime was kind enough to have them quickly head inside to warm up, not forcing her students to wait for the guests from Durmstrang.

If only Pansy could be so lucky as well. At least Harry's warming charm would last as long as necessary.

Several more minutes passed before an odd sound came from the direction of the lake. The waters stirred and a mast rose up from the deeps, as a ship appeared and slowly sailed towards the shoreline. The distant figures that disembarked all looked quite large, but as they drew nearer that extra size was explained in part by the large fur coats the students all wore over their uniforms. Once again, there were roughly a dozen of them, and Pansy noticed that they were almost all male. Knowing what she did of the school's reputation, both for not accepting muggleborns and teaching the Dark Arts, that sort of bias was not surprising. Most old pureblood families were decidedly patriarchal.

The man at the front had a much finer silver coat, and she felt Harry instantly stiffen as he came into view. This must be Karkaroff.

Professor Moody had already warned them about him. He had been a Death Eater that Moody had tracked down and captured in the months after the fall of the Dark Lord. It had taken him six months, and less than a month after being tried and sentenced to Azkaban, Karkaroff had made a deal, naming names of other Death Eaters.

Twelve years later, Moody was still infuriated about it.

She watched professor Dumbledore greet the man like an old friend and she knew that Harry was seething at this Death Eater who had walked free. It was something that had drawn him closer to Moody. The former auror had already given them a second lesson, mostly devoted to aiming, dodging, and using cover- all things of vast importance in a fight that were not focused on in the same way by the usual school methods. It had been an incredibly tiring afternoon and left Harry thrilled. Pansy had been very sore and passed out while Harry had once again given her a massage. When she awoke, she saw him snoozing right next to her.

It had also been a second time that he had missed out on some pick up quidditch, which had bothered Weasley even more than Harry's teammates, but he didn't seem to mind.

And speaking of the annoying ginger twit, he was unfortunately only a few feet away as he yelped about one of the Durmstrang students being Viktor Krum, apparently a quidditch star somehow still at school.

Pansy hadn't heard of him, but then she paid no attention to the sport unless it was a match that Harry was playing in.

(Secretly, she also rooted for Slytherin against the other two houses, but that was tempered to a large extent by some of the players in years past.)

With the Death Eater and this Krum fellow leading the rest from Durmstrang inside, the Hogwarts students were allowed to head in as well. There were a number of people with chattering teeth, especially among the younger students. Harry canceled their warming charms as they walked towards the Great Hall, which was decked out with banners.

Pansy sat down to his right as usual and was pleased to see some French dishes available. The house-elves were going all out, and she was pleased to have more things to eat. There was even bouillabaise, which she immediately took a serving of.

Harry looked over at her, but she whispered "mussels" to him and he took a pass. His adventurous nature meant that he would try pretty much any food, but once he found he didn't like something, it would take a miracle to change his mind.

Pansy was content to enjoy her food and vaguely listen to the din of the room. Weasley was gushing over the quidditch player while Granger was being catty about the French students, especially the girls. Pansy grinned a little at that- she didn't know the bookworm had it in her.

"I can't believe he's still in school," the redhead said loudly, for the second or third time.

"Well, I don't know much about the quidditch version," Harry interjected, "but in the muggle world, the football world cup takes years of preparation. First the national teams play a whole bunch of games against each other and only the top thirty two national teams qualify. Then they have to play the actual Cup, which lasts for a month or more."

"Yeah, that's pretty similar," Weasley nodded. "The national teams play for a year or so to qualify."

"Then I would guess that Krum may have taken a year off from school to play for the Bulgarian national team-"

"Bulgarian?" Pansy asked. "That's pretty far from Durmstrang."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I think Beauxbatons might be closer actually."

"Right, anyway, it's amazing that he's here," the ginger continued to rave. "I've got to get his autograph. I bet he makes it as his school's representative."

"Really, Ronald," Granger interrupted, clearly annoyed. "Just because he is good at riding a broom doesn't mean he's the most talented wizard from his school."

"No, but if I'm right about him being a year older, then that could give him an advantage," Harry suggested. "We'll see soon enough."

A French accented voice cut in, asking if they were done with the bouillabaise.

They all turned to see a stunningly beautiful girl with silvery blonde hair that fell nearly to her waist and large, deep blue eyes.

"We are," Pansy said, as she lifted the dish and passed it over. Harry scooted aside to give her room to do so. Meanwhile, Weasley was staring and gurgling like an idiot while Granger was scowling.

"Merci."

The rude idiot continued staring after her as she walked away, which made Harry laugh.

"She's got to be a Veela!" Weasley insisted.

Granger got all huffy and claimed that that was ridiculous. No one else was gaping like an idiot.

"Actually Hermione, I see many people gaping like idiots after her. Including Dean, Seamus, Neville, at least a dozen Hufflepuffs...

"Need I go on?" Harry asked.

Parvati and Lavender began murmuring to each other from Pansy's other side, obviously unimpressed with the boys. Pansy turned back to Harry with a small grin. He hadn't stared after the French girl, and she would have to reward him later for such good behavior.

But for now, she merely leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"That was the blondest French girl I've ever seen."

He looked over at her questioningly for a moment, then looked across the room to where their visitor was once again sitting at the Ravenclaw table with the rest of the Beauxbatons students.

"From the beach?" he asked quietly. Pansy nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Not without seeing her in a skimpier outfit," Pansy replied with a smirk.

"I'll let you ask her to slip into something more revealing," Harry retorted, with a smirk of his own for good measure.

"What are you two whispering about?" Granger prodded.

"Nothing," Harry answered. "Just a private joke."

The rest of the meal passed without any surprises other than a few extra desserts from other parts of Europe. Pansy particularly enjoyed a blancmange, which Harry also ate after having been exposed to it for the first time on their vacation. It was yet another thing that brought to mind all the time they had spent in Nice, which made her have to fight down a flush feeling at remembering _certain things_ they did a lot of while in France. There would be time enough for that later.

After the meal, Dumbledore introduced a couple of guests from the ministry, a Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch, who had helped to organize the event and would be two of the judges for the tournament, along with the three heads of the schools.

Then Filch brought in a large wooden chest encrusted with jewels. The headmaster pulled out the Goblet of Fire, a rough hewn wooden cup filled with glowing blue flames. The procedure was explained, that any who wished to be selected as a champion would have to place their name and school on a piece of parchment and the magic of the goblet itself would determine each school's representative.

Dumbledore warned everyone that an age line would be drawn around the cup, as only those students already of age would be allowed to participate, and also cautioned that whoever was selected would be forced to complete the entire tournament by a binding, magical contract. The selection of champions would occur a day later.

As the students were dismissed, Karkaroff got up and led the Durmstrang group out just past Harry, who stopped to let them go by. But the former Death Eater came to a halt and stared at Harry and his famous scar.

"See something, interesting Karkaroff?" Moody growled from just down the aisle.

"What are you doing here?" the Durmstrang headmaster demanded.

"Teaching," Moody grunted. "Not sure how filth like you talked a bunch of fools into being allowed near students, even at a backwoods dump like Durmstrang."

"How dare you!"

"I think you know just how much I dare," the former auror chided. "Been playing with your old friends, Igor? I heard you were at the Quidditch World Cup. Strange timing, huh?"

"What are you insinuating, Moody? Trying to start a diplomatic incident, in front of such precious children, no less?"

"I don't believe in coincidences, Karkaroff. And Britain may have its problems, but at least it doesn't let a convicted terrorist run a school. I suggest you stay away from my students, especially Potter. I've got my eye on you," he finished, pointing to his gleaming electric blue eye that rolled rather spectacularly around before fixing on his prey.

Karkaroff swept towards the door, his students muttering along behind him.

"Was he really a Death Eater, professor?" Granger asked.

"He was. I caught him myself."

"Then why is he not in Azkaban."

"Old Igor was a gutless coward. Less than a month behind bars and he made a deal, naming names of other Death Eaters. The suits thought his testimony was worth more than keeping him locked up. Stupid bastards. Murderers should never be allowed to walk free."

"He's a murderer!" Lavender's shocked voice yelped.

"Officially, he wasn't convicted of murder," Moody replied with a snort. "As far as I'm concerned, every one of those terrorists was a killer. Hundreds died back in the seventies- witches, wizards, muggles. It wasn't important to them who you were, or how pure your blood was, no matter how many of those bastards might have tried to say otherwise. But enough of that. You all better get going.

"Oh, and Potter, keep your eyes open."

"Yes, sir."

As they traipsed upstairs, Weasley complained that he hadn't gotten a chance to get Krum's autograph. Pansy could barely contain her scorn for the idiot.

* * *

The next morning, they got up earlier than they normally would have. Dobby brought them a quick breakfast as they got dressed, and they were going off to Hogsmeade while most of the school was just heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry bid a couple of his friends goodbye as they were going to be away for as much of the day as possible.

Pansy wondered briefly if they should just skip the feast that night and show up late anyway, but Harry assumed they would get more than just a detention for doing so, as McGonagall had confirmed that the headmaster would not excuse his absence from the tournament selection. The media would of course be around, although Harry hadn't noticed anyone the night before.

Their first stop of the day was Godric's Hollow, but Harry didn't have much to say to his parents. He wondered if they had someone following them this year, but they were unable to detect anyone.

He briefly spoke of helping capture Pettigrew, his family's real betrayer, as well as mentioning Sirius, who Harry still wasn't sure about. After a quiet moment, they eventually left the cemetery with Dobby's help.

The next hour was spent on a tour of the Potter properties. As they had hoped, the smaller cottage was now in perfect shape, so they had a possible hideout ready if they ever needed it. The two larger homes were still works in progress, as Dobby had done plenty of cleaning, but both were full of all sorts of things that Harry would need to go through if they ever wanted to live in either of them.

Pansy thought for a moment that they could make a lot of money if they had an estate sale, especially in the muggle world. Lots of magical families tended to have antique furniture, as well as dishes and cutlery made of bone china, sterling silver, and whatnot that would all be worth a pretty penny. She had inherited a distrust of goblins from her family, but it was not without good reason. Why did the magical world still allow them so much control over the economy despite all the rebellions over the centuries?

They eventually ended up back in the muggle world for the rest of the day, sneaking out from the flat without wanting to alert the Brightwells. Pansy thought it might not be necessary, as they got along very well with the older couple, but Harry was especially paranoid due to the date. She couldn't blame him.

Wandering through the urban landscape, she mentioned her idea from the night before about having curry. Harry thought that sounded great, especially as it was cool even where they were though hundreds of miles south from the castle up in Scotland.

* * *

Hours later, they were trudging along the path back to the school.

"Thanks for everything today."

"You're welcome, Harry."

"So, what did you think of the movie?"

"It was alright, I guess. It didn't seem to really want to be much of a werewolf movie."

"Yeah, I think it was more just about an old guy getting his edge back, letting the inner beast come out so to speak."

"Plus, they never even said the word werewolf, like they were afraid of the term for some reason. That was weird. Plus, the title 'Wolf' is pretty boring. That would be like a romantic movie that was just called Love or a comedy called Laughs."

She got a small chuckle out of Harry, which was better than nothing.

"Agreed."

"It was at least a good looking movie. I liked the two leads together also; they had pretty good chemistry."

"Hopefully we can have some good chemistry of our own later," Harry said with a smile. "Let's just get through this stupid feast."

"Without any ridiculous crap happening," Pansy added.

"That would be nice."

"Alright, we're almost there, Harry." Pansy pointed to the castle, that was only a couple of hundred feet ahead.

"Yes, time to put our masks back on," he sighed.

"Try to relax."

She saw him nod at her, but his heart clearly wasn't in it.

* * *

By the time they entered the Great Hall, it was almost full. Harry sat near the door, as far away from the Goblet of Fire as he could. Pansy sat next to him and saw Granger coming down the aisle.

"Why are you sitting way down here?" she asked.

"Just in case that stupid goblet explodes," Harry snorted. "I'd believe just about anything that could go wrong will go wrong today."

"You're being paranoid, Harry."

"We'll see."

"By the way, something strange happened while you were gone," Granger continued.

"I'll bet."

"You might notice that Fred and George are missing tonight."

"Did something happen to them?" Harry asked. Pansy crossed her fingers and bit her lip to keep from showing her hope that a messy fate had befallen the annoying ginger pranksters. She considered them bloody obnoxious bastards, even if they were friends of Harry's.

"Well, they took a bit of aging potion to try to get past the headmaster's age line."

"Which didn't work, I assume?"

"Of course not, just as I told them it wouldn't. But that wasn't all that happened. Professor McGonagall was there, and she was very unhappy as they were ejected by the spell. However, it got worse for them."

"How?"

"The professor saw the pieces of parchment they were trying to put into the goblet. Both of them had your name written down, Harry."

There was a loud crash as Harry's head fell onto the table.

"Fuck," he moaned.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded as she looked around for any teachers that might have heard him swear.

Pansy just stared at the front of the room. She had never before hated an inanimate object, but that stupid cup was going to pay if what she knew Harry was now dreading came to pass.

"Anyway, they swore they meant to put their own names in and didn't have any idea why the parchment said your name instead. Professor McGonagall didn't believe them though, so they got a detention tonight. She thought forcing them to miss the feast would make them reconsider their foolish prank.

"I don't believe it though," she continued. "I think their reputations worked against them in this case. It just doesn't seem like they would do something as dangerous as that, especially not to you, Harry."

"You're probably right," Harry sighed.

"You have bad timing, Granger," Pansy said with a scowl.

"What do you mean?"

"You could have at least let him eat something before giving him such bad news."

"Don't worry about it," Harry interjected before they got to sniping at each other, although he appreciated Pansy's concern. "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Sure enough, he only picked at his food as Harry's dismay ruined his appetite.

Granger tried to distract him with her observations of others she knew had entered their names, such as his quidditch teammate Angelina Johnson and fellow 'Slug Club' member, Cedric Diggory. When that didn't work, she asked about visiting his parents' grave and what all they had done that day.

Nothing really worked though.

Pansy barely touched her food. She was too full of rage to notice any hunger. Heads were going to roll if anything happened to her boyfriend. She wasn't sure how, or whom to blame yet, but she was ready to kill whoever was screwing with Harry this time. Training more with Moody was going back to the top of her list of priorities- Harry was right about needing to learn how to fight their enemies.

Unfortunately, she couldn't just _Crucio_ that damn cup.

The meal seemed to drag on and on.

Once the headmaster came to the front and started talking, Pansy wished she was closer to the front of the room. She did her best to scrutinize the adults at the front of the room. Professor Slughorn looked thoroughly excited, as did Karkaroff, Maxime, and Bagman. Crouch, on the other hand, seemed rather listless and disinterested, which was strange for one of the organizers and judges.

She would have to keep an eye on him. The conversation with Dobby about his house-elf came back to mind. Their little friend would hopefully be of some help.

Moody was scanning the room with that mad spinning eye of his, although he mostly kept focusing back onto Karkaroff.

There were a couple of camera flashes, as the Daily Prophet had apparently sent someone. Multiple people, actually, now that she looked around. There was one at the front of the room and another just a few feet away, getting a wider shot of the entire Great Hall.

Pansy waited for the inevitable.

First, the quidditch player was selected from Durmstrang. Then the possible Veela was picked from Beauxbatons.

And of course...

"The Hogwarts champion is..." Dumbledore went for the dramatic pause as he read the last piece of parchment. That bastard.

"Harry Potter."

Pansy clutched her hands to keep from screaming. She looked to Harry, as he took a deep breath to keep from groaning.

He leaned in to whisper to her.

"Stay here, keep your eyes open. I doubt it was a student, but you never know."

He looked in her eyes and gave her a small, sad grin. She nodded as he stood up and walked towards the headmaster.

How he could keep his cool in a moment like this stunned her. But Pansy swallowed her anger and took a couple of deep breaths of her own as she scanned the adults again. Crouch still looked bored. Moody was glaring at Karkaroff, who had a smug sneer of his own.

He went straight to the top of her list of enemies. She didn't know if he was responsible, but he was a Death Eater- that coupled with his attitude towards Harry was enough reason for her to want his head.

There were a lot of murmurs at Harry's selection, notably from the older students. Pansy looked around at them as well, but none of them stood out. She focused a bit on the Slytherin table. There were several people from families that would have wanted to do Harry harm, and it seemed possible that one of the seventh years could have made it past the age line and just dropped his name in. No one ever said you had to write your own name down.

Of course, the fact that the Weasley twins seemed to have failed to do just that did bring doubt to her mind. Why would someone have set that up if the age line would foil them? She thought something more was going on.

What though?

* * *

Harry went straight for the first chair he spotted, flopped down in it, and put his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. If he got through the rest of this fucking night without screaming at anyone, it would be a damn miracle.

Once he felt slightly more in control, he looked around the rest of the room.

Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were standing over by the fireplace. Both were staring at him.

He turned to his right and saw the door open as several people all filed in together. Bagman was cheerful as he approached Harry with a smile on his face. Karkaroff's mouth gave nothing away, but his eyes held malice as he looked at Harry before heading over towards Krum. Maxime, McGonagall, Crouch, and Dumbledore all followed, with Moody slipping in last and closing the door.

There was a cacophony as several voices all spoke at once.

He tried to let it wash over him, as they began to argue about his selection as the Hogwarts champion.

Karkaroff's sneering insult could hardly be ignored, though.

"I must say I am disappointed that the best and brightest of Hogwarts have been outshone by an underage student."

"How can zis be, Dumbly-dorr? I thought your age line was supposed to keep out zose who are too young?" Madame Maxime asked.

"Mr. Potter is legally emancipated. Unfortunately, it seems that is enough for the goblet to have decided that he was of age."

Krum looked even more surly as he scowled, while Delacour frowned contemptuously.

Harry supposed it was too much to expect a little respect, even from strangers. Halloween reminded him yet again that it was the worst day of his life. At least now he knew what would threaten his life this year.

It was too bad- he had almost made it two straight months without any danger.

He was broken out of his thoughts as Delacour said something about him still being just a boy.

Harry stood up at that and walked right up to the French girl, who was actually a smidge shorter than him. _Little boy, huh?_

"You know, I spent some time in France over the summer, and none of your countrymen were as rude as you. And considering all the stereotypes about the French, that's really saying something.

"Over the last few years, I've killed a thousand year old basilisk, saved my entire school from Dementors, dueled a man to the death, and been personally responsible for killing or capturing several followers of the Dark Lord. What has the great Fleur Delacour done? Had men drool over her because she's a pretty face? Color me impressed."

She stepped back as if she had been slapped but then he saw her temper stir.

"'ow dare you! I know much more magic zan you, and zis tournament will prove which of us is the best."

With three more years of schooling, Harry had to admit that she would have a clear advantage over him. But that snobby attitude of hers was more than he would put up with, so he continued to needle her.

"We'll see, princess."

"That's enough, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said as she pulled him away. "I thought you weren't interested in the Triwizard Tournament, judging by your request for an absence tonight. Can you explain yourself?"

"What do you want me to explain? I never even went near that stupid goblet."

"A likely story!" Karkaroff scoffed.

Harry could have been more outraged, but instead all he felt was resignation. He had known that something bad was going to happen, and getting more upset would not help him deal with this new threat.

Crouch was called upon as the expert on the rules, and he confirmed that since Harry's name came out, he was required to participate. The first task was to take place on the twenty-fourth of November, but that was all they were permitted to know, as the task would test their daring.

If there was one good thing to come out of this, it was that he was excused from the end of year exams. That was a nice little benefit- he could ignore as much of his schoolwork as he wanted so that he could focus on the more practical aspects of magic that were more important to him anyway.

Moody gave him a little nod as he left once he was dismissed. Hopefully, the former auror would now be even more inclined to give up his free time to help Harry. He had not been subtle with his glare towards Karkaroff throughout the entire conversation.

Coming back into the Great Hall, Pansy was sitting there waiting for him.

And suddenly, Harry felt a lot better. She would help him with whatever was being thrown at him, and that made the stress fade away.

"Well?" she asked.

"Let's wait till we're in private." She nodded as Harry offered her his hand and helped her up.

The halls were empty, so he pulled her closer and they walked most of the way arm in arm.

Everything was fine until they turned down the hallway that led to Gryffindor tower, where Hermione and Ron were waiting.

"How did you do it, Harry?"

"Do what?"

"Put your name in the goblet. The twins couldn't get past the age line, did you use the cloak?"

"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione huffed. "It's an invisibility cloak, not an age-hiding cloak. Harry wasn't even here all day long, so when exactly do you think he put his name in?"

"He could have done it last night! He could have sneaked out under the cloak. I just wanted to know if that was it. Harry never includes me in anything anymore. He won't even come play quidditch with us on the weekends."

"There's more to life than quidditch, Ronald."

"Like cutting your best friend out of your life, apparently!"

Harry sighed as he watched the two of them argue for the thousandth time. Was this awful day ever going to end?

"I didn't put my name in the goblet."

"Sure you didn't, Harry," Ron replied, with a knowing look as if he was in on some secret joke. "It's just us out here, you don't have to hide anything."

Harry saw Pansy roll her eyes. He wondered if her opinion of Ron could get much lower.

"If Harry says he didn't enter, then I believe him," Hermione replied.

"A thousand galleons," Ron continued, ignoring her. "Just imagine what all you could do with that."

"Ronald! Harry doesn't care about the prize money." Harry saw a furious scowl descend over the redhead, he knew that was definitely the wrong thing for Hermione to say to their friend who perpetually complained about how poor his family was. "He's going to be worried about all the danger he'll be in."

Pansy tensed up at that, and he really just wished Hermione would stop trying to help.

"Right, danger. As if Harry hasn't come through much harder things before," Ron scoffed.

"People have died in the tournament before!"

"Alright, that's enough," Harry interrupted. "Can I just go inside before Filch comes to put us all in detention?"

"Sure, Harry, keep your secrets then," Ron answered with an angry look before turning away and going down the hall and into Gryffindor tower.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Hermione frowned.

"He's a jealous arse," Pansy replied. "Hadn't you figured that out by now, Granger?"

"Let's just go," Harry pleaded. "I've had more than enough of this bloody day. I'm ready for bed."

"Just to warn you, people were talking about celebrating a fellow Gryffindor being chosen as the Hogwarts champion," Hermione pointed out.

"Of course they were," Harry sighed. "May as well get this over with."

Once he stepped into the common room, a cheering roar greeted him. Everyone was in high spirits, even the Weasley twins who had been barred from the Halloween feast. Butterbeers were being passed around, and Harry was being inundated with congratulations.

He wondered if he had ever felt even more disconnected from the people around him. Someone was almost assuredly out to kill him yet again, and they all just saw it as a chance to party.

At least when people were afraid he was the heir of Slytherin, he could sort of understand because he was worried about who was causing the attacks as well. But now, it was such a contrast that he wasn't sure how he could relate to them at all. How would Parvati or Lavender have felt if they had been picked for the dementors to focus on? How would Dean or Seamus have done if they had been surrounded by enormous, man-eating spiders? How would the nervous, stuttering Neville have fared facing down the man who had been responsible for what happened to his parents?

Even Ron was apparently turning on him.

Hermione nudged him, trying to get Harry to interact with the crowd, but he just didn't have it in him.

Instead, he pushed his way through, over to the entrance to his quarters. Voices called out for him to join the party, but he was unable to care about responding to them.

Thankfully, Pansy was able to follow in his wake, as the door closed behind her.

"What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," he answered as he collapsed back onto the couch. She quickly curled up next to him, burrowing into his side.

"But next year, we are skipping this fucking holiday. I don't care if we get a month of detentions- we're going to give the whole damn day a miss."


	51. Suspicions, Preparations, & Complications

* * *

It was very late, but neither of them had been able to fall asleep yet. Not even sex had helped.

Pansy rolled over onto her back and sighed.

"Do you want to go over it again?" she heard him ask.

"Might as well. I just can't get to sleep."

Harry turned onto his side, and she saw him look down at her breasts. She reached over to bring his gaze up to her face and noticed his sleepy smile.

"If you want my brain to engage, pull the blanket up."

Pansy rolled her eyes but covered herself. He could be so single-minded at times.

"Alright," she began, "Moody's primary suspect seems to be Karkaroff."

"Former Death Eater turned headmaster. With how Dumbledore had let Snape get away with murder for so long, one has to wonder at how many dark wizards or witches work at Beauxbatons," Harry said in a droll tone.

"We could do a bit of research, although it might be hard to get to the truth. I wouldn't mind wearing that uniform, though- I've always liked silk."

"Now that's an idea I can get behind." Harry smiled at her. "You would look hot in that outfit."

"You think I look hot in a lot of outfits."

"I know. I'm lucky to have you."

"And you're lucky I put up with you," she smirked.

"Isn't that the same thing I said?"

"Back on topic, Harry."

"If you insist."

"I tried to check the reactions of as many of the older students as I could. There were a lot of unhappy faces, but that can be explained by those wanting to have been picked instead of you. No one stood out as looking satisfied that your name had come out. Not even from the Slytherins, and I made sure to get a look at as many of them as I could see clearly from where I sat."

"I heard Dumbledore ask Moody to check on the goblet, to see if he could figure out what happened."

"We'll have to ask him then."

"Yeah. Too bad we don't have Defense tomorrow."

"Ugh," Pansy groaned. "We've got to get up and go out to the greenhouses first thing. I hate Mondays."

"I know. At least Sprout hasn't ever been a pain."

"No, she hasn't." Pansy thought about that fact for a moment before turning to look Harry right in the eye. "Actually, I think I might have made a mistake with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, professor Sprout has always been rather accommodating towards us. Even when you cover for me when I'm not feeling well, or when I have to poke you to keep you awake. It was the same last year too."

"And?"

"And, I think she suspects there is more to our relationship than we've publicly admitted."

"Oh." She could see Harry thinking it over for a minute and she waited for a response. "I don't think that's such a big deal."

"Why not?"

"She's a teacher instead of a student, so it could be a lot worse. Plus, do you remember when your uncle Malcolm first got in touch with us?" She nodded, so he continued. "He told me that he had a contact at the school that he had asked about how I treated you. I think he might have meant Sprout. I did a little bit of research, and they were in school here at the same time.

"Besides, there has been plenty of gossip about us. A few teachers discussing us behind closed doors too just doesn't seem like a big deal to me. No one has ever said anything directly to me about it."

"Okay," Pansy exhaled. "Let's try not to worry about that then."

"Right, back to tomorrow. We don't have any free periods, so we'll have to go by Moody's office before dinner. I just hope he'll know something."

"I think he will."

"Fingers crossed," Harry agreed with half a grin.

"Oh, that reminds me." Pansy sat up with a start, and Harry's gaze was once again drawn downwards. She couldn't contain a snort. "One of these days, you won't be so distracted by my boobs."

"Perish the thought!"

"Focus, Harry," she said as she pulled the covers up. "We need to investigate Mr. Crouch too. He looked bizarrely bored by the entire event, and as one of the main planners of this 'prestigious event' he really should have been much more excited, or at least interested."

"Yeah. We already knew something was off because of him firing his elf who was caught at the World Cup underneath the Dark Mark. That can't all be coincidence. Last I checked, Dobby hadn't been able to get Winky to tell him anything. She's supposedly wasting away, drinking herself sick."

"An alcoholic house-elf," Pansy shook her head. She paused for a moment.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother with the elf," Pansy continued. "If Dobby was her friend, then maybe he visited the Crouch home, right? So therefore he might be able to sneak back there to see if he could find out anything."

"That could work," Harry agreed. "Dobby does like being sneaky. We should watch a spy movie with him some time."

They both giggled at that, before Harry started to yawn. Pansy soon followed.

"Maybe that's a sign," he suggested.

"That we can finally get some sleep?"

"It would be nice."

"Then curl up behind me, Harry."

"Okay," he said as she felt him snuggle in and wrap an arm around her. Harry inhaled as he buried his nose in her hair.

"You always smell so good," he murmured, but Pansy was already drifting off.

* * *

They ignored the muttering voices when they finally staggered into the Great Hall the next morning. It had been hard to force themselves to get up and face the day, so they now had less than half an hour before their first lesson began.

One person chose to ignore the sleepy scowls on their faces though, and before he could find a place to sit down, Harry felt a girl glomp onto him.

"You looked like you could use a hug," Luna beamed as Harry chuckled and patted her back.

"What about Pansy? Doesn't she need a hug too?" he asked as his girlfriend just glared at him.

"Probably, but I didn't want to impose," Luna agreed. "She's more intimidating than you are."

Harry laughed as he started filling a plate quickly, the two girls sitting on either side of him.

"Thank you for your restraint Luna. I do have a reputation to protect," Pansy replied.

"Of course," the little blonde agreed, putting up a terrible attempt at looking serious and haughty. "So, how is my favorite Hogwarts champion going to deal with all this?"

"I'll think of something." Harry could barely contain a sigh. "Too bad I don't have history today to ponder over things. Lessons with Sprout and Hagrid are almost always too hands on, and Vector's class is small enough that she would notice if I wasn't focused on my work."

"Poor Harry. I'll have to brainstorm for you then- I have Binns this afternoon."

"Thanks, Luna. I actually have an idea that I might want to use your help with later on."

"Okay. I'll see you both later."

Harry and Pansy just nodded as she left, eating as fast as they could before they had to head out to the greenhouses.

* * *

_Later that day..._

Pansy rejoined Harry outside the Defense class once he finished discussing things with the former auror.

"I checked with McGonagall and she will authorize an unused room after dinner for us to use for training, spell practice, and whatnot."

"We could use that one room up on the seventh floor, you know," Harry said as they went to dinner.

"No one else knows about that room, and I want to keep it that way. Especially if we are going to be spending a lot of time this year, and with your other friends as well, it would be more likely that someone would notice what was going on."

"Alright," Harry acquiesced. "It's a good idea. Sometimes you're even more paranoid than I am."

"I consider it being cautious," Pansy contended.

"So do I. Other people just don't understand."

"Are you inviting Granger too?"

"Yes, her and Luna at least. I might have invited Ron at one point, but especially with how he acted today, I just can't waste any more time on him. I can't believe he still thinks I'm 'holding out on him,' like this is all just some big joke."

"He's a jealous wanker, Harry. I thought you at least had seen enough to realize that by now."

"I know, I'm just... I don't know, surprised at how little he seems to understand things about me, I guess."

"Try to relax. We both need to get plenty to eat if we're going to be working this evening."

"Alright."

She kept an eye on him as they ate that night. Harry was clearly still stressed, but having the beginnings of a plan to work with had helped some to improve his demeanor. Soon enough, the meal was over and professor McGonagall led them to a mostly empty room two flights down from Gryffindor tower. When the teacher left them to their devices, Harry stepped into the center and turned to face the girls.

"Thank you all for helping me. We don't know what I'll have to deal with yet in the Triwizard Tournament, so for now I'd like to just keep practicing some of the things that Moody has been going over with me."

"Like what?" Granger asked.

"Magical combat, basically. The tournament usually involves dangerous tasks, so learning to fight will still be valuable, even if it is dealing with magical creatures or obstacles instead of dark wizards trying to kill me. So, to start, I'm going to spread the tables and chairs around the room somewhat randomly-"

"Are we all going to do this at once, Harry?" Pansy asked.

"You shouldn't get worn out so fast this way," he answered with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" Granger gave her a curious look after noticing Harry's response.

"Moody has had us do some of this the few times he has helped on the weekends, and Pansy ends up physically worn out afterwards."

"Exercise never has been something I enjoy. But at least this is for a good cause."

"Hermione, Luna, do both of you know the stunning spell?"

Pansy wasn't surprised that Granger knew it, so they waited for a moment as Harry taught the spell to Luna, then the various obstacles were placed. Using available cover was an idea that Moody had drilled into them.

Within moments, mayhem broke out as all three girls began trying to stun Harry who was dodging the spellfire, briefly taking cover but mostly staying on the move and casting his own stunners back at them when the opportunity arose.

Pansy had gotten better at this from the few times she had practiced with Harry, but she wasn't in his league yet in either speed or instincts. Her aim was fairly precise though, and he had to work at dodging her spells more than the others.

Granger was the first to go down to one of his stunners. She wasn't nearly as fast or aggressive as Harry, and her lack of physical endurance made her quickly winded.

Luna, on the other hand, was fairly swift, both in movement and spellcasting. Aim was her weak point, only a few of her spells really made Harry work at avoidance. She fell to a stunner a few moments later.

Pansy realized her mistake almost immediately. She had been paying too much attention to analyzing the other girls instead of focusing her attack on Harry. A brief moment of surprise as he dashed towards her out of cover was enough for him to nail her with a disarming spell. He caught her wand as he leapt over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I win." He dramatically dipped her back and claimed a victory kiss.

"You didn't stun me, though," she argued once he was finished.

"I know you got grumpy from the bruise on your knee last time. Besides, you know I love your legs and I don't want you getting banged around anymore than absolutely necessary."

"Dobby did get us that bruise paste."

"And we'll go through it faster with the extra help. The point of this is to make me work anyway."

"Fine, you get Granger and I'll get Luna."

Once they were both awakened, they repeated the process three more times. Harry won the first two, but even he started to tire by the end, and a lucky hit from Luna downed him before he could take out any of the girls on the final go round.

They only had half an hour till curfew once Harry was awakened, so they called it a night.

Pansy waited until she and Harry were back in the privacy of their quarters before bringing the earlier question up.

"Did professor Moody tell you anything?"

"Oh yes," Harry said with a grin. "I considered telling you earlier, but I didn't want to go into any of it with Hermione and Luna, at least not yet. He found out exactly how my name was chosen."

"And?"

"Apparently, someone cast a proximity charm around the goblet- specifically, it was cast right next to Dumbledore's age line. Any piece of parchment with a name and Hogwarts written on it would be changed to my name. According to him, it was a complex piece of work. Almost certainly not something a student would be able to manage without a lot of practice and forethought."

"Was it Karkaroff?"

"That's what Moody thinks. The fact that the spell was so close to the age line suggests that it likely would have been someone who wanted the magic to be overlooked by the more obvious glowing charm of the age line. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with him."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning dear old Albus Dumbledore waved away his suspicion as Moody being overly harsh with an old foe. The headmaster argued that there was no proof that the Death Eater was necessarily the one to blame."

"Who did he think did it?"

"He wouldn't say, or at least that's what Moody told me."

"We were going to keep a close eye on Karkaroff anyway."

"True."

Pansy thought that over for a moment. Durmstrang's headmaster was the most likely foe they had currently, but she still had some suspicions about Mr. Crouch as well.

"So, now the question is what we do about it," Harry added.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as Moody pointed out, currently the only people that know about how and why my name came out of that damn goblet are the one who did it, Moody, Dumbledore, and now you and me. If we go public with this, it would probably make whoever is responsible that much more cautious in the future, which could be a lot worse for us in the long run. Someone who thinks they got away with it could be more careless and let their guard down.

"So, it comes down to which matters more, caring about my reputation or making sure my enemies fail."

"And I know which you would lean more towards," Pansy conceded.

"I'm sure you do."

"Let's not rush into anything just yet, Harry. We should think it through carefully. Even if we do have this revealed, we could wait till the weekend or so. Professor Moody did say it was a complex bit of magic, right? Therefore, it could take him a few days to investigate to figure out what it was."

"Not that it did, but that is plausible I suppose."

"Right, which means we would have a few days to decide. Do you think the professor would accept that?"

"He did say he would leave it up to me to choose what to do about this. Moody seems to think I deserve some say in what is going on in my life. Such a nice change, really," he snorted.

"Alright, then let's head to bed. My body still wants to catch up from the sleep we missed last night."

"Good idea."

* * *

The week flew by as Harry became so focused on his work that he was completely unfazed by the stares and whispers. It seemed that the entire seventh year resented him for being chosen over people much older than him- the fact that Harry had mastered a beyond NEWT level spell like the Patronus a year previous was something they all chose to conveniently ignore.

However, it wasn't so much his school work that held his attention but what he started calling 'life work.' As in those things that would hopefully guarantee that he could actually stay alive long enough to enjoy himself once he was clear of all the danger that the magical world constantly threw his way.

Pansy had at first been more than a little miffed with him, especially as his work in several classes became even more pitiful. Once he explained that he was excused from the end of year exams due to his champion status, she relented. Surviving the tournament and whatever else came their way over the rest of the year was definitely more important than any essay.

In fact, once she really thought it over, she went so far as to learn a charm that could mimic a person's handwriting. She could just as easily write one of his half-arsed papers. As long as Harry would pay enough attention in class to be able to understand whatever they were working on, Pansy decided she could free up more of his time by helping him in this way. She knew he was looking forward to dropping half his schedule as soon as the OWLs were finished anyway. In fact, if she had known this was going to happen, Pansy would have pulled them both out of Arithmancy before the start of the year.

However, they had a second Slug Club meeting the next weekend, and it was possibly going to be too useful to skip.

Harry had received a letter from Sirius Black, who had apparently been working with Madam Bones on the problem of the Death Eaters for the last couple of months. While she did what she could from within the government, despite some pushback, Sirius had no qualms about getting his hands dirty and was therefore acting off the books to do what Amelia legally couldn't. Being the victim of a corrupt and incompetent legal system hadn't left him caring too much about following the law.

Pansy needed to try to form some sort of bond with Flora and Hestia Carrow, and as the orphaned daughter of a Death Eater, she hoped that fact would be an inroad that could get things started. She didn't know them very well, but from their behavior they were obviously defensive and protective of one another. It was a far cry from the way the boys of her year that were proud of their bigoted parents acted, which suggested they might not have a happy home life just as she hadn't.

It was rather sickening that she had to hope their parents were bastards so that they might be willing to help her, as she and Harry needed to take all of the Death Eaters out of play sooner rather than later. Those crazy dreams of the Dark Lord's spirit were too worrisome for Pansy to do anything less.

As for Harry's part, he was going to have to initiate a conversation with Susan Bones, who was too convenient of a messenger with her aunt for them not to make use of. Neither of them really thought that the girl would be privy to anything too secretive, but they had read of Madam Bones' recent actions in the paper. She was working on a more thorough investigation after the captured Death Eaters had both been sentenced to Azkaban. An unnamed auror had also been suspended- Pansy had her fingers crossed that Yaxley was going to be dealt with as harshly as possible. Getting traitors out of the ministry was urgent.

Of particular note though, the two captured Death Eaters had finally been named once their trials came about. One of them was Goyle's father, and while Harry hadn't caught it, Pansy had seen that he was even quieter than usual and not as confident as he had been in years past. He still stuck by Crabbe though, and if they were bullying people out of her sight, there would have been less chance than in years past that she would have heard about it.

Maybe the Carrow girls could help with that too?

* * *

Pansy actually felt more nervous than she had in a long time as she and Harry headed to the Slug Club that Saturday afternoon. She wasn't sure what she might need to reveal to try to get the daughters of a Death Eater to somehow open up to her. Most of the families like that she had experience with were far too reserved to let outsiders know anything. She had never told anyone other than Harry how awful her father had been, and she really didn't want to start unless it was absolutely necessary.

Harry was uncomfortable as well. His job for the day was dealing with Susan Bones, and he was not looking forward to it. The redheaded Hufflepuff had been looking much more closely at Harry, or at least Harry and Pansy had started to notice it for the first time. He had moaned once again that they should stop hiding the fact that they were together so that other girls would stop being interested in him. Pansy had snorted at that suggestion of Harry's. As if something so small as another girl would stop those who wanted to get their claws in the boy-who-lived.

She certainly wasn't jealous of a silly girl like Susan Bones, no matter how huge her knockers were. The evil slut. If she thought some cleavage was enough to steal Harry away, Pansy would just have to teach her the meaning of pain. Harry wasn't the only one learning to fight.

(Okay, maybe she was just a teeny bit jealous.)

He opened the door for her and they made their way inside. Today's little get together was less formal than the first, and sure enough, they had been right that Belby wasn't invited this time around.

Granger was keeping Longbottom company off to one side, and Pansy held back a smirk. Even after all the work she and the girls put in on him, he was still such a wuss. At least his presence could keep Granger out of the way for awhile.

Harry briefly touched her arm and gave Pansy a very quick look before walking over to talk to Bones. Damn her, she was wearing something that highlighted her boobs. Of course she was. Oh yes, fold your arms 'nonchalantly' you bitch, as if you weren't completely aware of how that was intended to draw Harry's attention downwards.

Pansy forced herself to stop glaring and crossed the room to Greengrass and the Carrow girls, speaking quietly in their own little grouping. It was a bit amusing to see how even in such a small party there were still smaller factions forming.

"Ladies, lovely to see you all again."

"Pansy," Daphne greeted her with a very small nod.

"Daphne. How go things down in the dungeons?"

"Certainly quieter with Malfoy no longer strutting about."

"I can only imagine."

"Yes, and I'm sure you couldn't be more satisfied," Daphne replied, noting the obvious smirk. It made Pansy grin, Daphne was more interesting company than a lot of people she had been around lately. Most of Harry's friends were so lame, like the two mousy little Gryffindors off in the corner.

"I doubt you would have enjoyed whenever his father started deciding who might be worthy of joining that family either."

"Definitely not. They might have picked me just for my hair color."

"Or even your sister," Pansy teased. "Draco was such a weakling that he would have needed a younger woman that wouldn't have stared him down the way we all used to. That reminds me, how is Millie?"

"Still frightening anyone that looks at her wrong. One of the quidditch players jokingly suggested that she should try out for next year's team; now that Flint was gone, they had room for a new part troll. He was still looking for one of his teeth last I heard."

"I always did like that girl," Pansy chortled with delight.

"Me too," Flora agreed. While she still had no idea how to tell the Weasley twins apart, the Carrow girls had an obvious difference- Hestia's heterochromatic eyes.

"That it was Warrington made it that much better," Hestia added. "He's always seemed like such a creep."

"He also thought he was going to be the new quidditch captain, but after dear Millie's little display, most of the house laughs behind his back now," Daphne said.

"The arrogant bastard got what he deserved," Flora continued. "He tried to chat us up one night, claiming that he was more than man enough to handle two girls at once."

"I take it that didn't go well?" Pansy asked, hoping to hear about something painful happening to him.

"He was both close enough and stupid enough to get a knee to the bollocks," Flora answered with an evil grin. "Then I demonstrated just how good I was with a severing charm on his robes and told him that next time he wouldn't be a man at all if he ever came near us again."

"Your sister is awesome, you know?" Pansy said as she leaned into Hestia who was beaming with pride.

"I do."

"So, how are things as the shadow of the illustrious Lord Potter?" Daphne gave her a look that was ever-so-slightly smug, thinking about how Pansy's change in social status made her lower than she used to be. If only Daphne knew the truth, it might wipe that expression off her face for good.

"And Hogwarts champion as well now," Pansy added. "He casts a large shadow over us all."

"Yes, but you're closer to him than the rest of us," Daphne continued probing.

"That I am."

"Only a couple more weeks till the first task," Hestia interjected, either not noticing or not caring about the little power struggle the two older girls had going. "How is he preparing?"

"I cannot say."

"Cannot, or will not?" Flora wondered.

"Both, I suppose."

"Well, I hope Harry wins," Hestia said. "Krum seems like a sleaze, and he stares at us."

"Us?" Pansy asked.

"Several of the younger years," Daphne replied. "A few of the sixth and seventh year girls have tried flirting with him to no avail. I swear, if I ever catch him looking at Astoria, I'll cut his balls off. Consequences be damned. He's a fucking pervert."

"Now that's interesting news." Pansy thought about it for a moment. "Might want to keep that opinion to yourself around the professor though. I have a feeling he will try to get to know him. World famous quidditch star, that's the right type."

"Yes, I could just see old Sluggy inviting the other champions to one of these parties," Flora said with disgust. "The Beauxbatons champion is awful too. So pretty, and perfect, and bitchy, and so... so-"

"So French?" Daphne suggested.

"Exactly."

"My mother's family is French," Pansy said.

"Is that where you get it from?" Daphne asked with a smirk.

"Don't hate me because I'm fabulous," Pansy retorted. "It was certainly the better side of my family."

"I think we can all agree on that," Flora replied.

"Death Eaters don't make good fathers in my experience," Pansy acknowledged. It was a bit heavy handed, but only if the girls knew that she knew about their parents. From the small flinch that Hestia gave off and the stormy look in Flora's eyes, she knew that she had hit pay dirt.

"Indeed."

That was all that Flora said, while Hestia merely looked off to the side uncomfortably. It was more than enough.

* * *

Harry was irritable that evening during dinner. Pansy hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him yet, but she could tell that he wasn't happy with whatever had happened with Susan Bones.

At least the attitudes of the older students had somewhat subsided. Harry still got a few people glaring at him every now and then, but it was nothing that bothered him. In the end, Pansy had to agree with Harry that any minor social benefits of how he hadn't entered himself were outweighed by the prospect of lulling the culprit into a false sense of security. They were most likely dealing with a Death Eater who had already wriggled his way out of justice and somehow conned enough fools into becoming a headmaster of one of the largest magical schools in the world. Scheming to take out an individual like that was much more important than being concerned over the hurt feelings of some teenagers.

Weasley hadn't made anything easier, as he was still acting like a jealous little brat. His previous attempts to get Harry to 'let him in on the secret' of how his name was chosen had quickly become replaced by complaining about how Harry was acting differently. Harry worrying about his survival and refusing to goof off with a moron was somehow the equivalent of being arrogant, at least to the ginger twat.

If not for it worsening his mood at times, Pansy would be thrilled by this actually. Harry's most annoying friend had pretty much completely ruined what was left of that friendship. She hadn't needed to do anything to get rid of him after all.

Unfortunately, there were several assignments for Pansy to catch up on, and Luna and Granger needed to do the same. They were all hoping to meet Sunday afternoon for another round of training, but that still left her needing to think of something to help improve Harry's mood, and preferably without taking up all of her time too.

Thankfully, Luna was sitting on Harry's other side working on cheering him up by trying to come up with her own version of the best combination of sweets available that evening. Her idea of a tart sandwich had at least gotten him to laugh, even if Harry did argue that treacle tart would be wasted in such a creation. It wasn't enough to dissuade Luna though, and her plate was soon filled with her brand new creation- custard tart on the bottom, treacle on top, and Eton mess as the smushy center.

The girl was lucky that she didn't make herself sick with some of the things Pansy had seen her eat.

However, this did give Pansy enough time to think of a project to keep Harry busy instead of stressing out while she got her schoolwork done.

* * *

"Alright Harry, want to tell me about it?"

He let out a frustrated sigh as he sagged back onto the couch.

"I guess."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"No, it wasn't really." Harry took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Susan didn't have anything of import to tell me, but she did say that her aunt would like to have another meeting as soon as possible. With the tournament going on, it will probably have to wait until the holiday break."

"That sounds alright. I would like to know just how much Madam Bones was able to get out of the two Death Eaters. I remember Goyle's father, who was the other one again?"

"His name was Avery... William Avery, I believe."

"Right, so did she have any other news?"

"Not really. Most of the time we talked was just getting to know each other, which wouldn't have been so bad if not for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pansy gave him a glare; even though his tone had remained weary, that wasn't what she expected Harry to say.

"You're the one who taught me all about body language. If not for that, I would have just been a clueless guy who might not have even noticed all the little things she was doing to express her interest. Girls are a lot more subtle when they flirt than guys."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. I had trouble not letting it show that it was bothering me. At least Susan wasn't too blatant about anything. She was rather nice, otherwise."

"Nice?" she asked with an imperiously raised eyebrow and scowl.

"Come on, you know better than to look at me like that. I'm not available, and one of these days I'll actually be able to tell people that."

"I know, Harry." Pansy scooted over closer to him. "Want some good news then?"

"Absolutely."

"Things went well with Flora and Hestia."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised."

"Sorry, I've just been so damn frustrated lately. I knew you could do it."

"I didn't get anything concrete out of them yet, but I got confirmation that they aren't happy with their own Death Eater father."

"That is good news."

"It might take awhile to get close enough to them, but it was a good start definitely. You having taken me away from my father is helpful too. I saw both girls, especially Hestia, peaking over at you occasionally while we talked."

"That's good?"

"It is if they start thinking about getting away from their own family for similar reasons to mine."

"Except for the fact that I can't rescue them the same way."

"Well, technically you could. They were at the quidditch match after all. But yes, I do realize that could cause us problems, even if we could trust them. Don't worry though, I strongly doubt there will be any rush as far as the Carrow girls are concerned. Unless something big happens, I don't think they would approach you until next summer at the earliest. Besides, I can't say for certain just how bad they might have it."

"That's not a happy thought," Harry mused. "I hope not too bad, for their sakes, but at the same time-"

"At the same time, we could really use their help. Anything they could learn via their parents could be key to getting rid of more of the Dark Lord's supporters. We've just got to hope that we have enough time for me to win them over to our cause."

"I know you can do it. I just hope we don't have to be rushed by anything."

"Well, now that the wrap up from the party is over, I need to get to work."

"Do I need to do anything?"

"No, I already wrote up something for McGonagall to cover for you."

"Thanks."

"No problem, Harry. My grades will probably get even better. I can treat your work like a rough draft."

"Well, I'm glad to know I'm being useful even when I'm actually wasting your time.

"But have you ever wondered why there are so many different spells in Transfiguration? I mean, so many of them seem pointless. Plus, isn't turning some small animal into something inanimate or vice versa kind of dumb? Why would I ever need or want to turn a teacup into a gerbil? And why would there need to be a specific different spell to do that compared to turning a rat into a water goblet?"

"I have no idea," Pansy admitted. "I'm just making sure we both pass the class; you can focus on figuring out what we really need to know. And on that topic, I have something for you to do during the time when I need to catch up on homework. Other than just distracting me, that is."

"Alright, I'm intrigued," Harry replied. "Not as intrigued as I would be if you were telling me this while naked, but-"

"Enough of that later. Come into the bedroom." Pansy stood and Harry was quick to follow her.

"Now you're just getting my hopes up. You are a cruel, cruel woman."

"The other bedroom, Harry." She walked into what was supposed to be her room, although it got very little use. Still, Pansy kept her trunk in there, which was where she led him. She opened it to the third compartment, which was entirely filled with books. Harry sat down in front of it next to her and started to look the contents of the trunk over.

"This is what we looted from my father's library. I haven't had a chance to go through most of these books, which is something that I think you should do. You're the practical one, so I'm sure you can figure out what might be worth it for us to learn from them."

Harry chuckled.

"I'm on research. Now that's different. Maybe you should call me Hermione until I get used to it."

"Granger is too narrow-minded to be allowed to know what we might have in those volumes. So, don't even think of getting her involved."

"Don't worry, it was just a joke. I'll start on this while you do your essay."

"If you'll continue being such a good boy, I'm sure you'll get a reward later."

"You do have me trained, don't you?"

Pansy leaned over and kissed the back of his neck.

"Yes, I do."

* * *

The next few days went rather well. Pansy made sure to keep Harry from getting too stressed at night, and the rest of the time he was busy enough that they were actually being very productive.

Luna and Hermione helped Harry train when they could, and although it quickly became obvious that while the three girls were all getting better, it was best for Harry if they all attacked him at once. They all agreed to make it a point to coordinate a night when they would all be free to work together.

The only concern was what happened one Friday during Potions. Harry was called out of the class to go to a ceremony having to do with the tournament.

Pansy tried to focus on the class, but she mostly ended up wondering what might be going on with Harry at the time.

She realized her work wasn't up to her usual standards by the time the class was coming to an end, but there was no time left to fix her work. That day's potion and grade would just have to be written off.

There was plenty of time before dinner, so she headed back to their quarters, hoping he would be back by then.

It was only a few minutes later that Harry stepped inside and sat down by her, and he then surprised her by stretching out and laying his head in her lap.

"I hate people sometimes."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. On one hand we've got the snobby French girl who seems to think she can stare me into submission because apparently she's used to men falling all over themselves to kiss her pretty little arse, and on the other, we've got the grunting Neanderthal who does occasionally break his quiet scowl just to remind me that Delacour isn't the only rude bitch in the room.

"And as if that wasn't bad enough, the Daily Prophet sent Rita Skeeter to cover the event."

"The gossip columnist?"

"Precisely. Thank God for Sam. She tried to prod me a bit for a quote but I told her that I wasn't giving any interviews without my lawyer present, and that shut her up."

"No one wants to be dragged into a courtroom. I wonder if many other people have thought of doing something like that with her?"

"I would guess some have, but I think I should send Sam a quick warning just in case she tries to cause problems."

"Good idea. That is all she lives to do."

"Yeah, but this is one time where my fame might really come in handy. Even if she doesn't care about how some people might hate her for going after 'the boy who lived,' her bosses at the paper probably don't want to get on my bad side. It could cost them in the long run."

"That assumes that the people in charge are using their brains though. I thought you knew better than that?" Pansy teased.

Harry laughed in response.

"I really should by now."

* * *

A week later, they both found out just how true that thought was. It was another weekend in Hogsmeade, but this one Pansy enjoyed more than many, as Weasley was not on speaking terms with Harry anymore.

The annoying bastard's jealousy had him convinced that Harry was being arrogant, getting into the Triwizard Tournament because he craved more fame. What an idiot! As if anyone who knew Harry, even just in passing, would have come up with that conclusion. He was clearly delusional.

Still, the day was mostly a nice way to relax before the upcoming task.

Hagrid had to ruin that though.

First, he 'surreptitiously' asked Harry to meet him later that night with his invisibility cloak. In the middle of the crowded Three Broomsticks. Even whispering, Hagrid's booming voice tended to carry. Pansy saw first hand how hilariously awful the giant man was with secrecy.

She of course made sure that Dobby would follow along in order to keep an eye on Harry. There was no way she would trust a man who thought creating something like the blast-ended skrewt was a good idea. Not only was it ridiculously illegal, but the ill-tempered beasts served no obvious purpose other than to endanger the students forced to interact with them.

It was just the type of horrifying negligence that she was coming to expect from Hogwarts.

But the night ended with even more bad news.

Thankfully it was the weekend, so they would be able to sleep in tomorrow, but Pansy was still worried when Harry didn't return until almost eleven.

The look on his face made it much worse. She couldn't remember ever seeing him this rattled before.

And then he spoke a single word that explained it.

_"Dragons."_


	52. Dragons Are Enough to Drive Anyone Crazy

* * *

What do you do when you find out your boyfriend is going to have to face down a dragon?

For Pansy, the answer was obvious: kill every single adult who thought this was a good idea. Bombing the ministry's Department of Terrible Ideas wasn't going to be nearly enough. She now had proof that the insanity of the magical world infested multiple departments. No, they would all have to be wiped out.

At least, that's what she _wanted_ to do.

If she'd had any faith left in the authorities of this mad world, it was annihilated by the fact that the fools like Dumbledore, despite his attempts at a kindly grandfather persona, apparently thought it was a good idea to put teenagers up against _nesting mother dragons_.

Hell, it would be easier to just put them in a battle to the death against a male dragon than to try to steal an egg (even if it was fake) from a nesting mother dragon. These are already some of the most dangerous and vicious monsters in the world- but yes, let's seemingly attack their unborn children on top of it all.

In fact, maybe she should suggest just trying to kill the beast to Harry. It would probably be easier than enraging a mother dragon by trying to get to her nest.

At least her scream of frustration brought a smile to Harry's face. The swearing probably helped too.

And that was a nice step up from the terror and disbelief that had been written all over it previously.

"What are you smiling about?"

"It's just nice to have someone on my side who realizes how completely mad the world is," he answered. "You know, I'm really glad to not feel like the only sane person around here."

"What are we going to do, Harry?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to do some research."

"Research? They're dragons. Enormous, destructive monsters. What more do you want to know?"

"Well, while Hagrid led me out to see where they're being kept, he also saw Charlie Weasley. As in, one of Ron's older brothers, who happens to work at a dragon reserve in Romania. Now, if there are people who are dragon keepers, then they've got to know some spells to protect themselves, right? I mean, I've heard that Charlie gets burns sometimes, but there's a big difference between a burn and being completely roasted alive. So-"

"So, we find out how they protect themselves." Pansy grabbed Harry and kissed him in relief. "You're pretty brilliant sometimes."

"I have my moments. Want to know something funny?"

"Anything would be a nice change from how much I want to kill the people in charge of this fucking tournament right now."

"Hagrid decided that showing off the dragons would be a good idea for a date."

"Do I need to worry about that giant trying to steal my boyfriend now? That's definitely not something I was planning on having to deal with."

"Not with me." Harry rolled his eyes, and Pansy relaxed a little more about the stress of dragons. At least they had the beginning of a plan. "With Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons headmistress. He took her on a nice romantic stroll through the countryside to see the enormous flame-breathing monsters."

"Well, as frightening as thinking about Hagrid's sex life is, at least he's going for a woman that he wouldn't necessarily kill if he tried to sleep with her."

"They would need a _really_ big bed," Harry chuckled. "I just wish I hadn't been dragged along. Hagrid's my friend, but listening to his version of flirting was both horrifying and strange. However, I did see something else interesting. Karkaroff was there sneaking around in the bushes."

"That means all three champions will know about the dragons beforehand."

"Yep. Everyone's cheating. Nice level playing field, I suppose."

"It's a bit sad that the other schools need to cheat against you, even with their champions having age advantages. I guess you are pretty amazing."

"Maybe you're biased, but I like to think you're right," Harry chuckled.

"Alright, let's go to bed. We probably both have some frustrations to work off."

"Now, that's a brilliant idea. I guess you're pretty amazing too."

"And don't you forget it, Harry."

"Never my love."

* * *

The next day was a Sunday, so Harry gathered Luna and Hermione and they were all off to the library. Hermione thought it would be a good idea to research dragons themselves, just to see more about any capabilities and weaknesses the different breeds might have. She then spent the rest of the afternoon collating her notes and putting together a very meticulous cheat sheet about every type of dragon.

Harry forgot to mention to her that he already knew the three breeds that were on hand until Hermione was well underway on this task. He had seen what happened when someone got in the middle of one of her projects, so he just let it be. No reason to make her mad at him while he knew she was enjoying being so overwhelmingly thorough.

Meanwhile, Harry, Pansy, and Luna looked up dragon keepers and the distant reserves where the massive beasts were kept, as far away from muggles as possible. Dragons were an enormous breach of the statute of secrecy just by existing. The entire thing would collapse if one of them ever got loose in a civilized area, especially with video evidence. That idea made Harry think that one of these days something would happen on live television and the magical world would be exposed for good. It was really more a question of when, not if. And after everything he had seen of the magical world, he strongly doubted that there was any sort of plan to deal with that eventuality.

But for now, all he had to worry about was staying alive for a few more days.

So, he set aside those thoughts and focused on what a couple of books said about the profession of dragon wrangling. Several spells were noted that they used on an almost constant basis, and the group made notes about them all. Despite the seeming incongruity of it, a dragon's breath was not the most dangerous thing about them. Wizards had plenty of spells to protect against fire.

Their physical prowess on the other hand- their size, strength, fangs, claws, and occasionally spikes or other natural weapons- that was not something easily dealt with, especially since dragons were highly resistant to magic. Getting up close and personal with a dragon was not a good idea.

Harry briefly wondered what sort of maniac would read these things and think that working with dragons sounded like a good idea. Then again, after all the other insanity he had experienced in the magical world, there were probably much worse things out there. Basilisks and nundus both existed after all, and at least dragons didn't kill you instantaneously.

At least, not usually.

He was just going to have to hope that his luck didn't run out too soon.

* * *

That night at dinner, one of the Weasley twins told Harry they needed to talk to him in private.

So, he and Pansy followed them to an empty room on the fourth floor after their meal.

It didn't escape his notice that Pansy kept her hand on her wand as she eyed Fred and George. The last time she had been in private anywhere near them, almost a year and a half previously, the Weasley twins had stood by and cheered when Ron cursed her in an otherwise empty hallway.

Harry thought about how much had changed since then, and he hoped that whatever this was all about would be much more pleasant. Fred and George had never seemed to have any problem with Pansy ever since then, even apologizing to her.

Still, she and the Weasleys just did not go together. At least Ron wasn't here, as Pansy loathed him most of all. Harry kept his fingers crossed, regardless.

"So, we noticed that you weren't at Hogsmeade today, Harry," Fred began.

"Yeah, we went yesterday, plus I had something to work on today."

"I see," replied George. "Well, you missed out on something very educational, so we couldn't let you get away without learning what we found out today."

"You guys are actually encouraging me to _learn_ something? You are the school's biggest class clowns, two guys who supposedly blew their OWLs so badly that your mother's shrieking could be heard halfway to the next town. What type of bizarre mirror world have I stepped into?"

"Laugh it up while you can, Harry. This is serious."

"Alright, what's got your knickers in a twist?"

"We just happened to run into our older brother Charlie today," Fred answered.

"Charlie, the brother who just happens to work with dragons," George continued, "and Charlie, who just happens to be in the country for some reason. Call us suspicious, but we knew this was no coincidence."

"That's before we got to talking with him. He admitted, at least once we got him alone and he threw up several privacy charms, that he was here as part of the tournament. Harry, you've got to deal with dragons."

"And not just regular dragons, but nesting mothers. This is really bad news."

"We wanted to make sure you knew what you were dealing with, especially considering..."

Fred trailed off and looked over at his brother. They seemed to be arguing something over with nothing more than a look. Eventually, they nodded and he finished his thought.

"The thing is that Charlie told us he had written Ron a couple of weeks ago about the first task."

"For some reason, Charlie's always had a soft spot for Ron," George interrupted. "No idea why, really."

"I guess someone in the family had to," Fred laughed. "Anyway, Charlie heard that Ron's best friend Harry Potter was picked as the Hogwarts champion, so he wanted to warn you about this. He knows exactly how dangerous dragons are, even if he is still crazy enough to want to work with them. Charlie said he wouldn't want any untrained teenagers to try to get past nesting mothers, but especially not someone who was still only halfway through his schooling."

"Well, that's both smart and reasonable of him. I'm kind of shocked that a dragon handler of all people would be looking out for my benefit," Harry responded.

"Yeah, Charlie's a good bloke," George agreed. "Unfortunately, we know that Ron never said a word to you about any of this."

"Since he seems to be trying to win the award for biggest prat in Gryffindor," Fred added. "We knew you weren't trying to get into the tournament. You weren't even there all day, and after what happened when we tried to put our names in only to have the parchment somehow changed to your name, we knew something else was going on."

"Like it was some sort of trap for you, Harry. Hell, it's not like this would be the first time."

"That's true," Harry said with chagrin. "Look, guys, I appreciate the thought, but thankfully Hagrid is a better friend than Ron. He showed the dragons to me last night."

"Oh, well, that's good. Do you have any idea what you're going to do yet?"

"I've got a couple of ideas," Harry replied. "That's what I was working on today."

"Alright, good. Let us know if you need our help with anything."

"Thanks."

"No problem, Harry."

Fred clapped Harry on his back as George took down the privacy spells, and the Weasley twins were off on their merry way.

"You can let go of your wand now."

"Better safe than sorry," Pansy retorted.

"They aren't that bad, you know. And they definitely wouldn't attack a friend of mine."

"Let's go back to our rooms and put on some music. This has been a very stressful weekend. I need something to get my mind off everything."

"Sounds good to me."

"Then lead the way, Harry. No one will stop us when you've got a serious look on your face, and I don't think either of us feels like being social right now."

* * *

The next couple of days flew by, and soon enough professor McGonagall was leading Harry outside to a tent on the side of the forest. Pansy, Hermione, and Luna walked with him most of the way, and he tried to keep them all calm by wondering at why they were having the first task in the middle of the week. Harry definitely would have preferred to spend the afternoon in his Runes class, rather than facing death for the umpteenth time, all of them in the few years he'd been in the magical world.

He may have survived a decade of hell with the Dursleys, but at least they never went so far as to try to kill him. Although, Vernon definitely had wanted to on a few occasions.

That brought a nasty smile to Harry's face, which Pansy asked him about.

"Just thinking about the justice you got for me," Harry whispered to her.

Hermione and Luna wished him good luck and both girls hugged him before going off to find places to sit. Luna said she would save Pansy a spot, although she wasn't paying a lot of attention right then.

Pansy had a wicked grin of her own as she remembered watching those muggle bastards being dragged off to jail. Good riddance.

"We're almost there, Harry. Just remember the plans. All of them."

"I do. Don't worry, I have no intention on making this any more difficult than it has to be. If something goes wrong, I'll just blow the task. I've got things to do tonight that don't involve me being stuck in the hospital wing."

"Right, then just keep tonight in your head." Pansy looked around to make sure they were alone as they stood in a corner of the tent. "We both know how you want to celebrate."

Harry smiled widely as Pansy smirked at him before walking off. If only there hadn't been anyone around, she would probably have snogged his face off for good luck.

At least, she had given him a wonderful wake up. And now also promising the most fun way to celebrate.

If the rest of Gryffindor knew what was on his mind, they would be disappointed that their champion would not be interested in partying with them afterwards. But the guys would all understand why. Or, at least the ones who had gone through puberty would. Some of the little first years might still be some of those odd kids who thought girls were icky.

Harry really never understood that point of view. Not that he was any sort of miniature romeo in primary school, but at least the girls didn't beat him up the way Dudley and his little goon squad would. Sure, a few of the girls had made fun of his clothes and whatnot, but that was much preferred to physical violence.

Harry tried to relax as he stood in a corner all alone. He saw the other two contestants speaking with the heads of their schools, but of course, Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen. Even McGonagall hadn't said much before leaving him there.

'I guess it's a good thing I never expect anything from the adults in my life,' he cynically thought to himself. Useless bunch of wankers. What other conclusion could Harry really come up with? If they weren't turned on by constantly placing students- especially him- in danger, then Dumbledore, McGonagall, and company would run a very different sort of school.

One without competitions that sometimes killed the teenagers involved, for example.

Harry's concentration on feeling annoyed with the authority figures around him then grew even stronger as the press showed up. Multiple photographers and reporters were there, some of them speaking other languages, and of course the sleazy Rita Skeeter was back again. There was something seriously wrong with that nasty shrew.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried, and probably failed, to keep a scowl off his face.

'Facing a dragon wouldn't be as annoying as this.'

That made him let out a small snort. His sarcastic thought at least gave him a couple of minutes where the stress of the reporters faded into the background. Thankfully, the ministry officials, Bagman and Crouch, turned up at that moment. They were accompanied by the headmaster, looking outrageously garish as usual.

Harry wondered if his choices of robes, always colorful if not downright bizarre, were meant to frustrate the students, all of whom were forced to wear uniforms and plain black robes. At least in muggle schools with dress codes, the teachers always dressed up in suits and whatnot as well. Dumbledore really wasn't setting a very good example.

But then, this was the same man who thought giving an unrepentant scumbag like Snape a chance to torture and belittle teenagers was a good idea.

The fact that the heads of both of the other schools were clearly helping their champions while professor Dumbledore had done nothing for Harry, as usual, was starting to crush what little respect Harry still had for the old man. This was the same person who had dumped him on the Dursleys' doorstep after all.

In the end, he just quietly nodded along at the silly mystery the bumbling Mr. Bagman insisted on as he had the three teens draw little figurines out of a bag that represented the dragons they would have to face. There were no shocks as Harry drew the most largest and most aggressive of the dragons, a Chinese Fireball. He was going last as well, which meant he had all too much time to wait to face his doom.

Harry hoped that Pansy wasn't freaking out too much as she sat in the stands. He didn't think it could be easy for her having to sit there and just watch as his life was in danger.

* * *

She was sitting there desperately trying not to scream, especially as so many of the idiots around her were actually excited for this spectacle. If Harry died out there, Pansy thought she might just start casting the killing curse at everyone in sight.

Oh, she would definitely start with those vile bastards sitting in the section of the stands reserved for the judges. But she wouldn't stop until every single one of these useless cheering twats around her was lying dead at her feet.

"He's going to be alright, you know?"

She looked over at Luna whose wide eyes and smile snapped Pansy out of her darker thoughts.

"We can't know that, Luna."

"I agree," Hermione added. "This is terrible. I hate having to wait knowing what Harry's going to be facing. I just hope he can stay calm and focused."

"Harry is good under pressure," Luna argued. "He didn't flinch when Lucius Malfoy cast the killing curse at him last year. He responded to the dementors attacking at the quidditch match faster than even professor Dumbledore. And from what you've told me, he didn't blink when everything was revealed with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew last spring either.

"I have absolute faith in Harry." The blonde turned her gaze onto Pansy. "You should too. Harry will never fail you."

"I hope you're right, but I can't help but worry."

"Why do you say something like that Luna?" Hermione asked. "As much as I love him, Harry isn't perfect."

"No, but he doesn't have to be. Still, I know my friend well, and I stand by what I said."

"I think I like your method of prediction more than Trelawney's," Pansy said with a hint of a smile trying to break past her anxiety.

"Good. Let's keep talking about other things you like."

Pansy had to let out a nervous giggle at that. Luna really was the best.

* * *

Parvati knew that she wasn't as brilliant as someone like Hermione Granger, but she did have very strong social skills and she had been noticing more and more little things this fall. Pansy had become something like a friend over the last year, which was definitely strange considering what she remembered from the caustic but distant girl of a few years previous. The revelation that her father had been a Death Eater made a lot of sense, especially with how much she had changed ever since she had gotten away from him.

And become close with Harry of course.

Oh, _Harry_.

Parvati's crush on him was so much worse since it turned out that he was one of only a handful of boys that never seemed to drool all over Fleur Delacour, the impossibly fair blonde bombshell. She had even caught herself checking out the French girl's bum on one occasion.

She didn't even bother to stifle her sigh. Lavender wasn't paying enough attention to notice, and Pansy was busy with Luna Lovegood.

There had been more than a few mean things said about the Ravenclaw who had somehow wormed her way into being one of Harry's closest friends, but Parvati would never utter anything like that after seeing how he had told off Ron, his supposed best friend, when he had called her Looney.

The blonde girl was often seen hanging all over Harry, and oh how much Parvati hated her for that. At least she had never seen them kiss.

But that thought also brought up a suspicion in her mind.

Pansy was never anywhere near as physically affectionate with Harry as Luna was. Even Hermione, the supposedly platonic-only best friend, was a lot more likely to be seen hugging Harry than Pansy was.

And yet, neither of those girls actually lived with Harry like Pansy did. They had spent the entire summer together, while Parvati just daydreamed that she was off vacationing with Harry instead. Maybe on a beach?

Time for another sigh.

But beyond that, who really knew what Pansy might get up to behind closed doors with him- and this year Harry spent a lot more time shut away in his quarters, becoming thoroughly anti-social. It was so much worse the last few weeks, and it all started that night when he had been selected for the tournament. While Harry had been summoned to find out the rules and whatever else from the ministry officials, Parvati had raced back to her dorm to change her outfit and put on a bit of makeup.

There would be butterbeer and probably (hopefully) firewhisky going around the common room. She could have some herself, liquid courage she had heard some of the older students call it, and then take a drink to Harry whenever his hands were empty. She was going to congratulate him, and if her nerve didn't falter, she would do it with her lips pressed to his.

It wasn't a fool-proof plan, but it was the best she could come up with on such short notice.

Then everything fell apart.

Harry stormed into Gryffindor tower that night looking like he hated every single person there, regardless of the fact that they were cheering for him. He had brushed the entire party off and went straight to his room.

That would have been bad enough, as Parvati's hopes for the night crashed down before her eyes as he turned his back on her.

But, Pansy followed right behind him of course. And all of a sudden, Parvati's eyes were wide open. Pansy was _always_ with Harry. No matter what. Even if he was in a bad mood or wanting to be alone, he never made her leave his side.

It looked like the competition for Harry's affections had been right there in front of her the entire time.

* * *

A few minutes later, Krum was called out first to face his dragon. Harry sat down and closed his eyes, trying to relax by running through some of Pansy's Occlumency techniques. Muggles would have called it meditating, he supposed. Still, better to do something other than just sit there worrying.

"What are you doing?" a French accent asked him.

Harry cracked his eyes open and saw Fleur Delacour looking down at him. He supposed she would never do something as undignified as sitting on the ground. Never mind that there was no one there to see her do so, other than someone she had already dismissed as a 'little boy.'

That still really pissed him off.

"It's called Occlumency."

"I know what Occlumency is," Fleur replied testily. "Why would you do something like zat now?"

"Maybe you prefer pacing around while stressing yourself out, but I try to keep a cool head when I've got something dangerous to do."

She nodded and stopped herself from fidgeting nervously.

"I notice you weren't surprised by ze dragons."

"And neither were you. Same for Krum."

"Did your 'eadmaster tell you?"

"No."

"Who did?"

Harry considered closing his eyes and ignoring her, but Delacour was being much less of a bitch than the first two times he had interacted with her. He wondered at why her attitude had changed.

"Why are you so interested?"

"I've 'eard many conflicting things of you, monsieur Potter. Some of ze other students of your school do not speak highly of you, but others tell the most unbelievable stories. You are an enigma."

"I'm surprised you care," Harry muttered before deciding to stand up. Having her look down on him physically was a little too on the nose. "Not that it really matters I suppose, but the same person that showed Madame Maxime the dragons also told me."

There was a roar from outside, but Harry didn't particularly care how Krum was doing. Especially not after hearing the rumors of his interest in younger girls. He hoped the creep got roasted.

"Really? Zis 'agrid fellow? Can you tell me about 'im?"

"Sure, I guess. Hagrid has been the groundskeeper for many years. He also now teaches the Care of Magical Creatures classes."

"And why did it fall to 'im to inform you about ze dragons? I would 'ave thought your headmaster would be looking out for you more. Especially with you being so young and supposedly not entering your own name."

"Dumbledore seems to like remaining mysterious, so you'll have to forgive me if I can't explain his actions to you."

"I see. Are you friendly with 'agrid?"

"Yeah. He's one of my favorite teachers, even if he isn't always the most polished at it. He really knows his subject, and that counts a lot to me. I already knew a fair amount about dragons, largely in thanks to him."

Fleur nodded at that and looked at Harry speculatively.

"Is it true 'zat you drove off a hundred dementors last year at a quidditch match?"

"I didn't count them all, but yes I did cast a Patronus when those monsters attacked. I don't think too highly of a government that would put those things anywhere near a school, and knowing how atrocious my luck can be, I tried to prepare for them when I heard they would be nearby."

"It is impressive zat you would learn such a spell at that age."

"I wasn't doing it to impress anyone," Harry sighed. "It was necessary."

"May I see it?"

"Why?"

"I myself have not learned 'ze spell but am curious to attempt it."

"Alright," Harry shrugged as he pulled out his wand. "You'll want to stand back."

* * *

While at first her pride had not let her show any interest in him, there was something strange about Harry Potter. He was one of the very few teenage boys she had ever seen that hadn't stared at her for one thing, but he was also not at all like the fairy-tale hero in the books her little sister had so loved, at least before they were all pulled from the shelves a year before.

Not that Fleur would ever admit to having read one or two (or nine) herself when she was younger. They certainly had not helped her to learn English, either.

But ever since that disastrous first meeting, she had been curious about the boy-who-lived.

And everything she heard from the various stories about him had made her more curious. Gossip about him slaying a mythical beast in some long lost hidden chamber, rescuing a girl from certain doom- now that sounded just like those silly books. But apparently the the entire school had seen him survive a duel to the death against a Death Eater. And there was visual proof in the newspaper that she had already seen of him conjuring a Patronus to drive off dementors who had attacked the school during a quidditch match.

He was supposedly only a fair student, not bad but certainly not a genius, and yet he had mastered a spell that few adults could manage at only thirteen.

Fleur strode back across the inside of the tent. There was another swell of noise from the crowd outside just as Harry shouted out _Expecto Patronum!_

And then she understood just why he had asked her for more room. Suddenly, Fleur Delacour had a feeling that Harry Potter was going to do much better in this contest than she had once thought.

* * *

Pansy was nervously looking over to the tent repeatedly as Krum tried to attack the dragon to distract it so that he could get to a golden egg prominently displayed in the dragon's nest. He was going for a rather uninteresting brute force approach, and after everything she had heard of Durmstrang she was neither surprised nor impressed by the quidditch star.

Just as cheers began, drawing her gaze back over to the contest, there was a bright flash of light that came from the tent Harry was in. She almost got up to run over to check on him, but Luna grabbed onto her arm and pulled her in close.

"Don't worry about it. I think Harry was just practicing."

"Practicing what?"

"It's meant to be a surprise."

"For who?"

"Me," Luna giggled. "Harry's such a sweet guy."

"What are you talking about, Luna?" Hermione asked from her other side.

"You'll see Hermione."

Granger looked frustrated, and Pansy held back a giggle of her own. She couldn't always understand what Luna was talking about either, but seeing it drive Granger to want to tear her own hair out never got old.

A moment later the next dragon was led out, and Fleur Delacour stepped into the arena.

* * *

Harry stopped smirking as the French girl left the tent. His Patronus looked very impressive, especially with its ridiculously large size. So much for just being a little boy, huh?

He was going to have to put that aside now. Fleur had dropped the arrogance, and it just wouldn't do for Harry to be more rude than someone French.

So instead, he went back to sitting down and trying to meditate, focusing on the plans he had made with the help of his three favorite girls. The Patronus made him think of Luna, and he knew that she would appreciate his little joke even if it didn't do much good in the grand scheme of things. Still, a distraction of a few seconds could be helpful, and Harry wasn't above taking every single advantage he could, no matter how small it may be.

As he closed his eyes, he tried to decide exactly if he could afford to hide any of his skills. It would be risky to try to do so against a dragon of all things, but he knew there were plenty of other dangers out there.

Harry guessed that he could hope that the simplest of plans would work, and he did his best to imagine that his bipolar luck would let him get away with something so easy.

If only...

* * *

Pansy was much more impressed by Delacour, who went with a much less flashy idea of how to deal with a dragon. She sang a sort of charmed chant that made the dragon entranced. Parts of the crowd- especially the boys- seemed to be more affected by it as well, although others were grumbling about this being less 'fun' than Krum's approach.

She had to hand it to the French girl, it worked like a charm.

'Oh no,' she thought. 'Did I just make a pun that bad in my own head?'

Luna was rubbing off on her. The goofy little blonde would have laughed her head off at that joke, lame as it might have been.

Well, at least it was a tangent that kept her from worrying for a few more minutes as the arena was cleared and the next dragon brought out for Harry.

"Please be careful, Harry," she whispered like a prayer. Luna reached down and squeezed her hand in support as Pansy closed her eyes and held her breath.

They were calling his name now.

* * *

Harry stepped out and had to blink to get used to the bright sunlight of the afternoon. The crowd roared as he came out, and for a second he was reminded of some film he had seen a few brief moments of years ago before the Dursleys yelled at him. It was something about gladiators being forced to fight for the amusement of the jeering Romans.

He felt a kinship with those fictional warriors as he drew his wand and ducked behind a bit of rock for cover.

Harry began with plan A.

" _Accio golden egg!"_

Simple and direct- just summon the damn egg over to him. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the egg didn't budge.

Alright, time for plan B.

" _Accio Firebolt!"_

Trying to outfly a dragon might not have necessarily been the best idea, but as a nesting mother, even a breed as aggressive as the Chinese Fireball wasn't likely to stray too far from her eggs. However, this would make Harry a lot more maneuverable and fast, as well as potentially letting him fly very far from the range of the creature's fiery breath. All of that could be useful.

He realized that he might should have called for the broom first, as it had to travel the better part of a kilometer from the school to reach him. Harry supposed they could have stashed it much closer before hand.

Oh well, it was something to learn from.

There was a wave of heat as the dragon launched yet another blast at the rock Harry was crouching behind.

He was relieved when Sheila came rocketing into sight, and Harry leapt onto her once she was near enough. He didn't care how often Pansy made fun of him for naming his broom; she deserved to be treated with the utmost care if she helped him survive against a dragon.

Harry had an inane thought that this could be a great advertising opportunity: _Firebolt versus Fireball_! If only he had the forethought to try to set something up with the company. He loved the broom after all, and the magical world couldn't really have a bigger celebrity endorsement than the boy-who-lived.

Maybe Colin Creevey could get him a good photo and he could approach them afterwards.

If Pansy knew what was going on in Harry's head as he flew up and out of the reach of the dragon's flames, she would be screaming at him.

* * *

It turned out that she was screaming at that very moment anyway. Most of the crowd around her was as well. Harry and his damn broom. They were going to give her a heart attack one of these days.

Then Pansy understood what Luna had been talking about earlier as she saw Harry point his wand at the dragon.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

His silvery dragon burst forth and flew towards the red and gold Chinese Fireball.

She snorted briefly as she realized that Harry was having to face the dragon that shared Gryffindor's colors. Of course he was. Things like that always made her want to slap someone.

Luna was cackling with glee though, and that made her glance briefly over at the girl. Pansy thought back to last spring, as Luna had said something about a dragon flying over the quidditch pitch during Harry's next match, and Harry introducing it to his draconic Patronus.

Well, this might be as close to quidditch as Harry got this year. Pansy could only shake her head at the absurdity of her boyfriend making a private joke at a moment like this just to please Luna.

She assumed he would argue that it was also a distraction, but she knew that deep in his heart, Harry did it more for Luna than any other reason. That's just how he was. Harry could be just as ridiculous as anyone else at times.

But then she had to smile as not only was the dragon confused by its spectral counterpart, but the crowd was also shouting and not paying nearly enough attention as something black flew into Harry's empty hand.

* * *

The draconic Patronus was doing its job as Harry took a quick glance to see exactly how much attention the judges were paying to him, and all of them seemed to have their eyes more on the two dragons, real and invoked.

It was just the chance he needed, so he cast the summoning charm one last time.

He used his wand again, but did not speak the words aloud. Harry wasn't sure how well this part of the plan would work, but so far he hadn't needed to use any of the defensive spells for dealing with the dragon's breath, so that at least was a point in his favor.

As he weaved about in the sky, keeping one eye on the Chinese Fireball, Harry watched the other direction as he awaited the object that he soon saw streaking towards him. His left hand reached out and caught it.

The sorting hat.

Harry wasn't certain if this would work again, but if he was in need of the sword of Godric Gryffindor for dealing with a basilisk, then surely he could use its help once again when facing a dragon.

And then Harry had to smile in spite of the metal handle of the sword bonking him on the top of the head.

"Hello again, Mr. Potter."

"Hi. Do me a favor and stay up nice and high so I won't have any trouble seeing the dragon."

"You want me to ride atop your head while you take on a dragon? You certainly are a Gryffindor."

"I figure that I kind of owe you for helping to deal with the basilisk, so I shouldn't just drop you in the dirt after pulling out the sword."

"I appreciate that," the hat replied. Unknown to Harry, the hat's mouth broke out into a grin.

"Good, well, I need to concentrate now, so please don't distract me."

Harry took the sorting hat's silence as an agreement.

Now it was time for him to really get to work.

* * *

"I can't believe him," Granger shrieked from the other side of Luna. "Is he really wearing the sorting hat to face a dragon?"

Pansy was muttering and shaking her head in disbelief. She knew he wanted to try to summon the sword, but this was unbelievable, even by Harry's standards.

"Pansy, please don't take this the wrong way," Luna managed to say in between giggles, "but I really love Harry right now."

The blonde had barely paused from laughing at Harry casting his draconic Patronus at the real dragon when the sorting hat flew into his hands, and now she had tears of mirth streaming down her face. Pansy understood even better a part of their friendship now- things occasionally got noticeably weirder around Harry at times like this, and the strange little Ravenclaw girl greatly approved of such madness.

(She was really going to have to stop thinking of Luna as little though. Harry could get away with it, but Pansy was now shorter than her, and that was maybe the one thing she really didn't like about her. At least Luna never gave Harry any of the looks that she had seen from some of the other blondes that had infuriated her so much.)

Anyway, Pansy supposed that a bit of madness wasn't so bad if it helped dispel some of the danger Harry was constantly plagued with.

Then Pansy almost fainted as she saw Harry do something so insane that she wanted to strangle him.

While the Chinese Fireball was still roaring at his Patronus, Harry flew right at the beast.

* * *

He just knew that Pansy would want to kill him for this, but Harry saw his opportunity and took it.

The dragon was still confused by its ghostly opponent, so Harry flew wide around one side with the sword held in his left hand. Then he dove in toward the creature's wing and slashed at it.

He pulled up as fast as he could as the Fireball let loose a shriek of pain and swung around to face him, launching a fireball his way.

" _Protego!_ "

The shield charm wouldn't last long against the dragon's flames, but he only needed a second to get further away from it and back out of the range of the beast's breath.

It worked well enough, and Harry was then swerving around through the sky, never staying still long enough for the dragon to focus much of an attack on him.

Now the only question was what he should do next. He wished that he had worked harder at the idea of conjuring something to attract the dragon's attention. If only Fawkes would swoop in to blind the dragon like he had the basilisk, Harry could just head right for the nest.

But the legendary bird of fire was not making an appearance that day, so Harry continued circling the arena, looking for his next opportunity.

* * *

"What the fucking hell is he doing?" Pansy screamed.

"That was not part of the plan," Luna admitted.

"Really, Luna," Hermione groaned. "You're saying that Harry never told any of us about a ridiculous idea to try to attack a dragon at close range. We all should have known he would do something like this."

"Why?"

"It's Harry, that's why. Who else has anything close to the insanity in their lives like he does? This is the same person that had two different people cast the killing curse at him while in school last year."

"From the same worthless family too," Pansy added. She could now think a bit clearer as Harry had pulled back out of the dragon's range and was circling around defensively. "I need to thank him again for cleansing the country of the Malfoys."

"He didn't do anything to Draco's mother though," Hermione suggested.

"Actually, he did."

"What?" Hermione screeched. "He went after a grieving mother too? I don't believe that; Harry wouldn't do such a thing."

"Not like that, Granger. He talked her into leaving the country shortly before we came back to school. With all the Death Eater activity at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry wanted to warn her in case the "old gang" decided that Malfoy Manor would make a good headquarters."

"That's probably good thinking," Luna said. "I've heard the family was incredibly wealthy and their home was proof of it."

"It was definitely large enough to house a whole lot of mask-wearing terrorists."

"Harry came up with that by himself?"

"Don't act so surprised, Granger," Pansy snorted in derision. "Harry has plenty of good ideas.

"Besides, having the sword as a fall back option if the dragon got too close was always something he was thinking of doing. We all know how resistant to magic dragons are. I just don't want to watch him actually try to kill one with a sword."

"Even if it works?" Luna asked.

"My heart may give out if I have to watch much more of this."

"Don't be overly dramatic, Pansy," Luna chided her. "It doesn't suit you...

"Oh my!"

Her blonde friend's shout was nothing compared to the strain Pansy felt. Her fingernails were once again cutting into the palms of her hands.

"I can't believe he did it again," she moaned as she closed her eyes.

'Please don't die out there, Harry.'

* * *

It took Harry awhile to really see it, but after what seemed like much longer than the minute or so it took, the Chinese Fireball was definitely slowing down. Its head was also drooping a bit as it roared and tried to fire off one more blast at him, even though he was more than far away enough for it to be unable to reach him.

When he circled around again and the beast's head swung in the wrong direction to keep him in sight, Harry flew down and slashed at its other wing. A bit of blood splashed up onto his arm.

The Fireball let out another pained shriek as it stumbled on the ground, apparently no longer able to fly, not that it had ever been willing to move more than about thirty or maybe forty feet away from the nest in the first place.

Harry backed off then. You never wanted to push a dangerous animal when it was wounded and desperate.

But something strange was happening. The dragon was staggered, shuffling slowly as it gave out a few more roars that were noticeably lessening in intensity. It was as if the beast was dying right before Harry's eyes.

And a moment later, the dragon keeled over and fell into the dirt.

Harry was so shocked that he just sat there on his broom for a few moments. The crowd's reaction was widely varied, a few boos, some cheers, but mostly just mutters of disbelief. He composed himself and flew down to the nest, keeping an eye on the dragon just in case this was the world's most unbelievable version of playing dead. But it did not stir as Harry picked up the golden egg and flew over to the exit as the dragon handlers swarmed into the arena to investigate just how the Chinese Fireball had expired.

* * *

"Is that it?"

Weasley's annoying voice broke the silence near Pansy, who turned to look down the aisle at him with fury. Luna once again held onto her hand though, so Pansy was unable to go for her wand to start cursing the worthless bastard.

"Let's go see Harry," Luna said as she squeezed her hand to draw attention to what was more important than vendettas against Harry's former friend.

"Good idea," Granger said as she stood and led the three of them down to the tent off to the side where Harry had gone.

They had to push past a couple of reporters who were trying to get in to ask questions. Pansy had her wand out by then though, and threatened anyone who stood between her and her lord with pain worse than death.

The rest of Harry's year mates were following fairly close behind, and Neville Longbottom once again wondered why such a nice guy like Harry hung out with someone as terrifying as Pansy.

He slowed down and decided to let the girls go in first. Hanging back a bit, further away from the scary witch sounded like a much better idea than charging in to give Harry a pat on the back. Most of the other Gryffindors did the same; but Ron Weasley did not have that same sense of self-preservation, and Neville could only shake his head as he watched Harry's former best mate shove on past the others.

* * *

"I'm fine, seriously Madam Pomfrey." Harry lifted his arms and turned his body in a full circle. "Look, my robes aren't even singed."

"I've heard you claim to be fine too many times, young man." The healer waved her wand around a couple of times as she fussed over him, but just as Harry had claimed, her diagnostic spells all came back negative. "Well, surprisingly it looks to be true for once. It would be nice to not have to see you in my infirmary one of these years."

"Now that we can definitely agree on," Harry grinned.

"So, what exactly happened out there Mr. Potter? And would you please take that silly hat off!"

"I am not a silly hat."

"Oh do be quiet Eugene."

"Eugene?" Harry asked as he removed the sorting hat from his head and set it down on a nearby bed that he was happily not going to be needing. He slid the ancient Gryffindor blade back inside it as well- he never knew when he might need to pull a sword out of a hat, but it was certainly a better trick than a simple rabbit.

"He refuses to tell us his real name, so we all have to guess. I called him Eugene first many years ago."

"Why Eugene?" Harry asked.

"I was fresh out of training as a healer when I started working at Hogwarts. I was young and flustered and it was the first thing that came out."

"She has called me Eugene ever since. Don't feel too bad though, Poppy, it was hardly the worst guess I've heard. But if someone ever actually guesses my name correctly, the pot will be lost," the sorting hat replied.

"The pot?" Harry wished Luna was here. This was the type of conversation that was right up her alley.

"When Godric created me all those years ago, he thought it would be amusing to try to make everyone who worked at the school guess my name. No one ever has."

"There is a ten galleon entrance fee," Pomfrey said with a scowl. "All employees of the school have to pay it when they first start here, if they can't afford it it is deducted from their pay."

"That's crazy," Harry replied with a look of disbelief.

"What is?" a familiar dreamy voice asked from over his shoulder.

"Ah, Luna, just the girl I was hoping could join us. We're discussing the sorting hat's unknown name."

"Can I guess?"

"Only school employees, I'm afraid miss Lovegood," the hat replied.

"Oh poo, that's no fun."

"Why exactly is there a gambling pot about your name?" Harry asked. Pansy and Hermione were both looking on quietly, one clearly annoyed at all of the people gathered around and the other obviously fascinated at getting to hear the sorting hat having something to say other than just singing a song once a year.

"My old friend Godric was a bit of a drinker," the hat began to explain. "He thought it would be funny to try to make the other founders guess at the name he had come up with, and when none of them succeeded, his joke turned into an idea. Now that there was this pile of gold just sitting there, he recognized that he could do some good with it. And thus was the beginning of the Hogwarts scholarship fund."

"But, I thought you said there was a pot that could be lost." Now Harry was really confused.

"Technically, there is a vault with thousands of galleons that would go to a winner if they ever actually discovered my name. But, I assure you that is incredibly unlikely. For you see, drunken lech he may have been, but Godric was also brilliant, and he picked a truly unique name. Therefore, once he had a couple of decades with the gold piling up as they took on new staff, he decided to start spending it when he needed to on those students who were truly destitute.

"There have been many good souls who have followed in his footsteps ever since, and it has grown immensely as many have put back portions of their pay to help with the scholarship fund. Professor Dumbledore, for example, has put thousands of galleons into it by himself. After all, no one goes into the teaching profession to try to get rich."

"I could argue that Lockhart the fraud did exactly that, forcibly extracting hundreds of sales of his books."

"That is unfortunately true, but thankfully the damage he did to the school was minimal other than that bit of extortion."

Harry had to smile at the hat's agreement that Lockhart was a con man.

But then Ron had to butt in and bring the conversation to a halt.

"See, I knew Harry would handle this just fine," he said as he strolled up to them with a smarmy grin.

Harry saw Pansy tensing, with her wand in hand, while Luna was on her other side, whispering in her ear and clearly trying to keep her friend calm. Hermione was goggling at Ron's attitude- hadn't the prat seen the dragon try to roast Harry alive? That would have been the scariest thing she had ever seen if not for all the other times she had witnessed Harry's life in danger.

But Harry wasn't surprised by any of this. Ron was too self-absorbed and immature, which would have been fine for an acquaintance, but not when he had willingly placed Harry's life in more danger by refusing to pass on Charlie's warning about the dragons just because he was feeling like a petty son of a bitch for the last month.

"What are you doing here, Ron?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you too important to hang out with your old friends? Or are only girls that fawn all over you allowed in your presence now?"

Luna was now holding Pansy by both arms as she struggled, obviously wanting to hex the ginger into the middle of next week. Harry stepped in front of her to keep Pansy from doing anything that would get her in detention for the rest of the year.

"Heard from Charlie lately, Ron? The twins told me you had and that you refused to warn me about the dragons because you've been having a little jealous fit for the last few weeks." Ron flushed red and Harry could see him about to blow his top.

"Save it, Ron, I don't want to hear anything else from you. You've been envious of me for a long time, and I usually would let it go. But when my life is in danger and wallowing in your bad mood is more important than me, our friendship is over."

"Screw you, Harry!" Ron had his fists balled up and Harry thought he might even take a swing at him, but instead he just turned and stomped off, pushing past the gaping crowd behind him.

"Finally," Pansy muttered. Harry turned and saw her expression, still a bit angry, but a smirky little grin now gracing her face. He had to agree now, Ron was just not worth worrying over anymore.

Professor McGonagall stepped inside the tent, just after her voice was heard yelling at Ron to watch where he was going.

"Mr. Potter, the judges are ready to reveal your scores."

* * *

Harry was pretty surprised as he walked back up to the castle. He was in the lead after the first task. Three different judges had all awarded him ten points, and after he had slayed a dragon, come out unharmed, performed some impressive magic and flying, all while finishing the task faster than the other two contestants, that was probably understandable.

The fact that those three judges were Bagman, Crouch, and _Karkaroff_ of all people was not. Dumbledore and Maxime had scored him well too, and hilariously Dumbledore's seven was his lowest mark. But then, Hagrid was bawling his eyes out over the dead dragon, and the headmaster was probably going to have to console the silly giant over the whole affair.

Harry wondered if that was another old friendship that he might be losing now. Hagrid was obsessed about magical creatures, and the more dangerous the better, which meant dragons were pretty much his favorite thing in the world.

But that wasn't too important at the moment. He had to decide how long he was willing to be sociable for the rest of the day. He looked at his watch and realized that it was only a couple of hours till dinner, so he guessed he could manage that much and just call it an early night after the meal.

His nerves were a bit shot after the stressful afternoon anyway.

However, he did make a brief detour to his quarters to change and let Pansy try to snog him silly. She agreed that they probably should not just hide away all afternoon, but told Harry that he needed to keep plenty of energy in reserve for their own more personal celebration later that night.

And that was definitely something he could agree to.

* * *

The festivity in the Gryffindor tower ended up being a lot of fun, even with Ron sulking in a corner for most of it. Harry wasn't really the life of the party type, but Luna was such a blast that she kept him from wanting to just call the whole thing off and disappear with Pansy for a week or two. Seeing Hermione loosen up and relax was nice too; she was doing a lot better this year without the time turner and extra stress of a too-full schedule.

Harry had to refrain from eating too many sweets during the party. He didn't want to ruin dinner nor deal with a sugar crash later. So, he handed half the various treats people kept plying him with to Luna. She seemed to be able to eat anything she wanted.

The Gryffindor table in the Great Hall was basically still carrying on the revelry during the evening meal. Harry tried to relax and let the chaos just wash over him. This turned out to be a more helpful thing when he headed back to the tower, as several people thought he looked tired, so it was much simpler to convince everyone that he needed to get some rest after such an excitement-filled day.

Harry found it easy to ignore the disappointed looks as he bowed out of more partying that night to slip into his quarters, with Pansy following along behind him as always.

Neither of them noticed that one particular set of dark eyes watched them go, full of longing to join them.

* * *

Pansy had Dobby help her clear the center of their room as Harry was made to sit down on the couch. He was told to wait for a moment as she went to change.

A familiar drum beat made him turn his head as Pansy had picked such an obvious song. But then he saw her come out in the shortest plaid skirt he could imagine, with a white shirt that she was only using two buttons of tied just below her breasts, which called attention to her cleavage even as her green bra peeked out. She had thigh high stockings and black heels on as she strutted over towards him in time with the music.

Pansy was a vision of the quintessential naughty schoolgirl.

She danced and bent and swayed in front of him, showing off the contours of her body in a hundred different ways, every single one of them making him as aroused as he had ever been. She slowly removed the outfit piece by piece, and by the time the chorus came along, Harry wanted more than ever to ' _fuck her like an animal.'_

Pansy knew what she was doing too, as she continued to tease him, pushing him back down to his seat with her foot when he tried to stand up or reach for her. By the time she turned around and slid her panties down, giving him a perfect view of her delicious arse, Harry would not be denied any longer.

 _"I drink the honey inside your hive"_ could not be a more perfect line as he started to devour her.

She shuddered as he dove tongue-first into her. Pansy was never going to get tired of how much Harry enjoyed oral sex.

He wasn't the only one who was immensely turned on though, and she was coming sooner than she imagined she would, but then Harry knew her body better than she did in some ways. Specifically, the ways that made her feel incredible. She couldn't remember the last time she touched herself. When would she ever need to do so with him always so eager to please?

As her spasming core started to relax, she felt Harry crawl behind her and slide inside. Pansy was glad he had gotten the hint as she really enjoyed doggy style when she felt so overwhelmingly excited like this. She let out a pleased yelp as he started thrusting into her vigorously. Harry was more likely to be the dominant one now of his own accord, and she loved him for it as he pistoned into her over and over again.

Pansy was surprised when he stopped and pulled out, but before she could complain she felt his lips on her again, licking and suckling at her clit. He wrung another orgasm out of her, and soon she felt her legs shivering. He kept going though, and she was begging him to stop, to let her rest.

But instead, his tongue just slid in between the cheeks of her arse, and then she felt him licking her _there_.

"Oh God, Harry!"

It felt good, if a bit strange, but she was just so turned on by the idea of him _wanting_ to do that to her. She felt her pussy getting even wetter as he did this, despite him not actually paying it any attention just then. She enjoyed it for a moment, but Pansy really needed him inside her again.

"Fuck me, Harry! Now!"

He chuckled with his mouth still pressed up against her puckered hole and she shivered, but he pulled away. Harry was back inside her then, hammering away, and Pansy was soon feeling intoxicated by the almost unbearable amount of pleasure coursing through her. It was as if she was on the edge of yet another orgasm, and it just dragged on and on, an endless lusty plateau. Finally, the spark hit and shockwave after shockwave pulsed through her, as a thoroughly amazing orgasm stretched out leaving her clenching her fists.

It was a couple of moments later before Harry burst inside her, his hips pounding into her a few final times, and Pansy closed her eyes as she collapsed onto the ground when he released his hold on her. She felt completely shattered.

She heard him gasping for breath as he crumpled next to her. She turned her head and saw Harry laying on his back next to her.

"Fuck," his voice was low and gravelly. "That was awesome."

"Yes it was."

Pansy rolled over and listened to the sound of both of them trying to catch their breath. Once she felt like she might be able to stand, she got up and went over to the record player. She grinned as the droning beginning of 'Prayers for Rain' started and stalked back across the room to Harry.

He had a goofy smile on his face as he looked up at her, and she smirked as his eyes focused right between her legs. Harry was so easy, and she was glad of it. She stood right over him, egging him on, and tapped one foot next to his face.

"I hope you realize we're not even close to done," she teased.

"Of course."

"Take my shoes off." Harry reached up to steady her calf as he began his task while she balanced.

"The stockings stay on though," he insisted as she sat down to straddle him. Pansy giggled at that as Harry leaned up to kiss her. She stroked along his jaw as she pulled back to question him.

"Why did you stop in the middle like that?"

"I felt like I was about to come, and I didn't want to yet."

"Why not?"

"It was more fun to draw it out a bit," Harry explained with a small shrug. "I mean, orgasms are awesome, but I tend to like them more when there's a nice build up. Plus, you know I love eating you out."

"Oh, I know." She wriggled a bit, as she felt him stirring again, and he leered up at her. Harry rolled them over and lifted her legs up. He set her feet on his shoulders as he caressed down her legs, and then pushed back inside her.

Her desire was reignited, and she briefly wondered if they might actually make it to the bedroom before the next round. But all thoughts were driven out a moment later as Harry's hands were rubbing up and down her legs, and she began to clench again, spilling over into the bliss of another orgasm.

They were both going to be sore the next day at this rate, but surviving a dragon could only be celebrated properly by shagging their brains out.


	53. Love Is In the Air Tonight

* * *

A week had gone by since Harry faced the dragon, and December had arrived, bringing cold wintry weather. If the girls from France had thought it was cold when they arrived more than a month before in their silk outfits and shawls, they were probably wishing they had never come to Hogwarts now.

Professor McGonagall had asked Harry to stay behind so she could have a word with him in private after Transfiguration, and the fact that she had specifically stared at Pansy when saying "in private" made her take the hint to wait outside. Harry didn't seem to mind, so she stepped out into the hall.

However, someone else was waiting behind as well- Parvati.

"Pansy, can we talk for a minute? Just the two of us?"

"Sure."

She followed her classmate and pseudo-friend into an empty room just down the hall. Parvati looked to be somewhat anxious, so Pansy closed the door behind them and waited to see what she wanted. Parvati paced around the room for a second as she built up her nerve.

"I want in."

"You want in what?"

"Harry's harem," Parvati replied. Pansy raised an eyebrow at her bringing up this old rumor again.

"He's got you from Slytherin and Lovegood from Ravenclaw. I can do whatever it takes to be the girl he picks from Gryffindor. We both know he doesn't like Granger that way, Ginny Weasley is too shy, and also too young I suppose, and Lavender takes things too far for Harry's tastes when she tries to flirt. I am the best choice."

"What if he went for someone older, like one of his quidditch teammates?" Pansy asked, curious to see how far she could go with this logic.

"Doubtful. Johnson and Spinnet have always treated him like a little brother. Bell did too, for the most part, although the gossip is that she did try to make a move on Harry during the celebration after last year's quidditch final, but Harry supposedly rebuffed her."

"Really? I never heard that." Pansy wondered if she needed to have a talk with Harry about hiding things from her. He would not enjoy her displeasure about this.

"Well, I just learned it recently myself. But the point is that Harry wasn't interested in her. So, I want him to give me a chance. He won't regret it. Please. Will you talk to him for me?"

"As I recall, the last time this silly rumor was brought up last spring, I told you and Lavender that Harry wasn't forming a harem."

"Are you sure? I won't judge him if he is- obviously, since I'm asking to join."

"I'm very sure. Luna is just a friend, she's never even kissed Harry."

"But you have." Pavarti stated it with such a determined tone that Pansy knew something had changed.

"Please don't deny it. I'm not stupid, and I've watched Harry. A lot. Which means I've also watched _you_ a lot. The two of you have been pretty subtle, trying not to show any displays of affection in public, but that's what eventually gave it away. You are obviously close to him; I mean, you do live with him after all. But Harry is much, much more physically affectionate with both Hermione and Luna. The way you two hold back, it's like you were intentionally hiding it."

Pansy looked away and bit her tongue to hold back a torrent of swearing. She should have known they would get caught at some point.

"What do you want?"

"I told you. I want Harry."

"Harry's not up for grabs."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, I've seen enough to realize that you don't follow all the old traditions of someone serving another's house, but you do still belong to him. It's not the other way around.

"We've become friends over the last year. Or at least, friendly. I thought it would be better to speak to you first instead of just asking Harry. But I will go straight to him if you aren't willing to help. He's still a teenage boy, and I'm willing to do a lot to get his attention. I might even be able to talk Padma into helping; and I doubt any teenage guy could turn down twins."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you so set on Harry?"

Parvati took a moment to gather her thoughts, which allowed Pansy to try to calm herself as well.

"There are a lot of reasons. He's Harry, you should know what he's like. He's brave and cute and strong. He could take care of me. Plus, it helps a lot that my parents couldn't really do anything to object since I do have an open betrothal offer in my name with him."

"Alright, but why do you think you need someone like Harry to take care of you? It's not like either of your parents were Death Eaters."

"No, they weren't. You do have me beat there," Parvati admitted with a slight frown. "But the magical culture of India is even more traditional than here in England. Arranged marriages are the norm, and my family still holds enough ties back there that it has always been clear that Padma and I should expect to have no say over our future husbands.

"Harry is a chance to get away from all that. And I desperately want that chance."

"What about your sister? You suggested she might want in too." Pansy kept her cool and let the conversation play out. She would need Harry's help to deal with this, but it was a nightmare. She tried to make sure she didn't start grinding her teeth.

"She might, but I'm just not sure if Padma would be as, as... I guess as bold as I am. She's always been more reserved. More accepting. She's not happy about it, of course, but when we came to school here, she decided to focus on learning everything she could about magic while she still had the freedom to choose.

"I know some people think I'm just a silly gossip like Lavender, but these years could be my only chance to be happy. I know that I'm probably going to be set up with some complete stranger after we graduate. So I'm going to enjoy every moment I can being a normal teenage girl."

"And you would rather choose Harry for yourself than hope that your parents pick someone compatible with you." Pansy nodded. "I can understand that."

"So, will you help me or not? I'd rather have your cooperation. We don't have to compete for his affections. I'm used to sharing; it's second nature when you've got a twin.

"Besides, if the rumors are true, Harry's got plenty of money to support a couple of girls. Maybe more, considering his lawyer has been suing everyone that's ever made money off his name."

Pansy walked across the room to an old chair and collapsed into it. Why couldn't things ever be easy? She was angry at herself for letting things slip. She was frustrated that Parvati wanted a piece of Harry too- it was bad enough when some cow like Bones made eyes at him, but now someone that Pansy liked was interested too.

The fact that she had known about Parvati's crush for a long time did lessen her anger a bit, and the fact that she claimed to be willing to share him instead of just trying to steal Harry away was better than the alternative. But that didn't mean that Pansy was going to let Parvati or anyone else get in the middle of things with Harry. She had to be careful though. Especially when dealing with such a social girl; the gossip could get nasty if she didn't handle this just right.

"Can I ask why you're bringing this up now? It sounds like you don't have anything to worry about for a few more years."

"That's true," Parvati agreed. "Part of it is that I was worried that Luna had already claimed a spot with Harry before I had a chance. I didn't want anyone else to beat me to it. But also, I finally figured it out when we were watching the first task."

"Figured what out?" Harry asked as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"She knows," Pansy answered. Harry looked a bit puzzled. "About us."

"Oh." He walked over to her and helped her to her feet, pulling a reluctant Pansy into a hug. "Well, we knew it was going to come out sooner or later."

"That's not all. Parvati wants you to take care of her as well."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm afraid of my parents setting me up in an arranged marriage," Parvati replied. "I'd much rather be with you than anyone they might choose."

Harry looked over at her and saw both the fear and hope in her eyes. He really wished this wasn't happening now of all times.

"Parvati, please don't take this wrong, because I do like you, but I have a girlfriend. I'm not looking for another one." He saw her look down, and he did feel bad about rejecting her, but Harry wasn't going to let anyone come between him and Pansy. He had learned from that mistake already.

"But maybe there's something else I could do..."

"What?" She looked up and Harry felt a little pang at the sadness in her eyes.

"Are your parents going to arrange something any time soon?"

"No." Parvati chewed her lip for a second. "At least, I doubt it. They told us before we started at Hogwarts that plans for marriage would be dealt with after we graduated. I think my mother wanted us to not have to worry about it while we're in school. Plus, since we do have an outstanding betrothal offer with you, it would be bad form to try to set something up with another family until that was resolved."

"Well, that's great then," Harry said excitedly. "You're in the clear as long as I don't give an official answer for now. And later, if you're already an adult, you wouldn't have to agree to any arranged marriage they might set up. You could just do whatever you wanted, live your own life."

"Harry, it's not that easy," Parvati sighed.

"Why not?"

"Well, even if everything went like that, I would graduate and have no support at all if I refused my parents like that. I wouldn't have any money, any place to live. I would still need help. I would still need someone like you."

"I could-"

"Harry, wait, let's think this over," Pansy interrupted. She gave him a pointed look, and Harry realized that she would want to discuss this in private before he started making offers of ways to help Parvati. He could only nod in agreement; Pansy was a lot more thoughtful, but she had not yet broken him of his occasionally rash nature.

"Alright, let me do some research and see what I can figure out," Harry said as he looked over at Parvati. "I assume you can keep this secret to yourself for now?"

"I probably can," Parvati teased. "If you make it worth my while."

Pansy snorted at Harry's exasperated sigh.

"And what, exactly, would make it worth your while?" she asked as Harry looked frustrated at having yet another girl messing with his head.

'He really should be used to it by now,' Pansy thought, laughing to herself internally.

"For starters, I think you should walk me back to the common room, like a gentleman." There was more than a hint of mirth in her eyes. "You do have two arms, so I'm sure you're up to escorting two ladies at once. Right, Harry?"

She had to give it to Parvati, the girl knew how to play the game, and she was smart enough not to try to push Pansy on anything yet.

"I guess I can."

"Then let's go."

"As you wish."

Parvati didn't even try to hold back her giggles as she took Harry's left arm and drew herself in closer than Harry might have expected. But he was used to Luna ignoring his personal space, so he didn't bother complaining.

Besides, Parvati was a very pretty girl, and if he were crazy enough to ever try to suggest a threesome, there were a lot worse girls he could choose. Not that he would, as Pansy would probably strangle him. Plus, the guilt would hurt even more, as he would not be able to live with himself in wounding her like that.

Still, a guy could dream, right? There's no harm in fantasizing a little bit.

Except that his body started to respond before he could even think of anything particularly fun. _Dammit._

"So, what did McGonagall want?" Parvati asked as they began walking down the hall that would take them to the stairs. "Was it something to do with the Yule Ball?"

"Uh, yeah." Harry's brain rebooted itself. He would have to thank Parvati for that- _no, not like that. Down boy!_

His hormones were not cooperating.

"And?"

"Huh? Oh right," Harry tried again, his brain becoming a bit less foggy this time. "As one of the champions, I have to open the ball with a dance."

"A dance with a partner?" Parvati was still happily chatting, but he felt Pansy tense up a bit at that.

"Yes."

"I suppose you've already got your date picked out too," Parvati sighed. Thankfully there was no one nearby, as she looked across him at Pansy while doing so. "I hope you know what a lucky girl you are."

"I do," was the only reply.

"It's even worse when you consider the other options."

"Believe me, I know," Pansy agreed.

"How so?" Harry asked. He knew the girls were going to start gossiping, but if Parvati got off onto the topic of comparing the rest of the guys, then hopefully she wouldn't say anything else that could be too troublesome.

Or even worse, get him thinking about _certain things_ again.

"Where should I start? How about Slytherin? No offense Pansy, but the guys there suck. Draco was the most attractive, which still wasn't enough to make most girls overlook what an arrogant jerk he was. Zabini is cute enough, I suppose, but I've heard enough rumors about his mother to keep me far away from him. I doubt a black widow would do very well in raising a child."

"That makes sense. With the way so many people seem to largely stick to their houses, I guess I should feel bad for any Slytherin witches that get stuck with one of them," Harry replied.

"I would if I were a nicer person," Pansy snorted.

"I think I would still pity any girl unlucky enough to have Crabbe stomping on her feet. Now that would hurt," Parvati laughed. "But, let's move onto the guys from Gryffindor. First, we have Ron Weasley."

"The less said about him, the better," Pansy answered.

"Agreed. No offense to your past self, Harry, but your former friend is a gross slob. I'm not sure why Lavender doesn't seem to mind when he stares at her chest."

"There's no accounting for taste. Silly girl," Pansy chuckled.

"Anyway, then we have Seamus. Now, he is fairly cute, but he's also the most likely guy in our year to try to stick his hand up your dress."

"Maybe even while you're still on the dance floor," Pansy added.

"Exactly."

"You two should have heard some of the things he's said in the boys' dorms. He was a pervert even as a first year. I still remember the second night here that he was already trying to figure out which girl had the best arse."

"Who won?" Parvati asked with a grin.

"I guess I should congratulate you?" Harry replied, just unsure enough to see if she would take it as a complement or a joke.

"Hah! Lavender would throw a fit. She was proud of her bum even then."

Harry just nodded- she took it as both judging by the smile. He really would never understand girls.

But he also had to admit Seamus was right in that case- Parvati was way hotter than than Hermione or Lavender. 'Stop that,' Harry thought to himself.

"Next we come to Merlin's gift to women, Dean Thomas." Pansy snorted at Parvati's assessment. "Or at least, so he thinks. Again, not bad looking, but he just tries way too hard sometimes. But there's a reason he and Finnigan are so close."

"Which is?" Harry asked, guessing that the answer would be mean-spirited.

"He also would probably try to cop a feel or two on the dance floor."

"A smart witch would just threaten to remove a few fingers before they accepted him as a date," Pansy suggested.

"We aren't all as intimidating as you," Parvati complained. "Still, I could always threaten a knee to the bits of whoever my date may be before we even started dancing."

"That's my girl," Pansy chuckled. "A little preemptive suggestion of violence is usually enough to make a guy behave."

"Maybe we should tell that to all the girls," Parvati giggled.

"I don't think the guys are going to enjoy this dance nearly as much as some of them might think," Harry snickered.

"They should learn to let the lady lead the pace of things," Parvati replied. "If a guy can't be a gentleman, then he doesn't deserve a chance to have some fun. Which also explains why you're going to be at the top of a lot of lists, Harry."

"So, I should be ruder?"

"Don't you dare!" Parvati looked at him in mock horror. "You are escorting two ladies at this very moment, and I will not have you ruin our reputation by acting more like the other ruffians.

"Now, where were we?"

"Longbottom?" Pansy prompted.

"Maybe," Parvati replied. "We did put all that work into him last spring. Why didn't he ever ask out Hermione?"

"You remember how crazy her schedule was last year?" Harry asked. Parvati murmured an agreement. "Well, she was so obsessed with her school work, massive amount that it was, that it put him off her. Hermione is prone to overworking herself even in the best of circumstances, and last year was not that."

"I see. Can't say that I blame him. He's probably the next best choice in Gryffindor."

"What about the other two houses?"

"Justin is the best looking guy in Hufflepuff, but he's so stuffy. Some rich muggles can give people like the Malfoys a run for their money at being pompous." Parvati looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ernie's not too bad. But I have a feeling that Hannah Abbot will be making sure he knows that she expects his attention to stay on her. They've been close forever, and Hufflepuff girls can get scary if you go after one of their guys.

"Which leaves Ravenclaw." Parvati could only try to contain her groan, which set Pansy off laughing.

"What's so bad about Ravenclaw?" Harry was surprised that both girls thought so poorly of that house.

"They're no damn fun," Parvati growled out as Pansy continued laughing. "They tend to be a bunch of nerds. Believe me, my sister is one, and as much as I love Padma, she would be the first one to tell you that she is the boring twin. The guys are even worse. If I wanted to listen to someone go over the minute details of whatever Charm we had most recently learned, I would just ask Hermione to the ball."

Now that made Harry laugh.

"Please let me watch if you do ask her."

"It's not funny, Harry," Parvati said. "Some of them are cute too, but I want to have fun at this party, and that's not likely to happen if the guy just wants to talk about school. Boys that can actually hold their own in a conversation are a rarity, especially at our age."

"You could aim for someone older then-"

"That opens up a different set of problems. The cute older guys tend to attract the most attention from the older girls, so for the most part it would only be the dregs of the upper years that would still be available. And even then, there are a lot of upper year girls to compete with, and most girls are going to be very unhappy if they don't have a date to something like this."

"So, Longbottom then?" Pansy offered.

"Maybe. Neville's mostly gotten over the stammering thing when he's nervous. That might be even worse for something like this though."

"Well, I know for a fact that Dean thinks you're really hot," Harry suggested. "Or I could suggest something to Neville, if you would prefer."

"Let me think for a minute."

Harry let the girls set the pace as they finished the trip to Gryffindor tower. Once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry gave the password as Parvati was still pondering her choice of boys. He strode into the common room with both girls still on his arms.

"Hi Neville," Parvati said with a small giggle.

'Well, I guess that's that,' Harry thought as he saw a blush come across Neville's face. Poor guy didn't stand a chance.

"Thank you for walking me here, Harry." Parvati turned to him before releasing him. She leaned in to whisper into his ear. "I expect you to save me a dance. I am keeping this a secret from Lavender after all."

She stepped back and gave Harry a coquettish smile as he nodded at her, before turning to the girl on his other arm.

"See you later Pansy."

Pansy seemed to relax as Parvati walked away. Harry let her lead him into the privacy of their quarters. Once the door closed behind them, she turned to ask him a question.

"So, why did-"

"Later," Harry interrupted as he took her hand and headed for the bedroom.

"Harry-"

"Nope, sorry, I need your legs wrapped around me _right fucking now_ ," Harry growled out before she could try to argue.

And when he used that tone of voice, any of Pansy's intentions to protest went right out the window.

* * *

_Just a bit later..._

A thoroughly pleased Harry lay on his back catching his breath. Pansy stirred next to him, sitting up against the headboard.

"What got into you? And how do I make sure it happens again?"

Harry stretched onto his side so he could see her face and there it was- that teasing smile of hers. It made him want to skip lunch entirely, no matter the rumble of his stomach.

"Woman, I love you."

"Woman?"

"Yes. You drive me wild; you know it and you love it. We're different."

"Different?"

"From most of our classmates. Our lives are just too far off from most of them. Can you imagine what it would be like to date someone else? I can. The silly games some girl like Parvati would try to play with me. The manipulations and lies. That shite would drive me nuts."

"I tease you all the time, Harry."

"Yes, but our relationship is already established. When you tease me, it's for fun, not to try to screw with my head. I like that kind of teasing.

"Now, on another topic, I believe you wanted to ask me something earlier."

"Yes, before you so rudely interrupted me-"

"Three orgasms," Harry muttered, not quite under his breath.

"Alright, so maybe it wasn't that rude of an interruption," Pansy admitted with a pleased smile. "Anyway, I was going to ask why McGonagall wanted to speak with you in private after class. She had already mentioned the Yule Ball."

"I think it was for your sake, actually."

"How so?"

"Well, she doesn't know the true state of our relationship. I don't think the professor would want to make things awkward if I were going to ask some other girl to the ball. She didn't want to hurt your feelings, or at least that's what I assume she was doing."

"Oh."

Pansy grew quiet for a moment. Harry let the silence play out as he was feeling so much better than earlier.

"So, are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Going to ask someone else."

"Are you crazy? Why would I do that?"

"So we could keep things a secret longer," Pansy said with a bitter tone. "You could ask Luna, you know."

"No fucking way. Look, I don't think Parvati will be able to keep a secret this big for too long anyway. The Yule Ball seems like a perfect time to finally let me reveal how much my beautiful, amazing girlfriend means to me. There is no other girl I would choose."

"I suppose."

"I thought you would be more excited for this," Harry said. She could be exasperatingly confusing at times. "You were really enthusiastic about getting our fancy dress outfits ready last summer. This is obviously what that was for, you know."

"I had actually forgotten about that."

"Really?"

"Talking with Parvati today kind of threw me for a loop."

"Oh." Harry wondered how big of a problem she was going to be. He hoped not too much of one; he didn't want to have to be cruel to Parvati. "How mad are you at her?"

"Not as much as you might think."

"That is surprising."

"Well, I've known about her feelings for you for a long time for one thing," Pansy shrugged. "Plus, she never indicated having any plans to try to win you away from me or anything like that."

"Not that that would work," Harry insisted.

"I know. It was actually smart of her to go with the 'I can be a second girl' angle. Parvati is my friend- sort of, at least. I can't really blame her for being afraid of getting set up in an arranged marriage, now can I?"

"You could, you know," Harry chuckled. "I very rarely judge you for being mean."

"Only when I pick on your friends," Pansy laughed. "That's one of the things I really love about you, Harry. The way you accept that I am not the most pleasant person to be around."

"You're pleasant to me. That's what really matters. Why should I care if you say mean things about other people behind their backs? I imagine a lot of people say horrible things about me- as long as it's not to my face, it doesn't particularly bother me."

"There is one other problem, though," Pansy stated.

"What's that?"

"This does throw a rather large wrench in our holiday plans."

"Not necessarily." Harry thought for a moment. "We may have to be here for the Yule Ball itself, but there's no reason we couldn't spend most of the rest of the break away from Hogwarts. I certainly wouldn't mind getting some peace and quiet elsewhere. We could go back to the flat for a few days, then pop back here for the festivities."

"I think I would like that."

"Good. I guess we should talk to Luna, though. If she's going home, we could see her off."

"Or you could frighten anyone that asks her out."

"What can I say? I take care of my girls."

"Are you going to be that overprotective if someone asks Granger to the ball?"

Harry had to ponder that for a moment.

"To some extent, yes. Hermione can't learn everything out of a book, and I do want to make sure that she doesn't end up going with the wrong sort of guy. She doesn't have the best track record for taste in men."

"Weasley, ugh."

"Lockhart too."

"That's just sad."

"I know."

"We should get up, Harry. I think lunch has already started."

"Right." Harry quickly got to his feet and crossed over to the other side of the bed as Pansy sat up. He grabbed his wand and a spare quill from the night table then knelt before her. Harry cast a spell he had come across in one of the many books he had been searching through lately and saw the delight in Pansy's eyes as the quill turned into a rose.

"Will you do me the great honor of escorting me to the Yule Ball, my love?"

"When did you learn how to do that?"

"A few weeks ago." Harry smiled as she was staring at the flower now in her hand. She could be so girly sometimes, and it always made him feel content when Pansy let her romantic nature come to the surface. "Some sentimental lover created several spells to turn various things into flowers more than a century ago. I had been saving it as a surprise."

"You do know how to treat a girl, Harry." Pansy sighed happily. "Things like this are why I can't really blame someone like Parvati for wanting you too."

"Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome."

"So?"

"So what?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Of course I'll go to the Yule Ball with you. You could just order me to do so, you know."

"I wonder if anyone will think that's what I've done," Harry chuckled.

"I wouldn't put it past some of the bastards here," Pansy snorted. "Come on, Harry. You made me work up an appetite. We can ask Luna about her holiday plans too."

* * *

As it turned out, Luna was going home for the holidays. She had no particular interest in a school dance and cherished the time she had with her father. Harry and Pansy could understand that; as orphans, they would never begrudge Luna's closeness with her one remaining parent.

They made plans to ride the train home with her though, as both of them had grown incredibly fond of Luna and wanted to get a chance to hang out with her as much as they could before she was busy with whatever strange adventure she might go off on with Xenophilius Lovegood. Luna was hoping for a few days to try to chase down snow fairies.

That reference brought a smile to Pansy's face that she told Harry she would explain later.

They had yet another Defense lesson with professor Moody that afternoon. He had the class working on the shield charm, something he argued should have been taught to them years ago according to the former auror. With how many times people hexed each other in the hallways, even as first years sometimes, Harry had to agree with him.

Of course, the fact that a lot of first years might not have the ability to get the spell down was no excuse that either Moody or Harry would accept.

For Harry's part, he had just successfully used it against a dragon after all. Besides, he could think of several times when it would have come in handy his first couple of years at Hogwarts, before he had learned it.

As usual, Harry stayed behind after class. Moody was expecting it now, and the one time they began to leave with the rest of the students he had called them back and chastised them for it.

Pansy was not nearly as dedicated as Harry, but she did find some of the professor's advice fascinating- just on the level of one cynic to another, if nothing else. His paranoia was a bit more generalized than Harry's though; but then, Moody had been fighting against dark wizards before there even was a group calling themselves Death Eaters.

On this occasion, professor Moody gave them the results of what had happened with the dragon at the first task. The investigation had been over for several days, and of course Dumbledore hadn't bothered to tell Harry anything, as usual. Mad-Eye was having none of the headmaster's secrecy though- he was openly calling Harry his protege now. In part, it was because the two of them got along so well, but the professor had also admitted that he was disappointed by how soft so many of the students were. Even after the Death Eater attack of the summer, no one else seemed to realize or care that there was clearly danger looming on the horizon.

Harry had warned those closest to him of his concerns, so Hermione and Luna were both still intensely training with Harry whenever they could, although everyone had agreed to wind down somewhat as the fall term was coming to an end.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were unpleasant in a number of ways. For one thing, the amount of girls staring and giggling at Harry were off the charts. Ginny Weasley now had plenty of company as his admirers had grown considerably. Just being the school's champion probably would have been enough to draw a lot of interest, but seeing the boy who lived slay a dragon was now driving his legend even further.

Not that Harry had even meant to kill the creature necessarily, but that didn't seem to matter to anyone.

And it definitely didn't matter to Rubeus Hagrid, who was avoiding Harry like the plague. Which made the Care of Magical Creatures classes pretty damn awkward.

Ron was also staying away from Harry, which pleased Pansy to no end. She didn't gloat though, as she didn't want Harry to even think about the ginger moron anymore, just in case he got it in his head to try to let Weasley have another chance for some stupid reason. Anyway, glaring at the foolish boy when he was caught staring at Harry was really funny.

It looked like Weasley was having an especially rough time as he and Granger had a major blow out just before the holiday break. After hilariously being shot down when he had the brilliant idea to ask Fleur Delacour to the ball (in the middle of the Great Hall, no less), his next best plan was to agree to take Hermione as his date, since she was a girl and it would just be embarrassing if she showed up alone that night.

Tact was never his strong suit.

Pansy was never more happy to have been spending some spare time in the Gryffindor common room for once- missing Granger's rant would have been so disappointing as she tore Weasley a new arsehole for his rudeness. Unfortunately, she did then get dragged off by Harry, who decided that it was time to have a private chat with the bookworm.

Hermione was all too willing to go somewhere else quieter after her confrontation, but she was also not in the most pleasant of moods, so Pansy set up the privacy spells after she closed and locked the door of the empty classroom.

Harry was on his own for this.

"Hermione, first of all, let me just say that I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Forget it, Harry. Ron's never really apologized to me for any of the stupid things he's said or done. I'm not going to expect that to change. And you of all people should understand how I feel."

"Yeah, well, I didn't actually want to talk about him. I need to tell you a few things, especially now that it seems you're starting to date. Can I ask who the lucky gent is?"

"I, um, I'd rather not say." Granger of all people was blushing. Pansy held in a scoff, wondering if Weasley had hit the mark a little too closely.

"Alright, well since I haven't announced who my date is yet either, I can't really say anything either."

"It's Pansy, isn't it?"

Harry looked over at her, then turned to his apparently not-so-secret girlfriend who merely rolled her eyes.

"Did Parvati say something?" he asked.

"No. How did she find out?"

"It's a bit of a story."

"I'm surprised she hasn't told the entire school."

"Well, let's just say that we made a deal and leave it at that. How did you figure it out?"

"Harry, you only really spend a lot of time around three girls. You and I are just friends. I thought you might ask Luna at first, but I was there when you were talking to her about her holiday plans. That just leaves Pansy, and if anyone was going to be all secretive with you, it would be her."

"Right well, regardless, it's time for us to have a talk about witches and wizards."

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes at him.

"Harry, my parents are dentists- health care professionals. Don't you think they would have given me the birds and the bees talk a long time ago?"

"I'm not saying anything about your parents, Hermione. But there are differences between us and muggles, and it's not all about the little sticks we wave around. There are other forms of magic, you know. Rituals, things like that. Anyway, have you ever wondered why we don't hear more about people having sex here at Hogwarts? Especially the upper years. This is a co-ed boarding school, after all, with a pretty small amount of faculty."

"I did think it somewhat strange, but magical society is rather old-fashioned," Hermione replied.

"That may be, but teenagers are teenagers, and hormones are hormones."

"So? Is there something else keeping those hormones in check? I could see the idea of a charm to keep our libidos lowered, although from some of the gossip I hear, I don't think that's it. Maybe-"

"Let me stop you before you get off on a tangent, Hermione." She huffed at him briefly, but Harry merely smiled in response. "There is something, but it has to do with magical society much more than any sort of actual charm to inhibit behavior. It's something much simpler than that."

"Peer pressure?" Hermione asked. "I would think I would have heard something like that, although I do remember a seventh year girl last year being called all sorts of nasty things by some older girls. It was an isolated event though, so I just thought they were being mean."

"Harry, get on with it," Pansy interrupted with a groan. "Just tell Granger to keep her legs shut. I've got two Charms essays to write."

"Two?" Hermione gave him a hard look. "Are you making Pansy do your homework for you?"

"Oh just relax, Hermione. I don't make Pansy do anything." A snort from behind him made Harry turn his head. "And no more out of you either, if you want me to get through this.

"Anyway, the short version of the story is that there are rituals having to do with sex, and a somewhat common one, at least in the pureblood world, is a virginity sacrifice ritual that empowers both the female and the male she sleeps with."

"What about gay people?"

"I... I don't know. Pansy?"

"Are you gay, Granger?"

"No."

"Then don't worry about it. Get to the point, Harry."

"Right. The point is that people from the non-magical world don't know about this unless they are told by someone. The magical world never had the sexual revolution, so if muggleborn girls don't have friends who let them in on the secret, then they are at a societal disadvantage that they aren't even aware of. And this means a couple of other things in the long run.

"First, a lot of people still save themselves for marriage. Or at least until they are engaged, betrothed, or whatever. But secondly, there are people that go in the opposite direction and try to take advantage of this ignorance when they can. I just wanted to warn you in case you ran into someone like that."

"I see." Hermione had a small blush that she tried to hide. "Well, thank you for your concern, but I'm not planning on sleeping with anyone yet. It's just a dance after all."

"I wasn't suggesting anything, I just wanted to warn you whenever you did start dating. You're my best friend, Hermione. I don't want to see anyone hurt you."

"Thanks, Harry." She stepped closer and pulled him in for a hug. "I do appreciate it. But I have a couple of questions."

"Alright."

"How long have you known about this?"

"Um, roughly a year I guess."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Hermione asked. "Were you afraid it would be awkward?"

"Yes. It didn't seem to matter last year, so..."

"Okay, that makes sense." Hermione turned her head and looked anxious. "Second question, do I need to worry about the two of you? You are alone together a lot. I've wondered if there was more to your relationship at times, but now-"

"Our relationship is private, Granger," Pansy interjected.

"It won't be very private for long if you're going to the Yule Ball together."

"Don't worry about it," Harry replied. "Are you still not going to let me know who your date is?"

"Not yet."

"Alright, but just to warn you, I reserve the right to threaten any guy who could possibly hurt my best friend."

That earned him a laugh.

"So, should I threaten Pansy then?"

"Try it, Granger." It was almost a growl, but Harry chuckled anyway. "I wouldn't hurt Harry even if I could. But I _would_ hurt anyone who pokes their nose into his business."

"I know," Hermione answered, just a hint paler. "I still remember the slap from last year."

"Good, then you shouldn't need a reminder."

"Alright, Pansy, don't be so grumpy," Harry chided. "We can go now; you can do your work and I can get back to my research."

"Research?" Hermione perked up at that.

"Uh, yeah, personal stuff for now. But I'll let you know if it's something you can help with."

Pansy was already heading for the door, so the other two followed behind her.

"Poor Ginny never stood a chance, did she?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry answered.

"I suppose it would have helped if she had actually been able to talk to you."

"Yes, but even then..." Harry wasn't sure what more he might say. There was nothing wrong with Ginny having a crush on him, especially after he saved her life down in the Slytherin's chamber, but Harry needed so much more from a girl than just some romantic feelings. And he doubted Ginny, or really anyone else, could have supported him the way Pansy had.

"Oh my, you've been together this entire time, haven't you?"

"Shh!" Harry was glad it was late as he quickly looked up and down the hall they were walking down, trailing after Pansy. He could guess that she probably had an angry scowl after Hermione blurted that out, so Harry worked on doing damage control.

"Sorry, Harry, it's just surprising, that's all. When did you two get together?" she asked in a much quieter voice.

"Pansy said our relationship is private, so please respect that."

"Alright. But please be careful. I don't want my best friend to become a father while he's still in school."

Harry just walked a little faster, really not wanting the conversation to go any further.

* * *

"It seems like we might have this whole section of the train to ourselves," Luna said as she sat down across from Harry and Pansy before giving them a sly little grin. "Why don't we get more comfortable?"

Harry looked at Pansy who raised an eyebrow and asked for clarification.

"It will be three hours until the trolley lady starts making her rounds. Harry, call for Dobby's help and throw up a Notice-Me-Not charm, just in case any of the younger students start exploring this part of the train."

"Alright." Harry pulled his wand out and wondered just where Luna was going with all this. Dobby showed up and helped transfigure the bench seating into a giant, smushy bean bag chair. Or, a bean bag couch really.

It was rainbow colored, to Luna's specifications of course. She had Harry and Pansy take off their shoes and sit down first, while she stripped off her shoes and socks then draped herself across both their laps.

"I'm going to miss you both, you know." Luna looked up at Pansy and took one of her hands. "I hope you'll take very good care of Harry while I'm gone."

"I always do."

"Good. He deserves it. And I know you'll take care of Pansy too, won't you Harry?"

"Always."

Luna sighed.

"It is rather strange to have such an up close view of a love affair. I'm glad neither of you has pushed me away." She closed her eyes and began to ramble.

"I can still remember some of my parents' relationship, but as I got older it seemed like they were both growing somewhat indifferent to each other. Not that they didn't still care about each other, but they both had their own interests, and it was like they stopped focusing on each other. My father had been away for three days when my mother died. I guess I was lucky that he came home that night. I don't remember for sure, but I think it was hours that I sat there just staring at her body. Wondering if I had done something wrong. I hadn't of course, but I was in shock.

"But as much as I try to remember the good times, especially when I was younger and they both still poured all their energy into our family, not just raising me, but when they were still so in love- it gets harder to hold onto those memories as I get older. That's why I'm so glad to have you two. Your love is still young, still growing. It's so beautiful to watch.

"Please don't ever take each other for granted. I couldn't bear to see that."

"Luna, I promise I don't ever think I could take Pansy for granted. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"In more ways than one," Pansy teased. Luna opened her eyes and smiled as she looked up at her from resting her head in the other girl's lap. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me too."

"I suppose I'll just have to stick around to make sure you both always remember that."

Harry shifted his back as Pansy cuddled into his side and the three of them all relaxed.

"It's pretty cold today," Pansy said.

"Yeah. Dobby?"

"What can Dobby do for master Harry?"

"Could you bring us a blanket?"

"Oh, get the one we use back at the flat. From the couch," Pansy clarified. Dobby was as fast as always, and soon they were covered up as Luna snuggled deeper into their laps.

"A special cuddle blanket?" Luna giggled happily. "I love you both. Thank you so much for being my friends."

She squirmed just a smidge more, and it brought about an obvious reaction from Harry's groin.

"Sorry, Harry."

"What's wrong?" Pansy asked.

"I might have wriggled too much in his lap," Luna grinned. "Give me a couple of minutes to get warm, then you can take care of that for him."

Pansy laughed as Harry just groaned.

"Do you want to stay and watch?"

"Could I?"

Harry looked at the two of them in disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Why?" Luna asked in her typical dreamy voice.

"Yeah, why Harry? Don't you think it would be fun to have an audience?"

"Besides, I am starting to get curious about sex, and I hoped that Pansy would help me learn about it when the time was right."

"I did agree to answer your questions," Pansy said with a smile. "And Harry can be our helper."

"If you don't stop teasing me right now, Luna is going to get a very up close demonstration."

"Really? Just how up close?"

"Down girl," Pansy replied. "I'm not willing to share that much."

"Fair enough," Luna agreed. "I do have his penis pressed up against my bum right now anyway, so I guess I can live with that and a little show. But we might want to double check Harry's Notice-Me-Not charm first."

"Don't worry about that, Luna. Harry's good with that spell. And if it did somehow fail, well, that might make things even more exciting."

"That's it!" Harry sat up and lifted Luna off his lap before setting her back down on the bean bag. He pulled Pansy to her feet and slid his hands under her skirt, taking her panties off.

"Harry!"

"It's time to teach you a lesson about teasing me too much."

"She's been so naughty, Harry. She needs a good spanking," Luna suggested. Pansy immediately got flushed in response.

"I think you're right." Harry sat down on the bench and pulled Pansy onto his lap, flipping up her skirt and showing off her naked arse.

"Count for me, Luna."

"One!"

Pansy let out a yelp as Harry's hand came down for the first time, but she arched her back and Harry knew this was going to be a lot of fun.

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five!"

By this point, he could feel his own crotch getting wet as Pansy was rubbing herself against him. Neither of them were paying attention to Luna, whose hands were busy underneath the blanket.

"Six!"

"Seven!"

"Have you learned your lesson yet?"

"Please, Harry," she begged.

"Please what?"

"Please fuck me."

That was more than enough encouragement for Harry, who let her off his lap as he quickly undid his pants and climbed behind her. He pushed her forward and tasted her briefly. She was delicious as always, and plenty wet enough so Harry sat up and positioned himself.

Luna waved her wand and cast the contraception spell at them.

"Thanks, Luna," Harry said, and for just a moment he paused, unsure if he could continue with his friend watching them.

"You're welcome, Harry. But please don't leave Pansy waiting." She smiled as she sat down her wand and put her hand back under the blanket, her eyes slightly lidded as she watched Pansy's face, who looked back over her shoulder at him full of desire. She wiggled her bum at him.

"I haven't learned my lesson yet, Harry."

Harry didn't wait any longer- he thrust inside her, his hands grasping her hips as he built up steam. Pansy moaned, and Harry slammed into her harder. He continued the pace for a couple of minutes, trying not to be distracted by Luna's own heavy breathing, but he just kept looking down at his girl's luscious arse and their sexes coming together again and again, and the blonde was soon forgotten in wanton disregard. Pansy felt too good for him to worry about the voyeur enjoying their performance.

She soon was arching her back and clenching around him. Harry leaned forward, one hand reaching up to pull her hair, and she cried out as she came. He slowed briefly as he felt her shivering against him, and Harry took that opportunity to suck at the side of her throat, waiting for her to relax. When her tremors ceased, he sat back up and pressed Pansy back down against the seat.

Harry pushed inside her again, this time even harder and faster than before. She was so warm and wet around him that only moments later Harry was grunting as he crashed into his own orgasm. He thrust those last few times as he felt himself emptying into her and then he collapsed on top of her.

Pansy cooed in content, as he kissed the back of her neck.

"Oh Merlin, that was hot."

They both turned to look at the blonde who was fanning herself with both hands, one of them noticeably glistening. Pansy leaned back to get a look at Harry, who could only shrug. She began to giggle, which felt really good at that moment as he was still hard inside her.

Harry briefly considered casting that spell he had found that was supposed to refresh his stamina immediately. Pansy had brought some very interesting books from her family's collection, and he kept a couple of the more stimulating volumes out to read when he needed to relax. Research on learning how to fight and kill Death Eaters was all well and good, but sometimes a guy just required something to help plan all sorts of erotic fun he wanted to try out on his girlfriend.

His body wasn't quite up to the task at the moment, and Pansy started to shiver. They had worked up a sweat, and now their half naked bodies were really not enjoying the chilly weather trying to seep in from outside.

A couple of cleaning charms and they were getting dressed again as Luna watched in glee.

"I really love you both."

Pansy laughed as Harry was still a little uncertain of what had just happened.

"I love you too, Luna. Now, straighten yourself up under there so I can get back under the blanket. I'm cold and I expect you both to keep me warm for the rest of the ride."

"If that's the payment for getting such a wonderful lesson, I'll gladly pay it," Luna replied as she waved her wand with her left hand and then shifted briefly before lifting the blanket and gesturing for Pansy to join her.

Harry climbed in on his girlfriend's other side and they all cuddled up as Pansy and Luna began to tell him stories about snow fairies, the legendary creatures that Luna was determined to track down over her holiday vacation.

The tales were a lot more bawdy than he expected, which was probably why Pansy (and Luna too, he guessed) liked them so much. Harry had to admit that a winged, naked woman the size of his hand did have a certain appeal.

* * *

"Pansy, what are you doing here?"

She had gone to the loo and was about to head back to her compartment when Hestia Carrow surprised her, calling out from an open door just behind her. Her sister was also peering at her through the glass.

"We thought you and Harry would be at the ball."

"The ball isn't until Christmas, and Harry wasn't willing to waste our entire break stuck at the castle," she answered. "Besides, Harry wanted to see Luna off."

"Oh, that's nice of him. They're pretty close, huh?"

"We all are." Pansy grinned to herself, as they were even closer as of a few hours ago. Girl talk with Luna could be dangerous- fun, but dangerous. She should have known better than to admit some of her fantasies to her.

Oh well, at least she now knew for a fact that she definitely enjoyed a bit of exhibitionism.

"What are you smiling about?" Flora asked, stepping out into the hallway with them.

"Nothing." This could be very advantageous, if Pansy handled it just right. Luna would be a wild card, of course, but Harry should be in a good mood which would be very helpful. "Would you two like to join us? I suppose I never have properly introduced you to Harry, after all."

"That'd be nice," Hestia replied with a coy smile. Flora was more reserved but nodded as well.

"Come along then."

They arrived a moment later to find Luna laughing madly as she sat on what was once again a bench seat next to Harry.

"Don't ask," he said, and Pansy was smart enough not to bother. Harry got up though once he saw that they had company.

"Let me introduce you to Flora and Hestia Carrow."

"My pleasure," Harry said as he bowed and kissed the backs of their hands. Pansy took note of the very brief flush that passed over Flora's usual stoic features; her sister, on the other hand, wasn't even trying to hide how affected she was. "I would think such lovely ladies would have been invited to the Yule Ball several times over."

"A rather annoying side effect of being in Slytherin," Hestia sighed. "Half the school automatically counts that against us, it seems, so most of our prospects would have been in house."

"We'd rather just go home," Flora finished with a scowl.

"My condolences."

"So, which lucky girl will be on the Hogwarts' champion's arm next week?" Hestia asked as the twins sat down across from him.

Harry was considering his response when Luna poked him in the side.

"You should tell them."

"I should?"

"They won't be there to see the fireworks," she answered. "Consider it an early Christmas present."

"Alright." Harry stood up, pulled Pansy in close and gave her a toe-curling kiss.

"Oh, you bitch!" Hestia laughed. "No wonder none of Daphne's teasing got to you."

"What can I say? When you've got it, you've got it."

"Or in this case, when you've got him," Flora said as she pointed to Harry. "I would have liked to have seen your father's face for that little display."

"We can only hope that he got to watch while he rots," Pansy said with a smirk as she and Harry sat down, with his arm still around her.

"I do wish I had stayed now," Hestia giggled. "It would have been worth suffering through a dance with some buffoon like Goyle just to see the reactions to you two showing up together. Alas!"

"Speak for yourself, dear sister," Flora rolled her eyes. "You must not have ever been close enough to him- Goyle's breath could peel paint. No offense, Harry, but it wouldn't be worth that for anything."

"Sadly, I have been close enough to him before, so I agree," Harry laughed. "Do you have anything fun planned for your holiday break?"

"You've never met out parents, Harry," Hestia replied. "Consider yourself lucky."

"Ah, sorry. Sore subject, I guess."

"Not your fault," Hestia waved off his apology. "It shouldn't be too bad, but we were informed that our presence was required at home this year. I would have preferred to stay at the castle, even if we weren't going to the dance."

"I understand."

"Do you?" Flora asked harshly.

"I grew up with awful people, myself. And my girlfriend's father was a Death Eater. So, yeah, I do." Both girls flinched briefly at his mention of the Death Eaters, but Harry expected it.

"I suppose I should feel even luckier," Luna interrupted. "One good parent is better than none."

"I like your dad, Luna," Harry agreed.

"I'm a little surprised by that."

"Why?"

"You were the first boy that ever came over to my house. I would have thought that he would've given you a speech about protecting my virtue, boy-who-lived or not."

"Oh, we came to an understanding about that."

"What type of understanding?"

"Since he isn't available while we're at school, I promised to intimidate any of your suitors as much as necessary. Especially if they aren't very high quality."

"And you're going to decide that?" Luna's tone was still even, not seeming to be bothered at all by Harry's over protectiveness.

"No, I'm probably too biased to think anyone's good enough for you. Pansy's the judge."

"I see." Luna looked past him to the other girl and continued, "Pansy is overly harsh in her opinions of most people."

"That I am. Would you prefer that I leave Harry in charge?"

"No, that's alright. Besides, I don't think it will matter any time soon."

"I don't know, Luna," Hestia countered. "You're pretty enough that some boys are bound to try to talk you into a broom closet one of these days."

"Most people aren't very fond of me."

"Guys don't have to be fond of you to want to get you alone for a bit of fun," Flora argued with a bitter tone.

"True. But while you have your mask of violent intimidation, I merely don't care if anyone thinks I'm crazy."

"I don't know. I've heard that crazy girls are supposed to be more fun in bed," Pansy teased.

"I hope to prove that true some day," Luna smiled brightly. "It just probably won't happen with any of my classmates."

"Crap," Flora growled.

"What?"

"The train's slowing down," Hestia replied as she got up. "Please don't be offended, Harry, but we really can't afford to be seen with you by our parents."

"Right." Harry stood as well, and kissed both of the Carrows' hands again. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

Hestia giggled while Flora merely arched an eyebrow over at Pansy.

"How did you train him so well?"

"Don't look at me. Harry's a sap all by himself."

"Well, I think he's sweet," Hestia grinned. "I hope you all have a happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, girls."

Flora nodded as she stepped outside, while Hestia was still smiling brightly as the door closed behind her.

"That went well," Pansy stated as Harry sat back down beside her.

"I think so too."

"I think you gave at least one of them masturbation fodder for later tonight."

Harry cackled at Luna's statement- she was even funnier with how deadpan she could say things like that.

"Just one?" Pansy asked.

"I think Flora would have been more turned on if he had held her down and bit her neck."

"You're saying she's more like me?"

"Hey, I didn't bite your neck."

"Not this time," was Pansy's retort to which Harry could only sag in acceptance. She and Luna were bound to gang up on him when they could, but today had proved that the results of that could be a lot of fun anyway.

"I'm not sure you're right though, Luna. Mean girls can have romantic sides too."

"True, but I think Hestia got all the romantic leanings out of the two of them. Harry, will you get my things?"

"Sure." He reached up to pull Luna's bag down from the overhead.

"Let's keep our eyes peeled," Pansy said as she stood up. "I want to get a look at their parents if we can."

"Good idea. Shall we ladies?"

* * *

The next week went by in the blink of an eye. The time they spent in the muggle world was so much simpler. A dinner to catch up with the Brightwells. A visit to the nightclub, where they danced all night and ran into Vanessa and Stephen, who were now engaged. A couple of nearly day-long shopping trips- Harry's treat as he wanted to spoil his girl, even though they had agreed not to go overboard this year on the Christmas presents. That meant that Harry still had free reign to splurge for Pansy's birthday.

And on the winter solstice, Harry took excruciatingly good care of Pansy all day long. It wasn't every day a girl turned fifteen.

Which meant she got to enjoy another year of birthday spankings, for one thing. And all sorts of other fun too.

But Christmas day came, and after enjoying a breakfast with Dobby and opening a pile of presents, they were going to have to head back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Harry hadn't been in any hurry to go back to school, so he complained and moaned until Pansy agreed that they could wait to show up until just before the ball itself. They were going to be making an entrance that should shock more than a few people anyway, so she let him have his way. She might not admit it out loud, but she was really looking forward to the looks on all the faces of the female half of Hogwarts once she was revealed as Harry's date.

Besides, Harry wouldn't need long to get ready, so she could have the bathroom to herself for the afternoon.

For his part, he spent much of the afternoon playing DJ, as Pansy requested that he play music for her while she did whatever mysterious things girls could do for hours in order to get ready. Harry wasn't dumb enough to complain though- for one thing, he was going to be benefiting from the things she did to look her best later that night. He just had to hope that he wasn't too uncomfortable while they were at the ball, as he was pretty sure he was going to be incredibly excited at the idea of getting Pansy alone and unwrapping her- she was always his favorite present.

"Pansy, sweetheart, we've got fifteen minutes." When she didn't respond, he tried again. "I know I'm not supposed to rush you, but we have to open things tonight. So being fashionably late will probably just get us yelled at."

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm ready."

He looked up at her voice as she came into the room with a definite strut in her step and Harry forgot how to breathe. She was wearing a slinky black dress, with two little straps that went up to wrap around behind her neck. It was incredibly well fitted through the bodice, and the low neckline hung to the curves of her breasts with such emphasis that Harry wasn't sure if he would be able to stop staring at her. The only reason he saw the rest of it was that his eyes were drawn to the slit up the outside of her right leg, and how incredibly high it went.

"You like?"

"Yes." Harry's eyes were still bulging, and his pants were too, which brought out the giggles from Pansy. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Amazing huh?"

"If amazing isn't good enough, I could try incredible. Or perfect. Yeah, perfect."

"I'm glad you approve, but you'll have to stop staring long enough for us to go."

"You've just made this night a lot harder on me you know."

"Making things hard tonight was the idea," she purred. Harry laughed and stood up, adjusting himself so that he wouldn't start the Yule Ball by showing off an erection.

"Have I said how much I love you?"

"I'm always willing to hear it again."

"Then, I love you Pansy, more than everything else in the world."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

The murmurs of the crowd gathered just inside the front doors all came to a halt as Harry and Pansy stepped out from the shadows. Harry's outfit was similar enough to a classic tux that it wasn't too remarkable, although she had used a bit of hair gel to make his typical messy look that much more fabulous, or at least so Pansy said. He was also going without his glasses for the first time, and he was thankful that he had been using his contacts for the last week to get more used to them.

Pansy's dress contrasted greatly with the more restrained gowns that most of the girls were wearing, although Fleur Delacour was wearing a rather sleek silver dress as well. It would be a cold night in hell when a Veela didn't dress seductively, and she was briefly annoyed by the tall French girl's perfect curves. But since Pansy was pulling many eyes away from her, then that counted as a win.

And of course, the only eyes that really mattered were fixed entirely on her. She might never let Harry wear his glasses again because she loved how great his emerald green eyes looked without them getting in the way for once.

Professor McGonagall was organizing things, sending everyone into the Great Hall except for the champions and their dates who would enter last. Pansy glided over to stand by the others on Harry's arm, pleased to see so many girls glaring at her.

It was incredibly hard to hold back her smirk.

"Hermione?"

Of course there had to be a complication. What the hell was the little bookworm doing with Krum of all people? If this took too much of Harry's attention away, she was going to kill the little bitch.

"Hi Harry! Hi Pansy! You both look great."

"You do too. So, this is the mysterious date, huh?" Harry replied.

"Potter," Krum grunted with a small nod.

McGonagall was getting them to line up, so Hermione just whispered that they would talk later.

Delacour went to the front, as being in the spotlight was a part of her nature. Krum and Granger came next. Pansy was on Harry's arm in the back.

"Saving the best for last," he whispered in her ear. His smile was completely genuine as they walked into the Great Hall to loud applause and more than a few whistles and catcalls. Harry might not always enjoy the attention, but he was never more proud than that night, finally revealing his girlfriend in all her glory.

They walked down an aisle in the center of the Great Hall, which was decked out in sparkling silver frost with ivy and mistletoe hung everywhere. The four long benches had been replaced with a large number of circular tables spread out, with one at the very front where the tournament's five judges all awaited them.

Harry took a seat directly opposite from Dumbledore, as Pansy sat to his right and Hermione and Krum were on his left. Fleur and her date (one of the Ravenclaw chasers who was already drooling with a vacant look in his eyes) were on Pansy's other side. Karkaroff and Maxime were on the sides closest to their champions. Bagman was rambling about something to Crouch and Dumbledore, neither of whom were paying as much attention as he might have liked. They were all dressed up, although there was a big difference between the staid Crouch, the elegant (if enormous) Maxime, and the flamboyant as ever professor Dumbledore.

Even the presentation of food was special, as the golden plates were all empty, with a small menu off to the side. One only had to state their selection out loud, and the food would appear. Some people might think that would be much more trouble for the dozens of house-elves down in the kitchen, but Harry was coming to understand that they were almost assuredly overjoyed at the extravagant occasion.

Harry ordered the salmon, while Pansy chose coq au vin, a French dish made with chicken. Fleur complimented her on having good taste. Pansy politely thanked her, but Harry noticed she wasn't otherwise keen on talking, as the French girl was criticizing the decorations as being very inferior to how her school did things. Harry listened long enough to chuckle to himself about how dismissive and rude she was being before leaning over to whisper in Pansy's ear.

"I know I have to save a dance for Parvati, so please forgive me but I may also have to dance once with Hermione."

"Make it a short one Harry, if you know what's good for you."

"As short as possible," he replied with a smile. "I just have to warn her about Krum."

"Fine."

On the other side, Krum was also relating what his school was like to Hermione. Harry wondered briefly how she had met the quidditch star, but he realized that she spent plenty of time on her own, as Harry was more often than not alone with Pansy.

But when she looked even half as good as she did tonight, how could anyone blame him for that?

"Did our entrance live up to your expectations?" he asked quietly.

"Very much so. I may have counted the girls with angry faces as they saw who you were with."

Harry struggled to keep himself from laughing too loudly.

"I'm sure they weren't blown away by how ridiculously sexy you look either," he whispered.

"Just remember how lucky you are to have me."

"Luckiest guy in Hogwarts, believe me, I know."

Soon enough the meal was over and the band was ready with their instruments. Harry felt like he was floating as he led Pansy out onto the dance floor. He had waited more than a year for this, and the end of the secrecy felt like a weight removed from his shoulders.

Pansy took his hand as the other slid effortlessly around her waist. The music began with a simple waltz, something he could have done even a year before. By now, moving in time with her was second nature, as instinctual as flying had always been. And in his head, Harry was starting to disassociate himself from the part of his life before Pansy entered it as some bad dream that he had finally awoken from.

Harry was smiling that dreamy smile as he stared at her, and Pansy was pleased that it wasn't just when he glanced down at her cleavage. She caught glimpses of the other champions. Delacour's date was too stunned by her allure to focus and was staggering through the waltz as if he was drunk. Krum's awkward gait and Granger's inexperience made them both inept dancers. In comparison, she and Harry looked like professionals. Her heels even helped her to be closer to him in height, not that it was necessary, but it was a nice little boost to not feel like one of the shorter girls in their year.

Pansy looked back to Harry and saw that his gaze was still fixed firmly on her. His eyes were sparkling with so much joy that she almost laughed as she remembered her brief instinct to try to figure out who Harry should invite to the ball so they could keep their relationship hidden for just a bit longer. It seemed so silly now. Yes, they still had enemies out there, especially Riddle's wraith floating around somewhere, but her father, and Malfoy, and Snape were all out of the picture. Just how many more people would Harry have needed to kill before she would have realized they were secure enough to come out of the shadows?

Harry would always be more willing to be open about how he felt, but Pansy knew that he was right in this case. Hadn't Sam suggested as much a year ago- that they would be happier when they revealed their love. Harry obviously was. And she now understood that she was elated by that freedom too. Who cared what others might think? She had Harry and his love. The rest of the world could burn as far as she was concerned.

The song was winding to a close, and she felt Harry dip her low in his arms as polite applause began. Then his lips were on hers and she dimly heard the applause grow louder, with a few wolf whistles as well. But the sounds were distant because right then all she could taste or feel was Harry.

When he pulled her back upright, it was like coming up from underwater as the crowd around her came back into focus. But before anyone could approach them, another song came on, and Harry was leading her back into the steps of the dance.

"You have an expression that looks like Luna," he whispered as he stepped in closer to her. "Dreamy, but happy."

"Well, you did practically snog me in front of the entire school."

"I know," Harry smiled. "I'm pretty proud of myself. I almost dipped you too low though."

"I'd kill you if you ruined this dress, Harry."

"If I ruined that dress, I'd kill myself. I had no idea dresses could be that sexy."

"It's good that you're finally starting to appreciate fashion." She gave him a satisfied little smirk. "I suppose I should have known that you just needed the right inspiration."

"I am often inspired by the way you dress," he teased.

"Inspired to be even more incorrigible, you mean."

"And you love me for it."

"That I do." The floor was filling up around them, but Harry steered them safely through the crowd. "One more song, then you should find Parvati. I'll get us drinks."

"Alright."

* * *

"Hey Neville, mind if I borrow your date for a moment?"

"Sure, Harry."

Parvati was beaming as she walked with Harry out onto the dance floor.

"So, how's your night been so far?" he asked as she slipped into his arms. Not quite as close as she wanted, but Parvati didn't push.

"Not as good as yours. You really weren't going to hold much back, were you? I could hear girls' hearts breaking all around me."

"That was holding back," Harry grinned.

"Pansy's a lucky girl then."

"Things going well with Neville?"

"Pretty good so far. He's a surprisingly decent dancer; apparently his grandmother made him take a few lessons when he was younger. Still not the smoothest talker though, but that's not the worst thing. I saw poor Lavender wrestling with Seamus to keep his hands above the waist already."

"That's probably going to be a losing battle," Harry laughed.

"Only until she slaps him."

"Think she will?"

"Sooner or later, yes. Lavender talks a big game, but she isn't going to be easy for just any guy."

"And definitely not if he's being disrespectful."

"Exactly. It's one thing to try to cop a feel in a broom closet, but doing it in the middle of the dance floor is just so tacky."

"I agree."

"That's why so many girls like you."

"Not that many girls really know me though."

"Okay, so some of them just think you're cute. Speaking of which, where are your glasses tonight?"

"Contacts."

"Ah." Parvati said as she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Harry, you have an important choice to make then."

"Alright, what are my options?"

"Number one, always wear your glasses from now on. It will cut down on the female attention going your way, but if Pansy isn't braindead, she might not want you to do that."

"What's option number two?"

"Never, ever wear your glasses again. But if you do that, you might have to keep Pansy from killing me when I am unable to keep from throwing myself at you. And I won't be the only one."

"That could be a problem," he chuckled.

"It could be, or it could be wonderful. I don't mind sharing, Harry."

"Well, Pansy does, and I like keeping her happy."

"A good girlfriend would keep _you_ happy."

"Oh, she does."

"Of course she does. _Dammit_ ," Parvati muttered under her breath. "Well, keep my offer in mind just in case."

"I don't think Neville would appreciate that."

"Neville is a suitable date to the ball, but he's not boyfriend material."

"Really?"

"Still too shy, especially for someone like me."

"Oh, that's too bad. I thought you and Lavender might have gotten him past that."

"We could only do so much," she shrugged.

"I hope he at least shows you a good time tonight."

"Better than some could." Parvati looked over into the distance and Harry followed her eyes to see Ron sulking by himself in a corner.

"Did he come alone?"

"Yes. There was a rumor that he was going to come with his sister, but Dean was desperate to find someone, so Ginny got a date. He apparently struck out with his first few targets."

"Anyone I know?"

"Susan Bones for one. I heard she was really hoping that you might ask her."

"I don't know why- I barely know the girl."

"Are you sure? Isn't she part of professor Slughorn's little club with you?"

"Yes, but those get togethers really aren't as interesting as you might think."

"Anyway, Susan shot him down. Padma did too. I think the fact that you told me that he thinks I'm hot might have been a strike against him for her."

"Let me guess, since you were already taken, he figured he'd ask out your twin since she's got to be just as hot. Something like that?"

"I may have warned her," Parvati giggled. "Padma was still considering it, but his approach apparently didn't meet her standards either. Some other Ravenclaw also passed. But you'll never guess who else he asked."

"Hmm, the way you say that makes me think it was a Slytherin."

"Boys that look as good as you aren't supposed to be smart, Harry," she teased with a coy little smile. "How are we ladies going to wrap you around our fingers if you pay too much attention?"

"It was Daphne, wasn't it?"

"Damn Harry. How did you guess?"

"Well, I don't think Dean would ask some girl he didn't even know, so it would probably be someone in our year. And Daphne is very good looking."

"Aren't you spoken for, Harry?"

"I'm not blind. Besides, any teenage guy could probably rate all the girls around him without even engaging his brain. Just let his hormones do all the work."

"Really? I've never heard that theory before."

"Let me put it to you like this. As a teenage girl, I assume your hormones are doing all sorts of things that distract you, right? Probably not in the same way that they affect us guys, but I know there are some similarities."

"Sure."

"So, I assume that makes you think about boys and snogging and all sorts of fun stuff like that, right?"

"Yes... I think I see where you're going with this."

"I hit puberty a couple of years ago, and I wasn't even on the early side of things. I think about sex constantly. Any class I've been in this year, I guarantee you I've thought about sex during part of it. Probably every class last year too.

"And if you think that's bad, you should stay far, far away from Seamus. Even I think he's a pervert."

Parvati giggled again. "How did you get this confident, Harry? If Neville had just an ounce of this, he'd be an infinitely better date."

"I know I'm leaving the ball with the most gorgeous girl here. What do I have to worry about tonight?"

"You really think that, don't you?" Parvati sighed. "Pansy's even luckier then."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry tensed and pulled back from her angrily.

"Please don't get upset. I don't think she's bad looking or anything, but Harry, there's a Veela less than thirty feet away from us. You might be the only guy here who hasn't even glanced at her."

"Well, she is kind of a bitch." Parvati only laughed at Harry's response.

"A lot of people would say the same thing about Pansy."

"Maybe, but she's mine."

"And what those people think don't matter to you, right?"

"Exactly." The music wound to a close at that moment.

"The song's over, so I suppose you should take me back to Neville. Thanks for the dance, Harry."

"You're welcome." They were soon back at the table where Pansy sat, with drinks in hand. Neville looked nervous.

"She's all yours, Nev." He turned to his girlfriend. "May I have this dance, my dear?"

"Certainly."

Once they were in the middle of the noisy crowd, Pansy leaned in to ask him, "Do I need to worry about Parvati?"

"Only if I don't put my glasses back on. Then I'm supposed to keep you from killing her when she throws herself at me."

"She said that? I'm almost surprised she would be that honest."

"I'm also supposed to keep her in mind if you ever decide you're willing to share."

"Don't push it, Harry."

"I'm not, I just didn't want to hide anything from you. I thought you'd be more used to how Parvati is than I am. You spend a lot more time with her."

"I suppose so."

"Besides," Harry leaned in even closer, whispering into her ear, "I thought you liked it when we got a bit angry before sex."

"Not tonight. Tonight should just be amazing."

"That works for me. I want to kiss every inch of your body. But your dress makes it hard for me to decide if I should start up here," Harry said with a glance down at her cleavage. It was a good thing Pansy was so shameless, otherwise his staring would have made her blush several times.

"Or?"

"Or that wonderful slit up to your thigh."

"You have always liked my legs," Pansy teased while Harry stole a glance downwards.

"No, I've always _loved_ your legs."

* * *

They finished that dance and one more before Harry noticed Hermione walking off while Krum headed to get drinks. Pansy grudgingly followed him as Harry aimed for his best friend. She wondered if he still thought of her like that, or if he had come around to preferring Luna's company yet.

Knowing Harry, he would probably just say that both of them were his best friends. Well, Pansy certainly favored Luna- she doubted Granger would have been so encouraging of helping her play out a fantasy like Luna had on the train. However, it might have been funny to see how she would have reacted to witnessing something like that.

She might have fainted. That would have been pretty funny.

But more likely, she would've just tried to put a stop to things. Pansy would have needed to be quick with a full-body bind in that case.

Harry was back out on the dance floor now. She hoped this would be a quick conversation. She didn't need any of the mouth breathers to come over to bother her. At least last time, she had Longbottom to terrify and no one had tried to harass her. That was the one problem with her dress- idiots might take it as a cue to try speaking to her.

It would be pretty hot to see Harry blast someone though. Fighting for her honor and all that. Yes, that could be fun.

She should have known that she was tempting fate.

* * *

"I'm surprised you have time to dance with me, Harry. I wouldn't have thought you could tear yourself away from Pansy. Particularly with how she's dressed tonight."

"She does look stunning, doesn't she?" Harry looked over at Pansy once again, but made himself pull his eyes away and clear his mind. "I wouldn't have had to if you had told me who your date was."

"What's that mean? Don't tell me you think I shouldn't have come with Viktor. I wouldn't think you would be that petty, Harry. Just because he's another champion-"

"I don't care about that, Hermione. What worries me are the rumors about him."

"Rumors? You're clearly spending too much time with Parvati- and that was very surprising."

"I owed her a favor, so I paid it off with a dance."

"Is that all?" Hermione looked at him skeptically. "I suppose it will be a bit of a boost if she's one of the few girls to dance with you tonight. Alright, so what's so wrong with Viktor?"

"Look, this will probably aggravate you, but I'd rather you be mad at me and safe than otherwise. Krum supposedly prefers younger girls, and that worries me- that he might try to take advantage of you."

"Viktor has been nothing but a gentleman tonight."

"So far," Harry argued. "I doubt he would just start groping you in the middle of the dance floor. But he's eighteen and famous, with tons of groupies throwing themselves at him. Why did he pick you to ask to the Yule Ball?"

"What's wrong with me?" Hermione was definitely infuriated, but Harry knew this was coming.

"Nothing's wrong with you, Hermione. But in the muggle world, it would be illegal. You're underage and the fact that he had a lot of options but specifically chose someone young is worrying. I've heard that he's been caught checking out other girls in the lower years- _and only the lower years_.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but that makes him sound like a creep to me." Hermione was scowling at Harry, but he wanted to finish his warning. "Look, if he tries anything that you don't want him to just call for Dobby, alright?"

"Dobby? Your house-elf?"

"Yeah, I can ask him to make sure to answer your call if you need anything. Maybe I'm wrong about all this, in which case I'm sorry. But you're my best friend, so I'm going to worry about you. It would take a pretty special guy for me to actually trust him not to hurt you."

"Viktor could be that special guy, you know."

"I hope so, for your sake."

"You're too paranoid, Harry."

"Maybe," he allowed, "but it's kept me alive, hasn't it?"

* * *

"Vhere did Herm-own-ninny go?"

Ah yes, Krum. She should have known at least this mouth breather would be by to bother her. She looked out and saw Harry and Hermione, who appeared to be more arguing than dancing. Hopefully that meant they would be done soon.

"She's dancing with her best friend."

"You vill dance with me then."

It wasn't a question, as he reached down and touched her arm.

"Keep your grubby paws to yourself," Pansy said, trying to shake him off. There was a crackling sound as a spark shot into Krum's hand, who quickly released her.

"Vhat? How did you do that?"

"I did warn you."

"Warn you what?" Harry asked as he and Hermione had finally returned. While she looked annoyed, Harry was staring daggers at Krum.

"Krum here seemed to think you had agreed to swap dates."

"You vere dancing with Herm-own-ninny. It only seemed fair for her to dance vith me."

"Maybe I didn't want to dance with you, as I said," Pansy replied.

Harry's wand was instantly in his hand, and he brought it up to point at Krum.

"You ever touch my girlfriend again, and _I will kill you._ "

It was every bit as hot as Pansy had fantasized. He was getting so lucky tonight. More than she had already planned, now.

"Harry, calm down. It was just a misunderstanding." Hermione jumped in between them.

"A girl saying no is never a misunderstanding," Harry growled.

"Come on, Viktor." Hermione pulled him away. As she walked off, she turned to hiss at Harry, "You're acting crazy!"

Harry shook his head in frustration. Pansy took a sip of her drink as they watched the bookworm and the quidditch star disappear into the crowd.

"Once again, she's blinded by someone famous. At least Lockhart was good looking. That arsehole looks like a scowling caveman trying to figure out how to rub sticks together to start a fire."

"Let's go, Harry."

"Where?"

"We could use a walk outside," Pansy took his hand and led him towards the doors. " _And I need to get you somewhere private_."

* * *

They moved quickly, heading out the doorway of the Great Hall and down a couple of hallways until they found an empty broom closet. If they had taken a different path, they might have gone outside and run into a scheming little insect, there to dig up as much dirt as she could.

But instead, Pansy found herself with Harry pressed up against her back, while his hand slid all the way up the slit of her dress and even further on.

"No underwear?"

"I am a naughty girl, Harry," she breathed.

"And I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he answered as his lips moved down to the side of her throat. Pansy didn't have to hold back her lusty moan; she reached over her shoulder to grab his hair & hold his mouth tight against her. Even if she got a hickey, it would hardly be the most scandalous thing she did that night.

"What is this thing called around your neck?" he asked as he paused for a breath.

"A choker. Do you like it?"

"It draws attention to your throat, and I love your throat. Should I take it off?"

"Only if you can do it with your teeth," she purred. "Now stop talking."

Harry put his mouth back to a better use, and she gasped as his fingers started working their magic as well.

"Oh, fuck yes," she moaned. His thumb was drawing circles on her clit and the little nub was sending waves of pleasure through her. Pansy was glad that they had found some place empty nearby. She had been so wet ever since he pulled his wand on that bastard Krum. And now she was getting her reward.

"Don't stop!"

Harry took instruction well as usual and a few moments later she was clenching on his hand, before desperately whimpering that she'd had enough.

Pansy turned around as Harry was sucking on his fingers.

"You're delicious," he said with a smile.

She pulled his hand away so she could kiss him.

"Dobby?" The house-elf arrived with his usual pop, and he was squeezed onto a shelf in the small storage room.

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"Can you bring me one of the cushions from the couch?"

"Of course."

He popped away and back again, before being thanked and leaving with a blush. He could tell his humans were having their fun times again.

Pansy set the cushion down on the floor and carefully hiked her dress up as she knelt down.

"Luckiest guy in the school," Harry murmured as Pansy was undoing his pants.

"That's right, but don't mess up my hair," Pansy said before taking him into her mouth.

"Oh god." He grabbed onto the shelves with both hands as Pansy went to work, licking and sucking his cock. She had always been enthusiastic about it, but ever since he had moaned out 'more tongue' a few months ago in the middle of a blow job, she had gone from good to incredible at giving him head.

And tonight, she was in rare form, hungrily devouring him. Harry was gratified to know that he wasn't the only one who had been turned on all night long.

"Fuck." Harry's breathing was becoming ragged.

"So close," he pleaded, and she doubled her efforts, coaxing him into an orgasm so strong that his knees buckled and Harry felt something sharp as one of his hands lost their grip on the shelf he had been clinging to for dear life. Pansy didn't stop until she was sure she had gotten every last drop though, and that was really the best part about when she went down on him.

"Awesome," he gasped out, when she had finished and was sitting up, reaching for her glass of punch that she had set on one of the lower shelves. Harry's had spilled in his earlier exuberance.

He reached down to put his pants back on. "Ouch," he yelped.

"What is it?"

"I think I got a splinter." Pansy took his hand and saw a few drops of blood coming from his middle finger.

"Hold still, Harry." She stood up, and pulled her wand out of an inner pocket from his jacket. Pansy summoned the splinter out and then cast a healing charm to stop the bleeding. Then she drew his finger to her lips and kissed it.

"All better," she cooed, before taking his finger into her mouth and sucking on it seductively.

"You're driving me crazy tonight."

"That was the plan," she teased with a grin. Pansy slid her wand back into his pocket and pulled out a small, hand held mirror. She began making sure that her dress wasn't bunched up anywhere before double checking her hair and makeup.

Once they were both ready to rejoin the party, Dobby was called to take the cushion back to the couch.

"Dobby really is the best," Harry said. "What would we do without him?"

"I'm not sure, but I know my knees would be a lot more sore."

Harry laughed as he opened the door and stepped back out into the hallway, nearly crashing into Fred Weasley who was with Angelina Johnson.

"Harry, my man, good show," Fred said in a posh accent as Angelina tried to hold back a giggle.

"What were you two doing in there?" she asked.

"Use your imagination," Pansy drawled out.

"Or use Fred's, if you're feeling outrageous," Harry suggested.

"Are you two done?"

"She's all yours." Harry smiled as he took Pansy's hand, while Angelina pulled Fred into the newly empty broom closet. "Have fun guys."

* * *

They went back to the Great Hall where Harry and Pansy spent the last hour sharing every dance and ignoring the rest of the school around them. At midnight, the band finished playing. Harry took the opportunity to kiss Pansy once again while the crowd applauded for the Weird Sisters. In his mind though, they were cheering him and his love on.

Pansy wasn't the only one who was a romantic, after all.

They slowly strolled up through the castle, deciding to head back to their quarters for the night. They could go back home tomorrow and finish off their break from school. Dobby would have a breakfast ready for them in the morning, no matter where they slept.

When they reached the Gryffindor common room, it was still very full with a number of couples bidding each other good night, some of them rather brazenly. For example, Fred and Angelina had apparently not had quite enough fun downstairs. Harry chuckled to himself while wondering if he should have had Dobby leave the cushion.

Harry saw Ron sitting against a wall, scowling by himself, and he felt a hint of sadness for his former friend. Ron had become more of a loner recently, and Harry wondered who he would spend time around now. After the way Hermione had raged at him for suggesting that she couldn't find a date, that friendship looked to be on its last legs as well.

But Pansy was pulling Harry's hand as she led him back into their rooms, and all thoughts of any redheads slipped away as he looked back to his incredibly sexy girlfriend. He could start calling her that now, _publicly_ , and that brought a smile to his face.

"What's that smile for?" she asked.

"You're now officially my girlfriend. I've wanted to call you that for a year and a half, and now I can."

"I guess we didn't really need to keep things as hidden as we did. But then, we wouldn't have gotten the shocking reception we did tonight."

"As long as you're pleased with how things worked out, then I guess I am too."

"I think it's time for bed."

"And time for me to unwrap one last present."

"What's that?" Pansy asked with a seductive look in her eye, as she exposed even more of her leg through the slit in her dress.

"You, you minx." Harry smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I love you."

"I love you too, Harry."

Before they made it to the bedroom though, there was a pop and the sounds of someone sobbing. They turned to see Dobby with Hermione, whose previously sleek hair had fallen down from her updo into a mess and whose mascara was running.

"Hermione?"

"I hate you, Harry," she moaned as she threw her arms around him. "Why did you have to be right?"

"What happened?"

"Everything was going so well too."

Pansy was grumbling at the timing, and Harry felt similarly as he saw her scowl while Hermione rambled on.

"He was supposed to walk me back to the tower. He wanted to stop by a broom closet, and I thought, well that's just one of those things teenagers do on nights like this. And the snogging was nice enough, I guess, but then..."

Pansy had motioned Dobby over and was whispering something to him. Hermione choked down one last whimper as she tried to continue.

"He grabbed me. It was, you know, like a grope, but he didn't let go, even when I asked him to. He just put one hand on my bum instead. And he wouldn't stop.

"Damn you, Harry. Why did you have to be right?" she cried into his chest, and Harry feebly patted her on the back.

It's not like he _wanted_ to be right.

There was a popping sound though, and Dobby was handing something to Pansy who stepped over towards them.

"Here, Hermione," she said as she held out a potion vial. Hermione looked up curiously.

"What is it?"

"Just something to help you calm down."

"Thanks, Pansy." Hermione gulped it down, and within seconds she sagged into Harry's arms, completely unconscious.

"I take it that wasn't just a calming draught?"

"No," Pansy snickered. "It was a dreamless sleep potion."

Harry laughed as well.

"We do have other things to do tonight," he said with a smile. "You'll probably have to help me put her to bed."

"I'll get the door," Pansy replied walking over to the rarely used second bedroom.

Harry lifted Hermione onto the bed and reached down to take her shoes off.

"What are we going to do about her dress?"

"Dobby can handle it, master Harry!" With a snap of his fingers, Hermione's clothes had changed into sleepwear.

"Cool. That's like a really powerful switching spell. We ought to learn it, it seems really useful. Good work, Dobby." Harry pulled the covers back and set his friend down in the bed, trying to get her into a comfortable position.

A moment later they were heading to their bedroom, hastily trying to get past the interruption.

"Now where were we?" Pansy asked in a husky voice as the door shut behind her.

"I believe it was time for me to unwrap one last gift."

"Which one?" she teased as she put her arms around his neck.

"My favorite one," he responded as his hands slid down to caress her breasts through the fabric.

"Don't tear the packaging."

"Never." Harry reached up to undo the strap behind her neck. "Presents this precious should be savored, and that includes taking my time to unwrap you."

"Good things come to those who wait."

"Precisely. I think you should help me slip into something more comfortable too."

"Like what?"

"Like you."

There were no more words; their lips came together and their hands went to work removing each others' clothes. Once Pansy's dress was off, she slowly stalked across the room to put it on a hanger, wearing only her heels and knowing that Harry's eyes were watching her. As soon as she was done, she felt one of his hands slide down to her bum and then in between her legs while the other wrapped around and took a breast in hand.

"Leave the choker on," was the last coherent thing either of them said for the night.


	54. ...Finally Getting Some Help

* * *

Hermione Granger awoke in a very comfortable bed. Too comfortable. She sat up, feeling just a bit disoriented as she noticed that she was not back in her dorm, but in a private bedroom. She looked around for a moment as the night before came back to her.

"Viktor," she hissed. "Handsy bastard."

She started to get up and realized that she was wearing her pyjamas and her fancy periwinkle dress was hanging up nearby. Hermione wasn't sure if it was more mortifying to think of who might have undressed her. Harry was her best friend, but he was still a teenage boy, while Pansy only barely seemed to tolerate her for Harry's sake.

She supposed it was time to talk to them either way.

Hermione walked out of the bedroom she was in and noticed the small version of the Gryffindor common room that she had barely paid any attention to the night before. Not that she was able to focus on anything with how upset she had been.

Stupid Harry just had to be right. She should have known a celebrity like Krum had chosen her of all people for a reason. Hermione had originally thought it was because she mostly ignored him. Not being one of his fangirls probably would have made her seem like a challenge- but no, it turned out he just was looking for a silly, naive little girl. That's apparently what he was in to.

"Yuck," she said to herself as she steeled up her courage and knocked at the other door, assuming it led to the other bedroom.

"Come in," Pansy's voice responded, so Hermione opened the door. She should have known better, as it wasn't Harry that answered.

Pansy was reclining against the headboard, completely nude and smiling like the cat who had gotten the canary.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Harry was still asleep and also nude judging by his bare bum staring her in the face. The covers were pooled around his feet, so she thought that it was possible that he could be wearing socks.

She let out a little squeak and turned around, blushing profusely.

"Could you cover yourself, please?"

"Why?" Pansy's voice drawled out, clearly enjoying this too much.

"Because I just wanted to talk to you... well no, okay I wanted to talk to Harry actually, but I would prefer to do that without staring at your bits." Hermione had seen much, _much_ more of Pansy than she had ever wanted to. She even noticed that the girl apparently shaved- _down there_ \- and a part of her mind briefly wondered if that was something Harry preferred before another voice in her head was horrified by the thought.

"This is my room, Granger. I don't come into your dorm and tell you how to do things. So why should I care what you want, you pushy little cunt?"

Hermione gasped at the vulgarity. She really wished Harry would wake up.

If she'd had the fortitude to turn around, she would have seen that he had as he was looking at his girlfriend and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Please?" Hermione asked.

"Please what?"

"Please cover yourself and wake up Harry."

"Hold on a moment," Pansy answered as Harry held a finger to his lips. He grabbed his boxers and crept across the room. He put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, causing her to jump and spin around.

"Harry! Dammit, you scared me."

He raised his arms victoriously before turning to Pansy.

"Did you hear that? I got Hermione Granger to swear."

Pansy rolled her eyes. Hermione noticed that she had pulled the sheet up to her waist, but Pansy's breasts were still on full display.

"Oh, you prat," she said as she gave him a hug. "Thanks for looking out for me last night. I can't believe that jerk with the wandering hands."

"Sorry I turned out to be right, Hermione. At least it didn't get any further than that. I guess you didn't have your wand on you, huh?"

"No. I didn't think I would need it," she replied. "Besides, I didn't have any good places to put it."

"I kept mine in Harry's jacket," Pansy interjected. "If I hadn't planned on dancing all night, I would have brought a purse and kept it there."

"That's a good idea," Hermione agreed. "I'm a little surprised you have a purse though- they don't seem very popular in the magical world."

"It's his fault. He was foolish enough to take me shopping."

"You are a braver man than I thought, Harry."

"That's me," he replied with a grin.

"And about last night- I know I'm going to be something of a traitor to the rest of the men out there for suggesting this, but you can always introduce your knee or foot into a guy's bollocks to make him stop doing something."

"I probably should have done that," Hermione giggled. "I was just so surprised that I didn't think of it at the time. If he had done anything more, I would have though. My mum made sure to teach me several different things to do to bullies before they would allow me to come to Hogwarts."

"Really? How come I've never seen any of these bully smashing skills?"

"I've never needed to use them before," she shrugged.

"Are you sure? What about when Ron made you cry back in first year?"

"Yes, well, I was flustered and it didn't come to mind at the time."

"We need to work on your nerves more then," Harry suggested. "You've gotten a lot better when we've been sparring, but it can be daunting when you actually end up fighting for your life. I'll try to remember to ask Moody for advice about something like that."

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione paused and took a deep breath. "I've got to ask something embarrassing though."

"Okay."

"Which of you undressed me last night?"

"Oh. Well, you don't really think Pansy would be willing to do that, do you?"

Hermione groaned.

"You saw me naked?"

"Nope." Harry had a teasing smile on his face.

"Then, how-"

"Dobby?"

"Good morning, master Harry!" the house-elf said as he popped in.

"Could you show Hermione how she got changed last night?'

"Yes, master Harry!" A snap of his fingers and Hermione shrieked as she was now wearing her dress from the night before again.

"What!? How?"

"It's sort of like a powerful switching spell," Harry explained. "Or at least, it's close to that. House-elf magic isn't quite the same as what we do. Similar in a lot of cases, though. When I saw Dobby do that last night, it reminded me that I should probably learn that spell soon. It just seems really useful."

"I agree. One more question then. How did I get here? One minute I was in the broom closet and then I was right out there with you," she said as she pointed to the door out to the living room.

"Dobby did it."

"But you can't apparate in Hogwarts."

"Sure you can," Harry argued.

"No, you can't, Harry. It's in Hogwarts: A History, which you really should read some day."

"Well, the book is wrong then."

"Harry-"

"No, seriously Hermione, think about it for a second," he interrupted. "Every year, the students who are about to come of age get lessons on apparation right in the middle of the Great Hall. I heard Fred and George talking about it recently, as they're very excited to learn how to do that. So, how would they be able to learn it if it was impossible?"

"But... the book said..." Harry had to smile at his friend, who was staggered by his explanation.

"I'm guessing the truth is that you can't apparate into or out of the grounds. There are a few different defenses to stop that sort of thing, I believe."

"I guess that makes sense."

"The teachers probably don't want the upper years popping all over the place either."

"I can see how that could cause problems," Hermione admitted. Her stomach rumbled and she asked, "I suppose it is almost breakfast time, right?"

Pansy picked up Harry's watch from the night table and said that it was almost ten.

"Dobby could probably make us something."

"Are you going to be staying for the rest of the holidays?" Hermione asked.

"No. We've got a couple of things to do."

"Besides, I want to enjoy my break from this place," Pansy added as she got up, still stark naked.

"Can you ask her not to do that?" Hermione pleaded as she looked away.

"Why would I do that?" Harry asked, his eyes following his girlfriend's bum as she walked into the bathroom. "In fact, why don't I have Dobby make you breakfast while we get ready for the day?"

"Get ready for the day, right," Hermione grumbled, but Harry was already heading for the bathroom as well.

"I'll just wait outside, I guess."

She ended up using a silencing charm, as Harry and Pansy were clearly enjoying their time in the bathroom together.

* * *

Harry and Pansy weren't the only ones who felt like going home. After the disappointing end to the night before, Hermione told professor McGonagall that she needed to see her parents for the rest of the holiday break. With Harry's help (or more specifically, Dobby's help), transportation wouldn't be a problem, so the group all left the castle's grounds and headed back to the muggle world.

Harry had been more than slightly dissatisfied that the Durmstrang contingent was apparently all staying on their boat that day. He had a couple of things he wanted to say to a certain Bulgarian.

It was probably for the best though. Pansy hadn't had a chance to tell him the best way to handle it. And there was bound to be something more devious she could suggest compared to Harry's original instinct of just half a dozen bludgeoning spells to Krum's groin.

He was convinced it would have gotten the message through though.

Instead, they dropped Hermione off back home with her parents that Boxing Day and then went back to their flat. A late lunch was followed by an afternoon of lounging in front of the fire, watching a bit of telly and relaxing.

They had a couple of new decorations for their Christmas tree that year. Harry had thought it would be fun to keep the tradition going, so they got each other an ornament. However, neither had found anything particularly significant, so they had to get Dobby's help to shape them into a couple of permanent transfigurations.

Harry's was a bloody knife, as Pansy had decided to go with the joke from the previous year. Either because he had figured out what she was getting him or the simple idea that twisted minds think alike, Pansy received a dog who carried a skeletal hand in its mouth.

They both had very black senses of humor at times.

Vengeance wasn't usually something people wanted to think about for Christmas. But then, Harry and Pansy definitely weren't most people.

* * *

Pansy had forced him to dress nicer than usual for their meeting the next day. You don't just throw on any old thing when you're going to see the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Especially when you're hoping for some good news about the fight against the Death Eaters.

Harry grumbled but did as she told him, as he let her fuss over his hair and straighten his tie one last time before they headed to the Leaky Cauldron.

A moment later, Dobby dropped them off and disappeared just as their lawyer noticed them arrive.

"Sam, good to see you again," Harry said as they shook hands.

"Even better than usual since we haven't had anything too serious to deal with lately."

"Agreed."

"Pansy, always a pleasure," Sam added as he kissed the back of her hand.

"So polite, Mr. McKenzie," she replied with a small grin.

"Now it's obvious who I should be making a good impression on," he chuckled.

"Smart man."

"That's why I hired him," Harry said.

"Then, let's get to work, shall we?"

"Lead the way."

Sam headed upstairs and they soon found themselves in a cozy meeting room that had its own fireplace. Within minutes it roared to life and out came Amelia Bones.

"Madam Bones," Harry said as he stepped forward and offered his hand.

"Mr. Potter," she answered as she shook it.

"Amelia."

"Sam, how are you?"

"Business has been a bit slow. Not so good for the pocketbook, but I'll take the lessened stress at the holidays," he laughed. "How's the family?"

"Only one major blow up," she replied. Pansy noticed her give a brief glance towards Harry. "It was calmer than a lot of years. I didn't even have to work any over time."

"Congratulations."

"Yes, although it felt a bit like the calm before the storm. I'll just have to take what I can get. I suppose we should get down to business."

"Alright, let's have a seat. Tea should be up soon." Harry and Pansy sat opposite their elders and listened.

"Tom must be pretty busy this time of year."

"He is," Sam answered. "He's got his cousin Johnny helping out today. He's bringing the tea up."

"Good, I always like him. He's much more discreet than some of the help Tom's had over the years."

"That's exactly why I asked for him," Sam agreed. "We are meeting here out of the public eye for a reason I assume."

"Yes. Let's wait till after the tea is served."

"Alright. I guess I should have known this would be of consequence when you requested this meeting."

Madam Bones nodded in response.

"So, I hear once again all the talk at Hogwarts is focused on you, Mr. Potter."

"It seems kind of unavoidable at times," he answered with a shrug. "You can call me Harry though. I always expect professor McGonagall to be frowning at me when I hear 'Mr. Potter.' Come to think of it, you're fairly intimidating too. Maybe it's the monocle?"

"That is one of the reasons I wear it, Harry. In my position, being somewhat intimidating is a good thing. I'm surprised you think Minerva's more daunting than I am though."

"Well, you've never arrested me before, but she has given me a few detentions." There were a few small laughs as Harry smiled and continued. "None this year though."

"And only one last year," Pansy interjected. "Obviously, my good influence is rubbing off on you."

"Harry does have a couple of Slytherins looking out for him now," Sam added. "He's less likely to get caught with us watching out for him."

"Too true, Sam," Harry concurred.

"Can you tell me anything about this whole business with the tournament?" Madam Bones asked. "It was a surprise when your name came out of the Goblet of Fire."

"Not to me," Harry muttered. "As soon as I heard the selection was going to occur on Halloween, I knew something bad was going to happen. The day is cursed for me."

"Cursed?"

"My parents' murders when I was a year old. My first year at Hogwarts, professor Quirrell let a troll into the school during the Halloween feast. It nearly killed my best friend Hermione and I. My second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened. My third year, Sirius Black broke into the school. I avoided that problem by being away visiting my parents' graves. Unfortunately, this year my presence at the Halloween feast was mandatory according to the headmaster.

"So, of course, something happened to me once again."

"Can you tell me any more, Harry?"

"How well do you know Mad-Eye Moody?" Harry asked.

"I've known Alastor for almost thirty years. He would have been my boss if not for the fact that he refused promotions that would have taken him out of the field. As for myself, after everything that happened back in the seventies and early eighties, I was glad to not have to chase down any more dark wizards once they bumped me up to the big chair."

"I can understand that," Harry nodded. "A lot of people consider professor Moody to be overly paranoid. Personally, having had multiple attempts on my life over the years, I find his point of view refreshing. Most adults-" Pansy coughed out Dumbledore's name none too subtly- "would probably keep things from me in some sort of foolish attempt to shelter me.

"But lack of information can get you killed, which is why I'm glad to have Moody's help. According to him, it was Karkaroff who put up some sort of proximity charm to change any name submitted from Hogwarts to mine, making certain that I would be chosen. While he can't prove that it was Karkaroff, there are few people at the castle who would have been able to pull off something like that."

"Alastor's right. I doubt any more than a few seventh year Ravenclaws would have even heard of an active proximity charm like that. Most spells of that nature are either alarms or flat out defensive measures."

"Like the age line Dumbledore had drawn around the cup," Pansy suggested.

"Exactly. I know Alastor has always been angry that Karkaroff was able to bargain his way out of Azkaban, so he could be biased against him. But at the same time, there isn't anyone else that would be such an obvious suspect."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Plus, if he wanted to see me killed in the tournament, that doesn't explain why he gave me such a good score after the first task."

"That could be explained away with him just being sexist," Amelia replied. "Not too surprisingly, a lot of the old pureblood families are very male-dominated. Notably so for the types of wizards that were drawn to putting on masks and robes and serving their precious Dark Lord, the bastards. Anyway, Karkaroff did score the Delacour girl much lower than you or Krum."

"It could be a good way to try to throw suspicion off himself too," Sam suggested.

"I can see that."

There was a knock at the door and the conversation came to a halt as a middle aged man entered carrying a tray full of tea and biscuits. They thanked him, and once he left Sam reached for the tray.

"Still take two sugars, Amelia?" Sam asked as he started to pour the tea.

"Just one, the doctor wants me to cut back."

"Don't you mean healer?" Harry asked.

"No," she snorted. "Not to say anything against the people at St. Mungo's, but sometimes it's a good idea to do things the muggle way. While witches and wizards can live a long time, I don't want to spend half my life as some feeble old lady. So I'm doing what I can to stay healthy."

"I'm just surprised that a pureblood would say something like that," Harry responded.

"Harry, I live in the middle of London. Not all of us want to be cut off from the rest of the world."

"It sometimes seems like it when we're at Hogwarts."

"There are a lot of families that like to keep it that way too," Pansy interjected.

"True. But I believe we need to get down to business now. We're here to talk about Death Eaters."

"We heard about the two you caught being sent to Azkaban and some unnamed auror being suspended," Pansy said. "That's a good start."

"Yes, but not much of a start sadly," Amelia lamented. "I could only do so much. Yaxley was the one suspended, as you probably guessed. Not that it did much good, other than making sure Goyle and Avery didn't get off with anything."

"Why not?"

"He was caught trying to gain access to the two Death Eaters we had captured after the Quidditch World Cup. There are certain protocols that he wasn't following. Probably because Yaxley was going to make sure they didn't spill the beans on anything he was involved with."

"Or slip them an antidote to veritaserum," Sam suggested.

"Also possible, which is why I had them given purging potions and put on a strict monitoring schedule in the days leading up to their trials. It must have worked too, because both of those murdering bastards got life sentences."

"Good."

"Yes, but unfortunately, there were only so many questions that we could ask of them while we had them dosed."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Politics," Amelia sighed. "Even supposedly good families like the Crouches have had dark relatives, and too many members of the Wizengamot didn't want to dig up old wounds for what was supposedly only 'a one off bit of mischief that got out of hand' as someone called it."

"What bullshit," Harry groaned.

"You said it, Harry," Sam agreed. "How many people in the Wizengamot do you suspect, Amelia?"

"At least half a dozen would have been supporters if not outright followers."

"And these people are still in the heart of the government." Harry shook his head, clearly exasperated. "Did no one learn anything from what happened two decades ago? Every single one of those ' _I was under the Imperius curse_ ' liars should have been dosed to the gills to make sure. Was minister Bagnold corrupt as hell?"

"I'd say she was," Sam replied. "She was all too happy to 'put things behind us' and close down the trials as fast as possible. Supposedly, it was to help rebuild magical society."

"And let me guess, a lot of the rich families just happened to be full of people like Lucius Malfoy who would have given 'donations' to help out with the rebuilding."

"Yes. Unfortunately, we didn't have any strong leaders willing to push to for justice," Amelia agreed.

"What about you?" Pansy asked.

"I was just an auror at the time. The only ones who had the political pull were Crouch and Dumbledore. Crouch started out as a hardliner, but once his son was captured as a Death Eater, his reputation was ruined. And as for Dumbledore, while he may have fought against the Death Eaters, he never was the type to be out for blood."

"I would have settled for justice," Harry suggested. "As far as I'm concerned, every Death Eater that walked free is in part responsible for the murder of my parents. How many did they kill that were never avenged?"

"Far too many," Amelia replied mournfully as she took a sip of her tea. "Including my older brother and his entire family. So believe me, Harry, I want these bastards to go down too.

"But with the case of Yaxley, there wasn't enough cause for me to get him fed veritaserum. The best I could do was bump him down to Azkaban duty."

"That could be dangerous, if he decided to try to bust someone out."

"True, but it would be a logistical nightmare. They would have to get past the dementors and all the other guards. I strongly doubt Yaxley would go so far when he is trying to keep his head down and not be suspicious."

"Still-" Harry started.

"The only other choice I had was to assign him to Fudge, and I definitely didn't want him anywhere near our minister. It's only the last year or so that he hasn't had Malfoy in his ear.

"Now, have you had any luck with the Carrow girls? Susan told me they're in the Slug Club with you."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Harry asked.

"If their father and his sister are Death Eaters, then it only makes sense to think that you would try to get close to them to try to find out what you could."

"I've only just met them, but I'm not willing to put them at risk. I'd love to have their help, but it's far too early to hope for that."

"We might not have time for you to ease them into this gracefully," Amelia argued.

"They're teenage girls who have already had to grow up with Death Eaters. I'm glad they've survived this long, and I'm not going to get them killed. Why don't you put some pressure on the older Carrows?"

"I don't have anything to charge them with. I'm bound by the law."

"Then have someone investigate them until you find something to charge them with," Harry retorted, and Pansy heard that he was getting close to yelling. "Why should everything fall on the shoulders of teenagers? And what about Macnair?"

"I have had someone investigating him, but so far we've got nothing."

"Dammit!" Harry growled as he stood up and began to pace.

"You're not the only one frustrated by this. But there is only so much that we can do, at least until they do something else so that we can try to arrest someone."

"We need one of these poor Imperius victims to actually have someone use the curse on them for once, to force them to confess their crimes and name names of the rest of the Death Eaters," Harry said. "Maybe then the idiots in the Wizengamot wouldn't be able to just brush these things aside."

Pansy looked at him and had to use all her willpower to not give away the horror she felt. Harry had basically done that exact thing to her father, and now he was damn near suggesting doing the same to the rest of the Death Eaters to the head of the DMLE herself. What the hell was he thinking?

"I would have to arrest whoever did so though, Mr. Potter. I cannot have a vigilante taking matters into their own hands."

"When the other side is willing to break every law imaginable, and our side is hamstrung by rules and politics, it's no wonder Riddle damn near won the whole thing."

"Harry, calm down," Sam interrupted. "We're all on the same side here."

"If the Death Eaters that killed your brother and his family were here, would you still cling to your laws Amelia?"

"I would want them all kissed by the dementors, dammit!" she shouted, before stopping to take a breath and trying to calm down. "But it would be better to have them captured, interrogated, and convicted."

"And what if they were like Malfoy and able to bribe their way free? What if they were once again claiming to be under the Imperius curse? Because I don't care how it happens, I just want every single Death Eater in the ground.

"Maybe then, I'll finally be able to get a bit of peace, without someone constantly out to kill me."

"It isn't that easy, Harry," Sam replied with a sigh.

"Most things that are worthwhile aren't."

"We have to remain on the right side of the law," Amelia pleaded. "Otherwise, we could end up no better than them."

"If violence starts up again, you can't afford to treat these people like regular criminals. We're talking about terrorists who will happily kill anyone that gets in their way. That type of person only understands one type of response- violence.

"I hope you've got some people under you who know how to fight, Madam Bones. Because if things get bad and the country expects another miracle out of the boy who lived, they're going to be very disappointed. At this point, I'm a lot more likely to pack up, take Pansy and move to another country."

"That would break the morale of a lot of people, if it got bad enough," Sam stated with a sullen tone.

"My parents didn't die for this country- they died trying to keep me alive.

"I'm not going to honor that sacrifice by fighting for people who won't fight for themselves. According to the reports, there were almost one hundred thousand witches and wizards at the World Cup. If only one percent of them had any courage, they would have massacred the Death Eaters right then and there. But instead, all we get are a handful of aurors that actually did their jobs and took out three of them. If that's the best this country can do, then we're already doomed."

"We're getting off topic," Sam said, trying to steer the conversation back to something positive. "What are our next steps?"

"If Harry doesn't have any more intelligence for me, we're stuck in a waiting game for now. I'd recommend you both be careful and keep an eye on Karkaroff. We need someone like the Carrow girls to give us something to work with. Until the Death Eaters do something to draw attention to themselves or we have some really hard evidence, there's nothing else we can do."

"That's disappointing, Amelia." The older man sat back in his chair after having another drink of tea.

"I know, Sam. I've got to get back to work soon." Amelia stood and set her unfinished cup down. "I hope you stay on the right side of the law, Harry. I'd hate to have to go against you. So please, don't do anything foolish."

Just before she reached the fireplace to floo back to the ministry, Madam Bones turned back around.

"You know, you've already caused some strife in my family. Susan was really hopeful about the Yule Ball, all things considered."

"I barely know Susan. I'm not sure what she expected."

"She wasn't expecting you to show up with your servant on your arm dressed scandalously. You could have danced with her. My niece went right home after the dance and bawled herself to sleep. You could at least acknowledge the contract."

"For three years, I went to school with Susan and she never said a word to me until Slughorn's club. I'll bet she knew all about the contract growing up. So, why didn't she ever approach me? For that matter, why didn't your family ever check up on the missing orphan that your niece was possibly going to marry?"

"You're not going to make anything easy, are you Potter?" Amelia asked icily.

"No. Very little in my life has ever been easy."

"Susan's probably better off if she doesn't get involved with such a bitter cynic anyway."

"Yeah, she probably is," Harry answered, causing Madam Bones to snort.

"Very well. Until next time, Sam." The fireplace roared briefly as she stepped through and was gone.

"That could have gone better," Sam sighed. "You're risking alienating Amelia, Harry. Her niece could be a sore spot, if you blatantly reject her. That will make everything harder on all of us."

"If Susan having a crush on someone who's practically a stranger is enough to make Madam Bones not want to protect this country, then she's not much of an ally."

"Listen to Sam and be careful with her, Harry," Pansy advised.

"Alright. But on another topic, I do have something I need your help with, Sam. The Carrow girls. I need to know all the options of what I could do to help them get away from their parents, if it comes to that. I'd rather not use the life debt if possible."

"You don't want to have them in the same position as Pansy. I can see how that would complicate things."

"Right."

"I'll see what all I can come up with. And I'll look into possibilities if their parents are locked up. There are probably some old laws still on the books where you could claim guardianship over them or something like that."

"You should probably check on what could happen if their parents are killed as well. We never know when violence might break out again."

"Too true, Harry," Sam groaned. "Well, I did say that this things had been slow and less stressful. Leave it to my big mouth to break that streak.

"I suppose I should be on my way too." Sam stood up and shook Harry's hand again. "Try to keep him from doing anything too reckless please Pansy."

"I will."

"Good. Then I hope you both enjoy the rest of your holiday break."

"Bye Sam."

* * *

Harry immediately took off his tie and tried to get more comfortable once they were back at the flat. Pansy kicked off her shoes and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom.

"Harry, darling, please don't do anything that stupid again."

"What?"

"You practically told Madam Bones what you did to my father when you were suggesting what needs to happen to the rest of the Death Eaters. We don't need her to start keeping an eye on us like that."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. I wasn't planning on doing the same thing again anyway."

"And if you did, we would just have to make sure you had an alibi. Now, let's go to bed."

"Isn't that usually my line?" he teased.

"Not like that, you bozo. I've got the worst cramps I've had in probably a year. I could use a nap, or at least a chance to rest. That was a very stressful conversation we just had."

"I know," Harry replied as he opened the bedroom door. "I had hoped Bones would have had more good news for us. But instead, she was hoping we had pushed a couple of teenage girls into turning into spies against their own parents."

"To be fair, that is what I'm trying to do," Pansy admitted.

"Yes, but you don't have much else you _can_ do. The DMLE should be able to do a lot more other than blame bureaucracy for their hands being tied. That type of thing is going to get people killed one of these days."

"Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

"Probably, but you'll have to be more specific."

"About packing up and moving away if things get bad."

"Oh. Yes. My job is to keep you and I safe and happy. The rest of the country can kiss my arse. Well, most of them anyway."

"Luna not included," Pansy snickered as she climbed onto the bed.

"Yeah, her and a few others." Harry settled in beside her.

"One thing did make my day though."

"What?"

"The idea of Susan Bones bawling her eyes out because I was your date to the ball. Ha!" Pansy let out a triumphant cackle. "I hate that fucking bitch."

Harry started giggling.

"What?"

"That's the angriest I think you've ever sounded about some girl having a crush on me. It just surprised me. Why do you hate Susan so much?"

"Two reasons, and she keeps trying to make you stare at them."

"Huh?"

"Her tits."

"Oh," Harry snickered.

"If Daphne were a little bigger and more blatant about things, I would hate her even more."

"Why?"

"Because she's blonde."

"And you hate blondes too? What about Luna?"

"That's the worst thing about her. At least she doesn't have big tits."

"Why do you hate blondes?" Harry was still laughing to himself.

"Several reasons. Last New Year's Eve for one thing. Not just Narcissa, but all night long I watched you with blonde after blonde after blonde wanting to dance with you. But also..."

Pansy had grown quiet after she trailed off. Harry turned to look at her and saw that she was staring blankly into the distance.

"But also what?" he prodded gently.

"Years ago," she began, exhaling after taking a deep breath. "Years ago, my father had an affair with some woman. I hadn't seen her before, and I don't know who she was, but she was at our house one time. She was blonde. My mother and I had been out somewhere. Visiting some other family probably. We caught them together."

"Crap."

"Yeah. They weren't doing anything explicit, but even at six or seven years old I could tell that whoever this woman was, she was not my mother and yet my father treated her better than his own wife. So I hated her and I hated him a little more."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Thanks." Pansy took another deep breath before snuggling closer to Harry.

"Plus, I've always resented Daphne. We've known each other since we were really young, and I could always tell that her family actually doted on her.

"She was the perfect little pureblood princess. So smart and pretty and tall. Fucking cunt. She wasn't a disappointment to her violent father. She didn't have a drunken mother that neglected her. She wasn't alone."

"Not anymore, though," Harry replied. "It'll be a cold day in hell when I leave you alone."

"Sometimes even when I want you to," Pansy snorted. She reached down and prodded at his erection. "How can you _always_ be horny?"

"It's not my fault you're so sexy."

Pansy started to giggle at him before stopping with a groan.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Let's just try to have a nap. We shouldn't have stayed up so late the last few nights. It's going to make it hard to get used to the mornings at Hogwarts again." Pansy looked up at Harry's smiling face. "Even if we did have a lot of fun.

"Oh, but later, you should definitely feed me chocolate."

"I'll make sure there's plenty for you."

"Good boy."

* * *

They had a much quieter, simpler New Year's Eve as they rang in 1995 compared to the year before. Pansy was mostly feeling better, but they'd had plenty of excitement lately, and a night in was just what the doctor ordered. And they once again snogged each other silly when the clock hit midnight, ensuring another year together according to superstition.

Pansy liked that little tradition and was glad Harry had introduced it to her.

The only other thing of note was that the Daily Prophet had a story (by Rita Skeeter, of course) outing Hagrid as a half-giant.

"Well, that's obvious," Pansy had snorted.

"Really?" Harry asked. "I just thought he was really big. I mean, there are people in the non-magical world who are well over seven feet tall."

"Maybe so, but in the magical world, if someone is that big, they've got giant blood. It's the same reason that everyone knows that professor Flitwick is part goblin."

"Well, I wasn't sure-"

"Only because you were raised as a muggle, Harry. Almost everyone at school should have known, or at least had their suspicions."

"I guess. I have a feeling Hagrid isn't going to be taking this well."

"Do you want to do something about that? He hasn't exactly been on speaking terms with you ever since the dragon."

"I wasn't surprised that Hagrid would be more broken up about the monster that wanted to kill me compared to the fact that the Department of Terrible Ideas thought it was a good idea to make three teenagers try to get into the nests of mother dragons. It's not like I was trying to kill the damn thing.

"But yes, I probably should do something to support him. Hagrid's not a bad guy, and I have learned a fair amount in his class. Of course, if he keeps giving me the silent treatment..."

"What?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but it's probably a good thing you talked me into taking Arithmancy. We might need to stay in the class for another year if we have to drop Care of Magical Creatures because Hagrid's such an idiot about how 'cute' horrendously dangerous monsters are."

"Sorry, Harry. It could be worse though, and Vector is a good teacher."

"Yeah, I don't hate the class or anything. It's just my least favorite of the electives, and you know I have other things I'd rather be doing."

"Other things, right," she teased.

"Well, not just _that_."

"Really?" Pansy looked at him dubiously.

"Okay, yeah, mostly that."

They both giggled at Harry's admittance.

"But I do have other things to do as long as the Death Eaters and the Dark Wraith thing are out there, so dropping a class could be handy."

"Maybe this can help fix things with Hagrid then. I know you do like the big oaf for some reason."

* * *

They ended up riding the train back to Hogwarts so they could talk to Luna and Hermione. Or at least, so Harry could talk to Hermione. Pansy mostly just wanted to embarrass and scandalize her more, so she made sure that they were in the middle of a very passionate snog when the bookworm showed up.

Luna was cheering them on too, which made Granger's harumph even better.

But there was a serious reason for Harry to talk to Granger, so Pansy let him get on with it eventually.

Sam's research on what Harry might be able to do to help the Carrow girls out in the future had led directly to what Pansy had assured him was the best option for dealing with Krum, at least publicly. Once Granger accepted Harry's offer, she was officially going to be under his protection, something that wasn't done as often as it had been in years past. However, it was a good way for a muggleborn to have the head of an older family as a sort of patron to look out for them.

After that was done, Krum would have to stay away from her if he didn't want to set off a very nasty confrontation. As long as they were still in England (or Scotland, as the case may be), the law was firmly on Harry's side. Harry could even have the Bulgarian arrested once the tournament was over.

* * *

That first night back at Hogwarts, though, they had another crisis waiting for them.

Pansy was not surprised when Harry was quick to lead her to their quarters that evening, as the teasing on the train ride had left him very excited. Truthfully, she was excited too and sex with Harry was often even more fun when they were both wound up. In this case, it did not disappoint.

A little while later, after a couple of cleaning charms were cast and their clothes were mostly back in place, they were relaxing in front of the fire. Harry refused to let her start worrying about their classes yet, and it wasn't very hard for him to convince her not to bother with any school work either.

"So, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Harry. I'm in a good mood though, so if you want a repeat performance before we go to sleep, you'll want to keep me that way."

Harry chuckled as he leaned back and looked at the girl snuggled into his side.

"I just wanted to make sure I understood something properly that we were talking about a couple of days ago. Blondes are bad, although an exception is made for Luna because she's our girl."

"Correct."

"And the bigger a girl's boobs are, the more you hate her," he continued as he started to snicker.

"Also correct, but watch it Harry. Are you trying to annoy me?"

"No, I think it's funny. I assume you also dislike tall girls too."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Pansy, sweetheart, I adore you, but I also pay enough attention to you to catch a lot of little things that you say and do. And I can sympathize, as it was only a couple of years ago that I was short. Believe me, I was picked on a lot as a short kid.

"But for the record, I think you are the perfect size. We fit so well together, and I wouldn't change a thing about you. I wouldn't make you taller, or make your boobs bigger. And I definitely wouldn't want you to be blonde."

"I wouldn't want to be blonde either. I don't think it would look very good on me."

"Well, I know I would look terrible blonde, so that's just one more thing that makes us work together. And in my opinion, that's all that really matters. So, as far as I'm concerned you can hate other girls as much as you want, but you don't need to do it for my sake. To me, there are only two categories of girls. There's you, and then there's everyone else in the world."

"I know, Harry."

"I really need to make sure you understand this, Pansy. My life is infinitely better since you came into it. Everything before that day in June when we met or, well, when we first really talked to each other anyway- it all feels like another life to me, like a bad dream that I finally woke up from. I can understand how you might be worried that some other girl could try to win my affection or something, but it's never going to happen. I'd rather die than not be with you."

"That's very sweet of you, Harry. I think I'm mostly over my jealousy, actually. I didn't react nearly as badly to Parvati as I would have a year ago."

"I know."

"So, I think some of it is just my resentment from when I was younger."

"I can understand that. Why do you think I dislike Diggory? He hasn't done anything particularly offensive to either of us. But he's popular and well-dressed and..."

"And?" Pansy asked, as Harry had trailed off. He took a deep breath before he continued.

"And you can just tell that he was raised by people that really cared about him. He wasn't forced to wear hand-me-down rags by people that treated him like dirt. Sometimes when I see people that were... not even spoiled really, just that they never lacked for anything growing up, I just irrationally can't stand them. I think that's part of what I liked about Ron originally. His family was poor, which meant he wasn't spoiled the way a lot of kids always seemed to me."

"That makes sense. What about Granger?"

"Hermione was socially awkward. Still is, really, although she's gotten better. I could just tell that she'd never had many friends either."

"And you liked that about her."

"I did. It made it easier for me to relate to her. I think there was something similar when you and I met. I could just sense this sort of loneliness about you, it felt familiar to me. That's part of what drew me to you, I think."

"You could tell that we were kindred souls. I think I felt something like that too. We certainly started to bond rather quickly when we met."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Luna was the same. There was something so sweet about her, but I could also see that she was this lonely little outcast. And that made me want to take care of her, to make sure she didn't have to be alone anymore."

"I think that's part of what made me like her too. Luna won me over pretty quick. Of course, the way she drives Granger nuts does tend to help too."

"I know," Harry snorted. "I keep thinking that Luna is going to help push Hermione out of her comfort zone and-"

There was a knock at the door and Pansy looked at Harry.

"Were you expecting someone?"

"No. Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry sir?"

"Could you see who is knocking at our door?"

"Of course!"

There were two pops in quick succession as the house-elf left and came right back.

"It's the mister Sirius that keeps trying to get master Harry to call him his godfather."

"Oh, okay. I wonder why he's here?" Harry stood and took a step towards the door before Pansy stopped him.

"Hold on, Harry. Let me make sure we look presentable."

"Why? It's just Sirius of all people."

"You have clearly forgotten what we did just a little while ago. And your fly is undone." Pansy giggled as Harry reached down to fix his pants, while she stood and checked her own clothing as well.

"Now?"

"Good enough, I suppose," she answered as Harry went to the door and let Black into their quarters.

"We need to talk," the older man said as the door closed behind him.

"Sirius, this is a surprise. What can we do for you?"

"I'm sorry to just show up here, Harry. But this isn't something that could go through Sam, and he is apparently under strict orders not to reveal where you live when you're away from Hogwarts."

"I pay him well," Harry replied. "Good to see that he sticks to his word, even with as much as you probably pestered him."

"That's one way of putting it." Sirius was standing across from them now, silhouetted by the fire. "I have been doing some investigating these past few months, seeing if I could find anything to help deal with the Death Eaters that went free. But something bothered me awhile back, and I just had to know."

"Know what?" Harry asked, not seeing Pansy tense next to him. Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out what was quickly revealed to be a newspaper once he had enlarged it back to its normal size.

The problem was obviously the headline story.

**'Dursley Murder Trial!'**

As Pansy stared at the paper, Harry's wand was already in his hand. He hit Black with a full-body bind and was removing his wand.

"We have to kill him."

Pansy looked up at Harry in horror. How could this have happened now of all times? The day was going so well.

But Harry was starting to ramble as he paced, and she could tell that he was being overcome by panic.

"We'll have to get him out of here first though. I could put him under the Imperius and then escort him outside of the school grounds. I'll need Dobby's help though to dump the body somewhere. We can't leave it too close-"

"Harry! Stop and calm down," Pansy pleaded. "We don't need to kill him."

"I'm not letting him ruin things for us. Not again."

"Harry," Pansy cooed as she pulled him into her arms. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed Harry, trying to stop him from over-reacting even more than he already was. "It's going to be alright."

"I'm not letting this moron fuck up my life. Our lives. Not again, Pansy. Not him. Not anyone."

"Dobby?" Thankfully the little elf was still nearby as Pansy saw him appear, staring down Black just like Harry was. "I need for you to get a calming draught for Harry."

"Yes, miss."

"I don't need-"

"Yes, you do." Dobby reappeared with a small vial in hand that was immediately given to Harry. "Take it, Harry. And trust me."

"Alright." Harry swallowed the potion and started to take deep breaths.

"All we would have to do is obliviate him. But it might not come to that. Let me talk to Black. Why don't you go make some tea while you try to calm down?"

"But I-"

"Trust me Harry. I will take care of this."

"Alright," Harry stood up and walked over to the little kitchen area. "But Dobby, stay put and keep an eye on Sirius. Don't let him do anything that might hurt Pansy. Not anything at all, understood?"

"Of course, master Harry sir!"

"Thanks, Dobby."

Pansy sighed as Harry started puttering around the stove, looking for the teapot. She threw up a privacy spell behind her, not wanting Harry to have to listen to what she had to say.

"Now, let's get something straight, Black. You are going to sit down and shut up. I am going to explain things to you, and then I'm going to give you a chance. A chance to prove that you deserve to be in Harry's life.

"But it will be the last chance you get, and if you fuck things up for him, then I will make the rest of your very short existence as painful as possible." She turned briefly to see Dobby glaring at Sirius Black too, obviously angry at anyone who would upset Harry.

"Dobby, I need you to release Black from Harry's spell, but be ready in case he tries anything stupid."

"Yes, miss Pansy."

A moment later, Sirius was flexing his fingers as he sat down in a chair opposite Pansy and Dobby who were both standing between him and Harry.

"I don't know why you think I'm going to do something so rashly. I did say I was here to talk."

"Probably because if you had done the right thing all those years ago, then Harry wouldn't have had to grow up with those disgusting muggle bastards."

"What happened?"

"What happened!? I'll tell you what happened. _You_ abandoned the person you were sworn to protect because you were a stupid, selfish piece of shite, and I will always hate you for that.

"But for Harry's sake, I'll tell you the rest. Dumbledore, in all his 'brilliance' decided to drop Harry on the doorstep of his mother's evil sister and her awful family with nothing more than a note. Then he just left him there with those magic-hating child abusers for a decade, never once bothering to check up on this stupid fucking country's supposed savior.

"Harry was left to rot there, and those evil fucking bastards did everything they could to try to 'stamp out' his magic. They called him a freak as they beat him, and starved him, and treated him like a slave. And no one did a damn thing to help him. Harry was forgotten and turned into a fairy-tale. People believed the myth of the boy-who-lived, while the actual boy was barely surviving some of the most vile things that claimed to be human beings I've ever come across."

Pansy closed her eyes as she took a breath.

"My father was a Death Eater. I hated him, and I never thought I would agree with his views on things, like how much he hated muggles. But those fucking bastards the Dursleys make me concede that some muggles should be tortured and killed, because there are some of them that are so disgusting that they don't deserve to live.

"Harry rescued me from my father. A year and a half ago, he told me how Draco Malfoy, the vile little worm, was an obvious match for me. I was so angry that I protested, and he used the Cruciatus on me." Sirius gasped, but Pansy went on, not noticing that Harry was now standing right behind the couch, watching everything play out. Sirius briefly looked over her shoulder but then focused back on Pansy as she continued.

"Harry came for me that night. He brought me medicine, and held me all night long with his wand at the ready to blast my father if he came back. I knew, as soon as I woke up with Harry still struggling to stay awake the next morning, that I was his. And that I would do everything in my power to take care of him from then on.

"I had told him how to become emancipated, which got him away from the muggles, but it did nothing to make them face justice for what they had done to him. So, I figured out a way to make them pay."

"You faked a corpse?" Sirius asked. "There's only a couple of ways I can think of to do that. From what it sounds like, you used some pretty serious blood magic to make it look like Harry."

"I did, and it was worth it. Harry might have died for real if not for his magic healing him over the years from so much of the abuse he faced. Those fucking muggle scum deserve to rot for what they'd done."

"Alright."

"Alright? That's all you have to say?"

Sirius looked at her and gave her a sad smile before turning to look into the fire.

"I'll never be able to go back and fix things. All I can do is try to make things better in the future. For Harry, because he deserves my best. I haven't had the chance to be much of a godfather before. It would be a pretty bad idea to try to take his girlfriend away, especially since all you've done was for his benefit. You protect him and care for him. I would never try to get in the way of that.

"Now, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"If you hate me so much for not taking care of Harry when he was young, then why are you willing to give me a chance? You said for Harry's sake. I just wonder what you meant."

"Harry helped me come to terms with my mother's murder. He took me to her funeral, and we discovered just how much extended family I had in France. Plus, he helped me reconnect with my great uncle Malcolm on my father's side, who has been nothing but supportive of Harry and I.

"Harry doesn't have anyone like that, other than you. I don't want to take away the last chance he has at some sort of actual family. Unless I have to."

"I promise, you'll never have to protect Harry from me. I would rather die than betray him."

Before a solemn moment could take hold, Pansy was distracted by Harry clearing his throat behind her.

"Tea?"

Pansy spun around to see him standing there with a tray and a tentative smile on his face.

"Are you feeling alright, Harry?" she asked.

"I guess so. It seems like I won't have to kill anyone tonight, so that's definitely a plus."

"You won't ever have to kill anyone again if I can help it," Sirius replied, which caused Harry to snort in disbelief.

"If you can make that come true, Sirius, then I'll forgive you for not taking care of me when my parents were killed. But I won't be holding my breath."

"Why do you say that?"

Harry stepped around the couch and set the tea down, which Pansy took charge of, pouring cups for all of them. She saw Dobby still standing there glaring at Black and held back a small grin. The elf would not let his guard down until he knew they were safe, or until Harry told him to relax.

"In my experience, everyone in a position of authority has let me down time and time again. The ministry should have dealt with all this years ago, but instead I'm still having to clean up the mess that existed before I was even born. Meanwhile, I have threats to my life that keep popping up because the Death Eaters never faced the justice they should have. So, who should I put my faith in?

"The ministry? Fudge was cronies with Lucius Malfoy and who knows how many other 'wealthy donors' that should have been locked up. Bones talks a big game, but she's mired in bureaucracy.

"Dumbledore? He decided the filth that was responsible for my parents' deaths deserved a chance at redemption. That wasn't his decision to make- it wasn't his family that suffered because of Snivellus. That worthless bastard betrayed my father's mercy by getting him killed. And he never regretted it for one moment, even going so far as to do everything in his power to make my life miserable. I have no memory of my father. Hell, I had never even seen a picture of him until the end of my first year, and that was all thanks to Snape.

"And beyond that, he did everything in his power to keep the Death Eater cause alive at Hogwarts, helping the next generation grow up to be just as awful by making sure they went unpunished at school despite all the bullying, bigotry, and even outright violence. Snape had supposedly 'reformed' and turned spy, but all of his actions showed just the opposite to be true. Either Dumbledore didn't care or he was too senile to pay attention to what was going on in his school.

"So, who does that leave, Sirius? A few aurors did their job and actually took down a few of these psychopaths, and what thanks did they get? The government is still too mired in stupidity, incompetence, and corruption to get anything done. Who can I expect to protect me, Sirius?"

"I will," Sirius asserted. "You can count on me, Harry."

"Can I really? Do you have what it takes? Because what we really need is someone willing to get their hands dirty. Someone willing to make the hard choices rather than waiting for the Death Eaters to strike again and hope that we happen to catch some of them next time. Because every one of those 'next times' will see more innocent people dying."

"What are you suggesting, Harry? That we hunt them down?"

"Why not?"

"Because anyone that got caught would then be facing Azkaban."

"Then they would just have to be careful and not get caught. There's certainly a precedent for lots of people in this country getting away with murder after all."

"I would have to be very careful if I were to try to do that, and I would probably need help."

"Do you really mean it?" Pansy asked as she set down her empty cup. "You're willing to fight for us?"

"I swore to James and Lily that I would protect Harry years ago. I haven't done a very good job of it so far. Maybe this is how I could make up for that."

"Harry, we really could use his help," Pansy pleaded. "We can't do this alone."

Harry looked over at Sirius, who was somber but firm in his expression.

"Swear to me," Harry said quietly. "Swear to me that you mean it, and I'll tell you what we know."

"I swear, Harry," Sirius said as he knelt down in front of him. "I'll even make an Unbreakable Vow if you want. I will never betray you and I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Are you serious?" Pansy asked skeptically.

"Yes. And no, that wasn't a play on my name. I understand why Harry would have trouble trusting people, and I know I have a lot to make up for. This won't be a hard vow for me to keep."

"Alright," Pansy answered. Sirius knelt down in front of the fire. "I'll act as the bonder. Harry, you'll need to take his hands."

"I know. I remember reading about this."

Harry knelt down opposite Sirius and clasped his godfather's hands in his own. Pansy's wand touched them both and it began to vibrate.

"Sirius Black, will you swear to never betray House Potter?"

"I will."

A light reached out from the wand, wrapping first around the wrists of Sirius and then Harry.

"And will you do all you can to protect House Potter from harm?"

"I will."

A second light wrapped around their wrists. There was a brief glow as the magic completed its task, the Unbreakable Vow accepted.

"Thank you, Harry," Sirius said with a hitch in his voice. "I won't let you down again."

Harry got up and reached down to offer a hand up. Sirius accepted it and pulled Harry into a slightly awkward hug as he stood up. Harry briefly flinched before returning it. Pansy was very pleased to see Harry start to smile.

"I appreciate this, Sirius. Pansy's right, we really could use all the help we can get." Harry sat back down on the couch and wrapped an arm around Pansy as she sat beside him. "Where should we start?"

"Either with Malfoy or my father," Pansy suggested.

"Alright. I suppose we should begin with how Lucius Malfoy unleashed a basilisk on a school and got away with it."

"Almost got away with it," Pansy smirked.

"Let me rephrase," Harry said, smiling with pride at his girlfriend. "How he got away with it until Pansy came up with a plan to leave him unhinged enough to challenge me to a duel as soon as he got out of Azkaban."

"And how he had only been in Azkaban thanks to you," Pansy added.

"Thanks to Dobby, really," Harry corrected her. "By the way, Dobby, you can relax now. Sirius is on our side."

"Yes, master Harry!" The house-elf calmed himself, no longer staring daggers at Sirius.

"Would you like to join us?" Harry asked. "You were a lot of help and could probably help us tell our tales."

"Dobby would be most happy to help tell tales."

"So really, I guess I should say that this all begins with a diary and a sock..."

* * *

_Later that night..._

"I'm surprised at how willing you were to accept Sirius' help," Harry said as they were getting settled into bed for the night.

"It's simple, Harry." Pansy rolled over to face him. "I want all of the Death Eaters taken care of, and I don't care how that happens. Whether it's due to Madam Bones and her aurors, or Sirius, or even just a bad case of dragon pox, every single one of them that someone else deals with is one less person trying to hurt you. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Harry agreed as she turned back over and he spooned in behind her. "Any help would be a good start. That's why I've enjoyed Moody's lessons so much."

Pansy snorted and Harry had to laugh as well.

"Okay, maybe not enjoyed them exactly. The man can be something of a slave driver. But it's the first time that it feels like a teacher finally understands and even agrees with me. It's all well and good for someone like McGonagall to say 'let the adults handle it' except for the fact that so often they haven't handled a damn thing."

"I know, and Black even accepted what we had done and had some ideas about how to take care of some more of them. I was still surprised that he wasn't more shocked by how you got rid of my father."

"He did say he wished someone had done the same to his mother- and I don't think he was joking."

"Yes, which is why I think this might be a good thing to have him on our side. Plus, I think you probably need another male influence in your life."

"Really?"

"Yes. Harry, you spend almost all of your time around girls. With Weasley showing himself to be a selfish twat and no quidditch this year, your only male friend you've spent much time with has been Longbottom, and even then you're not particularly close with him."

"That's true."

"And you deserve to have some sort of familial connection more than anyone. What was Sirius again?"

"Second cousin twice removed, or at least he thinks so. His family tree is kind of messy, but he and James were cousins of some sort, by marriage at least."

"It's a start. Besides, if there's anyone I don't want you going up against, it's MacNair. There is something very creepy and just off about him. I hope Sirius can remove him from the board. We need as many of them out of the ministry as possible.

"Let's try to get some sleep now. I doubt this new year is going to be any easier than the last one."


	55. Gross Little Annoyances

* * *

The new year of school at Hogwarts began as Harry and Pansy were joined by Luna and Hermione for breakfast, as usual. Harry realized that he probably should try to spend some more time with Neville. Or Fred and George maybe, although those two had seemed very preoccupied with something for most of the fall term. Some male company might be a nice change.

Pansy meanwhile was counting and reveling in all the jealous looks she was getting from the girls who were still not over the Yule Ball. Walking into the Great Hall on Harry's arm wasn't something she was going to get tired of any time soon.

Luna was merrily flipping through the newest issue of The Quibbler while savoring an extra large bowl of oatmeal topped with a blueberry muffin she had crumbled up. Harry had offered to pass her some actual blueberries, but she had insisted that she was on a carb heavy diet in order to build up her hypothalamus in an attempt to awaken her third eye. Harry just nodded along while trying not to imagine Luna with an eye in the middle of her forehead.

He wasn't succeeding at it, so he asked Hermione if she had done anything special for New Year's. Not too surprisingly, she had spent the night curled up with a good book, and Harry even asked her what it was about, but for some reason whenever Hermione said anything about the story's heroine, all he could see in his head was Luna dressed up as a pirate with an eye-patch across her forehead.

It was a troubling thought that would distract him all through that morning's Herbology lesson.

Harry tried to focus as he watched the students from Durmstrang entering, but Krum was a no show, so he would have to wait to confront him.

Hedwig flew in, delivering the day's paper, and all of a sudden Harry's appetite was gone.

_**Horrible Hogwarts Harem!** _

The headline shouted out, and Harry only managed to read a couple of sentences before slamming the newspaper onto the table. Pansy tried to look it over, but only managed to make it halfway through the front page before copying Harry's actions.

"Is it my turn?" Luna inquired, as she grabbed the Daily Prophet and began to read.

"How bad is it, Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm?" Luna looked up, not giving anything away with her unflappable wide-eyed expression. "Oh, I wouldn't say that it's badly written. Rita Skeeter wouldn't have such a famous name if she didn't have some skill, you know."

"That's not what I meant," Hermione insisted.

"Well, it is terribly offensive. On a number of levels, which is actually sort of impressive."

"Do I want to know?" Hermione looked over at her best friend, who looked ready to kill someone and she could swear that she could hear him grinding his teeth.

"It does concern you. Apparently, the paper is outraged at the company Harry is keeping, so they have attacked all of us. You are described as an overly opinionated, muggleborn outsider, and you are supposedly slowly seducing your way to the top, first with Harry and now with Viktor Krum. I am labeled as a half-blood lunatic, which is not surprising since my father runs the only other regularly printed news media. However, they should have done their research better, as I have all magical ancestors going back at least five generations. I suppose pureblood lunatic wouldn't sound as good to those most likely to have negative opinions of Harry.

"Then it contrasts the two other members of Harry's supposed harem. On one hand, we have Pansy who is described as a devious yet desperate pug-nosed girl who used him to escape her Death Eater father, and now she is apparently manipulating him into ignoring better romantic options, despite merely being his servant. On the other hand, we have Parvati-"

"What? Why me?"

"I'm guessing because you danced with Harry at the Yule Ball. It does have descriptions of all of your outfits. Pansy's is described as thoroughly scandalous. Can I see it some time, Pansy?"

"Maybe later, Luna," Harry answered, holding Pansy's hand as she was too upset to respond. "Skeeter thinks she's being smart. She couldn't attack me, so she went after the people around me, suggesting that I have all these bad influences in my life. But she made a mistake in going after the people I care about. She's going to pay for this."

The last line was hissed out so angrily, that a couple of people looked over at Harry warily, reminded of his parseltongue ability.

"What did it say about me?" Parvati asked.

"It describes you as a dirty wog and someone who needs to keep her foreign traditions away from Britain's iconic hero."

"That- she didn't-" Parvati flushed angrily, unable to finish her thought.

"What's a wog?" Luna asked with a confused expression.

"It's a racist term for someone who isn't white," Harry answered. "It's very offensive, Luna. I'm almost surprised that the Daily Prophet would print something like this."

"Unfortunately, Rita Skeeter draws a large audience with her gossip."

"Not for long."

"I can't believe that b-"

"Please don't finish that, miss Patil," professsor McGonagall interrupted as she had come over to speak with them, noticing how upset several of the students were. "While I cannot fault your anger at this rubbish, I must insist on certain standards. Now, I believe you all have Herbology soon, so please deposit this with the rest of the garbage on your way."

"Yes, professor."

* * *

Pansy was quiet that morning, so Harry took her back to their quarters during lunch. Dobby could be counted on to make sure they had food there.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'll make Skeeter pay for this. Are you alright?"

"I..." Pansy's voice hitched and Harry saw a tear leak down one cheek. "No one has called me pug-nosed in awhile, but it was a common insult when I was younger."

"Hey, don't listen to that bitch. I love your nose," Harry insisted, as he wiped her cheek dry. "It's a cute little button nose. I think it's perfect. Much better than something like the enormous hooked beak that Snape had or Dumbledore's long crooked nose."

"Thanks, Harry." She tried to give him a smile, but he could see just how forced it was. "It just brought back some bad memories. Kids always pick on whatever obvious thing they can, and my upturned nose was the target they chose."

"Fuck them. Your nose is adorable. You should have heard the things I was called. Four-eyes, obviously, since I wore glasses. Then they would go after my messy hair, or my cast off clothes, or how skinny I was. Hell, the Dursleys almost always called me boy or freak. I still distinctly remember them forcing themselves to call me Harry the week or so before I began school so they would be sure I would respond to my name and not cause them any problems."

Harry snorted mirthlessly and Pansy scowled at him.

"I still think I should have killed those bastards."

"Thanks," Harry snickered. "But I like to imagine Vernon is in a cell somewhere with some big, scary, violent criminal. Have you heard what they say happens in prison, at least in the non-magical world?"

"No."

"Well, the men there still have sexual urges, so they take them out of the weaker prisoners. And for all his talk, he never had the balls to do anything other than pick on a child. So, I like to imagine him being someone's bitch every night. The fat fuck deserves it."

Pansy laughed at that thought too.

"Thanks, Harry. I don't think I want to be around people too much today. Could we skip dinner too?"

"You mean I get you all to myself tonight? Absolutely."

"Completely incorrigible." Pansy shook her head at him as Harry smiled back.

"And you love me for it."

* * *

Hagrid hadn't been there that first day back, and they had a substitute again for Wednesday's class, so Harry decided to do something about it. While not necessarily meaning to enlist her help, Luna was coming too as Hagrid was her favorite teacher. Pansy trailed along behind them, not particularly caring but not having anything better to do.

"Hagrid, open up!" Harry yelled as he banged on the front door of the little hut. Not getting any response, he banged again before Luna reached up and stopped him.

"Let me try, Harry."

"Okay."

Luna stepped around Harry and knocked on the door, not nearly as loud this time.

"Hagrid, are you in there?" Luna knew he was, based on the smoke coming from the chimney, but she was going to play things differently. "Oh, I suppose you're not. It's too bad, I was hoping you would show me around the Forbidden Forest. Since you're not home, I'll just have to go exploring by myself. Harry offered to go with me earlier, but I told him the snow fairies wouldn't come out if a teenage boy was around. They've received too much of a bad reputation over the years.

"I was thinking that I would have more luck if I went deeper into the forest. Maybe I'll see you when I get back," Luna's voice trailed off as she was walking away from Hagrid's cabin. Harry watched her go as she winked at him and soon enough there was the sound of deep footsteps coming from inside.

"Yeh can't be goin' in there by yourself, Luna," Hagrid bellowed as he opened the door. He looked shocked for a moment as Harry stood there grinning at him, while Luna twirled around with a smile on her face.

"Sure I can, Hagrid," she giggled.

"Harry, yer supposed to be her friend. Yeh wouldn't just let her run off like that."

"Well, I wouldn't have to if you had just opened the door. Now, what's it going to take to get you to stop hiding in there when you're supposed to be teaching?"

"Yeh think yer so smart, huh? Tricking poor old Hagrid like that," the half-giant shook his head as he stepped back inside, with the teens all following him. "Yeh just don't understand."

"I think you're blowing this all out of proportion," Harry argued. "Apparently, I'm just about the only one who assumed you were just a really big guy. Pansy says everyone should have known that you had giant blood."

"I could tell that," Luna added. "It doesn't bother most people. Professor Flitwick is similar. Everyone can tell that he has goblin ancestry. In his case, and in yours, it doesn't matter to the vast majority of us because you're good teachers."

"But-"

"Let me guess," Harry interrupted. "Some of the older families have sent you hate mail. It should be obvious that those types of people are probably the ones still wearing robes and masks and attacking people at last year's Quidditch World Cup. Why would you care what Death Eaters think, Hagrid?"

Their teacher just sat down in his oversized chair by the fireplace. He still wasn't looking convinced, so Harry looked over to Pansy, who rolled her eyes but agreed with a nod.

It was time to bring out the big guns.

"You know, Harry and I sometimes playfully argue over which of our houses and their core values are better. He tells me that you were a Gryffindor like him. That's the house for the brave, right? So, why are you hiding in here like the world's biggest baby?"

"Are yeh calling me a coward?" Hagrid was obviously incensed, but sometimes a kick in the butt was just what you needed. That's what Harry had been counting on.

"Are you going to keep acting like one?" he asked, not wanting Hagrid to be too angry at Pansy.

"Fine," Hagrid grumbled. "I can hardly let a bunch of kids show me up."

"That's more like it," Luna cheerily replied. "I missed you Hagrid."

"Yeh still can't go off into the forest alone, Luna."

"So, you're going to come with me?"

"I'm not that easy to trick, little miss Lovegood."

"You shouldn't worry too much about Rita Skeeter anyway, Hagrid," Luna smiled.

"Why not?"

"You must have missed the paper Monday morning. Since she was warned against attacking Harry directly, she instead decided to attack the people around him. She wrote some very rude things about Pansy, Hermione, Parvati, and myself. I'm pretty sure Harry's going to threaten to kill her soon."

"Who says it will be just a threat?" Harry growled. There were a few small laughs at that, but even Luna could see the murderous intent in Harry's eyes. Thankfully, at least Hagrid didn't seem to be paying as much attention to Harry's anger.

* * *

The hate mail had not only been directed at Hagrid though, as the girls all started to get nasty things sent their way as well. Pansy was saved from this as her mail had to go to Harry, which meant that it was being sorted and taken care of by Dobby. That still meant Hermione, Luna, and Parvati would have to deal with the abuse.

After three straight mornings of them all blasting howlers with shouts of _Incendio_ , Harry approached their heads of house, professors McGonagall and Flitwick, who agreed to have all three girls' mail redirected. Dobby had plenty of practice by then, and house-elves always delighted in taking out the trash.

He and Pansy spent an hour every night practicing dueling, being joined by Hermione and Luna only on Thursday night. Harry still referred to it as fighting though, as he was more interested in surviving whatever form of magical combat he might get involved in, and he wasn't willing to just learn the proper "formal" way to duel.

When Saturday morning came around, Harry finally got to deal with some more unfinished business. The newspaper had arrived, which meant it was time for step one of dealing with that scumbag Krum.

The Durmstrang contingent was once sitting over at the Slytherin table, and between the Death Eater headmaster and a sleaze like Krum, it was clear why they wouldn't fit in better at any of the other tables. It made Harry wonder at how the entire house had been so badly tainted by people like Riddle, Malfoy, and Snape. The girls he had met- not just Pansy, but the Carrow and Greengrass girls- none of them were so blatantly evil. And he really liked Slughorn, even if Harry still was a bit uncomfortable with the sort of networking that his Slug Club was all about.

Harry had the paper in hand as he crossed the room, stopping just in front of Krum, who was sitting near Karkaroff. Hermione had followed him for obvious reasons, while Pansy came along mostly because she wanted a front row seat, just in case the goon or his slimy boss tried anything.

This had the side effect of none of them noticing one of the Slytherins slip out of his seat and disappear under an invisibility cloak.

Harry opened the Daily Prophet to page 6 and set it down on the table. Notices were normally listed in the very back section, but then it wasn't every day that the boy who lived declared himself patron to a young muggleborn witch.

"In case some of you cannot read English, allow me to make this very clear," Harry began. "Hermione Granger is now under my protection. All of you are to stay far away from her, and that especially goes for you, Krum. I'm not allowed to challenge you to a duel as long as the tournament is going on. The last task in on the twenty-first of June. As soon as the trophy is presented to the winner the next day, it's open season. This is your only warning."

Hermione treasured the scowl on Krum's face. She should have known better than to be so trusting of some strange guy swooping in to ask her to the dance. If she hadn't been delighted at how much it would have infuriated Ron, she probably would have said no anyway.

Pansy was thrilled for a different, much baser, reason. She loved seeing Harry get all angry and threatening, and this left her ready to skip the rest of breakfast and drag him back to their quarters.

"Mr. Krum will be staying away from all of you, I can assure you of that, Mr. Potter," Karkaroff answered. His oily voice made it hard to trust a word the Death Eater said, but his harsh look at Krum at least suggested that he would keep his student from doing anything foolish.

"I appreciate that, headmaster," Harry replied with a nod, and they headed back to their places at the Gryffindor table.

Pansy whispered in his ear not to eat too much as they had important business back in their quarters as soon as possible. Her expression left him no doubts, and Harry smiled as he sat back down to try to quickly finish his breakfast.

But as he reached for his glass, Pansy grabbed his hand and stopped him. A voice from behind made him turn around.

"Well played, Potter." It was Theodore Nott standing behind them, with a goblet of pumpkin juice in his hand. "Many of us wonder at your behavior at times, but today was very well done. To handling things without resorting to violence."

He raised his drink in a salute, waiting for Harry to follow.

"Don't drink that, Harry," Pansy interrupted.

"It is upsetting to see you let your servant talk to you like that, Lord Potter," Nott sneered. "Are you going to once again insult those of your peers, or will you accept my compliment properly?"

"Professor Slughorn," Pansy called. Harry remained quiet and waited to see what she was doing, counting on her to be watching his back. Harry had no idea of what Nott was up to, so he trusted Pansy to take care of whatever this was.

"Maybe the supposed might of House Potter has fallen even farther than I thought," Nott said, scowling as he turned to walk away.

"What is going on here?" Slughorn asked as he showed up just before Nott could escape.

"I believe you will find that the drinks of both Harry and myself have been spiked with something," Pansy replied. She and Harry noticed Nott flinch, and Harry smiled at her.

"Perhaps Nott was counting on that. Can you have our drinks tested, professor Slughorn?"

"Of course, Harry. Do you have anything to say, Mr. Nott?"

"Why would I need to slip something in Potter's drink?"

"Well, judging by the smell I noted in my goblet, I would guess you were jealous of when I showed up on Harry's arm at the ball. Amortentia releases very specific odors, did you know that little Teddy?"

"Don't call me that, you-"

"Then I guess my drink was laced with something to get me out of the way?" Harry suggested. "That would make the most sense, assuming little Teddy was thinking with the wrong head."

"I didn't need that imagery, Harry, but it seems he isn't quite as devious as he thought."

"Both drinks do test positively for being tampered with," Slughorn confirmed after waving his wand over both goblets.

"They say that poison is a woman's weapon," Pansy purred with a smirk as Nott fumed. "But then, not many wizards know how to use their wands properly. Maybe this is just a way for little Teddy to cover up for his pitiful little wand."

"How dare you, you slut!"

Harry answered by backhanding Nott as hard as he could.

"Say another word to Pansy and there won't be enough of you left for your mother to bury next to your Death Eater father, you piece of filth."

"Harry, my boy, please don't let this devolve into violence," Slughorn interjected, with a worried expression. "Let me investigate this. If Mr. Nott tried anything of the sort, you can be sure that he will be thoroughly punished. We'll start with revoking his Hogsmeade privileges, as I strongly doubt that anyone his age could have brewed something like that on their own."

"But professor Slughorn-" Nott started to complain, before the Potions Master cut him off.

"Your behavior already speaks against you in this circumstance, Mr. Nott, and I would have to punish you in any case for using such language to slander a young lady in the Great Hall of all places. After eating, you will spend the rest of the morning with Mr. Filch while I determine just what was slipped into their drinks. I hope for your sake that you weren't foolish enough to do what you have been accused of."

Nott stomped off back to the Slytherin table and everyone scooted away from him when he sat down, slumping into his chair.

"Let me handle this, Harry. I promise I will get to the bottom of things." Slughorn had a nervous little smile, but Harry nodded in agreement.

"I trust you will do your utmost, professor. But I would also suggest that you keep Nott far away from either of us."

"Of course."

"Pansy, let's go. I'm not hungry anymore."

* * *

A few minutes later, they reached their quarters and Harry let out a growl.

"That fucking bastard!" Pansy tried to quiet his anger by grabbing him for a kiss, but he was too worked up at the moment. "How did you know what he did?"

"This," she replied, as she lifted the locket she wore around her neck. "Remember, you made it able to detect magical things placed into food or drinks near me?"

"Oh yeah. At the time, I was mostly thinking of keeping the Weasley twins from trying to prank you."

"I am a bit surprised they've never done anything of the sort."

"Fred and George are generally pretty good guys. Of course, they haven't been doing much pranking at all lately. I wonder what they're up to. You would think they would have had more chances for things like that without quidditch to cut into their free time.

"Still, I'm glad that little present was of use."

"Me too. I don't want to find out how well the amortentia would have worked on me," Pansy shivered with revulsion. "Love potions are mostly marketed and sold to teenage girls and treated as if they are some sort of joke. I'm guessing a lot of the girls this morning probably didn't think they were very funny because something like this could happen to one of them."

"Yeah. You know, the magical world is pretty fucking disturbing. You don't even need to use something like the Imperius curse to have your way with someone. There are compulsion spells, which aren't even classified as Dark Arts. There are also potions like these. But you could go even simpler, just with spells to restrain someone and then obliviate them afterwards. Or even just use the Confundus charm, which we learned as third years. It's almost a miracle that sexual assault isn't common place in the magical world."

Harry looked disgusted and Pansy held onto him even tighter, as she could not disagree with him.

"There have been a lot of stories over the years of supposedly muggleborn witches and wizards who were actually probably half-bloods. It wouldn't take much for a wizard to have his way with a muggle woman and leave her pregnant afterwards. She wouldn't have a way to know any different."

"God, that's fucking horrible. I can just imagine a Death Eater doing something like that- although, I guess in that case, they would be just as likely to kill the poor woman afterwards."

"Alright, enough of this," Pansy interrupted. "I wanted to have some fun before we went to Hogsmeade today."

"I don't know if I feel up to it right now, sweetheart."

"'That doesn't work for me, Harry. 'I'm not in the mood' is supposed to be my line. But I'm not willing to let some little weak piece of crap like Nott ruin my morning." Pansy ran her hand slowly down his chest before dipping below his waist and squeezing her target. She pulled his hand and took him back to their bedroom.

"You should know by now how much I enjoy watching you get angry and threatening with people. Now then," she smirked as she pushed him back onto the bed, then slid her hands down under her skirt. Some days she wondered why she even bothered to wear knickers.

"I believe neither of us got to finish our breakfast this morning, so you know what this means?"

Harry got that goofy smile on his face as she slowly climbed her way up over his body.

"What?"

"You're just going to have to eat _me_."

* * *

Almost two hours later, they were in front of the bathroom mirror together, straightening their clothes and preparing to go to Hogsmeade for the day.

"If I haven't mentioned it lately, you are bloody amazing."

Pansy giggled at him.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Is there anything in particular you want to do today, my amazing girlfriend?"

"Not really. I'm just glad it isn't snowing."

"I thought you liked cold weather?" Harry teased her with a smile as she leaned closer to the mirror and put on a bit of lip gloss.

"There is a big difference between a nice cool breeze and the damn blizzards we get up here at Hogwarts most years."

"Yeah. I'm dreading the second task being in February. Knowing my luck, it will be ten degrees below freezing and I'll have to perform the task in my underwear."

"Speaking of which, we really need to figure out that stupid screeching egg one of these days."

Harry groaned but admitted she was right.

"How about we just try to relax for the rest of the day though? I've had enough drama for one weekend."

* * *

"I wondered if you two were ever going to join us," Hermione huffed when Harry and Pansy came down to the entrance hallway, which was almost empty as most of the students had already headed off to the village of Hogsmeade. Luna was waiting with a typical dreamy smile though, and she was quick to add her interpretation.

"I'm sure Harry and Pansy just needed to sort a few things out after the busy breakfast they had."

"Sort things out, right Luna." Harry was pleased to see Hermione resorting to sarcasm.

"I find that physical exertion is a good way to get rid of stress," Luna added. "I don't think you can blame them for wanting to not be stressed all weekend."

"I have to agree." Harry smiled while Pansy rolled her eyes but was unable to fully contain a grin of her own. "I am definitely feeling a lot less stressed now. Is there anything you two lovely ladies are wanting to do in particular today?"

"See, Harry's in a much better mood," Luna said cheerfully, as she attached herself to Pansy's left arm, the side opposite of Harry.

"Um, Luna?"

"Harry can only properly escort two of us, and Hermione is now under his patronage, so this seemed most fitting. You'll protect me from the noxious muffdagglers, won't you Pansy?"

"Of course I will, Luna," Pansy agreed with barely a hint of a smirk. Harry just nodded and stuck out his other arm.

"Shall we go, my protegee?"

"I can't believe you're calling me that," Hermione sighed. "What has the world come to?"

"A much better place than it was a couple of hours ago," Harry said happily.

"Can we please not discuss your sex life?"

"Why not?" Luna pouted.

"Because I learned more than enough about it the morning after the Yule Ball."

"Tell me more."

"Look what you two have done- you've thoroughly corrupted Luna."

"Don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Hermione. I would have corrupted myself eventually, and besides, one could argue that everything is constantly being corrupted. We are all naturally prone to favoritism, for example. And if power corrupts absolutely, that would explain many of the failings of magical society, as we are given more individual power with our abilities than most muggles."

"Only most?" Harry asked.

"The wealthy always have the most power," Luna continued. "Most wizards don't have the nerve to use their power to the full extent, but we could all turn into dark lords and ladies if we really wanted to. With judicious use of the Imperius curse, any witch or wizard could do almost anything in the muggle world."

"You do have a point," Hermione conceded. "'Great men are almost always bad men,' as Lord Acton also said. I guess I should be glad that not enough magical people have that sort of wanton desire for power."

"That explains how useless the ministry is," Pansy snorted.

"I wonder if it explains professor Dumbledore too." Hermione was shocked at Luna's statement.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is great, but he is certainly not a bad man. How can you even say that Luna?"

"There were approximately two dozen Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup. All of them escaped justice under professor Dumbledore's watch as the head of the Wizengamot. 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing' would be the appropriate quotation."

"She does have a point," Harry argued. "I don't think Dumbledore is evil, but the ministry could have done more to verify the so-called Imperius defense. Making people roll up their sleeves would have been a good starting point."

"Of course, then the bribe money would have been more obvious," Pansy added.

"It's a shame Millicent Bagnold is dead," Harry fumed. "I'd like to see her brought up on charges of treason for letting so many of those fucking bastards walk free. Her whole administration should probably be investigated."

"True, but we are getting off topic." Luna cheerfully steered the conversation away from bitching about the uselessness of the Ministry of Magic. "We were talking about how I had been corrupted by my two best friends, which I am very thankful for."

"Why?" Hermione asked, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Because purity is a concept that we all fail in some ways. Harry is prone to wrath, as we saw this morning. I've heard that you're prone to vanity."

"Vanity? Me?"

"Intellectual pride, showing off that you always know the answers in class, is a form of vanity. I have heard multiple people complain about you."

Hermione shrunk at that, which made Harry wrap his arm around her in comfort.

"You've gotten a lot better about that Hermione."

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No, he's right. I can almost tolerate you in most of our classes now," Pansy smirked.

"Only most?" Hermione asked, as she tried to force out a laugh.

"Sometimes when you and Vector get going in Arithmancy I want to strangle you both." Harry giggled at Pansy's response and could not disagree.

"Anyway," Luna interjected. "Personally, I prefer the vices of lust and gluttony. Although, I'll probably have to cut back on the gluttony when I get older and my metabolism slows down. That's why I'm enjoying sweets as much as possible now."

"Lust is the most fun," Pansy said with a smirk.

"Definitely," Harry agreed with a wide grin.

"You two perverts would say that," Hermione grumbled.

"Okay, Pansy, you have got to tell me what you did that got Hermione so bothered," Luna pleaded.

"Later."

"Promise?"

"Sure."

"I'm so glad you introduced me to girl talk."

Hermione moaned while Harry snickered. He knew that Pansy and Luna would continue to come up with ways to take the mickey out of him, but he was also pretty sure that they would be funny as hell together too. And Hermione was utterly doomed.

But that reminded him of something he had been meaning to do for a long time...

* * *

The three girls had dragged him around the village for over three hours, but Harry had a blast anyway. Hermione and Luna easily spent almost half that time browsing in the bookstore, while Harry and Pansy found a quiet corner to snog in until they were disapprovingly interrupted by one of the employees.

You would almost think the woman hadn't seen any teenagers ever do such a thing before.

After that, they went by the candy store and Harry began to institute what he dubbed Operation: Hermione's Corruption by pestering his best friend until she broke down and bought a sugar quill.

He briefly noticed Ron look over at them as he went into Zonko's with his older brothers, and Harry thought he detected a hint of sadness. He had to admit that he missed some male company at times, but Ron's refusal to warn him about the dragons was not something that he was willing to forgive.

By the time they went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, the confrontations at breakfast were a dim memory.

Luna was disappointed at the lack of snow, as she was still interested in exploring the wilderness for snow fairies, and she had an idea to search on the far side of the village from the school. Further away from the perverted teenage boys at Hogwarts, as she said.

That made Harry wonder why she wanted him of all people to come help her search, but he was happy to go along with whatever she wanted for the most part. Luna was just too much fun (and too cute) for him to tell her no. He had an idea that Pansy might have helped her learn exactly how to twist him around her little finger.

Hermione and Luna got in an argument over lunch about entropy and whether or not magic disproved the second law of thermodynamics. Hermione complained that there weren't enough serious scholars in the magical world that tried to understand how magic seemingly broke the laws of nature. For her part, Luna started talking about social entropy and how social dissatisfaction also increased with time in a similar fashion.

Harry laughed at 'his two Ravenclaws' and asked how Hermione had convinced the hat to put her in Gryffindor. He then reminded her of the library they had in their common room that she was missing out on, but he did admit that at least their friendship had developed in part due to her misplacement.

Pansy just rolled her eyes at all of them.

They were almost finished with their meal when trouble walked in the door.

Rita Skeeter was dressed in hideous banana-yellow robes, with her long, talon-like nails painted a bright pink, and she was followed by her ever present photographer, who was listening to her ramble with a dull expression.

Harry made no note of her current topic as he stood angrily. Here was the bitch who had insulted all of the girls he loved- and he had even begun to care more about Parvati, whom Harry was still considering how he might be able to help- and Rita was just strolling in as if she owned the place.

The nerve of this evil fucking cunt.

(Harry had to admit that Luna was right. He was very much prone to wrath.)

"Well, well, well, if it isn't most of Harry's little harem. Where's the Paki girl?"

"Jesus Christ, Skeeter," Harry shook his head in disbelief. "You can't even be accurate when you're being racist. That would be like if I were to call you a French bitch, but that would be an insult to the French."

"Now now, Harry. The public has a right to be concerned about who you associate with. The boy who lived shouldn't be seen with riffraff."

"Hear that, camera man? Don't take any pictures of me with Rita visible."

"How droll, Harry. Do you have a few words for the Daily Prophet today?"

"Here's six words: I challenge you to a duel. You have offended the honor of House Potter, among many others, with your lies and gossip. Why don't we take this outside, Rita? I'd hate to make a mess of Madam Rosmerta's fine establishment."

Everyone in the Three Broomsticks had gone silent as they watched the confrontation between the boy who lived and the witch who made it a point to ruin reputations.

"Afraid of the press, Harry? It's your funeral." Rita turned and headed for the door with a flourish and began to tell her photographer where to stand to get the best angle for the next front page shot.

"She's going to be merciless now, Harry," Hermione cautioned. "An honor duel won't make much of a difference to someone who clearly has none like Rita Skeeter."

"True, but you can bet that all of Hogsmeade is going to be eye witness to this, and I happen to know a girl who has an in with The Quibbler."

"I guess I'll be writing something to Daddy this afternoon then."

"Why Luna, how thoughtful of you." Harry smiled and turned to whisper to Pansy. "How would you feel about kicking the shit out of Skeeter?"

"Me?"

"You've been learning to fight in all our practice too, and I have a feeling Rita is likely to not take you as seriously since no one has ever seen you win a duel to the death before. Besides, she did attack you personally, and your honor is more important to me than my own."

"Alright, let's do this." Pansy stood up with a wicked grin and the girls followed Harry outside, where the crowd was already gathering.

Professor Flitwick was in the middle of things, trying to set up a protective spell around a clearing in an open lot that would allow a duel to take place safely.

"Hello professor," Luna said with a smile.

"Miss Lovegood," he answered without looking as he was still in the middle of spell casting. "Mr. Potter, am I going to have to do this every year now?"

"Sorry about that, professor Flitwick."

"I would be much more cross if that odious woman wasn't today's target. I trust this there at least won't be any fatalities this time?"

"It's just an honor duel, and since she has none, it should be over very quickly."

"Overconfidence can be your downfall, Mr. Potter. Be careful."

Harry nodded as their professor stepped aside and the crowd tried to get the best views they could without coming into contact with the glowing outlines of the dueling area.

"I will accept an apology if you want to call this silliness off, Harry. We could even let bygones be bygones and sit down for an exclusive interview. It's that or I'll just have to write whatever comes to mind after this little farce."

"An honor duel is usually to either first blood or until one party yields. I think we'll all see who yields first, Rita."

"You're making a mistake, Harry. The public won't be pleased at today's behavior."

He turned around and walked over towards his three girls, and led Pansy out into the center of the makeshift dueling arena. The crowd let loose several wolf whistles as he pulled her in for a kiss, then took her hands in his and slipped his family ring onto her finger. Those paying close attention would have noticed that he put it on her ring finger, and Harry was well aware of that symbolism.

"People of Hogsmeade, students, friends," he stood a bit taller and began an impromptu speech. "Miss Skeeter's typical low quality gossip and slander has offended House Potter, and for that I have challenged her to an honor duel. But some of you have already seen me fight a duel before, so you might be thinking that you have some idea of what comes next. However, that awful excuse for a reporter has insulted all of House Potter. So today, Pansy will stand as our champion to show the truth of exactly how contemptible Rita Skeeter is."

There was a cheer that went up as Harry leaned in close to Pansy.

"You will leave her broken and humiliated," he growled in her ear.

"I will obey, master," she purred in delight.

Harry walked over to Luna, who for once looked focused, and Hermione, who was clearly worried.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Harry."

"I have complete faith in Pansy."

"Rita might have a few tricks up her sleeves," Hermione argued.

"Hermione, do you really think a reporter spends her nights practicing for combat? When do you think was the last time Rita would have had to actually fight someone?"

"Robert Howard said that 'civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split,'" Luna interjected. "I think that applies to much of what we see in modern society. Harry is just a bit closer to Conan than most of us."

"Conan? The guy in the loin cloth with the big sword?"

"You should read some of the original stories, Harry. You would like them. Very cynical, primal, and often brutal. They're just full of bloodshed and scantily-clad babes. Although, magic is often treated with contempt, and many of the villains are sorcerers."

"I think I could handle that," Harry acknowledged. "Most of the villains in my life have been sorcerers too."

Rita stepped forward at that point and called out a warning.

"You're going to be even more of a disgrace after this, little girl."

"Someone count us off so I can destroy this wretched old woman."

"Damn, I love her," Harry chuckled as Flitwick stepped forward and counted down to start the fight. He could feel a pull on his magic as Pansy drew her wand to take aim at her opponent.

Rita called out _Levicorpus_ , but Pansy ducked underneath it and fired a Tongue-Tying Curse at the reporter, who looked shocked as she tried to choke out another spell.

Pansy followed up with a shout of _Petrificus Totalus_ , leaving Rita unable to move.

Harry turned to Hermione with a smile, as he reminisced about the first time he had seen that spell when she used it on Neville just before they had gone off to save the Philosopher's Stone. She looked back at him and blushed, obviously remembering the same thing.

"Poor Neville," he muttered as his girlfriend continued her task.

Pansy used an instant scalping hex to leave Rita's famous blonde curls scattered on the ground. With only her eyes able to move, Rita began to tear up as she felt the winter wind on her now bare head and the gathered crowd laughed and jeered at her.

But Pansy wasn't done yet. A pus-squirting hex left yellow goo shooting out of Rita's nose, a disarming spell sent her wand flying off into the distance (just in case), a _Tarantallegra_ forced her to begin to dance wildly, and finally she was blasted into the wall of the closest building by an _Expulso_ curse that Moody had taught them in their last meeting with him in December.

With her mouth now working properly again, Rita immediately cried out, "I yield!"

The audience roared as Harry strode out towards Pansy who still looked ready to kill.

"Well done, my love," Harry murmured in her ear and she immediately relaxed, taking comfort in his arms.

* * *

As the crowd dispersed and Harry led his panting girlfriend away while her adrenaline wore off, Rita Skeeter seethed and decided on a course of action. The closer her target, the more dirt she could dig up. Revenge would be oh so sweet.

* * *

Pansy didn't feel up to hanging around Hogsmeade for the rest of the afternoon, so Harry and the other two girls walked back up to school shortly thereafter with an unknown stow away.

Luna cheerfully waved goodbye as she set off for her dorm to write a letter that Hedwig would take to her father later that evening. Harry had to smile at that, as even his easily-irritated owl just adored Luna.

Hermione went to work on an Arithmancy project that wasn't due for another couple of weeks, but she would of course need to do at least three revisions of it before it would be up to her immaculate standards. There was a reason that Pansy found her and professor Vector more than a little tedious when they went into a deep discussion in that class. Not only were they both prone to rambling about minutiae together, but so much of the statistical analysis of the magical world was just so damn dry. If she didn't have them do so much actual class work, Pansy would have had to constantly poke Harry to keep him awake.

Now alone, the two of them stepped into the the security of their quarters and collapsed down onto the couch together.

"That was pretty strange today," Pansy said as she stretched out and lay her head in his lap.

"Are you feeling alright now?"

"Mostly. I felt fine at the time, but afterwards, when the excitement wore off, my nerves were really rattled. I'm not sure how you've been able to handle some of the things you've done without freaking out."

"Usually, I just get so caught up in the moment that I can't really let my mind wander. Being introspective while a basilisk is trying to eat you would just leave you dead. But yeah, afterwards, when things have calmed down, I'm sometimes amazed at everything I've survived."

"I hope I don't have to do too much of that in the future. I don't like fighting, even if it is against someone so despicable as Rita Skeeter."

"I would prefer that you not have to do that sort of thing either. I just thought today would be a good idea, as people could see just how amazing you are, and you could get back at Rita for her bullshit. And Luna was right- as angry as I get, I might have killed that bitch."

"Harry, what am I going to do about your temper?" Pansy chuckled. "She really did pick the absolute worst way to get under your skin. After all, you did threaten to murder a bunch of twelve year old girls last year if they bothered Luna anymore."

"I do get furious whenever anyone goes after one of my girls," Harry admitted.

"Yes, you do. I can't really blame you for being overly protective though. I wanted to murder Black when I thought he had betrayed your family and left you as an orphan."

"And you did have to protect our Luna today from the... what was it?"

"Noxious muffdagglers," Pansy snorted. "Do you think sometimes she just makes those things up on the spot?"

"She is pretty creative," Harry speculated. "We've seen her painting skills, and you know she's made most of her own jewelry. I wouldn't put it past her. Plus, Hermione was there today, and I'm almost positive that she sometimes does things just to get under her skin."

"Alright, now I'm definitely feeling better," Pansy said as she sat up. "And you know what that means."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in for a kiss. But as she ran her fingers through his hair, Pansy let out a shriek.

A beetle was thrown onto the floor as Pansy shook her hand in horror.

"God, I hate bugs. Step on it, Harry."

The dazed little insect's last thoughts were _oh shit!_ as a large shoe came down to crush the life out of her.

If Harry thought her shriek at discovering the beetle in his hair was bad, it was nothing compared to Pansy's scream of terror as his foot rose to reveal the bug shifting back into the human form of Rita Skeeter.

A now thoroughly smashed corpse.

"Oh my god, I'm going to be sick."

Harry stood there stunned into shock as he vaguely heard Pansy run into the bathroom and begin to vomit. If his brain had fully processed what was going on, he probably would have been there right beside her. He had seen a dead body before, and even been the cause of that death, but watching Edmund Parkinson or Lucius Malfoy bleed out was nothing like seeing a human body squashed almost flat, with blood and other gross fluids leaking everywhere.

"Holy fucking shit," Harry exhaled in a daze. "I killed Rita Skeeter."

The awful smell restarted some part of his brain and Harry bellowed for Dobby.

"Master Harry! What happened?" the horrified elf asked.

"I stepped on a bug, but it wasn't just a bug."

"The naughty reporter lady was a bad bug lady too?"

"Yeah. We're going to have to hide her body, but I don't know how we're going to deal with this mess."


	56. Blood on the Floor

{French}

* * *

"Oh shit, oh shit," Harry muttered to himself. He heard Pansy still retching in the bathroom and was just on the edge of needing to go join her. He kicked off his shoe and a wave of nausea hit him. He started to take a deep breath to try to calm his nerves only for the atrocious smell to remind him that that was a terrible idea. "What the fuck do I do now?"

"Master Harry sir!" Dobby was standing to his left, tugging on his sleeve. "Dobby knows what to do!"

"Alright, what?"

"Master should use a spell to make the bad bug lady's body smaller."

"Smaller? You mean a shrinking charm? Will that work?"

"Magic will be much easier to use now on her. Bug lady isn't a witch, just a dead body."

"Okay, I'll give it a shot. _Reducio!_ "

Sure enough, the squashed corpse of Rita Skeeter shrunk down to the size of an action figure. Or at least, an action figure that had been flattened. Dobby then popped in with a metal bucket, and a thick rag that he scooped up the body with, setting it in the bucket. Dobby used his elf-magic to start cleaning the floor and Harry ran for the bathroom.

Thankfully, Pansy had finished vomiting and flushed. She was now rinsing her mouth out repeatedly over the sink. Harry's stomach had enough by then and he began throwing up as soon as he reached his target.

"Oh fucking hell Harry. What are we going to do now?" She asked once Harry's heaving was under control. As soon as he could, Harry stood up and went for the sink to rinse his mouth out and splash some water on his face.

"Dobby said he knew what to do."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he had a good idea too."

"Do I want to know?"

"Maybe not. Why don't you wait in the bedroom while I go check and see what he's done?"

"Alright. I'm going to look for spells to help with that awful fucking smell."

"Good idea."

Pansy started to look through their books of spells while Harry ventured back out into the living room. The smell was still pretty bad, but Dobby had almost finished cleaning up the mess.

"Holy shit. Great work, Dobby."

"Thank you, master Harry!"

"What do we do about her dead body though?"

"Dobby will take care of it, master. Don't worry."

The elf put the finishing touches on cleaning the floor and then stepped over to clean the bottom of Harry's shoe. _The murder weapon_ , Harry thought rather morbidly. He shook that strange thought off as a snort of manic laughter tried to escape. He looked back over at Dobby and realized once again just how much he relied on the little guy.

"Are you sure?"

"Dobby has had to get rid of dead bodies before," the elf replied with a downcast look.

"Oh. Fuck. You mean the Malfoys?"

"The bad old master made Dobby get rid of three different bodies. The first time, the old master went with Dobby to make sure it was done right. The other two times, Dobby was ordered to do it right or face horrible punishments."

"Oh crap, I'm so sorry, Dobby." Harry kneeled down and hugged his friend. "What can I do to help?"

"It will be alright, master Harry. Let Dobby take care of this. Trust Dobby."

"You know I do, Dobby." Harry stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Of course!" Dobby shouted gleefully as he disappeared with a pop, the metal bucket in his hand.

Harry walked across the room to the far wall and opened up the door that led to a small balcony. It was cold as hell outside even with the sun still up for another hour or so, but the winter wind was something he would just have to put up with to try to air out the main room of their quarters.

He shivered briefly and walked back inside, heading for the bedroom.

Pansy was sitting on the bed with four books spread out beside her and a fifth in her hand.

"Find anything?"

"It's a good thing you decided to just buy Goshawk's entire set."

"Well, we're going to get to them all eventually, and it was a better deal. I take it you found something in one of the later years?"

"The Bubble-Head Charm should be what we need. We wouldn't have learned it till next year normally."

"Alright, let's figure it out."

"Is everything okay with Dobby?"

"Yeah, umm..."

"What?"

"The thing is, he has apparently had to do this before. Lucius Malfoy made him get rid of bodies on three occasions."

"Bloody fucking hell. Why am I not surprised? Poor Dobby."

"Yeah. I am definitely going to do something nice for him after this. Assuming I can get him to tell me what I can do for him, that is."

* * *

Half an hour later, Harry and Pansy had both just about gotten the Bubble-Head Charm down. Necessity made them work hard at perfecting it as quickly as they could. The shape itself wasn't too hard, but making it last very long took a while longer to master.

They eventually went out to the balcony to get some fresh air and each cast the charm one more time. When they stepped back inside, neither of them could smell anything foul through the fish bowl like magic surrounding their heads.

Dobby popped back in and began laughing immediately. They looked at each other and could only shrug. It was rather goofy looking.

"Is everything taken care of Dobby?"

"Oh yes," the elf replied as he failed to fight off the giggles. "Dobby can take care of the bad smell too."

"Of course you can," Harry sighed. "What would we do without you, Dobby?"

"Look like silly fish-people, master Harry!"

"I guess we would." He turned to Pansy who just walked over to the couch and sat down.

"This has been one really fucking crazy day," she said, shakily. "I can't believe just right over there-"

"I know. I don't think I'm going to get that image out of my head any time soon."

"I almost wish we could obliviate each other."

"Well, I could obliviate you," Harry suggested.

"But then you would still remember it. We really need to keep this secret though. If either of us has to remember, it should be me since I'm better at Occlumency than you."

"I don't want to make you remember seeing that."

"Secret magic," Dobby suggested.

"Secret magic?"

"Like master Harry's parents used. Keep a secret hidden."

"The Fidelius Charm? We could try that I guess, but I know it isn't in any of the normal school books," Harry said.

"I guess we might need to make another late night trip to the Restricted section."

* * *

They went to the library that afternoon and sat with Luna for awhile as she finished a Potions essay for professor Slughorn. Harry was looking through every advanced book of Charms he could find, just in case he didn't need to sneak into the Restricted section.

Down an aisle, a pair of dark brown eyes watched the trio interacting as an idea began to form.

Pansy had decided to split their research time by searching for books that might be of some help while Harry skimmed through them. Neither of them could really speed read, but Harry was a bit quicker than her. It was too bad that Granger wasn't there, as she would have been a big help. Of course, that's assuming that Pansy would trust her with something like this- which she wouldn't.

Luna's stomach rumbling caught Harry's attention.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Just after seven."

"Dinner time then. I'll have to finish this later." Luna began packing her things. "Are you coming Harry?"

"I'm not really hungry right now. Pansy and I will get something later. Would you tell Hermione not to wait for us?"

"Sure."

The blonde Ravenclaw left the table and waved goodbye to Pansy who was down a nearby aisle putting a book away and searching for another that might be promising.

"Padma, will you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

Pansy peeked through a crack to the next aisle where the Patil twins were quietly talking.

"Do you know Luna Lovegood?" Parvati asked.

"Not really. I know who she is- it's kind of hard to miss with how often she's right next to the dreamboat. She's got some pretty out there ideas about magical creatures. Other than that, I just know the other girls in her year are now terrified of her for some reason."

"Oh, I can explain that," Parvati answered. "It's actually Harry they're terrified of. They were bullying Luna. Harry found out about it and threatened them. He really hates bullies. After all the crap he dealt with from Snape and Malfoy, you can't blame him."

"I still can't believe what Snape did. Bad enough to betray a life debt like that, but then to constantly attack Harry too? I was horrified to see what happened to Snape, but I understand why Harry called for his judgment. Plus, Slughorn is such a great teacher. The difference is like night and day."

"Tell me about it. Between the Slytherins sabotaging his work and Snape constantly harassing him, Neville used to have a cauldron melt down at least once a month. It hasn't happened at all this year."

"Oh, is there anything else you should tell me about Mr. Longbottom, sister of mine?" Padma asked with a small laugh.

"Hardly," Parvati huffed. "He was pleasant enough at the Yule Ball, but you know who I wanted to go with."

"You did get a turn on the dance floor in his arms, didn't you? That still makes you luckier than almost everyone in the school."

"Just not lucky enough. But Harry's such a sweet guy that maybe I'll win him over."

"Pansy won't like that. I've seen some of the looks she gives other girls who are clearly interested in Harry. She's pretty scary- like she would gladly disembowel anyone who tried to get close to her man."

"If you think that's bad, you should have seen the way Harry was glaring at Nott earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if Harry challenged him to a duel. Or maybe arranged some sort of fatal accident."

"You think Harry would be that sneaky?"

"I think Pansy would, and Harry listens to her advice," Parvati replied. "But we've gotten off topic. I was going to ask you to help keep an eye on Luna since you're in Ravenclaw with her."

"Why?"

"Just to make sure that no one else gives her any problems. Harry is very protective of her. I know a big part of why he fell out with Ron was that he was so rude to Luna."

"You're hoping that helping his friends will get Harry's attention," Padma suggested. "I don't think it will work, sis."

"Well _you_ didn't want to seduce him with me when I suggested that last year. As if any guy could have resisted twins. Although, Pansy might have already had her hooks in him even then."

Parvati sighed while Padma shook her head at her twin's persistence.

"I will try to make sure no one's bothering Luna."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'm a bit worried about you though. I think you're getting too fixated on Harry. I mean, I get it. Really, I do. But he's taken, and I just don't want to see you get your hopes crushed."

"Don't worry about me, sis. Sit with me for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Sure. I've got to grab a couple more books tonight though. See you later."

"Bye."

Pansy slowly walked around to the other side, giving Padma time to get far enough away so that she could have some privacy with Parvati.

"Thank you for having her look out for Luna," Pansy said, making Parvati spin around in surprise.

"Oh crap. I guess you heard all that?"

Pansy nodded with a devious little grin.

"Let's go for a walk."

Parvati gulped but held her head up high as Pansy led her out of the library and into a nearby empty classroom.

"Look, I know Harry's with you, but-"

"Don't worry about it. I understand. If I were in your place, I would want him too."

"Really? You're not going to attack me?"

"Not right now," Pansy said with a smirk. "I've had enough crap to deal with today. And I really do appreciate you wanting to make sure that Luna is alright. She's my best friend, as strange as that may seem."

"You two are a pretty big... uh, contrast?"

"Yes, contrast," Pansy acknowledged with a wicked little grin. "You apparently didn't hear the whole story though, about Harry and Luna. Those fucking cunts in her year are awful. When Harry found Luna, they had stunned her and left her in an empty room while also stealing her wand, her shoes, and an earring. Just because she's kind of strange- she didn't deserve that. But then we get to the best part."

"Do I want to know?"

"You remember what happened to Lucius Malfoy?"

"I don't think I could forget. My heart stopped when he fired the killing curse at Harry," Parvati replied.

"Mine did too," Pansy agreed. "Anyway, Harry told those girls that the next time one of them decided to pick on Luna that they would be answering to him and that the last person who crossed him bled to death in the Great Hall. One of the girls pissed themselves."

"Oh shit," Parvati snickered. "Harry can be pretty scary when he wants to."

"Damn right. And within a week of that warning, they found out that they all owed him life debts because of what happened with the dementors. Every single one of them looked like they were going to faint that night."

"I guess I didn't really need to ask my sister to help then," Parvati groaned. "It seemed like such a good idea."

"It is," Pansy contended. "There could always be other people foolish enough to go after one of Harry's friends. So, thank you."

"You're not mad? I mean, I didn't just do it to be nice."

"I'm not stupid enough to believe in something like pure altruism," Pansy shrugged. "I like you, Parvati. You're more interesting than a lot of people, and you're smarter than you seem on the surface. As long as you can realize that the role of Harry's leading lady isn't up for grabs, we won't have any problems. And Harry, noble fool that he is, will help to protect you from an arranged marriage."

"How? I mean, if the betrothal isn't an option because... because you-"

"Because he's already taken?" Pansy suggested. "There are other ways. Harry could always claim you via life debt, the same way he did me. There are problems with that though, as he would become fully responsible for you and that would get all kinds of complicated. He could also offer you a sort of patronage."

"Like with Hermione?" Parvati looked thoughtful. "I didn't think you could do that with other purebloods."

"It wouldn't be exactly the same. Assuming your parents do hold off on setting anything up while you're still at school, Harry could offer to help you get started with whatever you might want to do with your life. You'd be missing their support, so he could lend you money and the power of his good name. The legal protections would be more problematic-"

"Especially with my family being foreign. Padma and I do have dual citizenship, but I know that some people look down on us."

Pansy snorted.

"The idiots in this country like to look down on everyone for one reason or another. You could always move to another country though. Harry and I think of doing that sometimes."

"Seriously?"

"He really doesn't like all the expectations people seem to have of him. And with all the danger and crap that keeps popping up here at Hogwarts, sometimes he talks about just getting away. Maybe moving to America. Or France."

"France?"

"We went there last summer."

"Lucky you," Parvati complained.

"You have no idea," Pansy sighed. She found a chair to sit down in. Parvati giggled as she sat nearby.

"You just had a smile like Luna gets."

"Maybe we aren't as different as it seems. Although, I know Luna would not have the same reason."

"Will you tell me about your reason?" Parvati teased. "Living vicariously through you might help me keep from throwing myself at him."

"He hasn't worn his contacts since the ball, so you have no excuse for losing control, Patil."

"Seeing everything he's done today was enough to make a girl get all hot and bothered. What exactly happened between Hermione and Viktor Krum, anyway?"

"I'll tell you later, if you're good."

"It's a shame that I can't warn you two to keep an eye out for love potions. I assume that you'll be careful of that after today, and people would have to be pretty dumb to try the same trick any time soon."

"That would have been a good idea too. I really should have thought of it by now. Of course, I would have expected some girl to target Harry instead of me."

"Well, you did look pretty damn hot at the ball. I'm not surprised other guys would be interested after that. I can hardly believe Harry kept his hands to himself."

"Who says he did?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're awful," Parvati moaned theatrically. "I meant at the dance. If it had been someone like Seamus, you would have had a hand or two up your dress. And with that slit up the leg, ooh..."

Parvati fanned herself and Pansy laughed.

"If I admit something, will you promise not to kill me?" Parvati joked.

"As long as you don't have a love potion with Harry's name on it."

"No, but I did, just for a moment, think of trying to give you one."

"Why?" Pansy asked harshly.

"So that I could have talked you into a threesome. I figured that Harry wouldn't fall for something like that after we talked last month before the ball, but if you suggested it, he just might go for it. I realized it was a dumb idea because afterwards you probably would have killed me in my sleep."

"I probably would," Pansy agreed with a laugh. "But that was a more devious plan than a lot of people would have come up with. This is why you're more interesting than those people. It also makes me curious how well love potions would work on someone of the wrong gender."

"You've never thought of having a threesome then?"

"No, not really. I mean sort of, in a hypothetical way, but..."

"Well, hypothetically speaking, would I be on your list?" Parvati asked, with a hopeful grin.

"I haven't made a list of potential girls," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "It wasn't really even something I thought much of, but when I did it was your fault."

"Mine? How so?"

"Yours and Lavender's really. Last year, when Harry was teaching Granger the Patronus charm, you two first approached me about this 'Harry's harem' theory, and one of you mentioned that he and I might have had a threesome with her. As if I would have such terrible taste in other girls. Yuck."

Parvati chuckled at that. "You really don't like her, do you? How does that work with her being Harry's best friend?"

"We tolerate each other mostly. I can be polite, when it suits me."

"I'm sure Harry appreciates your efforts," Parvati giggled. "So, you've never fantasized about another girl joining you and Harry? Not even Fleur Delacour? Veela are said to be incredible in bed, and she is so yummy that I've even caught myself staring at her a couple of times. Can you imagine having boobs that perfect? I'm not sure if I hate her or I want to try snogging a girl."

"She is rather annoyingly gorgeous," Pansy snorted. "But even if I wanted to do that with her, I don't think it would work. Harry can't stand her for one thing, but I would also be concerned about her allure making things really complicated. You know, even more so than just having an extra person in our bed would."

" _Our_ bed? Oh, you bitch, you are sleeping with him! Is it as amazing as I like to imagine it is?"

"Even better," Pansy sighed with a dreamy little smile on her face.

"I can hardly believe I'm talking to you of all people when you smile like that."

"Exactly. You've known me for years, Parvati. Can you imagine anything making the old me this happy? Harry saved me from every bad thing in my life, and then he just keeps constantly going out of his way to make it even better. I didn't know it was possible to love someone like this. He is _everything_ to me."

"You're so much more open now too."

"Hiding our relationship seemed necessary at first. We had so many enemies, and the rumors started almost immediately about how Harry might have been making use of me and all sorts of other salacious things. But now that everyone knows, I do feel a lot better."

"Plus, you know that a ton of girls wish they were in your place," Parvati said wistfully.

"Yes, that too," Pansy giggled. "Especially Bones, the fucking cow. And Daphne too- I really cherished the icy glare she sent me when I walked in on Harry's arm at the Yule Ball."

"It was obvious to me how much Harry adored you that night. I asked him how he got so confident and he said that he didn't have anything to worry about since he knew he would be leaving the ball with the most gorgeous girl there. He never even glanced at Fleur the entire night, and she was the only girl at the ball whose dress was even close to on par with yours. Of course, not to mention her unnaturally amazing curves."

"I know," Pansy drawled out in an annoyed tone. "It would be interesting to look like her, just for a day. To be that tall and voluptuous."

"Tell me about it. Sometimes, I hate Lavender just a little bit when she's showing off her cleavage."

"Lavender has never bothered me, actually," Pansy admitted. "I think it's because Harry has always found her to be a bit too much. It was clear almost immediately that she never interested him.

"I used to evaluate every girl he interacted with, seeing if any of them caught his eye even just a bit. Harry never said or did anything really to make me too jealous, but I noticed how he looked at other girls. At first, I thought I would have to be worried about Granger, but I could tell that he didn't find her particularly attractive, and I noticed that she seemed to have a crush on Weasley for some ridiculous reason."

"I know," Parvati laughed. "That has never made any sense. Even when they were friends, Ron constantly called her mental and argued with her. He made her cry on a number of occasions. Who would be interested in a guy that treated you so horribly? I'd almost guess that she has serious issues with her father."

"No, I've met her father," Pansy interjected. "She has a healthy, supportive family. I'm not sure why her taste in guys is so awful. I asked her once why she wasn't interested in Harry."

"Really? What did she say?"

"She didn't give me an answer. It was odd to me, because there were so many girls with obvious crushes on him. Like Ginny Weasley. Or you," Pansy smirked. "I used to be a lot more jealous, but lately I've felt just so much more secure with Harry. His behavior at the ball is probably part of that, but I think just revealing our relationship did something too. Like, now I can feel how obviously content Harry is to have me as his girlfriend. I wonder..."

"What?"

"I just had a thought. You know that Harry used a life debt to claim me from my father, right? Well, it seems like that bond between us has occasionally had some odd interactions with our magic and things like that. I'm just wondering if it has also affected us on other levels. Because I do feel like something big has changed recently. A year ago, I would have hated you for being so blatantly interested in Harry, but now I can sit here and talk to you about it without freaking out or wanting to hex your tits off."

"Thanks for that," Parvati replied with a chuckle. "So, if you won't freak out about it, who would be more likely to end up in a threesome with you and Harry? I want to know how high I am on the list and what I can do to get to the top."

Pansy shook her head with a smile.

"I don't think you could get to the top."

"Why not?" Parvati moaned.

"Because if I did have to pick a girl for that, it would be Luna. I really love that girl."

"And Harry does too. Dammit! I knew she was cutting in ahead of me." Parvati swore in Hindi. "I guess I can understand that. So, how close would I be to second place then?"

"I'm not sure. See, the problem is a question of how I would pick. Do I choose someone that Harry particularly finds attractive? I might still be too jealous to do that. Do I choose someone that we both like, that we could get along with well? Because that's why I would pick Luna. I know Harry tries not to think of her like that though."

"Really? Luna's rather pretty, if a bit odd."

"Yeah, but Harry's fixated on filling a protective older brother role with her. There are other girls he finds more attractive also."

"Like who? _Please say me, please say me_ ," Parvati repeated in a sing-song chant.

"Fine," Pansy rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Yes, he does find you very attractive."

"Yes!"

"He's never actually told me that, by the way, but I can just tell."

"Oh, thank you," Parvati squealed as she got up and threw her arms around Pansy in a hug.

"It makes sense in a way too," Pansy added while Parvati sat back down with a triumphant little smile on her face. "I mean, we do have a couple of obvious differences, but we share similar builds, we both have dark hair and neither of us is very tall.

"However, that doesn't mean I'm ready to share or have a threesome."

"Just think of me if you ever change your mind," Parvati beamed.

"That's one thing you have in common with Harry."

"What?"

"You're both incorrigible."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You would," Pansy muttered, but with a grin nonetheless as she got up and headed for the door. "Anyway, you're probably getting hungry, and I need to get back to Harry."

"I could always join you," Parvati teased as they stepped out into the hallway.

"Maybe some other time, you wench."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed."

Pansy just couldn't help but chuckle as Parvati walked off in the other direction.

* * *

Harry still hadn't found anything when Pansy made her way back to the library, and even an hour later they'd had no luck. They took a break to head down to the kitchens for a quick bite to eat. Neither of them wanted to go back to their quarters just yet.

Finally, they decided to sneak into the restricted section late that night. Harry's invisibility cloak was very useful, but Pansy noted that they should probably learn the Disillusionment charm just in case they did not have it handy. It wasn't normally taught until fifth year, but that had never stopped Harry before, so she was sure that they would learn it soon enough. Moody could probably be counted on to help them if they needed it.

It took them until well after midnight, but Pansy did eventually find a book that described how to cast it as well as its uses and limitations. Considering there was over a hundred and fifty pages devoted to that single spell, they knew that it would not be something they could figure out over a single night. They grabbed the book and managed to make it back to their quarters where they headed straight to bed. Neither one of them wanted to spend one second more than necessary in their living room.

* * *

They were both still disturbed by what happened the next day, so Harry put into play an idea he had been meaning to get around to for a long time. While Pansy grabbed the book about the Fidelius charm, he got a small bag out of the bottom of his trunk, as well as grabbing the Marauder's Map, and they headed down to the kitchens the next day after lunch.

Dobby met them there and had everything ready for Harry to make some special brownies. He probably could have managed it from scratch, but brownie mix existed, so Harry figured he might as well go with the easy way. As stressful as their last week had been- especially that hellacious Saturday- faffing about testing his baking skills was just not on the day's agenda.

Pansy read out loud from the book as she believed that Harry would be more likely to manage the Fidelius eventually, and they got through roughly a third of it while Harry made the brownies. The actual casting of the spell seemed simple enough, but it was the will and focus that would be tricky. Plus, it seemed like the nature of the secret itself could cause all sorts of problems. The fact that they wanted to conceal a fact that only three people knew would be on their side; it would certainly be a lot simpler compared to making a house seem to disappear. However, it was not something Harry was going to try without knowing more, so he suggested that after they finish reading and figuring out everything they could about it by themselves that they then approach professor Flitwick. The Charms Master should be able to help them, and with Harry being able to use the background of his parents' betrayal as motivation for learning about the spell, there shouldn't be too much suspicion about why he wanted to learn everything he could.

Once the brownies were finished, Harry used the map to find Hermione and Luna, who were thankfully both in the library. Pansy decided to wait, staying with Dobby who was watching over the brownies as they cooled, and she skimmed a bit more about the Fidelius charm.

"I don't understand how you can be so narrow-minded, Hermione." Luna's voice caught Pansy's attention as the two girls entered the kitchens just ahead of Harry. "You grew up in a world where magic is only a fairy tale. Wouldn't that open your eyes to more possibilities being out there?"

"Just because magic is real doesn't mean that everything is. There is no evidence that Atlantis ever existed. Back me up on this, Harry."

"Sorry, Hermione. Just because I haven't seen any evidence of Atlantis doesn't mean that I am sure that it is just a fantasy. Personally, I hope it did exist because I think it's a really cool story. Plus, it would make Luna and her dad happy if they found it. That's enough for me not to just dismiss it out of hand."

"Fine, but just because you two dreamers want it to be real, you can't expect everyone else to believe in that crackpot idea."

"Alright," Harry interjected, glad to finally be able to put the argument to rest. "However, I brought you two down here for a reason other than just discussing things like this."

He saw Dobby take Pansy's book with a pop as he checked his watch.

"Only a couple more minutes till they've cooled enough." Harry smiled as the Hogwarts house-elves had cleared a table for he and his friends to sit at and set out plates and silverware. The little creatures were still semi-awestruck by Harry, and now that he was the school's champion for the tournament, they were cheering him on in amusing little ways. He had noticed that his favorite foods were always close by at meal times no matter where he sat, and there had been a plate of bacon every morning for breakfast already laid out for Hedwig. One of them had even set out several chilled bottles of butterbeer to go with his baked goods this afternoon.

"Ladies, this week has largely sucked. Between Rita's gossip, Hagrid getting bent out of shape and hiding in his cottage, Krum being a coward, Nott being a disgusting scumbag, and the idiots of this country deciding to send you all a bunch of hate mail, I think we could use a break. An afternoon to just relax and enjoy some chocolate. Just for my favorite girls."

Harry took a knife from the table and began to cut the brownies into substantial serving sizes. He wasn't sure how strong these would be, but he needed to relax and take his mind off things, so he figured the more the merrier. Or better sorry than safe, maybe?

Regardless, he put slices onto plates and passed them out.

"Did you really make these yourself, Harry?" Luna asked as she took a plate from him. She leaned down and took a sniff. "Oh my goodness, that smells delicious. Pansy, if I ever do something to upset Harry, remind me that he can apparently make chocolate heaven."

She took a small bite, then stood up and came around the table to wrap Harry in a hug and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, by the way."

"Thanks, Luna."

"I've never had brownies before," Hermione admitted as she looked down at the confection."My parents wouldn't approve of something so..."

She had taken her first bite and a glazed look came over her face before she could continue with a near-orgasmic exhale.

"So decadent."

Hermione took a second bite and Harry turned to Pansy who was smirking but had begun eating as well. He joined them and was pleased with how well they had turned out. He hadn't really done any cooking in a long time now. It was delicious and he soon realized he had eaten half his serving.

"Damn you, Harry," Pansy giggled. "You made them better than I did. Next time we go see Vanessa, you're going to make some more of these and I'm going to take all the credit."

"Fine with me," he chuckled. "It's not really a fair comparison though. I don't think you had ever cooked anything before, right?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Plus, you didn't have the wonderful house-elves of Hogwarts standing by to hand you extra chocolate to make them even sweeter. Thank you all for that, by the way."

"Master Harry Potter sir is most welcome!" came several squeaky voices in response.

"House-elf chorus," Luna giggled. "Imagine them as a barbershop quartet."'

"There's too many for a quartet though, Luna." Harry frowned for a moment. "The highest I can remember is a septet. What comes after that?"

"Octet, then nonet," Hermione answered with a sticky voice, her mouth still half full of brownie. Harry grinned at his friend's for once less than impeccable manners. Looked like things were progressing nicely. What was she talking about again?

"The highest I can remember is a duodecet, which is a musical group of twelve. But when Luna said chorus, I thought of a Greek chorus, which could have a whole lot of voices all in unison." At the looks of confusion, Hermione explained further. "In classical Greek plays, the chorus was a group of people who would help tell the stories, narrating and explaining things to the audience."

"So, like a whole bunch of Hermiones?" Harry asked with a chuckle. He looked over at some of the working house-elves. "We would need to get them little curly-haired wigs."

"That would be so cute," Luna added. "If my family ever had a house-elf, I would like to give her a long, blonde wig. Then, she could be like my little sister! I've always wanted a sister."

"Who is Vanessa?" Hermione asked. Pansy had to shake off the the picture in her head of Luna and a little house-elf look-alike so she could respond.

"A muggle friend of ours we met last summer."

"I'm still somewhat amazed at you making friends with muggles and settling into the non-magical world so easily. No offense, but from what I saw of you the first couple of years, I just wouldn't have imagined it."

"Luna didn't have too much trouble fitting in either when we took her out last summer," Pansy pointed out.

"I think we're all still young enough to adapt pretty quick," Harry suggested. "I mean, Luna had only been really practicing magic for a couple of years, so she wasn't too set in her ways, you know?"

"That makes sense," Luna agreed. "The more one becomes used to something, the more they take it for granted. For example, I can tell that Harry and Pansy's auras are almost in perfect synch."

"You can't see auras, Luna," Hermione insisted.

"Well, I can't see them right now, but I know I'm right. That's one of the ways I could tell they were together last year before I even met them."

"There's no such thing as auras," Hermione argued. "That's pseudoscience nonsense."

"The muggle world considers ghosts to be pseudoscience nonsense too," Luna countered. "Perhaps you would like to explain that's all he is to the Bloody Baron? Or to professor Binns?"

"That could make for the first interesting history of magic class ever," Harry giggled. "Please do that, Hermione. If you will try to convince Binns that he isn't real, I promise I will stay awake all through the class for a whole week."

"Just a week?" Pansy teased with a chuckle.

"If she can actually succeed, I'll stay awake for the rest of the term."

"Promise?" Hermione giggled.

"Promise," Harry insisted with a fervent nod. "Why are we talking about ghosts anyway?"

"Because Hermione won't let me pry open her third eye," Luna answered. "I would probably need a very heavy crowbar."

"Don't take a crowbar to Hermione's head." Harry started having those strange visions of Luna the pirate again, only wielding a crowbar instead of a cutlass. "Her head is where she keeps her brain, and that's really useful for things."

"Alright, but it's her loss," Luna shrugged. She had finished her brownie, so she poked in the side Harry while holding her plate out with her other hand. "Gimme!"

"Right away, miss!" Harry cut several more pieces and soon all of their plates were once again full.

"God, these are so good," Hermione gushed. "I wish my parents weren't such sticks in the mud about sweets."

"But then my baking skills wouldn't have been so impressive," Harry laughed.

"You've impressed me in plenty of other ways already, Harry."

"She did get to see you naked," Pansy teased.

"That's not what I meant!" Hermione blushed even as a giggle slipped out and Harry chuckled at her. "Even if his bum was rather nice."

"It is, isn't it?"

"You've seen it too, Luna?"

"That's not all I've seen," the blonde giggled.

"You two really are corrupting Luna, aren't you? What have you perverts done to this poor girl?" Hermione was indignant.

"I still haven't gotten a chance to tell you what got Granger's knickers in a twist on Boxing Day yet," Pansy said.

"You haven't let me see the scandalous dress yet either," Luna replied.

"Oh, please, please put that dress on again," Harry begged. "So fucking hot!"

"Now I really want to see it," Luna purred.

"The more I try to fight it, the more you're all just going to keep taking the mickey out of me," Hermione sighed.

"Probably," Harry answered with a smile. "You're too serious, Hermione. Relax. Come be silly with the rest of us. You're only young once, you know?"

"Unless you invent a spell to reverse aging," Luna suggested.

"Don't give her any excuses, Luna. Hermione, I challenge you to do or say something as goofy as you can before we leave here today."

"Ooh, I know!" Luna was bouncing with glee. "We could play truth or dare."

"You know truth or dare?"

"Everybody knows truth or dare."

"I don't think I want to play that with these two," Hermione said, pointing to Harry and Pansy. "They'll probably end up with their clothes off and I am not a voyeur."

"Why not?" Luna asked sadly. "I want to see them with their clothes off."

"No."

"Fine, but you have to answer one question of mine first," Luna insisted.

"Alright, but only one."

"Okay, let me make it a good one." The Ravenclaw looked at her best friends- Harry smiling lazily as he took another sip of butterbeer between bites, Pansy with a wicked grin on her face, obviously hoping for something that would make Hermione uncomfortable. She made up her mind and turned back to Hermione.

"I've got it. In order, from most to least, which of the three of us would you prefer to snog?"

"I don't want to snog any of you," Hermione groaned.

"Nope, that's not the rule, Granger," Pansy demanded. "You agreed to answer to avoid the chaos of playing truth or dare with us. And you know that one of us was bound to get to sexual dares pretty damn quick."

"The only question is which of us would have done it first," Harry teased.

"I would," Luna answered with a smile. "I like getting corrupted by you two."

"Alright, fine!" Hermione threw her hands up in defeat. "I guess Harry the most."

"Really?" Pansy asked. "I thought you were one of the few girls in the school that didn't have a crush on him. Is there something you're not telling us, Granger?"

"I don't like Harry like that. But he is the only boy and I am not attracted to girls."

"Okay, but you still have to decide if you would rather snog Pansy or myself. Remember, I am not talking about just a little peck- a full on snog."

Hermione looked warily at the other two girls while Harry just giggled away.

"I couldn't have asked this question to Harry or Pansy, as they obviously would have wanted to snog each other, so it would have been perfect to ask you if we did play truth or dare."

Hermione just groaned and hid her hands in her face. She sat back up after a moment and looked over the two faces staring her down. Luna was wide-eyed and dreamy, Pansy was full of mocking disdain.

"Pansy," Hermione quietly answered.

"No way," Pansy said, flustered. "You and I barely get along, even with Harry's interference."

"You don't drive me crazy the way Luna does. Plus, I think she would be more likely to try to push things further in an effort to make me even more uncomfortable."

"I would," Luna agreed with a smile.

"On the other hand, I don't think you would enjoy it at all, so it would be over quicker."

"That's true."

"Pansy's lips are for snogging me," Harry said as he pulled her onto his lap and proceeded to demonstrate. Luna cheered them on while Hermione only sighed.

"Look what you've done now, Luna."

"It's very nice, I know."

While the two lovers were engaged, and becoming even more heated, Hermione heard the sound of hiccupping.

"Did you hear that Luna?"

"Hmm? I am a bit distracted by the show. Did I hear what?"

There was another hiccup followed by a squeaky belch.

"Oh, that. Yes, very odd."

"Huh?" Harry disengaged from kissing Pansy when Luna poked him in the side again.

_Damn, he was just about ready to christen the Hogwarts' kitchens too._

There was a soft sound of someone crying in between hiccups.

"What is that?" he asked and Dobby faded into sight next to him.

"That is Winky, master Harry." Dobby was clearly sad, so Harry helped Pansy to her feet and then followed the sounds over to a stool by a fireplace where an obviously drunk house-elf was sitting with several empty bottles of butterbeer scattered around her on the floor.

"Winky? Crouch's elf? What happened to her?" Pansy asked once she saw the disheveled little creature.

"Winky is not happy being freed, miss Pansy. Winky misses her family."

"I'm sorry, Winky," Luna said as she kneeled down. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Miss wants to help Winky? But Winky is a bad elf!" She let out a sob and looked away.

"You're not bad Winky," Hermione argued. "You didn't do anything wrong. Mr. Crouch was cruel to free you like that."

"Miss is naughty for saying bad things about Winky's good master Crouch! Winky failed because Winky is a bad elf! Winky has left her family all alone!"

"Not helping Hermione," Harry said as he reached over to stop her from trying to argue with the pitiful little house-elf.

"I just-"

"Let Luna try."

"Miss Winky, my name is Luna. Do you not like working at Hogwarts?"

"Winky misses her family," she croaked in response before giving way to more sniffles.

"I can't do anything about that, Winky. But maybe I could offer you a new family."

"Miss would want a bad elf like Winky?"

"I think Winky could be a good elf again. If you feel up to trying again."

"Winky would..." she struggled to keep herself from bursting into tears again and sat up much straighter. "Winky would like to try to be a good house-elf again."

"Wonderful!" Luna cried out happily. "Then I would like to welcome you to the Lovegood family."

"Thank you miss Luna." Winky leapt up and threw her arms around Luna, still crying but at least now they were hopefully happy tears. "Winky will do a good job!"

"I'm sure you will. Now, if you will give me a moment, let me write out a note for you to take to my father."

"Winky will get supplies for miss Luna!" She disappeared with a pop, then brought back a piece of parchment with quill and ink. Luna began writing and Harry pulled the other two girls away for a moment.

"Now I know what to get Luna for her birthday," he whispered to them.

"What?"

"A blonde wig for her new little sister."

Hermione only groaned while Pansy let out a cackle and Harry joined her, laughing at his own joke.

"That's terrible, Harry."

"Well, it won't be the only thing I'll get her."

"I already know what we'll be getting her," Pansy informed him. "Just leave it to me, at least until it's time for the shopping trip."

"Okay."

"That's taken care of," Luna said as she walked over to them after handing her things to Winky who had disappeared again. "This is actually a big relief. I sometimes worry about how well my father looks after himself. He tends to get caught up in his work and forget the little things."

"I probably shouldn't ask," Hermione began. "What sorts of little things?"

"Oh you know: eating, bathing, making sure the snugglepuss gets plenty of regular exercise."

"Snug- you know what, never mind,' Hermione said, having to stop herself from her usual curiosity. It didn't work very well when Luna was around. She had some idea that no matter what explanation she got for a snugglepuss, it would be frustratingly Luna-ish.

Harry and Pansy were no help either, as they were giggling their heads off.

"So, what were we doing before?" Harry asked. "I seem to recall snogging getting cut off before I could get to the fun part."

"The fun part is when he takes my clothes off," Pansy added, all too helpfully.

"I'm sure," Hermione said with a blush. "Could we talk about something other than sex?"

"Do we have to?" Luna complained.

"You and I can talk about sex more later," Pansy said to console her.

"Yay!"

"Anyway, did you hear that professor Slughorn was going to have another get together next week?" Hermione asked, desperately trying to change the subject. "He's a really good teacher, even if he does have a mustache that makes him look like a walrus."

Harry burst out laughing again.

"I think how round he is also helps," Pansy snickered.

"Good job, Hermione. I will accept that for being goofy today with the rest of us."

"We do have more brownies to finish," Luna suggested.

"I would say that you'll spoil your appetite for dinner," Hermione replied. "But then, I've seen how you usually eat, so I guess that wouldn't be true."

"I think Hermione still isn't being goofy enough, Harry." Luna turned to him with an unusually serious look on her face. "And you know what that means?"

"What?"

"Tickle fight!"

Hermione let out a shriek as Luna's fingers went to work on both of her sides and she began to laugh.

"Help me you two!"

"If you insist," Pansy replied while Harry just pulled both of the other girls down to the ground before they hurt each other with the thrashing. "Where are you most ticklish, Granger?"

"No!" She laughed more, unable to escape the combination of Harry and Luna. "Not- haha- telling!"

"Get her shoes off," Harry suggested. "Feet are usually ticklish."

"Don't you- hahaha- dare," Hermione cried out, but Pansy had Dobby use his magic to instantaneously leave her barefoot. Luna then reached down and ran her fingers along the bottom of one of her feet. Hermione was laughing uncontrollably and soon gasping for breath before Luna stopped.

"That looked fun," the blonde said as she kicked off her own shoes and socks. "Someone do me!"

Harry grabbed one of her feet and began tickling her sole. Luna immediately roared with laughter. Hermione took advantage and goosed her sides. Luna was flailing so hard that Harry let go of her foot and rolled over towards Pansy.

"Your turn," he said, but she cut him off by sitting down, straddling him and grabbing the back of his neck.

"Can't you think of something better to do while the others are busy?" She leaned in to whisper into his ear while one hand slid down between them. "Because I can."

She gave him a squeeze and Harry grinned, his mouth finding hers while giggling continued in the background.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the four shambled out of the kitchens all looking sweaty and tousled. Their appearance would almost make one think that the rumors of Harry's harem were true.

"We need a Hufflepuff," Luna said out of the blue.

"Why?"

"We don't have a Hufflepuff, and we're right by their common room."

"Should we kidnap one?" Harry asked with a giggle.

"That's how rumors get started," Hermione teased with a giggle of her own. Between the tickle fight and the last brownie, she was a lot more relaxed.

"One of you two will have to be the Hufflepuff," Pansy stated. "We don't need two Gryffindors."

"Not it!" Harry shouted.

"That's not fair," Hermione moaned. "You could be a good Hufflepuff."

"State your cases," Luna suggested. "Pansy and I will judge."

"What if you can't agree?" Harry asked.

"Another tickle fight!"

"That's not fair, Harry is bigger than me so he'll be able to hold me down."

"Then you had better come up with a good argument," Pansy replied.

"Fine. Harry's done a lot more to fight for justice than I have."

"How so?" he asked.

"I haven't brought any Death Eaters to justice."

"Okay, that was mostly just to keep myself alive," Harry argued. "Besides, think back to Pettigrew."

"What about him?"

"I was going to let Sirius just kill him. You, and Pansy, wanted Pettigrew to be tried so Sirius could be ex.. exhumed? No, that's not the right word. Excommuned... Excommunicated? Exorcised? What is the word I'm trying to think of?"

"Exonerated," Luna replied.

"Thanks. That. So, that's justice for Hermione."

"Well, you've worked hard to become the top of our year at both Defense and Runes."

"Yeah, but I'm also really lazy in several of the classes that I just don't care about. You're easily more hardworking than I am."

"Part of that is just my nature as a bookworm. You've really pushed yourself, Harry, and I'm proud of you." Hermione punctuated her statement by wrapping Harry in a hug.

"Thanks, but you're not hugging your way out of this, Hermione. You spend way more time working on pretty much everything else. That's justice and hard work for Hermione. Do we even need to argue over loyalty?"

"I think you're both pretty loyal," Luna said. "But I think we should finish just to see if Hermione gets the sweep."

"Fine. Harry is incredibly loyal to the people he cares about. Even after we got in a couple of arguments last year, he always tried to look out for me. Cheering me up when Ron was being a jerk, and getting me to not spend every waking hour on schoolwork."

"Yeah, but you kept trying to give Ron the benefit of the doubt much longer than me. Even after he attacked you about that fucking rat."

"Hmm, I'd say that's inconclusive," Luna chuckled. "Pansy?"

"I know Harry really well, and I'm going to have to say he wins on loyalty."

"But I was going for the sweep," he protested. He tried and failed to scowl at his girlfriend. "Traitor."

"Sorry, Harry. I just know too many things about you to argue that you aren't incredibly loyal."

"Well, Hermione's still the bigger Hufflepuff."

"I think we should ask a more unbiased judge," Hermione argued as they came around a corner. "There are some actual Hufflepuffs. Hey, Hannah!"

"Hi, Hermione. What are you all doing down here?"

"A lot of things. This has been a pretty busy afternoon," Hermione answered, almost getting off track as she thought of the last couple of hours. "Anyway, we need your opinion about something. Which of us is more of a Hufflepuff?"

"Um, I don't really know Pansy very well," Hannah equivocated. "And, I've never really met Luna before, although I know who she is. Hi, by the way."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Not them," Hermione said. She grabbed Harry and pulled him to the front. "Just Harry and me."

"Okay, um, well I always thought you should be in Ravenclaw."

"This is just a question of Hufflepuff qualities," Harry insisted. "Hermione is way more hardworking than me, so I think she should win just based on that."

"Oh, yes that makes sense."

"See, Hermione. Three out of three judges agree. You're the Hufflepuff. Thanks, Hannah!"

Harry smiled and walked off with an arm around Pansy while Hermione frowned.

"Come on, my protege," he called back over his shoulder.

"Stop calling me that!"

"Then stop being so fun to tease."

* * *

Moody summoned Harry and Pansy to his office on Monday after the last classes of the day.

"Have either of you ever seen one of these?" the professor asked as he pointed to a stone basin with runic carvings all over it.

"No. What is it?" Harry looked closer, inspecting the Runes to try to figure out what this obviously magical item was.

"It's called a pensieve. You can use it to examine memories in closer detail."

"That's awesome."

"Heh, yes it is pretty 'awesome' Potter. I finally talked Albus into letting me borrow it from him. Today though, it's going to be useful. First things first, we're going to take a look at how the little miss did in her duel against Skeeter. Then, we're going to review when Malfoy challenged you last year. Lastly, I'm going to make sure that those are the worst performances in duels either of you ever puts up, got it?"

"Yes sir," they both answered.

"Good. Ladies first, as they say." Moody explained the process for extracting a memory and they were soon all standing in the middle of Hogsmeade as professor Flitwick set up the makeshift dueling area. Harry was shocked at how detailed it was and even more so that the memory did not take place specifically from Pansy's point of view, which would have been a lot more limited. The duel played out as he remembered it.

Moody was not particularly impressed and he largely blamed Harry for ordering Pansy to humiliate Skeeter instead of just blasting her with everything she had. The paranoid old auror didn't believe in giving any enemy even the slightest advantage.

Harry tried to argue that the entire point of the duel was to publicly humiliate Rita, to damage her reputation just as she had tried to do to Pansy and the other girls.

Moody didn't care too much about that. A fight was a fight. You either fought to win or you were wasting his time. Harry understood what he was trying to get across, so he bowed to Moody's wisdom and promised not to take any Death Eaters lightly if he got in a fight with any of them.

He had a feeling that he was going to be yelled at quite a bit once they got to the duel with Malfoy.

The professor did compliment Pansy on her speed and accuracy though. Using multiple spells to keep her opponent disabled was also praised, although he suggested that she should have summoned Skeeter's wand over to keep her from regaining it.

"That makes me wonder about something, professor Moody," Harry interrupted. "If you were in a fight with someone as dangerous as a Death Eater and you managed to get their wand away from them, wouldn't it be smart to snap their wand just to make sure they don't get it back? From what I've read, most adult wizards and witches can't do much, if anything, without a wand."

"That's true, Potter, but it's also really frowned upon."

"Frowned upon?"

"Snapping another person's wand is basically the ultimate insult. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it- if you're ever in a fight with a Death Eater, it's going to be a fight to the death, so you do everything you can to stay alive. But pretty much everyone raised in the magical world would be appalled if you did something like that under any other circumstances. If Pansy had done so in the middle of an honor duel, she could have possibly been arrested for it."

"Really?"

"It is considered dishonorable too," Pansy added. "Which makes it a definite no-no in an honor duel."

"Okay. I guess I can understand that."

"Good. Now, it's your turn. Focus on your duel with that scumbag Malfoy. I need to see how you did so I can offer some pointers."

Harry nodded but knew that he was about to get roasted.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Mad-Eye was almost done swearing at him. Or at least, Harry hoped he was.

The good news was that he had learned some new curse words. The bad news was that Harry was a 'motherfucking, window licking, cretin' for starters and Moody proceeded to tear strips out of his hide for being such an overconfident idiot.

He had even threatened to take his false leg off and beat Harry with it if he ever did something as retarded as taunting an opponent in a fight to the death again.

Harry almost thought Moody would change his mind about casting the Cruciatus on him now, as angry as he was.

The bellow of _'Get out!'_ was the end of the meeting.

* * *

Thursday afternoon, Moody put the class through a grueling lesson on hex deflection and no one could miss how much he focused on blasting Harry more often than anyone else.

"Potter!" the professor roared out as the class came to an end. "Stay behind for a moment."

Harry and Pansy both gathered their things but waited as the other students left.

"Pansy, I'd like a moment in private with the boy." When she looked concerned, he continued. "Don't worry, he'll still be in one piece when I'm done with him."

"Yes, professor," she replied and stepped out into the hall.

Harry wondered just how badly bruised he might end up while still remaining in that one piece. He supposed that this was still a form of training for any potential danger ahead. Might be even better in a way, since Moody held back less after getting so furious with him the other day. However, he definitely didn't appreciate the stinging hex aimed at his bollocks.

"Alright Potter. First things first. Judging by how you and the girl were acting at the Yule Ball, I take it you aren't a nancy boy, right?"

"No sir."

"Then if you don't want to get buggered to death, you will take all of your enemies much more seriously than what I saw when Malfoy challenged you. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Second, riling up an opponent to throw them off can be a viable strategy, but the Death Eaters are a bunch of psychopaths and murderers. Getting someone upset so they blow a duel is one thing. Making one of those psychos more incensed is far too dangerous to be a good idea in most cases. If they're already out to kill you, you don't want to give them an edge that can help power dark spells that feed off of anger. I've seen what Bellatrix Lestrange could do with the Cruciatus curse; you wouldn't want to make that worse by calling her a cunt.

"Lucius was a soft, rich ponce who had been recently freed from Azkaban, so he was in bad shape. But counting on circumstances being that much in your favor in the future would be the height of stupidity. Just because it worked once, doesn't mean it will work again. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"That wasn't the first time you had killed someone."

Harry didn't reply since Moody wasn't asking.

"It can be a hard thing to not let that change you. Be careful, Potter. Killing an enemy in a battle is one thing. Don't let it lead you down a dark path. I'd hate to have to get called out of retirement to chase you down."

"I wouldn't like that either, professor," Harry answered, which brought a grim chuckle from Moody.

"Good job in class today, lad. Go on, before your girl starts to worry about what I might be doing to you."

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome." Harry headed for the door, but Moody called out just before he left.

"One more thing, Potter. We'll have another private lesson a week from Saturday."

* * *

The reason it wouldn't be that Saturday was because another Slug Club meeting had been scheduled, and Moody knew that Harry was expected to attend. Plus, the Defense professor had seen that he didn't enjoy that type of hobnobbing, so it would be another little punishment to not give Harry an excuse to skip it.

Moody wasn't going to let up any time soon it seemed.

* * *

"Ah, Harry! I'm so glad you could make it," Slughorn said as soon as he saw them enter. "Pansy, miss Granger, you both look lovely tonight."

"Thank you professor."

Harry had walked in with both girls. Pansy was wearing a little black dress that was not nearly as shocking as the one she had worn to the Yule Ball but Harry still enjoyed the way she looked in it.

"We have a few special guests tonight," the gregarious professor added with a smile. Harry noticed Karkaroff and Maxime watching over their students. Fleur was looking radiant as usual and speaking animated French with a couple of other witches, one of them being Daphne Greengrass. Krum was huddled with two other Durmstrang boys, all of them obviously checking out the various girls there.

"Now, miss Granger, I believe you'll be particularly interested to meet-"

"Miranda Goshawk!" Hermione nearly squealed in delight at meeting the famous author of the Standard Book of Spells series.

"I see your reputation precedes you, Miranda my dear," Slughorn chuckled.

"Horace tells me you're one of the school's top students," Hermione blushed in response," and Mr. Potter, that makes you rather prescient to sponsor her. I know the practice isn't as common these days, but I went to school with your great uncle Charlus Potter and he similarly took a young muggle born named Joseph Armstrong under his wing."

"Of course you would remember young Joe," Slughorn interjected with a laugh. "The boy had an enormous crush on you! I haven't heard from him in years. How is he doing these days?"

"Still working in America last I heard," she answered. "His wife keeps trying to get him to retire, but he always joked that he would go batty sitting around the house all day."

"Well, I'm sure miss Granger would love to pick your brain, so I'll leave you to it."

Professor Slughorn guided Harry and Pansy across the room to a couple of other famous friends of his that just had to meet the boy who lived. Harry contained his grimace; at least Hermione looked happy as she pelted the author with questions.

Within an hour, the obsequious greetings were over and Harry was trying to find something to make the evening bearable. Pansy had left him to gossip with some of the other girls, and he noticed just how imbalanced this newest installment of the Slug Club was. There were only three other guys in the group now, and with those being a popular pretty boy like Diggory, an obnoxious boor like McLaggen, and a disdainful snob like Zabini, Harry felt rather alone.

He gravitated towards Hermione, in large part just to make sure Krum was keeping his distance. The Bulgarian had eyed her a bit but not tried to approach. One of his friends had tried to chat up one of the French witches, and Harry was pleased to get to watch him crash and burn. It looked like all of the girls from Hogwarts were giving Krum's gang a wide berth, and he knew that most of them regarded him very negatively. Harry was still considering what to do about him once the tournament was over and he could take the gloves off. He was half a mind to challenge him to a duel, but at the same time, Harry wasn't sure if he would be able to hold back if the sleazy bastard did anything else to piss him off.

Pansy gave him a brief wink from across the room while she was entangled in girl talk with the Carrow sisters.

Harry had kept himself from laughing earlier when Susan Bones had glared at both of them as they came in. The redheaded Hufflepuff was still apparently sore over his lack of interest in her and his choice of a girlfriend. It reminded him a little of Ginny Weasley, who he had also seen giving them dirty looks ever since the truth had come out. Coupled with the ending of his friendship with Ron, it was a bad year for Harry and gingers.

Even Fred and George had been more distant this year, without the quidditch team to bring them together. He had wondered what they been so busy with this past term, as they were both less jovial and boisterous than usual. It was possible that they were trying to do better in school since their disastrous OWL results, but that really didn't seem likely to him. He briefly thought that he should probably tell them who had made the Marauder's Map at some point, but it just never came up the couple of times he had been around them lately.

Before long, Pansy had motioned him over and he joined her, Flora and Hestia.

"The girls have some news," she whispered in his ear. He noticed that they were off in a corner, far enough away from others to keep from easily being overheard, and they were keeping their voices low as well.

"Our parents were acting rather strange over the holidays," Flora began. "They didn't say anything explicit to us about what was going on, but it was clear that something had them excited. You wouldn't want to guess at the amount of times one of them spoke of 'putting the mudbloods back in their place' or some of the other crap we heard."

Hestia's face showed even more distaste than Flora's did, but then she did often seem to be the more expressive of the twins.

"We were told to keep an eye on you," she said quietly. "In case you were getting up to any more attacks on Death Eaters like Malfoy and Snape last year."

"Malfoy challenged _me_."

"I know, but they don't really care. You're their enemy, Harry, as crazy as that is for a couple of adults to want to... well, to-"

"To kill me?" he suggested.

"Yes," Hestia answered with a shudder. "I hate them so much sometimes."

"Were the two of you alright?"

"They didn't do anything to us, if that's what you're asking," Hestia responded.

"Not that I would put it past them," Flora added. "But it was creepy how they talked about you. They're convinced their precious Dark Lord is coming back soon and that the 'good old days' will be in full swing again."

"It scared me," Hestia admitted. "Be careful, Harry. You have more enemies out there than you probably realize."

"Thanks," he smiled. "But at least I've also got some friends who will warn me and help watch my back too."

"It's good that we've got these Slug Club meetings," Hestia said, grinning slightly at Harry. "Otherwise, it would be very hard to be around you without drawing a lot of attention."

"That's true."

"We'll try to let you know if we hear anything else."

"Thanks, but be careful."

"We will," Flora replied. "But you aren't the only one who doesn't want to see people like them taking over again. Our parents would treat us like bargaining chips, at best. If the Dark Lord comes back, we would likely be expected to follow in their footsteps, and I have no plans on getting a tattoo- _ever_. I'd rather die than be like them."

"Me too," Hestia said quietly, looking even more upset.

"If I can do anything to help, let me know."

"We will, Harry, but for now, we can at least try to keep warning you of anything big they might let slip."

"I appreciate it."

"Slughorn's coming over," Flora warned.

"Till next time, ladies," Harry replied with a wink as he turned to their host, who was looking quite jolly. He supposed the third or fourth glass of wine was probably helping that along nicely.

"Harry, my boy, there you are! Have I introduced you to Roxanne MacCready yet? She covers the quidditch league for the Daily Prophet, you know."

Harry grabbed Pansy's arm before he could be dragged away.

* * *

Not too long after that, Pansy had mostly faded into the background as 'Sluggy' and Madame Maxime were telling Harry all about a magical settlement in France where the old Potions Master had vacationed years ago and the French headmistress had family. Delacour was nearby, so Pansy decided to eavesdrop.

{"The boy who lived did much better than we would have thought."} One of Fleur's friends was speaking, and they were clearly unaware that she spoke French too as Pansy listened in. {"He and his girl even pushed you out of the spotlight for once at the Yule Ball. What are you going to do about that, Fleur?"}

The French champion merely rolled her eyes at the teasing.

{"Nothing. I feel I owe a small debt to them, actually."}

{"Whatever for?"}

{"Challenging that vile woman Skeeter to an honor duel,"} Fleur replied with a smirk as the other two giggled. {"I was afraid of what my father might have done the next time she wrote something about me. We don't need an international incident like that hanging over things, and I'm sure the filthy British press would have just piled on behind her lies."}

{"How small of a debt?"}

{"And just what are you going to do to repay them?"} The giggles were louder now as Fleur frowned at her friends.

{"You two are horrible."}

{"Just be glad your cousin isn't here,"} one of them teased in response. {"I'm sure there's something a Veela could do to repay them. Something they would both enjoy."}

{"If the rumors are true, you might even enjoy yourself at the same time. They do say Potter has a sort of little harem, so he must have some idea of what to do with a girl."}

{"I will not be thanking them like that,"} Fleur insisted with an angry frown. {"What did I ever do to make you so sure I was some sort of easy trollop?"}

{"Well, there was what Jean-Claude said happened in the broom closet."}

{"What Jean-Claude said and what actually happened are two very, very different things, Marie. I would think the beating I gave him would have disabused people of those notions."}

{"Poor boy didn't walk right for the rest of the term."}

{"He deserved all that and more,"} Fleur replied. {"But I do have an idea of something I could do to help. Not just Harry, but Pansy as well."}

{"Do tell,"} Marie prodded with a grin.

"I would rather not deal with any more of your sarcasm," Fleur answered, switching to English as she turned towards Pansy who was looking at Harry to hide her interest. "Pansy, may I speak to you please? In private?"

"Of course."

They stepped over to a quiet corner of the room before Fleur spoke again.

"I saw your duel against ze so called reporter, and I wanted to zank you for 'umiliating zat awful woman. She wrote some most awful things about my family."

"You're very welcome. She wrote horrible things about me too."

"Yes, I know. I wanted to give you and 'arry something as a reward."

"Oh?"

"You know ze eggs we got from ze dragons? Place it underwater to understand."

"Thank you. I'm sure Harry will greatly appreciate that."

"So 'arry 'ad not figured it out yet?" Fleur had a small grin. "At least I beat 'im to solving zat puzzle even if 'e is in the lead so far."

"Merci beaucoup."

"Je vous en prie."

* * *

They had finally made it back to their quarters and Harry wasn't sure what he wanted to do more- get out of his own somewhat formal outfit or slowly peel Pansy out of her dress. She distracted him from those thoughts when the door closed behind them.

"I have good news, from Fleur Delacour of all people," she said.

"Really? What type of good news?"

"She told me that we need to place the egg underwater so we can understand the clue."

"Oh. Wow. Why would she just tell you that?"

"Apparently, I did her a favor by publicly humiliating Skeeter." At Harry's confused look, she explained further. "You don't think that we were the only ones that bitch was slandering do you? You remember how Fleur revealed her Veela heritage at the wand weighing? After what she wrote about Hagrid as some sort of monstrous half-breed, you have to realize that she wrote a similar hit piece on Fleur."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Harry shrugged. "I don't usually read much of the Daily Prophet, honestly. And I certainly never read any of Skeeter's garbage except when it pertained to us."

"Well, Fleur's father was just about ready to create an international incident if the bitch had written anything else about his daughter. So, she felt like she owed us."

"Huh. I guess I should try being nicer to her then."

"It wouldn't kill you," Pansy snorted. "It is pretty damn funny to me that almost every other guy in the school can't stop drooling over her while you've just written her off as some snobby French bitch."

"We both heard her constantly complaining at the Yule Ball about how Hogwarts was so completely awful compared to her precious Beauxbatons. She _is_ a snobby French bitch. But you seem to almost like her."

"I think I do," Pansy admitted. "I can be a huge bitch too, Harry, so I can sort of respect her for that. And I am part French, you know."

"Fine, I'll try to give her a second chance. I really should if this thing with the egg pays off." Harry grinned as he pulled Pansy towards their bedroom. "I think we have something else to do tonight though."

"Tired of talking already?" she teased.

"I can think of better things to do with my mouth."

"I'm sure you can."

As Harry opened the door, there was a loud pop behind them. They turned to see a panicked Dobby clutching onto the hand of Sirius Black who was collapsed on the floor.

That would have been bad enough, especially as a mood killer, but the pool of blood quickly forming under him made it much, much worse.


	57. Someone Saved My Life Tonight

* * *

"What the fuck!"

Harry raced across the room and dropped to his knees to check on what was causing the blood loss. Peeling back the formerly white shirt that Sirius was wearing, he saw a long slash that went from his right hip diagonally just under his navel and ended about three inches past that. The wound was at least a foot long, and it was at its deepest right in the middle of his abdomen. Harry immediately pressed down with his hands, trying to stem the blood flow as much as he could.

"Dobby, what happened?"

"Mister Black got in a fight with a bad wizard and his nasty axe."

Sirius had passed out, either from the blood loss or the shock. Harry grabbed his wand, but had no idea just what he should cast. If he went to Madam Pomfrey, there would be a lot of questions, and he guessed that Sirius had asked Dobby to bring him here instead for a reason.

"I hope he at least won," he muttered. Pansy was still staring almost stunned over by their bedroom door. "Do you know any healing spells?"

"No." She looked away from the pool of blood to Harry's face and shook off her own shock. "But you can try the mending charm."

"I thought you weren't supposed to use that on living things."

"It will leave a scar, but better that than dying."

"Fuck, here goes. _Reparo!_ "

Harry watched as the gash was sealed by his magic, and sure enough there was a dark line that remained behind, which he could still see even through the blood that covered Sirius' stomach.

"Shit. What now?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, Harry," Pansy replied. "Dobby, we need you to get a blood-replenishing potion."

"Right away miss!"

Dobby popped back in a moment later, holding a large vial with a dark liquid in it.

"Pansy, you'll have to do it," Harry said. "My hands are too slick. I'll help sit him up. Dobby, keep an eye on the wound in case it re-opens."

"Yes, master Harry!"

Harry crawled around behind Sirius and held him up so that Pansy could pour the potion down his throat.

"Come on, Sirius, you can't die on me now," he pleaded. "Not when you've just started being really useful."

Pansy stifled a laugh, but Harry's gallows humor steadied her hand as she tipped the potion. Thankfully, Black didn't choke on it, as Harry had one of his bloody hands holding his godfather's head up. She poured it slowly, trying to make sure that as much of the liquid as possible went down and within a moment she was done.

"Let me get my wand," Pansy said as she ran off to the bedroom and quickly came back. "Hold his shirt out of the way. _Tergeo_!"

Pansy's spell siphoned some of the blood off Sirius' stomach, but it was just scratching the surface of the mess.

"It's going to take me a few minutes to get this cleaned up. Try to keep him still, I don't want this to accidentally tear open the wound."

"Right," Harry agreed, his arms still wrapped around his passed out godfather. "We really need to learn some healing magic as soon as possible."

"I know."

"Dobby, can you see if you can find some of my clothes that you might be able to enlarge a bit? We're going to need to get him out of this bloody stuff. I'm pretty sure this shirt is done for."

"What makes you say that?" Pansy snorted as she cast the spell again, cleaning more of the blood away from Sirius' stomach. The scar left behind by Harry's mending charm was now very obvious. "Is it the slash that tore it almost in half or the enormous new red stain?"

"I was thinking that we should destroy the evidence, actually." Harry thought for a moment. "Dobby, can you go back to wherever Sirius was and clean up whatever blood he might have left behind?"

"Dobby will master Harry!"

The little elf was gone again with a pop, and Harry tried to calm his nerves while Pansy cast _Tergeo_ a few more times until Sirius was clean. Or, at least his stomach now was clean. He and Harry were still basically sitting in a big puddle of blood.

"What are we going to do next?" Pansy asked.

"You should stay back," Harry suggested. "It's good for one of us to not be covered in blood, just in case."

"Right. Let me try to clean up some more of the mess."

"Alright, but I'm going to keep the two of us pretty still until Dobby gets back. We'll need his help for whatever the hell we do next."

"What are you thinking?"

"We should get him cleaned up and into bed, I guess. He'll need rest and I just hope he doesn't have anything else wrong with him, like any curses that might not be obvious. That reminds me."

Harry shifted a bit so he could use his wand again. He cast three different spells at Sirius, which was more than a little awkward since he was practically in Harry's lap at the moment.

"What were those?" Pansy asked.

"Remember when you got exhausted after the ritual you used to create 'my' skeleton? I had Dobby swipe several of Pomfrey's books and I cast every diagnostic spell on you that I could that night. I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong with you."

"Why am I not surprised," Pansy exhaled nervously. "I'm not going to be able clean anything else until we can get you two up."

"Okay. I guess we'll just have to wait."

"What do you think happened to him? Was it MacNair?"

"I would guess so. I can't think of any other wizards that would have an axe for any reason. And Sirius did know that he was a Death Eater. We'll have to ask him when he wakes up. Assuming he does wake up."

"He will Harry," Pansy said, trying to offer some comfort. "He isn't allowed to die on us. Not just when you were starting to like him."

"Yeah," Harry smiled briefly. "Did I tell you about his last letter?"

"No."

"It was after we had our talk a couple of weeks ago. He complimented me on my choice of girlfriend."

"Really? Even after I threatened him?"

"Yeah," Harry chuckled. "He said that I could probably get a lot of girls into a broom closet, but finding one that would fight for me meant you were a keeper. I couldn't agree more."

"Good. That's one of the reasons you're a keeper too, Harry."

"You mean it wasn't all the oral sex?"

"Well, you are pretty good at that too. But no, not _just_ the oral sex," she teased. Harry started to laugh but tried to quiet down when Sirius stirred. He did not wake though, so they spent several minutes talking and waiting for Dobby to get back.

* * *

Dobby returned and immediately set about helping his family. Getting Sirius changed into something that wasn't bloody was so much easier with his help, and Harry was especially glad that he didn't have to try to get Sirius out of his clothes. Pansy had ducked into their bedroom for a few minutes to leave Sirius as much of his dignity as possible. Once he was safely tucked in the second bedroom, Pansy joined them as Harry stared at his unconscious godfather.

"I'm going to have to stay in here," he said. "Make sure he doesn't wake up, or have his wound re-open, or... I don't know, probably some other things I can't think of at the moment."

"You don't have to Harry."

"Yes, I do. I'm not going to put this on your shoulders. One of us should be rested for whatever we have to face tomorrow."

"Thank Merlin it's the weekend."

"Yeah," Harry snorted. "I should be able to take a nap tomorrow hopefully."

"Wait, Harry, you really don't need to do that. I know a spell we can use to keep an eye on him."

"What type of spell?"

"It's an alarm that will wake us if he has any problems in the night."

"That sounds useful," Harry agreed. "When did you learn it?"

"Last year. I..."

"What is it?"

"You'll think it's silly," Pansy sighed.

"If this spell is going to allow us to try to get some sleep, I can promise you I won't laugh. I was worn out just by the Slug Club. Now, I feel like I've been put through the ringer."

"I guess you won't be helping me take this dress off then?" she teased.

"Now, I didn't say _that_."

"Alright, hold on," Pansy chuckled before pulling out her wand and casting the alarm spell.

"Last year I had this dream," she began while putting her wand away and leading Harry out of the bedroom, hoping that Black would not have any more problems in the night. "I dreamt that I got pregnant, and it started me thinking about what that would be like."

"I guess that probably freaked you out," Harry suggested.

"Not that much really. It was one of those dreams where a lot of things happen and time sort of flashes by. You got somehow even more protective when I was pregnant, as unbelievable as that may seem. It was sweet, if you have a macabre sense of humor. You repeated what you had done to my father to several more Death Eaters, trying to clean things up before our child was born."

"That does sound like something I would do. What else happened?"

"We had a daughter. We named her Alexandria."

"I like that name."

"She was born on your birthday."

"Wow, that would be an amazing birthday present."

"Yes, you seemed to think that in the dream too," Pansy giggled even as she teared up a little bit. "We dropped out of Hogwarts to focus on raising her. Dobby was a huge help, as you can imagine."

"Isn't he always?"

"Yes, anyway the dream stuck with me for several days, so I looked up some charms for new parents. Just in case it became real, or for some time in the future, you know?"

"So, that alarm spell is for children to wake their parents then?"

"Exactly."

"Which means we can tease Sirius tomorrow about us using him to practice for when we have an actual baby instead of just an overgrown one?"

Pansy laughed as she pushed Harry into their bathroom.

"If you can get cleaned up pretty quick, I'll wait to let you take this dress off me."

"I'll be as fast as humanly possible."

* * *

Harry did eventually let her get to sleep, and they were both feeling much less stressed when they did finally drift off. The next morning didn't come too early either, as Sirius thankfully slept quite late and the alarm never went off.

However, Hedwig was pecking at the balcony window with an annoyed look on her face when Harry did wake. She had the day's paper and for some reason was waiting for Harry to take the delivery.

He opened the door and she flew over, dropping it at his feet and batting his head with one of her wings before turning around to head right back out the window.

"I'm sorry," he called after her, but the snowy owl did not turn even to acknowledge him. "I'm not sure what I'm sorry for, or why you didn't just leave this with Dobby..."

But then he picked up the Daily Prophet and could guess why Hedwig had known that Harry would need to see this as soon as possible.

If the picture of the glowing skull charm didn't explain things well enough, the headline of _**Rogue Death Eater?**_ would have probably clued him in. There was mention of a death, with the name not yet released, but people were bound to be terrified at the second recent sighting of the Dark Mark following many years of peace and calm. Even more so since this one was tied to a violent attack, whereas the first seemed to only be a scare tactic.

He began to scan the story just as a cough from the second bedroom drew his attention.

"Where am I?" Sirius asked as he struggled to sit up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Harry stepped inside with the paper still in his hand and a smile on his face.

"How do you feel, Sirius?"

"Harry? Are we at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, my quarters. You're lucky that we have an extra bedroom because I wouldn't make Pansy sleep on the couch for anyone. Not even my nearly dead godfather."

"Only nearly dead is an upgrade over how I felt before I passed out." Sirius groaned as he reclined back a bit and reached down to lift up his shirt, or rather, one of Harry's that had been slightly enlarged. Harry came over to his bedside and helped him get more comfortable. The scar across his stomach was prominent, an angry looking dark red. "Well, it could have been worse."

"Just be glad that we had good timing," Pansy said as she walked in to join them, still clad in her pyjamas. "We got back from the Slug Club minutes before Dobby brought you to us."

"I'll have to thank him for that," Sirius replied.

"Sorry about the scar, Sirius, but neither of us knew any healing spells, so I had to make do with the mending charm."

"Murtlap should help a bit, but it could be a lot worse. I'm glad your house-elf responded to my call. I couldn't think of anyone else at the time that wouldn't lead to a lot of questions I wouldn't want to answer. Besides, chicks dig scars, right?"

Harry chuckled at Sirius who was pointing at his forehead while Pansy only rolled her eyes.

"I can assure you that Harry's scar is maybe the thing I like the least about him."

"He's got a point though," Harry said. "There are a lot of girls who don't feel that way. Of course, you won't be able to brag about yours safely anytime soon."

"I could always claim I got it back in the first war," Sirius suggested with a smile.

"Sure, if you want to remind a witch that you're a relic."

Pansy snorted at Harry's teasing. "Since it looks like the crisis is over, I'm going to let you two talk. I want to see Luna today anyway."

"You could bring her back here," Harry said.

"I didn't think that was allowed," Sirius inquired.

"Strictly speaking, it isn't," Pansy answered. "We could probably get Granger in because she's under Harry's patronage without too much gossip, but Luna is another story. Not that she would necessarily care about her reputation like that."

"So you'll just have to get her alone and have Dobby bring you both up here," Harry answered. "Dobby?"

The elf appeared on the other side of the bed with a smile.

"Thanks for everything last night," Harry said.

"I owe you my life," Sirius said, reaching down to shake the house-elf's hand. "I'm lucky Harry has someone like you."

"Mister Sirius is master Harry's godfather, which means you are almost master Harry's family. Dobby always takes care of master Harry's family."

"Speaking of that, I want you to follow Pansy and bring her and Luna back here as soon as they can get some privacy."

"Of course, master Harry!"

"That really isn't necessary, you know," Pansy said. "I'm just going to see Luna."

"Call me paranoid, but after last night, I don't want you away from me." Harry pulled her over for a quick kiss. "You can have girl talk with Luna in our room if you want. I have a feeling I'm going to need to keep an eye on him for most of the day."

"I'm not an invalid, Harry."

"Let's not push it, Sirius. You might need another blood-replenishing potion for all I know."

"Alright, I'm going to get changed and go find Luna. Don't do anything while I'm gone." As Pansy left, she heard Sirius question Harry over her shoulder.

"You know, since she's technically your servant, you probably shouldn't let her boss you around like that."

"Well, first of all, she was bossing us both around," Harry chuckled. "And secondly, she is smarter than me, so I tend to listen to her because her advice is often better than what I would come up with on my own."

Sirius attempted to make the sound of a whip cracking.

"I assure you neither of us has ever used a whip in or out of the bedroom," Harry replied to the teasing. "But she does like it when I spank her."

She heard Sirius' bark-like laughter as Pansy had left the bedroom door open so she could listen to them as she got dressed. She felt a hint of a blush at what Harry had just revealed, but she also felt comforted that Harry had another guy he could talk to about something like that for once.

* * *

"And then the brunette said-"

"Hi Harry!" Luna interrupted, bounding into the room and throwing her arms around him in a typically enthusiastic hug.

"Hi Luna. Sirius Black, meet Luna Lovegood, one of our best friends."

"A pleasure," Sirius said as he regarded her and sighed softly. "You're Selene's daughter, aren't you?"

"I am."

"You have her eyes. I've never seen eyes quite like that anywhere else."

"You knew Luna's mum?" Pansy asked, following the blonde into the bedroom where Sirius was still resting in bed.

"I did," Sirius replied before grimacing when he tried to sit up straighter. "We were in school together. She was an absolutely gorgeous girl a year older than me. I had an enormous crush on her in my third and fourth years and used to try to get her attention in all sorts of stupid ways. I even took Arithmancy to try to impress her because Selene was brilliant, and almost everyone who took the class was a Ravenclaw back then."

"Most still are," Harry confirmed. "In our year, more than half the class is from Ravenclaw."

"Yes, the problem was that once I found out how dry and... well, _boring_ the class was, I dropped it. Stuck with Runes and Muggle Studies from then on."

"We were thinking of doing the same," Harry added. "It's not a bad class, but I like our other two electives a lot more. Of course, then Hagrid started giving me the silent treatment after I accidentally killed the dragon in the first task, so, who knows how that will work out."

"Anyway, I couldn't really give your dad too much grief over how he pined after Lily when I did something similar with Selene for awhile. I grew out of it, though I have to admit that I got a bit drunk when I heard she was marrying your dad, Luna. I am very truly sorry to hear about how she passed. She was a remarkable woman."

"Thank you," Luna whispered back quietly, and Harry could feel her tremble slightly since she hadn't finished hugging him yet.

"Why don't we talk about something more pleasant," Harry suggested, not wanting to upset his friend. "How about you tell us exactly what happened last night."

"I don't think we should do that in front of young miss Lovegood."

"Luna, this is going to be one of those things that falls under the category of House Potter secrets," Harry answered.

"So mum's the word," Luna finished. "No problem."

"Are you sure Harry? Not to be rude, but Luna might not want to hear some of this and she could be a liability, especially if someone tries to use Legilimency on her."

"First of all, Luna gave a vow to keep my secrets, so you don't have to worry about that," Harry began. "Secondly, do you know Legilimency? Because I welcome you to try it on her."

"I know the spell, but I'm not extremely skilled at it. I tend to use a more brute force approach, and I wouldn't want to do that to your friend."

"Well, Pansy and I have both been learning it, and believe me, you don't want to try to break into Luna's mind." Harry had done so a couple of times, and even when he had been able to get past her defenses, he still found her mind to be incredibly hard to comprehend. And once Luna realized that he had made it in, she started forcing him to watch certain memories. Harry was very embarrassed to witness himself having sex with Pansy, especially when he saw how Luna was masturbating at the same time.

"Alright, if you say so." Sirius sat up and reached over for the newspaper. "As you can probably guess from today's Prophet, I had an encounter with a Death Eater last night. However, to properly tell the tale, I need to go back a couple of months. You see, after the meeting we had last summer, I began to investigate some of the Death Eaters you had told me about, to try to figure out a way to get them arrested. I think you were right though, Harry. There's just too much red tape in the way. However, the Dark Mark appearing at the Quidditch World Cup gave me an idea.

"Since it seemed like there was some sort of rogue Death Eater, I decided to make use of that. I was able to convince Madam Bones to allow me to visit my cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, at Azkaban."

"Damn Sirius," Harry exhaled. "I wouldn't think you would go back there for any reason."

"I can hardly believe it myself. But desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say. As the head of House Black, I was allowed to visit a family member. I had to take an auror with me, but thankfully I could call on little Nymmie's help."

Sirius started to laugh to himself again.

"Who is Nymmie?"

"My cousin Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora Tonks. She's a brand new auror, and if you ever meet her, be sure to tell her how much you like her name. She'll get a kick out of it."

"Really?" Harry asked dryly, using the single raised eyebrow look he had learned from Pansy.

"Well, maybe not, but I'll get a kick out of it when she tries to hex you for it," Sirius chuckled. "So then I visited my dear cousin Bellatrix and learned something very useful- namely, how to conjure the Dark Mark."

"She told you that?" Pansy asked, her disbelief obvious. "Willingly?"

"I never said she did it willingly," Sirius said with a smirk. "But I got the information out of her, and let me tell you, Bella was not happy with me when I left. I really hope that crazy bitch never follows my example and finds a way to break out of there.

"Anyway, so fast forward to yesterday. I knew MacNair was really bad news, but I had no good way to get him out of the picture. So, I followed him home and made my move."

"You attacked him?" Harry guessed.

"I did. It worked pretty well too-"

"Except for the part where he tried to slice you open," Harry finished with a scowl.

"Yes, but I had managed to get the Dark Mark off, so that part of the plan worked. The paper certainly bought it- the idea that there's some sort of rogue Death Eater out there, and it will be an even bigger notion once it comes out that MacNair had that tattoo. Speaking of which, Harry, you really should contact Amelia soon and try to make sure that she lets that fact slip out to the media."

"I can do that."

"Good. He was a really nasty piece of work. I'm going to sleep a lot better at night knowing he's not out there anymore," Sirius finished. "You really don't want to know what I found in his basement."

Black gave a little shiver and Harry nodded as he looked over at the two girls, remembering Pansy talking about what a creep MacNair was the one time she had interacted with him when she was younger. He tried to keep his imagination from starting to think of anything too horrifying.

"I heard all about your previous escapades with life debts, you know? I probably owe you one for last night, Harry."

"You killed a Death Eater, I think we can call it even."

"I had already done that though, so I still owe you. Besides, I have a lot to make up for in missing most of your life."

"Fine, then kill another one and we'll be square," Harry replied. "So, what do we do now? We can't just keep you here for too long- we've got classes tomorrow after all, and neither of us knows anything about healing."

"I was thinking I would go to Andi's for help," Sirius replied. "A lot of people learned a fair amount of healing back in the day, and she's patched me up before. Plus, she won't say anything."

"You sure about that?"

"Don't worry, she owes me for bringing her and Nymmie back into the family. There's not a lot of us left anymore. I would have kicked Bellatrix out, but it could be useful to hold over her in the future possibly.

"Speaking of my family, Narcissa left a couple of months ago, and I heard you had something to do with that, Harry."

"Uh, yeah, it's a bit of a story."

"Why don't we leave you boys to your chat?" Pansy interjected. "Luna and I have some things to talk about by ourselves anyway."

* * *

By the time the afternoon was over, Luna had been dropped off back in her dorm when it was empty and Dobby then took Sirius to his cousin's home, making sure he was safe there before returning. Harry and Pansy took a nap before dinner, still tired from the lack of sleep the night before.

Because of that nap, they were late getting down to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione immediately asked Harry where he had been all day and he just said that he had been worn out from a long night and had decided to rest up for the day. It was basically true, even if it left out a lot of salient details.

Hermione could still be annoyingly nosy at times, and despite how much Harry liked her, he really didn't feel like involving her in some of the darker aspects of his life. He couldn't shake the idea that she was just too softhearted to deal with things like the necessity of killing someone like Walden MacNair. After the girls had left them alone, Sirius had told him of finding that the Death Eater had a lot of victims and kept trophies in his basement of his many kills. Sirius has refused to go into details, but the haunted look in his eyes told Harry more than enough.

He thanked Sirius again for removing such a dangerous enemy, and his godfather had laughed that bark-like laugh, saying that the price of his new scar was worth it to make such an evil bastard finally pay for his crimes.

The ministry letting so many free while condemning him without trial had left Sirius possibly even more contemptuous of the justice system in the magical world than Harry was, and that feeling had clearly been exacerbated by what he discovered about MacNair.

Thinking about it was enough to cause Harry's appetite to be diminished that evening. By the time he had forced himself to eat close to a normal amount, Pansy and Luna had been merely chatting for at least half an hour and the Great Hall had mostly emptied.

Still feeling extra paranoid, Harry insisted they walk Luna back to Ravenclaw tower that night after the meal. Luna wasn't one to turn down the escort either and happily chatted away with Pansy on the long stroll.

When they made it back to the Gryffindor tower that night, an ambush was waiting for them.

"Pansy! Harry! Can I talk to you two for a minute?" Parvati was smiling and Pansy agreed, so they both led Harry over to a small table in the corner of the common room where Lavender was already sitting. Once again, Harry had a feeling that he was about to be ganged up on by a bunch of girls.

"So, you'll never guess the rumor I heard a few days ago." Parvati had a teasing smile and Lavender was giggling already.

"I have a feeling I know what you're going to say," Pansy countered. "But for the sake of amusement, let's see if Harry can guess."

"At this point, I've had so many rumors about me that I don't even try to keep up with them all." Harry could only shrug. "I assume by your expression that it isn't something too awful, but the last month has had so much crap thrown my way that I really don't feel like it."

"Come on, Harry, don't be like that," Parvati replied, still grinning and batting her eyelashes at him. "Pretty please?"

"Yes, pretty please?" Pansy echoed, also batting her eyelashes.

As if it wasn't bad enough when she had Luna's help, now Pansy was teaming up with Parvati to make fun of him. Going along with it would be easier in the long run he figured so he tried to think about what all had happened recently.

Parvati had said a few days ago, so it wouldn't have to do with the Slug Club. The duel with Rita shouldn't have too many rumors with all the people that watched it, and there definitely shouldn't have been anyone who could have found out what came later.

"Uh, I really don't remember anything that would lead to rumors. I mean, there were a couple of public things, like Pansy's obliteration of Skeeter, the hag. But I doubt you would be excited over any gossip about that."

"Want me to give him a hint?" Pansy asked.

"Sure."

"The day after that, Harry."

"Okay," he thought a little more. "We proved that Hermione is definitely a bigger Hufflepuff than I am?"

"I don't know what you mean by that, but it does have to do with her," Parvati replied. "You were spotted with the rest of the ladies in your supposed harem coming from the kitchens looking all sweaty and tousled, but I missed out on it. Then, compounding my sorrow, I find that you made fudge brownies that were so delicious Hermione raved about them to Lavender and I all night. Hermione never does something like that."

Parvati was pouting now, so he looked over to Pansy who was clearly enjoying this and thus was not going to be of any help.

"When are you going to make some brownies for me, Harry? I'm feeling left out. I'm sure I could make it worth your while." Parvati was giving him a coquettish grin. Lavender started to giggle and Pansy lost all control, bursting out into laughter. He looked over at his girlfriend, feeling slightly confused.

"Why are you encouraging this?"

"Maybe I just want to watch you bake again," Pansy shrugged once she got herself under control enough to answer.

"Fine, I will make some more brownies and be sure to invite you next time, Parvati."

"Can Lavender come too? It would cheer her up," Parvati pleaded.

"Why do you need cheering up?" Harry asked.

"I, um, well you see..."

"Seamus did not turn out to be a very good date to the ball," Parvati answered as Lavender frowned. "She had to slap him by the end of the night."

"I'm sorry about that. Sure, you can come too. I'm not sure when it will be though, as it would have to be a weekend for me to have enough time, and I've got a few things to do before the second task comes up. Let me figure out when I'll have time and I'll let you both know."

"Thanks, Harry," both girls chorused in reply.

Once they got back into their quarters, he turned to Pansy.

"You know, if you want me to make brownies again, you can just tell me. You don't have to go to all the trouble of helping Parvati ambush me like that. And then teaming up with her, that was a low blow. Bad enough when you and Luna are working together against me."

"Well, you're the one who immediately decided you were going to help her escape any potential future arranged marriage, so you might as well get used to Parvati. Besides, I like her and would much rather hang out with her than Granger, so-"

"I like Parvati too," Harry insisted. "I don't even mind Lavender, most of the time. But I feel like I should probably invite a guy or two, just to try to not have this create any more ridiculous rumors. I'm sure Neville would enjoy brownies as much as anyone."

"Ugh, fine," she relented. "But just Longbottom. Finnigan is a definite no, which means Thomas is out too since they're attached at the hip."

"Okay. Now, before we got distracted, I believe you were going to tell me something that you and Luna had been talking about."

"Oh, right," Pansy said with a smile. "Get the map."

Harry nodded, liking the look on her face and retrieved the Marauder's Map from his trunk. Pansy followed him into the bedroom, and he folded it open out across the bed.

"Fifth floor, right there," Pansy pointed to a door that was marked with a password that read 'Pine Fresh.' "That is the prefect's bath, and apparently it is quite eye opening with a small pool in it. Luna told me about it, and no, I don't know how she found out about it, but after finding out how she had been picked on and locked out of her dorm in the past, I guess that she probably has explored the castle more than most people. She suggested we take the egg there to figure out it's clue."

"Really? Couldn't we just use our own bathroom? I mean, the tub isn't enormous, but-"

"From what Luna said, I believe she thinks we could have a lot of fun in the prefect's bath." Pansy was smirking and Harry quickly caught on.

"Oh. I guess I'll have to thank Luna for suggesting it then." Harry leered at Pansy as an idea took hold. "If there's a pool in there, then that means you'll just have to wear your bikini doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't have to," Pansy responded. "We could always go _au naturel_."

"We could," Harry replied, folding the map back up and pulling her into his arms. "Or, we could go in our swimsuits and I could try something I never got to do last summer."

"What's that?"

"Try to take your bikini off with my teeth."

"That does sound fun," Pansy agreed. "But we have to make a wager. If you fail, then you have to do whatever I want for the rest of the night."

"I'd probably do that anyway," Harry laughed. "If I win, then you'll do the same for me. And that does mean all night long."

* * *

They ended up deciding to wait until Thursday night, after the Astronomy lesson. That would leave them already out past curfew and should also mean the room would be empty.

While the weekend would have let them stay up as late as they wanted, they didn't have any morning classes the next day due to the late night lesson so they should have plenty of time to get some rest. Even if Harry followed through on his suggestion of keeping Pansy up till dawn. The weekend also would have been more likely to have some of the actual prefects using it.

It was still January in the castle, so they were wearing the full uniform with robes over them, which they both began to remove as soon as they entered the luxurious white marble filled room. Harry smiled as Pansy took his hand and pulled him over to a bench on one side, where she sat her book bag down. Harry tucked the invisibility cloak under the bag so it would be easy to find for the return trip to the tower. While they could have called for Dobby's help, Harry tried not to bother the little guy late at night unless it was really necessary.

He quickly began to strip out of his uniform while Pansy handed him his swimming trunks and then pulled the golden egg out of her bag, setting it down on the bench. They probably should have dealt with the egg first, but Harry was eager to get to their wager.

When he had asked, she had only given him an enigmatic smile about what she might make him do if he failed. So, Harry had taken a few free moments over the last few days to try to test and improve his oral agility. He had managed to unbutton the sleeves of one of his shirts, but it took him several minutes and left him with an odd cottony taste in his mouth.

Still, the attempt would be worth it even if he failed.

Once he was finished changing, Harry stepped closer and leaned down to kiss Pansy, as his hands stopped her from unbuttoning her shirt. Taking her clothes off was always fun, but tonight he was particularly excited because once she stepped back he could see the bikini top she was wearing instead of a bra.

Damn if she wasn't amazing. Harry sighed happily and knelt down in front of her. While she sometimes rolled her eyes at how much he liked undressing her, Pansy always had this pleased little smirk on whenever he would take off her shoes and socks. Probably something about the submissive nature of it, Harry guessed, even though she tended to prefer the other role sexually.

He was just glad that the whole toe-sucking thing hadn't been ruined by the dalliance with Narcissa because that would have been tragic. Pansy had such cute little toes and she made such wonderful noises whenever he did that to her.

But then, it was time for the skirt to come off and Harry was face to face with his challenge. His mouth versus her bikini.

Pansy was watching with restrained glee in her eyes as he stood up and looked her over.

"I love you," Harry said as he stepped behind her and kissed the back of her neck.

"Of course you do," she replied with a small hitch in her voice as his lips trailed down her spine until he reached the string tying the back of her bikini top. This was going to be the easiest part he thought.

However, Pansy had anticipated his efforts by making the knot tighter than usual, so Harry struggled to get a good grip but eventually he succeeded and the battle against the top half of her bikini was soon won. Harry took great pleasure in slowly peeling it away from her breasts.

"Ooh, that looks like fun," a giggly voice said, shocking Harry into stumbling backwards. He had been leaning over, and now that he fell back onto his arse, he saw Moaning Myrtle sitting over on one of the taps that surrounded the large swimming pool, eyes watching them and full of mirth.

"Don't stop now, Harry," Myrtle continued with another giggle. "I haven't had a show this good in years."

"She's right, Harry," Pansy teased. "You don't want to lose the bet do you?"

"What's the bet?"

"Harry thinks he can take my bikini off with just his teeth; I bet he wouldn't be able to do it. And the loser has to do whatever the winner wants all night long."

"Now this I definitely want to see," Myrtle cackled. "I heard stories about you two at the Yule Ball."

"Really?" Harry asked as he sat back up and tried to refocus on his task. Hopefully, Myrtle wouldn't be too intrusive an audience because he had multiple ideas of fun things to do for the rest of the night. He was not planning on failing at his task.

"Oh, yes," Myrtle replied. "Several different girls have complained about the evil bitch who stole your attention away and the horrendously scandalous way she was dressed. One or two of them might have even cried about it."

"Which ones?" Pansy asked with a sardonic little grin.

"If you want gossip like that, you'll have to give me something in return. But we'll talk about that later. Right now, Harry needs to get back to work."

"You want to see him win, don't you?"

"Harry is one of the few people who has been nice to me. Getting to see a naughty side of him will be such a _thrill_." Myrtle growled out the last word in a way that was a bit frightening.

"Alright, then don't distract me," Harry groaned as he drew close to Pansy again, kneeling down to one side of her. This would be a little more tricky. He didn't want to accidentally bite her, so he tried to slide his tongue under the side of the bikini bottom where it was at its thinnest.

But he ran into three problems. His tongue wasn't that magical (which brought a thought to mind that he would have to remember for later), and the swimsuit was meant to be rather form fitting. Plus, it seemed he had found another of Pansy 's ticklish spots as she started to laugh and writhe.

He stopped what he was doing and used his hands to hold her steady. The fact that one of them was on her sexy little bum was purely incidental, of course.

When no other solution came to mind, he moved up just a bit and as carefully as he could tried to nibble at just the fabric without pinching her skin. Miraculously, it worked and he pulled the bottom down a couple of inches, but Pansy moaned and moved again so he lost his grip. At least it was a start.

He spun her around to the other side and tried again. This time, his teeth scraped her skin as he pulled the fabric down, but she didn't cry out and the bikini slid down even further. Harry was smiling as he kept going, and slowly, side to side and inch by inch, he was able to get the swimsuit down past her hips and then it fell to the floor.

"I win. Time for my reward," he said before quickly reaching up to lift Pansy's right leg, which he hooked over his shoulder as he began to hungrily devour her. He heard her moan about losing her balance, so he reluctantly agreed to move over a few feet so she could brace herself against the wall. For his part, Harry just crawled there, unwilling to let his prize out of sight even for a second.

With his usual amount of fervor and the excitement that had built in both of them that night, it wasn't long before Harry had brought Pansy to the brink. He made sure that both of his hands were helping to steady her before she came, and sure enough, it was a good thing that he did as the one leg she was balancing on nearly gave out as she shook through her orgasm.

"Yummy."

Pansy let out a breathy chuckle as she shakily sat down on the nearest bench.

"What are you going to make her do Harry?" Myrtle asked, breathlessly staring at the bulge in his swim shorts. "Please make it naughty."

"Um," Harry looked over at the ghost, wishing that they didn't have such a vocal audience. But then he realized that Myrtle had been stuck as a teenager for more than fifty years, and knowing what he did of her, he assumed she had almost certainly died a virgin. Maybe he should just try to relax and not let her bother him.

"Which of these taps is for hot water?"

"Those three," Myrtle answered while pointing. "But do you really just want regular water? Don't you want some of the fancy bubbles?"

"Wouldn't the bubbles make it harder to see?" Harry replied with a smirk.

"You're too good to me, Harry," she replied, with what looked like the closest a ghost could get to blushing- a slightly dark grey tone came to her cheeks as she continued to bat her eyes at him.

"Let's get this filled up. We never got to have sex in a pool last summer either," Harry smiled at Pansy who finally was able to join him over by the taps, which they turned on and watched the water quickly flow out.

Pansy tugged at his shorts as they waited and he was soon also nude.

"Oh, you lucky girl," Myrtle giggled. Harry couldn't help his blush. While he wasn't normally too shy, being eye candy for a horny ghost was able to overwhelm the usual lack of shame. This was much worse than trying to perform in front of Luna.

"I know I am," Pansy answered with a throaty laugh. She put a toe in to check the temperature, then carefully slipped down into the water while keeping her hair dry. "Come on, Harry. We've got a pool to christen."

"This should be fun."

He joined her and sure enough his hormones were able to push away any thoughts of his audience. Taking Pansy into his arms always made everything better, and sliding inside her was the best thing in the world. The wet setting gave them an extra thrill, and the buoyancy allowed Pansy to wrap herself around him without Harry having to bear the extra weight. He still reached down with one hand to caress her bum, but purely for fun instead of support.

It was slower than one might have thought as Harry felt so comfortable that he was in no hurry to reach his climax. Pansy had one hand in his hair, pulling him close and keeping them almost constantly attached at the lips before directing him downwards to her throat.

Well, if she wanted a love bite or two, Harry wasn't one to refuse her. She moaned as he went to work on her delicate neck and he could feel her passion building. He hastened his pace and reached down with his other hand to rub at her clit, sending Pansy into convulsions. A moment later Harry lurched forward as her tremors brought about his own climax and he felt himself spilling into her while Pansy's nails dug into his back.

Even with their peaks ending, Harry still held her close and nuzzled at her neck and Pansy happily kept her legs firmly wrapped around him. They just floated quietly in bliss together.

At least until Myrtle cried out in ecstasy. Who knew a ghost could masturbate?

* * *

"I guess we should check the egg since that's what we supposedly came here for," Harry said as he got out of the pool. Even in the magically heated bathroom, he missed the warmth of the water so he hurried as much as he could without causing himself to slip. He could hear Pansy and Myrtle giggling at him, so in response he leapt into the pool with a cry of 'cannonball' and splashed both of them.

Myrtle just laughed as the water passed right through her.

But Pansy was glaring at him when he surfaced, with her hair now very wet.

"We have to listen to the egg underwater anyway, so you were bound to-"

"I don't have to listen to the egg, I was just coming here as moral support," she claimed with a huff.

"And for the obvious fun we had," Harry teased. "Don't be mad, let's get this over with so we can get back to that fun."

"Fine, but you're washing my hair tomorrow morning in the shower."

"Alright." As if that was any great hardship. Harry had come to understand that one of the things they had in common was absolutely adoring the feeling of each other's fingers running through their hair and receiving a nice scalp massage. Maybe that was the reason hairdressers got such good tips?

"Let's do it then," Pansy prompted and they both took deep breaths and ducked under the water as he screwed open the egg and the message played. No longer was there a horrid screech, it was replaced by a chorus of voices singing.

Harry came back to the surface and coughed for a second as he had run completely out of breath. Pansy was taking deep breaths as well, the song was long enough that he hadn't heard the entire thing. He summoned his wand over and cast the bubblehead charm on each of them before trying again.

The second time, it was much easier to focus on the words. When he resurfaced, Harry was tempted to throw that damn egg against the wall. Only the reminder of the horrendously loud and shrill sound kept him from doing so.

Pansy looked over at him and saw his furious expression.

"Over my dead body," he growled.

"There are merpeople in the Black Lake, aren't there Myrtle?" Pansy asked and the ghost confirmed it. "Good thing we learned the bubblehead charm then."

"I'm going to fucking kill Dumbledore."

"Why?" she asked, not quite sure why he was so upset. This didn't sound nearly as bad as the nesting mother dragons. Now _that_ was a nightmare.

"What do you think I would surely miss? None of my possessions are that important- I mean, yes, my father's invisibility cloak is both useful and sentimental, but I strongly doubt that they're going to take some random object for the second task. I'll bet it's a misleading clue and really should have said 'who' I'll surely miss. I will kill that fucking old man before I let him place you in danger. Fuck this whole stupid tournament. This is crosses all sorts of lines and I will not stand for it. I will kill them all."

Myrtle fled into one of the pipes as Harry ranted.

"Harry," Pansy cooed as she swam over to him. "Calm down. We'll contact Sam and see about setting up a meeting this weekend. Besides, I'm sure you can fight off any big bad mermen to rescue me."

"I'll turn the lake red if I have to."

"I know you will," Pansy snorted. "I have faith in you. I was a lot more worried about the dragons compared to this. Besides, just use a tracking charm and it will lead you right to me. You can put it on my locket."

"That's a good idea. I just hate thinking of you being in danger."

"It will be alright. Now, why don't I remind you of the main reason we are here before it gets too late?"

* * *

That Saturday morning, Harry found out how frustrating the law was, and even though he was not going to be of help this time, he was still thankful for having Sam to deal with legal matters. Because the country had five hundred years of laws while the country was still all together under the crown, more than a few of which were still in play in the magical world, as well as three hundred years since the statute of secrecy went into effect and the wizards and witches had apparently done everything in their power to make an enormous mess of things.

Pansy's legal status was different on several levels. On one hand, claiming her via the life debt had left her (depending on which ordinance one was using) either a servant or a slave. As a servant, she still had nominally the same rights as any other witch. However, as a slave, she would effectively be property and thus have no rights whatsoever. Sam had found at least two different regulations still on the books that could be used to call her just that.

The fact that she was now an orphan, even though she hadn't been when the claim was made, also helped to muddy the waters. While her great uncle Malcolm Parkinson still lived, he could technically adopt her back into the Parkinson family. However, even if Harry wanted to do that, the tangled knot meant that he would have to sell her to uncle as well as releasing her from the life debt. And, depending on the timing, someone else could try to claim her in any waiting period before she was once again officially Pansy Parkinson.

In other words, it was all one big clusterfuck.

At least until she turned seventeen because then Harry could just marry her and the mess would go away. Hundreds of years in the past, wealthy wizards had occasionally done just that with both servants and slaves, and wife trumped either category regardless. There would still be people who would snub them, but Harry's childhood had left him immune to the disdain of gossips and busybodies as so many people had ignored the blatant child abuse right in front of their eyes. He still had no idea how the Dursleys supposedly had any sort of good reputation when they dressed their nephew in rags, but wondering over the idiocy of others was not his primary concern.

Because it was time for all of his focus to be on the stairs leading up to the office of Albus Dumbledore and the awaiting confrontation.

He didn't even take the time to make a smart ass comment about the password of 'cockroach clusters.'

Pansy had come along too, mostly to try to keep Harry from losing his temper as it looked quite clear that her opinion was not necessarily something the judges were going to bother with before sticking her under the Black Lake. She wasn't sure if she wanted Harry to succeed in getting her out of the task anyway. Luna might be the second choice, and she didn't want her friend to be thrown into the middle of this nightmare.

Besides, the protections on her locket from the year before would not allow anyone to remove it from Pansy, so it was an obvious choice for placing a tracking charm which meant that Harry would be led right to her. The second task should hopefully be much simpler than the first.

She had her fingers crossed anyway.

"Come in."

Harry pushed the door open and waited for her to enter and then they stepped inside, finding a couple of chairs in front of the headmaster's desk.

"What can I do for the two of you today?"

"I solved the egg's riddle," Harry answered, failing miserably at keeping the anger out of his voice even as Pansy cleared her throat and reached over to squeeze his hand. He looked at her then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I see," Dumbledore responded as he sat back with a sigh. "I assume you are concerned about the safety of this task."

"Well, last time I had to face a nesting mother dragon, so yes."

"I assure you that Pansy will not be in any danger, nor shall any of the hostages."

"And I would be relieved by that if I felt like I could trust you, headmaster. I'm not even supposed to be in this tournament in the first place, and there has been danger and near death encounters for myself and those around me every year that I've been here at Hogwarts. I'm more than a little tired of it, frankly."

"Indeed, Harry, I can definitely understand that." The old wizard stood up and walked around the desk over towards a perch where Fawkes the phoenix was watching them all. The bird flew over to land on his shoulder and let out a soothing, melodic note which perked the headmaster up. "I would prefer to have much less danger here as well, but even as skilled as I am, I am not all powerful.

"Do you know that Alastor and I have had many arguments over you this year?"

"No sir."

"He thinks I have not been proactive enough in taking pains to train you properly. In a way, I can see his point. However, you have done much on your own these last two years, so perhaps my meddling would do more harm than good anyway. After all, I haven't heard of any other third years who have ever managed a full Patronus."

"Technically, Pansy did too."

"Really? That's splendid. I heard you were working on training both her and miss Granger last year. Has she been successful as well?"

"Not yet, but we haven't spent any time on that spell this year. We've been worried about other things."

"Since the attack at the World Cup, you mean. I have been worried too, and with the nasty business surrounding Walden MacNair's death, things have gotten even more tense. It is bad enough to have those external pressures, but we need to have as much cohesion as possible for those of us who wish to stop any further violence and terror, and for that purpose I want to try to rebuild some amount of trust between us, Harry.

"I would like to ask you a question, but I first want to assure you that I am not accusing you of anything. We are on the same side, but I would like to know if you had learned Legilimency?"

Harry looked over to Pansy who merely shrugged. She couldn't see how this could harm them, so there was no obvious reason to deny it.

"I've learned the basics at least," Harry responded.

"Have you learned Occlumency as well?"

"I've been working on it." He tensed up, hoping that Dumbledore wouldn't suggest testing his defenses but that thought thankfully passed as the headmaster continued to speak.

"I assumed that you must have to find out about the prophecy from Severus. While not wanting to open any old wounds, I must mention it. You have not heard the whole thing yet, Harry. Do you remember what I told you after your encounter with professor Quirrell? That your mother's love had saved you?"

"Yes."

"I would prefer to have the full prophecy known by as few people as possible. Knowledge is power, so they say, and if Voldemort ever learned the entire thing it could endanger us all. However, I think you need to be aware that I believe that the power to vanquish him is love. Just as your mother's love stopped him all those years ago, your ability to love will be the key to defeating him should he return. And I think we both know that Tom will not stop until he succeeds in doing so."

"Alright, how exactly is that supposed to work? Love is an emotion. I don't see how that will defeat an evil wizard. I'm not going to hope for another freak occurrence like what apparently happened all those years ago."

"You are right, but love can also be a motivation. Has not your love for miss Parkinson led you to want to learn to protect her? You have been working so much harder ever since you came back for your third year here, and I do not believe it is any coincidence that she has been by your side this entire time. I cannot tell you how relieved I was when the two of you kissed at the end of that first dance at the Yule Ball."

The headmaster chuckled which confused Pansy.

"I don't understand why, professor," she inquired.

"When Harry came to my office last spring after the death of young Mr. Malfoy, I was very troubled by his cynicism. Fifty years beforehand, I saw a powerful young wizard walk down a very dark path, and seeing Harry kill Lucius Malfoy in a duel to the death horrified me. I was worried that he would fall to darkness as well, especially in light of their similar childhoods, as Harry rightfully pointed out.

"Despite that and a few other things, there were also signs that Harry was very different from the young Tom Riddle. The way he embraced miss Lovegood, for example, or the help I know he has given mister Longbottom over the last year. Tom would never have bothered with helping anyone else unless it benefited him in some obvious way.

"But that night at the ball, the love between you two was so obvious that it warmed this old man's heart. Voldemort may desire things like power and control, but he knows nothing of love."

"Okay, but that doesn't have anything to do with the second task, which is why we are here sir," Harry argued.

"Not directly, no. But what I was trying to get to was the fact that I believe your ability to love is key, and that means I will do everything in my power to protect Pansy. She is your motivation, and endangering her would be the exact opposite of what I want. I fear what your course of actions may be should something happen to her.

"Without going into any details, the second task will be timed, hence the reference to only having an hour to look for your hostage. I am not going to endanger any innocent bystanders in the second task, and when the time came, I would have spoken to miss Parkinson before her participation. No one would be forced to participate as a hostage."

"So, if I said no, you would find someone else?" Pansy asked.

"Yes."

"Then I am willing to take part," she answered before looking over to Harry who was still scowling. "They would just go down the list to Luna or Granger next, Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore, there aren't any water dragons in the lake I hope?"

"No," the headmaster chuckled. "The only aquatic dragons in the world are thousands of miles away in Asia, and the last person who tried to transport one to the West did not survive the attempt."

"Alright, I'm in. I have faith that Harry will be able to manage this and it does sound like there will be a lot less danger. But I do have one more question for you, headmaster."

"Go right ahead."

"The second task is going to take place under water, so how is anyone supposed to watch it?"

* * *

Half an hour had passed, and Albus Dumbledore was still smiling to himself at the conversation, particularly the end of it. Miss Parkinson was right, the crowd was going to be bored to death staring at the surface of the lake. Sometimes the viewpoints of the young caught things that had flown right by their elders. For Ludo Bagman's sake, he hoped the press wasn't too harsh about how dull the second task would be for those not actually participating in it.

With the recent disappearance of Rita Skeeter, he just might get lucky. If so, Ludo should probably thank Harry and Pansy. Who knew how long she might hide from that humiliation though, and the bitter woman would almost certainly be back with a vengeance.

It was just one more thing to worry about in the future. For now, the headmaster was allowing himself to relax a bit as things had gone so much better than the last time he'd had Harry Potter in his office.

There had been no deaths this year at Hogwarts, and Albus had to sigh at realizing how that had come to be a relief instead of the norm. The years to come probably would get worse before getting better as well. He just had to hope that he was around long enough to see things through.

Once more he had to curse the loss of Severus. Without that spy, Albus was left fumbling too much in the dark. He should have done more to curb his former Potions professor's behavior to keep him from so blatantly provoking Harry. The years should have done more to help Severus move past his old grudges, but Harry was obviously his father's son.

He still had wished that Severus could have had a chance at redemption, but now Albus could only hope that he was in a better place.

The day when Harry had called for his judgment had been possibly the worst that Albus had felt in many years. Too many mornings since, he had looked in the mirror and worried about his own judgment that would surely come some day. Would Ariana be waiting for him? And if she was, would he be able to look her in the eye? Had he done enough to make up for that sin, and his greatest failing in all his dreams with Gellert?

Was the world a better place because of Albus Dumbledore?

He wanted to believe that it was, but doubt was always ready to creep in.

Somewhere out there, the spirit of Voldemort was clearly doing something. The attack at the World Cup could have been just a one-off, but he had seen the Dark Mark on the arms of the captured Death Eaters, and they were undeniably darker than Severus' had been last spring. It had only been two months later, and that added definition was disconcerting beyond words. What could have happened in such a short time to change things that much?

Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire was almost certainly a part of the same conspiracy. The boy probably knew more than he had admitted, and Albus wondered if the scar had let him gain any further insight or if his burgeoning Occlumency had prevented that. It was dangerous, but it could have been a great help as well. Especially at that moment, as Dumbledore desperately needed more information.

He could only hope that the second task would go off without any complications and that surely that would lead to a better relationship with the boy who lived. A schism between them now would spell disaster for the coming months or years. That was why he had done nothing to further aggravate things over the fate of Severus Snape. Harry's need for vengeance for his family, even if he had called it justice, was not something that Dumbledore could agree with, but there was nothing more he could do about that now other than hope for less blood to be spilled in the future.

At least Dumbledore now had an obvious goal- ensuring the welfare of Pansy. He probably should try to remember not to call her miss Parkinson anymore, as he had noticed at least one frown at her former surname. He supposed that went with the territory of a Death Eater father, and if his supposition was right, her steps to free herself from him via Harry was a clear sign that her childhood had been less than pleasant.

That was likely a part of the reason for the bond that had grown between them. If things went well, it could be an enormous strength. It had already compelled Harry to learn the Patronus, which had saved lives when the near disaster occurred at the quidditch pitch.

However, if something tragic ever befell Pansy, then it could be a nightmare. It was clear that Harry would take bloody retribution on any who harmed her. Albus should probably warn Horace to watch young Mr. Nott closely because he would be in great danger if he was ever foolish enough to approach Pansy again. She was the unexpected key to Harry Potter's future. He knew that her death might spur him to cruelty and horrors that he didn't want to think of.

Hopefully, her love would drive him to something astonishing that could defeat Voldemort when the time came.

And if it wasn't, then hopefully it would be enough to give him the strength to sacrifice himself. Albus had no more illusions that Harry would die to save the world, but it looked like he would in order to save the girl he loved.


	58. The Same Deep Water as You

* * *

Harry was standing at the edge of the Black Lake trying not to shiver. It was just above freezing, but he wasn't stripping down to a swimsuit like Fleur and Krum. At least not yet. And he certainly wasn't gawking at Fleur either- okay, maybe just a little bit. He was a healthy, mostly normal teenage guy after all. But Pansy wasn't there to glare at him, so he could get away with it.

The judges had made their spiel, a whistle was blown, and the second task of the Triwizard Tournament was under way. Harry drew his wand to use the summoning spell and then had to wait.

He didn't pay much attention to Krum, who had disappeared under the surface. Fleur had cast the bubblehead charm before heading into the lake. Harry had done his best not to stare after her, but she did have some very, _very_ impressive curves.

The sound of one of the school's rowboats zooming across the water in his direction drew his attention. Harry guided it in slowly to the edge of the lake and then got in before blasting away from the shallows with an unfocused banishing charm. It was something that had taken him some effort to get down, but thankfully he'd had nearly a month to practice once their plan was decided on. Pansy had suggested using the boat, as she was not interested in having to swim any more than absolutely necessary.

For his part, Harry typically loved getting to play with his girlfriend in or near water but having to spend an hour or more fighting the frigid lake, and part of that time with an unconscious passenger, was definitely not something he wanted to try.

Thus, he was now speeding along the water's surface with the occasional banishing charm to give him velocity or redirect his aim. The tracking charm seemed to be working just fine as it was pointing him to the middle of the lake, where Myrtle had told him the merpeople's village lay.

While Harry had a few minutes to kill, he thought back to the lesson professor Flitwick had given them on the Fidelius charm. He had been forced to focus on preparing for the second task, but once that was done, Harry was planning on using it to hide away his accidental murder of Rita Skeeter.

As the book they'd found had suggested, the Charms Master confirmed that the true difficulty of the spell lay not only in the amount of willpower and focus necessary to shape the spell but also the effective 'size' of the secret to be hidden. Flitwick had demonstrated on a quill of Harry's. He snapped the quill and then cast the Fidelius to hide away the knowledge of what had happened to it. Despite both of them seeing the action occur, neither he nor Harry could recall that fact until Pansy informed them of the secret. It was such a small and rather frivolous use of the charm, but it demonstrated its effects quite clearly.

Once the secret was restored, it also showed just much the difficulty of the charm could vary. According to professor Flitwick, one of the most common usages of the spell was to hide away a building. While a decent student could probably hide something like the fate of a broken quill, it would take someone much more powerful to hide away a home like what his parents had done. According to Flitwick, he doubted more than possibly half of the staff would be able to do so.

When pressed on which half, their jovial teacher had made them guess which ones would likely not be able, smiling as he said that he wanted to test their abilities to reason.

Harry immediately suggested that it would be beyond Hagrid, which the professor confirmed, as well as Trelawney, the fraudulent Divination teacher that Hermione still occasionally ranted against.

Pansy guessed that professors Vector, Sprout, Sinistra, and obviously Binns all wouldn't. Professor Flitwick told her she was only correct on three of her guesses. She responded by saying that Binns was obviously correct and that she had heard Sprout mention that Charms had been one of her worse subjects (something Harry did not know), but she was unsure which of the other two was wrong.

Harry speculated that professor Vector's field of Arithmancy was much more focused on the theoretical side of magic, and thus deduced that Sinistra was the one who would have the ability.

Flitwick was so pleased by that answer that he gave Harry five points for the use of logic.

That annoyed Pansy a bit, so she then supposed that neither the librarian Madam Pince nor Mr. Filch, who she knew to be a squib via Harry, would be able to cast the Patronus.

The Charms Master responded by giving her five points for not overlooking some of the staff who were not teachers.

Harry then guessed that the Muggle Studies professor would also be among those who were not able to do so.

At that point, professor Flitwick affirmed that he believed Harry was correct about professor Burbage.

As for the rest, apart from himself, he knew for a fact that the headmaster as well as professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were capable of it. He was not willing to put anything past Mad-Eye Moody, and he was fairly certain that professor Slughorn was capable as well. Flitwick said that the old Potions Master was much more accomplished than his appearance and affable demeanor suggested. Finally, professor Babbling had been researching the ability to try to create a runic array capable of something similar for years, and thus Flitwick knew that she had a fair amount of skill with the charm.

Harry was looking forward to asking her about it, but he was pretty sure that he would be able to take care of their Skeeter problem without any further instruction. He had been able to replicate Flitwick's example with the broken quill, so as soon as the weekend arrived, he was going to do just that.

That brought to mind his wonder at why they were once again holding one of the tasks in the middle of the week. At least Harry was not going to have to deal with an Astronomy lesson. He wasn't looking forward to freezing late at night after freezing that afternoon in the lake.

Especially since he wasn't going to be able properly celebrate passing the second task probably until the weekend. Pansy's period had just started earlier that week, so she had promised to make it up to him later.

Honestly, he was so worried about her being used as his hostage in this stupid task that he was going to be happy just knowing she was safe and sound, back in his arms. Harry had not slept well the night before- after all, it had been more than a year since he had not had her next to him in their bed.

Luna had helpfully had two strong cups of tea waiting for him at breakfast and a couple of slices of toast that she nearly had to force him to eat. He was going to need his energy, and Harry knew that she was probably right, but his nerves just were not cooperating.

He smiled to think of his friends, all of whom he had warned about how boring that day was going to be. Parvati had told him that she and Lavender would keep Luna company while he was busy. Hermione was going to be reading, naturally. He had cast warming charms on them all before heading down to the water.

Finally, Harry set aside his thoughts and focused back on his task. Letting his mind wander had helped quite a bit at pushing down the stress, but the tracking charm was showing that the first part of his goal was complete.

He slowed the boat and was thankful for the relatively mild weather. Sure, it was cold and cloudy as usual, but the wind was calm and there were no storms so the boat should hopefully remain roughly where it was. He pulled off his robe, shoes and clothes, leaving him only in his swimming trunks. Wand in hand, he cast the bubblehead charm and a warming charm on himself as well.

He looked down into the murky water. This part was going to suck. No time to waste though.

Harry screwed up his courage and threw himself over board.

 _'Holy fucking shit that's cold!_ '

Even the warming charm did little to help, so he tried reapplying the spell and felt slightly less awful. Harry lit his wand and forced himself to start swimming down.

The water was dark and murky only ten or twenty feet from the surface, but he had to keep going.

He wished he had been able to talk Madam Pomfrey into teaching them more healing spells. Strangely enough, Luna had been some help, as she knew a charm that healed relatively minor injuries such as broken noses or toes.

It had hurt like a son of bitch the afternoon when they set about practicing, as Harry was unwilling to subject either Pansy or Luna to the pain. He figured that if he could live through the nearly daily beatings of Dudley's gang, then he could grit his teeth to make sure they could each master the spell.

And it had certainly been good motivation for Pansy, who had the spell nailed down on only her third attempt. Harry struggled a bit more, but then trying to heal your own broken toe through the pain was probably always going to be more of a challenge. Still, he managed it eventually.

Luna had greatly admired Harry that day. Not only for his determination and endurance, but for his willingness to show off that he was quite possibly even more nuts than she was.

He really loved that girl- she had a way of making him laugh even when he was in a lot of pain. He had to face the fact that she was right about him being sort of crazy though. Harry had to admit that he had been something of a maniac when he had asked Moody to cast the Cruciatus spell on him so he could know what it was like.

He wasn't sure if he should feel better or worse at still thinking that maybe it had been a good idea when he thought it over later on.

Harry just kept swimming down, letting his thoughts drift, and after a few more minutes he saw the village of the merpeople. Many of them were gathered in the center, singing the same eerie song from the egg. Just a bit further on, he saw an enormous statue of a merman with three figures tied to its tail.

He sped up as much as he could. There was Pansy, floating in the murky green light of the water.

For a moment, she looked as if she was dead. His heart raced as the panic set in while he swam over to her. He was going to have to murder Dumbledore after all.

But once he reached her, Harry felt a pulse and looking around, he realized that all three of the hostages were in some sort of enchanted sleep. One of the other two was Fleur's younger sister that he remembered from seeing at the beach the summer before. Her skin looked even more pale in the dark water at the bottom of the lake, but her hair seemed to almost shine, a silver blonde halo floating all around her head.

The other hostage was likely Krum's younger sister. There was an obvious resemblance, which made Harry feel bad for the girl. He might have been a bit biased, but that brow ridge of Krum's always made him think of cavemen. At least the girl didn't have a thick unibrow.

He looked back at Pansy and fired a spell to cut her loose so he could get them out of this awful ice-cold water.

Just as he turned a large fast moving fish collided into his side and knocked him several feet away from her. Harry spun around and saw Krum, the clumsy fucking bastard, had turned himself into a sort of half-shark and had just bit through the rope that was now stuck in his maw, dragging his hostage away. The partial fish transformation had given him a great amount of speed, and within seconds, he was far enough away that Harry had lost track of him.

Unfortunately, Harry then turned to see a much greater complication. He had been knocked into the younger Delacour sister who had been awoken by the impact. And even worse, she was clearly not able to breathe as she looked completely terrified.

He immediately cast a bubblehead charm on her. The girl was still shocked so he mimed at his own bubblehead charm to show that he was able to breath with the help of the spell, and after a moment of feeling her own face, she started to calm down.

When Harry turned to swim back to Pansy, a small hand reached out and grabbed onto him. Fleur's sister might have been relieved by his spell, but she obviously did not want to be left down there alone.

The merpeople had all backed off after Krum had smashed into his side and were not looking like they would be of any help. Fleur still wasn't in sight either.

Harry held up a finger, trying to convey that he needed just a moment. She let go of his hand but still looked afraid. He swam over to Pansy, wrapped an arm around her with his wand at the ready. Thankfully, the contact did not cause her to wake up. He then pulled her back over to the little French blonde.

He waited what seemed like a few minutes more, but the water was freezing and he was more than ready to get this damn task over with.

'Fuck it,' he thought as he cast a spell to free the Delacour girl from her tether as well. Harry swam closer and motioned for her to grab onto his left hand. It was going to be fairly cumbersome to try to make his way back to the surface towing both girls along on one side, but he was definitely not going to put his wand away until he was back in the boat.

They began the climb. Swimming straight up from the deepest part of the lake took several minutes, but thankfully, it also avoided pretty much any creatures other than a few small fish that went far out of their path.

Minute after minute, they slowly made their way up. Thankfully, the younger Delacour was a fairly good swimmer, so between the two of them, they were able to make decent time, and with Pansy in the middle it wasn't actually as awkward as Harry had feared.

Things started to brighten and only a moment later they burst up out of the water. Harry turned for a moment as he heard both girls coughing. The boat was maybe fifty feet away, not bad all things considered.

"This way," he called as well as giving them a tug of his hand. Harry made sure the girls were swimming in the correct direction and he followed just behind them.

When they reached the boat, he held onto the side to try to steady it as Pansy and the little blonde climbed in. She was speaking rapidly in French and Harry was having trouble understanding her between the chattering of her teeth and the water sloshing all around him. He pulled himself up last and hit them all with a round of drying spells.

"Dobby!"

The little house-elf was worth his weight in gold that day. Not only did he have the two largest towels hot and ready for them to wrap up in, but he shortly returned with mugs of hot cocoa. Since they had an extra passenger, Harry made sure she had one of the towels, which completely engulfed the smaller girl.

It wasn't going to be any hardship for him to snuggle up next to Pansy. Extra body heat anyway.

Once they had all gulped down the hot cocoa, Harry said "hold on" in French and fired off a banishing charm behind them, propelling the boat back towards the shore.

The trip back to shore was uneventful other than the little French girl who couldn't stop giggling while Harry spent most of the ride making sure his girlfriend was really okay by snogging her until his nerves finally fell back into a state of equilibrium. When he could pull himself away from Pansy, he fired off another couple of banishers until they were near the shoreline.

"Gabrielle!"

Harry heard a faint screaming that eventually he could understand as Fleur shrieking for her sister once they were close enough. She ran right up to the boat while they were still in waist deep water, her arms going around her sister frantically. The two girls were speaking French rapidly, but he had trouble following it because he was just so relieved that none of his usual bad luck had turned up. Harry closed his eyes and buried his face in Pansy's hair.

"I told you it would be alright, Harry," she cooed as she stroked his back with her left arm, the right one still clutching the now no longer warm towel around them. He realized that he was shaking- his nerves were still a lot more frazzled than he thought.

"I bet I know what you'd like to do now," he whispered.

"Really?"

"The same thing as me. Soak in a nice long hot bath."

She laughed and the carefree sound did a lot to help. Harry tried once again to relax.

"Are you sure that's all you want to do?" she asked in a low, teasing voice as the little boat was being guided to shore.

"For now."

Harry disentangled himself to see what was going on. Fleur was lifting Gabrielle out of the boat and onto the shore. He took in the appearance of the French champion and it seemed that maybe there was more than just a pretty face to her after all. She had numerous cuts and scratches covering her body but was heedless of everything but making sure her little sister was safe. He then caught a bit of their conversation and realized that the younger of the two Veelas was telling a tale of being rescued by Harry Potter, her personal hero, from the terrifying underwater monsters.

Apparently, the story books had come true for Gabrielle Delacour.

Madam Pomfrey and the judges had come over to see their return. The healer was checking over the two French girls so Harry relaxed and waited for a few more moments. He saw a merman sticking his head up above the surface and speaking that harsh, screeching language to professor Dumbledore and Barty Crouch.

"Alright you two, get over here," Pomfrey ordered. Harry smiled at her as she looked more harried and angry than he was used to. It looked like he definitely wasn't the only one who had not enjoyed the day's 'festivities.'

Harry helped Pansy out onto the shore first and then followed her. Madam Pomfrey gave them each potions to take, and for once he enjoyed it, as it warmed him from the inside out. After the frigid winter lake water, he almost asked for seconds.

She waved her wand around Pansy first before turning to Harry.

"You're actually alright for once."

"It's a miracle, I know." Harry gave her a grin while the healer rolled her eyes.

"You keep this up, young man, and you might actually make it through an entire year without ending up in my infirmary."

"But wouldn't you get lonely?"

Harry's smirk was interrupted as he was spun around.

"You saved 'er! My Gabrielle," Fleur grabbed him in a hug and then kissed both of his cheeks. "'Ow can I ever repay you?"

"Uh..."

Now, Harry was able to throw off the Imperius curse without any problems and usually Fleur's allure didn't affect him, but at the moment her breasts were pressed firmly up against him and she was not trying to control her abilities at all.

It could have been worse. He was still cold enough that he didn't get an immediate erection, and even that might not have been as embarrassing as Ludo Bagman who was openly drooling while staring at her.

"It's alright," Harry began as he tried to focus on anything other than Fleur Delacour, turning to Pansy who was smirking at him.

"I don't really need-"

His girlfriend cut him off by clamping her hand over his mouth.

"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement later, once we're all able to speak in a calmer setting." Pansy let go of him then and Harry just nodded along.

"What she said."

"Of course," Fleur replied smirking at Harry's deference.

They were then interrupted by the judges, who began to announce the scores for the task.

Krum had done well as far as the time went, and received no penalty for his "accidental" collision that caused the problems for Gabrielle Delacour. Harry was dubious about that, but since he came out of things unscathed, the Bulgarian's actions were only something to ponder later. He would definitely be keeping a close eye on him for the final task.

Fleur received half the available points despite being unable to get past a swarm of Grindylows. Harry heard her mutter about not deserving any, obviously taking her failure pretty hard, and she was left in last place.

Harry received the maximum amount of points for not only returning with his own hostage within the time limit but also for rescuing Gabrielle when she was endangered.

The crowd once again cheered loudly for the Hogwarts champion, who was now firmly in the lead, but Harry felt like he was ready to collapse.

* * *

Luna had been the first one over to congratulate him, followed quickly behind by many of his classmates and the rest of the quidditch team. Their words of praise were nice but Harry had trouble focusing on any of them as the group all headed inside and up towards Gryffindor tower.

Luna at least seemed to understand his behavior and she gave him a small hug before going off to her own dormitory. She whispered something to Pansy as she left.

The Gryffindors immediately began to celebrate, while Harry just felt like collapsing.

Still a bit damp and cold, he was able to convince everyone to let him go warm up in the bath before he would feel up to joining them.

Honestly though, he knew that wouldn't be enough.

He did manage to thank Dobby as he and Pansy headed for the bathroom though.

She could tell how overloaded Harry had been by everything that happened that day, so Pansy got the water ready and helped Harry out of his wet clothes before guiding him to sit down in the tub.

As she undressed herself, she saw the look in his eyes was not the playful lust she was used to but a tired desperation.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and his only response was to nod dully. Climbing into the bath in front of him, she was not surprised when his arms immediately wrapped around her and pulled her body tight against his- but she was when she heard him begin to sob.

"It's alright," she cooed, using her own arms to hold onto his. "Everything's alright, Harry. Just let it out, and try to relax."

She felt him nod again and for a couple of minutes Pansy just waited, softly stroking the backs of his hands that had clutched so firmly onto her as if he was afraid that she would slip away. She didn't think this would have affected him so strongly, but then she had been placed into an enchanted sleep so Pansy hadn't even had a chance to worry.

Harry could do nothing _but_ worry. And it had clearly taken a lot out of him.

Once he was somewhat under control again, Harry tried to speak.

"I just- I just can't stand the idea of losing you," he exhaled deeply. "I don't care if the task was supposed to be safe. When I saw you down there, under the water, I lost my mind for a moment. It looked like you were dead, and I nearly had a panic attack. I was ready to go kill Dumbledore. It was like something out of a nightmare.

"But then I found you had a pulse and the world was right again." Harry chuckled mirthlessly to himself for a moment. "I think the headmaster was right."

"About what?"

"He said he feared what I would do if something happened to you, and I don't think I would be sane anymore if you died. I'd probably just start killing people. Trying to go out in a blaze of glory or something."

"Let's just plan on neither of us dying then."

"Okay." Harry sighed. "I don't think I'm in much of a partying mood, but I probably should put in an appearance."

"Luna asked me to send her a message via Dobby when you felt up to being social."

"I should probably thank her for taking care of me at breakfast."

"Oh?"

"I felt like death warmed up. She had two cups of tea waiting for me and was somehow able to get me to force down a couple of pieces of toast."

"You must be hungry then," Pansy snorted. "I am too, now that you mention it. I haven't eaten all day."

"I'm more in the mood for just sleeping," Harry replied.

"Really? I wouldn't think you'd be that tired; it's still the middle of the afternoon."

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"It wasn't just the worrying- I'm so used to having you in bed with me that trying to fall asleep, even once I was drowsy, I just couldn't get comfortable. You should be prepared for me to be extra clingy tonight."

"I'm sure I'll be able to handle that."

"You'll have to be my Pansy bear."

"Pansy bear?"

"Like a Teddy bear, you know?"

"No, I don't."

"Oh, um, well it's a really common toy in the muggle world. Sort of like a doll, only an animal, stuffed and fuzzy. They're most commonly for small children. Dudley used to sleep with one. Well, a series of them really, because he tore them up, like everything. Stupid fat bastard."

"I see. We do have stuffed animals like that, but bears aren't particularly popular. Magical creatures are much more common, obviously."

" _Obviously_ ," Harry drawled out, and they both began to giggle.

"We can take as long as you need before we go out there."

"Thanks. I'll be good in a couple of minutes, I think. Let me splash some water on my face and get some clean clothes on and I think I'll be at least semi-functional."

* * *

"There's our champion!" yelled out one of the Weasley twins as soon as the door opened and the crowd assembled in the Gryffindor tower let out a massive cheer as Harry and Pansy emerged from their quarters.

Normally, Harry would have been at least marginally accepting of everyone coming around to shake his hands, clap him on the back, and whatnot, but that afternoon, he kept a firm hold of Pansy, his arm wrapped tight around her waist. She understood and knew she would have to keep a close eye on him. Once Luna arrived, she could probably help too, but Harry was obviously not at his best.

After a couple of minutes the throng spread back out. Pansy felt something tugging at her arm and looked down to see Dobby pointing over to the entryway of the tower. She nodded in response.

For once, she was actually glad to see Granger. Not that she would have ever admitted it. Pansy steered Harry over to her and whispered in his ear that she was going to go let in their visitor before pushing him towards her. Granger didn't disappoint, grabbing Harry in an enthusiastic hug. He looked distracted enough that Pansy felt like it would be okay to leave him alone for just a minute.

"Thank Merlin you're here," she said as she let Luna inside.

"I take it you need help cheering Harry up? He was not himself this morning without you."

"Exactly. You're the best, Luna."

"Thanks."

The two girls slid through the crowded room until they got in sight of Harry still talking with Hermione, and very quickly the blonde Ravenclaw glomped onto his side, eliciting a smile from him. Pansy exhaled as their best friend once again acted as a tonic to one of his bad moods- it was nearly impossible to stay grumpy with Luna around.

If she was going to get a chance to be social over the next few days, this was going to be it. Pansy knew how Harry would want to spend as much of the weekend as possible, so she might as well take advantage of Luna's presence while she could.

She made her way over towards Parvati and Lavender, who were sitting at a small table together. The way Lavender was giggling while not-so-surreptitiously pointing towards different guys around the room was not surprising, but the fact that she had a piece of parchment and quill in front of her was.

"What are you two ladies up to?"

"I was telling Parvati about a couple of related games, um, muggle games that is," Lavender answered. "One is called fortune teller, which I thought Parvati would like, but parchment is too hard to fold up like paper, so I was going to teach her how to play something similar."

"Want to join us?" Parvati asked. "That is, if you can leave Harry alone long enough."

"Sure. Luna will keep him entertained for awhile." Pansy sat down across from them. "What's this game called?"

"Well, in the States it's called MASH but they call flats apartments over there. So, we'll just call it Manor Flat Shack House," Lavender explained as she wrote those four terms across the top of the parchment in front of her. "Now, you can have different categories, but we'll go fairly simple since there's only three of us playing. There will be four different things, and each of us gives one choice, alright?"

"Okay."

"Parvati's first. So, name a guy you might want to marry."

"Harry," she immediately blurted out.

"Completely shameless, Patil," Pansy smirked.

"How about Anthony Goldstein next," Lavender suggested, letting out a slightly nervous laugh.

"Ugh," Parvati replied. "He'd be better for my sister."

"Well, you get to pick what you really want and the two of us get to pick choices that you wouldn't like as much."

"So, that's how it's played?" Pansy asked with a wicked grin. "Crabbe."

"That's just mean," Parvati groaned.

"You expected something else?" Pansy retorted.

"Fine, what's next Lavender?"

"Next, we give a number of children you might have."

"Okay, I'll say two."

"Then I'll say three. Pansy?"

"Seven." She chuckled at the look of horror on Parvati's face.

"One of us should have chosen a Weasley for her to marry then," Lavender giggled. "Alright, next, we pick what you want to be. Like a career or whatever."

"Hmm, how about a fashion designer," Parvati suggested. "The boring robes most wizards and witches wear are just awful."

"Oh, that would be so fun." Lavender let out a happy squeal. "Let me think...

"I know! It's in the muggle world, but Divination has made me think that it would be pretty easy for a witch to be a fortune-teller. Lots of muggles want to believe in things like that, hoping that some sort of magic can predict their futures."

"Interesting. How do you know so much about muggles, Lavender?" Pansy asked.

"My mother is a muggle born, so I've spent a lot of time in the regular world. My older sister and I grew up around our muggle cousins, and we went to primary school together."

"That makes sense."

"Your turn Pansy."

"Right." She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before a hilariously terrible idea came to mind.

"Harem girl."

Parvati let out a groan while Lavender laughed again.

"With that outfit," the blonde giggled at her blushing friend.

"That's what you get for all the 'Harry's harem' rumors."

"I'd wear it for _Harry_ ," Parvati teased back at Pansy's smirk.

Lavender cut in, worried that the other two girls were going to get angry at each other.

"Okay, next thing, I don't know how well the numbers would translate to galleons, so we'll just say the final category will be whether you end up rich, middle class or poor. Now, the last thing we do, I'm going to draw a spiral. Parvati close your eyes and tell me when to stop."

She didn't wait too long, and Lavender then began marking off every eighth option.

"You will have seven kids," Lavender chortled.

"Middle class on wealth."

"You'll be a harem girl..." Much giggling ensued.

"For Crabbe!"

Parvati made retching sounds as Pansy joined Lavender in laughing at their friend's misfortune.

"But at least you'll get to live in a manor," Lavender finished, trying to console Parvati.

"More rooms for me to try to hide from Crabbe, I guess."

Pansy looked across the common room at Harry and Luna who were examining some sort of sweet that the Weasley twins were offering them. A moment later, they both popped them in their mouths and were replaced by two enormous canaries. Several people began laughing as the Harry and Luna birds were tweeting melodiously at each other.

"I'm surprised you're not over there with him," Parvati said.

"He's in good hands with Luna," Pansy replied. "Besides, you probably won't see much of either of us this weekend."

"Lucky bitch," Parvati grumbled.

"You know it," Pansy answered with a smile. "He's being social, taking part in the celebration. That's easier for him without being attached to me for the moment. And for some reason, I enjoy spending time around you."

Lavender let out a nervous giggle at that but Parvati just nodded while throwing an arm over Pansy's shoulders.

"Probably because you know that I'm terrified you would kill me in my sleep if I stepped over the line."

"Yes, well sort of," Pansy answered with a thoughtful look. "You're right in a way, but actually, I would wake you up first so you would know why I was killing you."

Lavender gasped at that but Parvati just snorted.

"I shouldn't have expected anything less. Who wouldn't be ridiculously protective of Harry?"

"It's one of the reasons Luna is a better friend for him than Granger," Pansy added. "Oh, I know Hermione cares about Harry, but I doubt she has the stomach for any real violence."

"But you think Luna does? Really? I just don't see it," Lavender argued.

"You know how all of us can see the thestrals now, right? Well, Luna already could. Her mother died right in front of her. That changes you. I know Luna just seems like this sweet, strange girl, but you have to remember that Harry was the first friend she ever had. Imagine that someone tried to take him away from her and then think what she would be willing to do to stop that from happening."

"I can see that," Parvati agreed. "She is very attached to the two of you. My sister told me how most of Ravenclaw is wary of upsetting her after Harry threatened those girls last year. The prefects keep a closer eye on things now too. Apparently, they had been pretty hands off until last spring. Padma said she saw him telling off one of them last year that same day."

"She got to see Harry getting all angry and protective over Luna?" Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Then I'm surprised that it's only one of you Patil girls wanting to throw yourselves at him."

"Padma and I are different people." Parvati could only shrug. "I probably would have been turned on by it, but she found him intimidating. That sounds like a good thing to me."

"Me too."

"I think this is why I'm not interested in him anymore. You guys are way too serious," Lavender admitted.

"People have tried to kill Harry," Pansy replied. "We have to be serious."

"Ugh, isn't this supposed to be a party?" Lavender complained. "Let's play again, you two can help decide my fate. Just no picking Crabbe, since Parvati's going to marry him."

The three girls all laughed at that as Lavender started writing again on a blank piece of parchment.

* * *

"Have fun this afternoon?" Pansy asked later that evening, once they were back in the privacy of their room after dinner.

"More than I thought I would," Harry allowed. "Luna makes it hard to stay upset. The Weasley twins helped out a lot too."

"I saw you talking to them."

"Yeah, they have invented a few different joke items, like those canary creams you probably saw Luna and I eat. For as bad as they do in most of their classes, they are brilliant in a way. It's too bad they had Snape for so many years; from what Slughorn has said, they're some of his best students."

"It's too bad that anyone had to suffer under Snape for _any_ amount of years. The only thing that evil bastard ever taught was that the next generation of Death Eaters could get away with anything because the people in charge were fucking idiots."

"Now that's something we can definitely agree on," Harry chuckled as he started to get undressed. "But let's not talk about any other crap tonight."

"What do you want to do then?" Pansy gave him a saucy little grin, kicking off her shoes. "I could probably think of a couple of things I could do to make you feel better."

"Let's just go to bed. Today has left me completely exhausted."

"Are you sure?"

"For once, I just need to know you're there beside me. I don't feel up to anything fun. Besides, aren't we another day or two away before you're ready for that?"

"Yes, but I could take care of you tonight in other ways."

"I appreciate the thought, but I just feel awful right now." Harry laid down in the bed and a moment later Pansy climbed in next to him. "You know I'll demand we spend most of the weekend making love anyway, right?"

"I was counting on it."

"Then we should probably get plenty of rest so we'll have enough energy."

Pansy sat up enough to lean down over him and initiate a kiss that soon turned into a snog. A desperate, needy snog, with his arms pulling her close.

"I love you, Harry."

* * *

It turned out to be a very good thing that he had insisted they go to bed early. Harry woke her in the middle of the night having the most violent nightmare she had seen that wasn't directly tied to the Dark Lord.

She had a good idea what it was about though based on him moaning her name. He didn't even come fully awake, but she held onto him and whispered into his ear, trying to calm him back into a peaceful sleep. It worked after a couple of minutes, but it left Pansy wondering about just how badly Harry had been rattled by the second task. He had been so cool under pressure for everything else she had seen thrown at him before.

She was going to have to keep this knowledge as quiet as possible. Nothing good would come from some Death Eater deciding to go after her and thereby exposing Harry's weakness. It would just lead to him acting reckless, which would be more likely to get him killed.

It reminded her of Sirius in a way. She should probably do more to give him a chance as he and Harry seemed to have a similar vulnerability.

Pansy drifted off back to sleep trying to think of some way to get rid of more Death Eaters before they became a bigger problem.

* * *

As predicted, very little was seen of Harry and Pansy that weekend. But there was one thing they did that none of the school gossips would have had any idea about.

"Dobby, are you sure you can do this?"

"Dobby will take care of his family," the little elf insisted.

"I just want to be sure that it will work without any problems," Harry said, trying to clarify things. "I trust you, Dobby, I'm sure you know that by now. But has anyone used a house-elf as a secret keeper before? What if it hurts you or doesn't work?"

"Only one way to find out," Pansy argued. "Dobby says he can handle it, and I believe him, Harry. He wouldn't want to try this if he thought it would leave him unable to take care of us, right Dobby?"

"Right miss Pansy!"

"Okay," Harry said, throwing his hands up. "Forgive me for wanting to be careful.

"Let's make sure we've got everything ready then. You've got the note, be sure to put it away somewhere safe but also somewhere that you can get to it if you need to let one of us in on the secret. Okay?"

"Okay, master Harry!"

"Alright, then let's do this." Harry took a deep breath as he held his wand, focusing on the secret of Rita Skeeter's accidental bloody end in that very room. With only the three of them knowing anything about it, hopefully this would not take too much out of him. It was Saturday night, so he would have all of Sunday to recuperate if necessary, but Harry was looking forward to celebrating getting past the second task a lot more with Pansy that weekend if everything went right.

He took one more deep breath to steady himself then began the incantation and focused on shrinking the secret down and placing it inside his ever trustworthy little friend. The magic left a tangible impression on the very air around them as the spell was cast and a light coalesced in front of Dobby before seeping into him, leaving the room in shadow as Harry finished.

He fell forward onto his knees and gasped for air. Whatever he had just done, Harry felt an enormous drain. It was reminiscent of when he was learning the Patronus spell.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Pansy answered, looking around the sitting room of their quarters. "Dobby, what's going on?"

"Dobby has taken care of his family," the elf replied with evident pride.

"Okay. I feel kind of weak though."

"Master Harry should sit down and rest. Dobby has made tea and it should be almost ready."

"Tea sounds great," Harry said as he slumped down onto the couch. Pansy curled up and coaxed him into laying his head in her lap.

"Dobby, you've done a great job looking after us," Pansy said. "We've been talking about what we could do for you. Something like a gift, but neither of us really knows enough about house-elves to know just what you might really want."

"A gift? Like at Christmas time?"

"Yes, like that. We want to do something special for you," Harry added from the comfort of his girlfriend's lap.

"Dobby has an idea but doesn't want to make work for master Harry."

"That's alright, just tell me what it is."

"Dobby wants a fish."

"A fish?" Harry sat up as the elf had brought over the tea tray and was starting to serve the three of them. "Do you want a fish to eat or like a pet?"

"A pet for Dobby. A fish for Dobby to take care of," he added in a hopeful voice.

Harry looked at Pansy and they both smiled. This was something about the little guy that they at least kind of understood.

"I like that idea, Dobby. Why don't we all pop back to the flat tomorrow? The muggle world has all sorts of pet stores, and we should be able to find everything you would need for a pet fish and something to keep him in."

"We could even get two fish," Pansy suggested. "If you want Dobby, we could get a male and female fish of the same type, and then they might have a little fish family for you to take care of."

"Miss Pansy is the greatest witch in the world!"


	59. Parties Before the Storm

* * *

"Glug, glug, glug."

Dobby had taken to happily making fish sounds ever since they had returned from the pet store and set up his new aquarium. He had chosen a male and female goldfish that were both mostly black in coloration. For the several days since then, Dobby could often be found standing in front of it, watching his new little family swim around their new home.

Harry had insisted on getting a larger aquarium than was really necessary, with the idea that they would hopefully be having more baby fish at some point and thus need the room eventually.

Pansy was sitting on the couch reading over 'Harry's' most recent Herbology essay. She didn't even bother trying to get his input for the assignments of that class anymore. He was willing to do more than his share when they were in the greenhouses, so she thought it was a fair trade. Pansy loathed having to get her hands dirty.

Harry walked over and sat down next to Dobby in front of the aquarium.

"Have you thought of names for them?"

"Names?"

"They're your fish Dobby. You get to name them."

"Dobby has an idea but..."

"But what?"

"Dobby doesn't want to be making master Harry or miss Pansy mad." Dobby was blushing. Pansy perked up at the comment and stood up, coming over to join them.

"I doubt the names for your fish would make us mad," she replied. "What was your idea?"

Dobby looked around, as if he was afraid someone would hear him, before he answered.

"Dobby wants to call this one master Harry fish and that one miss Pansy fish," he said, pointing to each fish in turn and still blushing.

"Of course you do," Pansy snorted. "That's fine with me. How about you, master Harry?"

"I don't have any problem with that," Harry concurred. Dobby's resulting smile was enormous as he turned back to the aquarium. Harry thought for a moment, wondering if the house-elf was just being his normal obsessive self or if this was a type of joke.

"Is this because of when we learned the bubblehead charm, Dobby?"

Dobby began rolling around the floor, laughing like a maniac.

"I'll take that as a yes," Harry said as he stood up.

"What's this about the bubblehead charm?" Pansy asked.

"He said we looked like fish-people, remember?"

"Because it looked like a fishbowl on our heads. I remember now." Pansy looked down at Dobby who was almost over his laughing fit. "Will you do me a favor, Dobby?"

"Of course, miss Pansy."

"Talk to me before you name any of their fish children, alright? I don't want to name any of my future children after fish."

Harry started to giggle at that, but Pansy made a good point. Maybe he should suggest to Dobby naming them after his quidditch teammates. He wasn't too close with the girls or Oliver, and as much as he liked Fred and George, he had no plans to name any sons after them. Besides, he knew that Pansy would never stand for naming any of her children after a Weasley.

* * *

"Hey Neville, I've got a question for you."

It was just after lunch on the first Saturday of March, and Harry's fellow Gryffindor was sitting in a chair along the wall, reading a book about magical plants. He looked up, seemingly surprised that someone was talking to him. Harry felt a little bad that he was still so timid and nervous. Maybe he should have done more to try to push Neville and Hermione together.

"Uh, sure Harry. What is it?"

"Actually, it's a series of questions really. First up, do you have anything important you need to do this afternoon?"

"Not really. I still haven't finished the most recent Transfiguration assignment, but that isn't due for a few more days."

"Okay, good. Second question, do you like chocolate?"

"Yes, as much as anyone does I suppose. Who doesn't like chocolate?"

"I figure there has to be someone out there," Harry shrugged. "I mean, people cook and eat things like grasshoppers in some parts of the world. So I try not to assume too many things. Anyway, I was hoping you would do me a favor."

"Okay, what is it?"

"My third question, I guess. Will you be my alibi?"

"Alibi?"

"I've been roped into making brownies for a bunch of girls, and I'd like to have another guy there to try to hopefully keep any more of these silly rumors about me having a harem to a minimum. Your presence would be a big help."

"Alright." Neville looked down and blushed before quietly asking which girls would be there.

"Pansy, Luna, Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender."

"Right," Neville gulped. "When do you need me?"

"I'm going to go find Luna in a few minutes. Pansy will grab the other girls in awhile. Just follow them down to the kitchens."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Nev, I'll see you in awhile."

* * *

"You don't need to be in any rush today, Harry," Luna said as she followed him into the kitchens.

"What do you mean?"

"Pansy and I were talking about this and we decided that it would be more fun to treat it like a party. Since there are going to be several of us this time, we wouldn't want to get in the way of the house-elves as they prepare for dinner."

"Thank you miss Luna," three or four squeaky voices replied.

"You're welcome. Anyway, Pansy is going to find a room where we can all just hang out in this afternoon. I think she's going to have Dobby work his magic to get things ready."

"That sounds good," Harry said as he got all his ingredients together and began to work.

"You might want to put in a little less this time," Luna piped up as Harry reached for the small bag of marijuana and stopped abruptly.

"Um, what?"

"Harry, you've met my father. Do you think he is just naturally like that? My parents were sort of like hippies. I've been able to recognize that smell since before I could read."

"Oh. Don't tell Hermione, okay?"

"You're hoping it will help her become more open-minded then? That's a good goal, but I'm not sure how well it will work. She's got to be one of the most narrow-minded muggleborn witches ever."

"I know," Harry sighed. He did as Luna suggested, putting in a touch less of the special ingredient than the previous time. "I'll be happy if it just helps her to be somewhat less uptight. Exams are still more than three months away and she was already talking about preparing for them the other day. No fifteen year old should give themselves an ulcer by stressing out that much about their grades. I'm afraid she is going to be a complete nightmare next year for the OWLS."

"She probably will be," Luna agreed, smiling serenely at Harry's frown. "That doesn't mean it's your responsibility to fix her. You've never tried to fix me, no matter how strange people think I am."

"There's nothing wrong with you being strange. I am legitimately worried about Hermione's health. That's different."

"Some would say that you should be worried about my mental health."

Harry looked up at that, trying to read the expression on Luna's face.

"It seems like you function just fine to me. Hermione's been known to not eat properly when she's stressing out about exams."

"Okay."

"But I'll keep an eye on you too, if it will make you feel better."

"I know you will, Harry," Luna smiled. "Did you ask Neville to join us?"

"Yes. My alibi confirmed that he would be available to help. He was a little flustered at the thought of all the girls that will be there. I don't know if that's just him being shy or if maybe he still has a little crush on Hermione."

"Or maybe one of the others," Luna offered. "He did go to the Yule Ball with Parvati, and Lavender is one of the more well developed girls in your year."

"True, but I don't think he thinks of Parvati like that- not sure why really."

"I agree, she's very beautiful. What about Lavender then?"

"She and Neville wouldn't work," Harry chuckled. "Lavender's as outgoing as Neville is quiet. Plus, I've noticed that he hasn't been one to leer at her the way a lot of the guys have."

"Oh," Luna answered with a pout. "I'm surprised you caught that."

"I live with Pansy," he replied with a shrug. "She is very perceptive and shrewd, and some of that was bound to rub off on me."

"I can see that," Luna nodded. "Alright, then why would Neville not be flustered by Pansy or me?"

"I guess he could be, just in different ways. Neville is intimidated by Pansy, and he still doesn't know what to make of you."

"Which I find quite amusing," Luna giggled.

"I'm sure. I don't know if he generally finds Pansy attractive or not. I caught him gawking at her the night of the Yule Ball, but that was true of a lot of guys. And he's just about the last one I think would try to make a move on my girlfriend. As for you-"

"Yes?"

"I don't know. You're not around him as much as the other girls, so I'm not sure. I could find out if you want?" Harry wondered if she was interested in Neville by the way this conversation was going.

"No, that's fine. I am curious about which people might find me attractive, but it doesn't really matter. I'm not interested in dating right now."

"I guess I won't have to scare off any guys for awhile then."

"If I get any bothersome admirers, I'll be sure to let you know."

Harry just laughed as he put the pan into the oven and sat down by Luna to wait.

* * *

"Longbottom!"

Neville was barely able to stifle a yelp as he looked up in surprise from his book at Pansy, who was glaring at him menacingly. Two of the three girls behind her were giggling too, and that didn't do anything to help his nerves. It had been a lot longer than a few minutes, and he had become engrossed in his book about magical aquatic plants of the Mediterranean.

"Yes?" he managed to croak without his voice cracking or gulping in terror, but it was a close thing as well. He still didn't understand why Harry was dating someone like Pansy. Sure, he saw how hot she looked at the Yule Ball, but she was just so mean and scary most of the time. Then again, it sometimes seemed like Harry was missing the ability to fear like a normal person, judging from some of the things Neville had seen.

"We're going. Are you joining us?"

"Right, yes. Let me just put this up."

He ran up to the dorms to put away his book, trying not to think about the giggles behind him but thankful for Hermione's voice scolding the others about not picking on him. At times like this, he was envious of Harry's confidence. He had no idea how he could talk to girls, especially ones like Parvati and Lavender, without blushing.

Once he ran back down the stairs, he saw them waiting over by the doorway out of Gryffindor tower. He followed along behind them.

"I guess you know the way to the kitchen?" Neville asked Hermione, who was trailing behind to keep him company.

"I do, but we aren't going there," she replied. "Apparently, Pansy and Luna decided it would be more fun to treat this like a party, so they set up a room for us to hang out in while Harry did the baking."

"Oh. I didn't know Harry could bake."

"I didn't either until a couple of months ago. He's pretty good at it too."

"Where are we going then?"

"Right here," Pansy answered as they pulled to a stop in front of a door one floor down from the Gryffindor common room.

"Good timing," Luna said as she threw open the door and invited them all inside. "We just arrived, and the brownies should be cool enough to eat in a couple of minutes."

Harry was standing next to a low table in front of a couple of couches and chairs. The room looked like a disused classroom, but a large space had been cleared in the middle of it. There was a second table off to one side with a large phonograph and a box nearby that Lavender immediately headed for.

"Where did you get these records?" she asked.

"They're mine and Harry's," Pansy replied.

"Yours? But aren't you a pureblood?"

"A pureblood who lives in the muggle world with Harry," she pointed out.

"Yes, but still, I just..." Lavender trailed off as she flipped through the records. "Which of you likes Depeche Mode?"

"Both of us, but I like them more than Harry," Pansy answered.

"I don't know about that," Harry argued, as he was cutting the brownies and placing them on plates. "You might have liked them first, but there's no way you like any of their songs more than how much I love Blue Dress."

"You just like that song because..."

"Because?" Lavender asked as she looked over at Pansy who was glaring at Harry and his grin. And it looked like she was fighting back a blush, which was very out of character. "Ooh, now I think I really want to know."

"Do you know the song?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Do you remember the lyrics?"

She thought about it for a moment and a huge smile lit up her face. "Did she... did she put on a blue dress to dance to that song? For you?"

"Harry, not another word," Pansy answered before being smothered in a hug by Lavender who was squealing with delight.

"You are my hero." Lavender let her go, still grinning widely. "That's the type of thing I've only dreamed about doing. We've got to talk about this more later."

Harry and Parvati led the laughter as Pansy reluctantly agreed.

"And here I thought you were all coming for the brownies," Harry pouted as he winked at Luna. "More for you and me then."

"No, no, brownies first, music later," Parvati objected.

"Well, I suppose I did make these at your insistence," Harry said with a smile, handing a plate over to Parvati. "Ladies first."

She took her first bite and let out a suggestive moan.

"I think she likes it," Luna said with a grin before turning to Harry with her hands out. "Me next."

Harry passed a plate to each of the girls before taking one of the last to Neville.

"Savor it, Nev."

"Alright." Neville took a small bite and gave him a chocolatey smile. "This is really good, Harry."

"Thanks." Harry sat at the end of one couch with Luna and Pansy, nearest to the only other guy in the room. He didn't want to make things too awkward for Neville, since he was Harry's alibi after all. "I ran into a little problem. I cut the portions evenly, but there are seven of us and twelve brownies. That means you and I will both have to make do with a single one. In my experience, you never want to get between a woman and chocolate."

"You have learned well, grasshopper," Luna said as she patted Harry on the shoulder.

"I try."

"Are they still good enough?" he asked the spacey blonde. Hopefully, he would join her in feeling spacey soon.

"I think so," she replied as she nodded to her right. Hermione was giggling at something Lavender said. That had to be a good sign.

"Great." Harry took another bite and let it just sit in his mouth for a moment. He had used slightly less sugar but made up for it with extra milk chocolate chips and to his taste at least, it worked out well. The chocolate was strong enough to mask most of the marijuana, and at least on that account, he thought that he had definitely succeeded in slightly improving over last time.

"So, do you know what's next for the tournament, Harry?" Neville was asking pleasantly enough, but it was hard for Harry to control his scowl.

"No. We're supposed to be told something a month before the final task, so I don't have anything to work on in the meantime. Other than the usual with Moody."

"Only you would want extra Defense lessons with someone like him," Neville snorted. Since when did Neville snort? "That eye of his freaks me out. Can you imagine trying to use something like that? It gives me a headache just looking at it."

"Better that than being a one-eyed auror, I guess. Besides after the World Cup and with this supposed rogue Death Eater on the loose, I need all the practice I can get. Although, a rogue Death Eater could be some help, come to think of it. Do you think he would take requests?"

"I think it's hard to petition most mysterious assassins, but you could always try," Luna suggested. "Magic works in mysterious ways sometimes."

"I think you just like saying mysterious," Harry countered.

"It's a nice word. Mysterious. And it rhymes with Sirius."

Did she say his name, or did she mean the word instead? Harry squinted at Luna, trying to figure it out.

"Woof!"

She barked at him. Of course she meant Sirius. He didn't remember telling her about him being an animagus. Then again, maybe Pansy did.

"Why is Luna panting with her tongue sticking out?"

"Woof!" Harry added, turning to Neville. "Give us your best dog impression."

"Um."

"Or else, Luna has been known to initiate tickle fights."

"Arf?" she asked threateningly.

"Woof!" Neville agreed.

The other girls in the group laughed at the trio of barking goofballs.

"Good choice, Neville," Hermione said happily. "I was the victim the last time Luna decided to start a tickle fight. I really don't think you want her to do that today."

"Yeah, um, probably not," he agreed with a blush.

"Luna won't pick on Neville, will you girl?"

She gave a happy bark, and Harry scratched behind her ear.

"Good girl."

"Arf?" she nosed against his shoulder then motioned down towards her empty plate.

"I think that's dog for _gimme_ ," Harry said as he stood up and got Luna a second helping.

"Woof!"

"It's no wonder you talk to Hedwig," Neville suggested with a laugh.

"Yeah, she's good practice for Luna," Harry replied as he handed her plate back to the little blonde Ravenclaw who barked happily before shoving a huge bite in her mouth. He had finished his own brownie, but Luna tapped him on the shoulder.

"Open."

Harry followed her command and she fed him a bite of her second serving.

"Don't say I never did anything for you," she teased. Harry snickered.

"You know, Hedwig has never tried to feed me before."

"And I don't steal all the bacon either. I guess I'm the better pet then," Luna said proudly.

"Just don't say that where she can hear you. I have a feeling her talons would hurt a lot in a tickle fight."

"Okay, I'm putting on Violator," Lavender said as she set aside her empty plate and stood up. "I can dance up an appetite before I have another."

"Good idea," Pansy agreed. "Don't let our pet Luna eat all the rest of them, Harry."

"I hope I can handle that."

"You and Neville will just have to keep me engaged in the meanwhile."

"I'll help," Hermione said as she used her wand to levitate the other chair in order to sit next to Neville. "Harry and Luna together are more than any single person can handle."

"Thank you Hermione," Neville said.

"You're welcome. So, any ideas on what we can do to keep these two lunatics in line?"

"Uh, no, not really."

"We could play truth or dare," Luna suggested.

"No thanks," Hermione groaned. Neville shook his head too- he knew that playing truth or dare would be terrifying with the present company, and he didn't even have an idea of how embarrassing Luna (or Pansy) might make things.

"How about MASH then?" Luna offered a second idea.

"What's MASH?" Neville asked.

"Pansy told me about it. It stands for Mansion, Flat, Shack, House."

"Why is it called MASH then?"

"There is an a in flat, you know," Luna answered with a completely deadpan tone.

"In the States, they call flats apartments," Hermione told Neville while rolling her eyes at Luna. "How do you play?"

It took several minutes to explain, as Luna seemed to be intentionally twisting the rules to be as confusing as possible, Lavender would try to correct her, and Pansy and Parvati just laughed about the whole thing.

In the end, Harry offered to go first, and he made sure that Luna was the one with the parchment and quill. If nothing else, she might just doodle enough to keep her attention from wanting to eat the rest of the brownies.

Also, he made sure to ask Dobby to bring some more butterbeers for everyone. Sipping one of those should help to keep Luna nicely sugared up, at least until dinner.

Several minutes later, Harry was told that he would marry Pansy (with a round of aws and giggles from the crowd), have six and a half children, become a baker, and be fabulously wealthy while living in a shack.

With that many kids, he hoped it was at least a big shack. Otherwise, he'd need to learn every space expansion charm he could find.

Hermione was frustrated but gave in when Luna convinced her to have her turn next just to get it over with before the three dancing girls could join in. The idea of being a middle class librarian living in a house didn't sound too bad, but having nine and a third children (Luna apparently loved fractions) while ending up married to Ron both made her protest.

Harry was just glad to see that she seemed to finally be truly over her crush on his former best mate. He wasn't really angry at Ron anymore, but he was glad to not have to deal with the far too frequent arguing and fighting that Hermione and Ron used to engage in.

The first side of the album was over, so Pansy, Parvati, and Lavender sat down as Harry cut them all second servings of brownies. That meant they had three more people to offer suggestions for Luna, which made things appropriately bizarre.

For example, her choices of potential spouses ranged from annoying (Harry, who rolled his eyes when Lavender suggested it), to morbid (Moaning Myrtle), to gross (Hagrid), to grossly morbid (the ghost of Snape). Harry was inexplicably pleased when Luna first eliminated George Weasley and she said that she didn't like gingers.

Pansy just giggled, hugging her and saying 'that's my girl.' She would have been horrified at Luna, or any of her friends really, ending up with one of the Weasleys.

However, that did make things even more interesting when Luna's supposed destiny was revealed. Ending up living in a flat, becoming a journalist, being poor, and having two children were all rather boring outcomes.

But apparently the party game gods had determined that Harry wasn't the only one who was going to end up married to Pansy.

Luna's response was that she didn't want to come between Harry and Pansy, so she would just have to marry them both, which set off a round of giggles from most of the party, while Neville sputtered and choked on a sip of butterbeer.

And he was of course mortified now that it was his turn. Lavender held off on turning the record over so they could all propose choices.

The girls weren't even being too awful for the most part, and he was thankful that Pansy in particular was playing nice for the sake of Neville's obvious embarrassment at being the center of attention.

In the end, it actually was Harry who caused the problem.

Because he threw out Hermione's name as a potential wife, and the fates decreed it to be so.

Neville got up and ran out of the room, blushing madly. Hermione chased after him, trying to be consoling, although Harry thought she was probably the last person Neville wanted to talk to at that moment.

"So much for my alibi," Harry groaned, trying to turn it into a joke.

"I'll be your alibi, Harry."

"Um, Luna, you're a girl. The alibi was having another guy here to try to stem any more silly rumors about me."

"Who cares about the people that would gossip like that? Did you know some of them thought you were not only the heir of Slytherin but actually his reincarnation as well? That's completely ridiculous."

Harry briefly wondered at Luna of all people saying something was ridiculous.

"Of course, if Harry were going to be the reincarnation of anyone, it would have to be Merlin," Lavender giggled. "That's what the books would have said anyway."

"Ugh. Why does it always have to be someone famous whenever people talk about being reincarnated? Why is no one ever just like a tavern keeper or a butcher or something?"

"Or you could have been an animal," Parvati suggested. "In Hinduism, you aren't necessarily reborn as a human."

"Thank you," Harry replied. "That sounds so much simpler. I might like to be an owl like Hedwig in another life. Free to fly around whenever I feel like it-"

"And all the bacon you can eat," Luna added.

"You do have experience in hunting down a rat," Pansy said. "Plus, trying to find the snitch in quidditch would be sort of like hunting as a bird."

"Exactly. If I'm reincarnated, I want to be Hedwig in my next life."

"You'll have to improve your haughty stare. I've seen how she glares at you when you bother her," Pansy replied.

"Then you'll have to give me lessons. Didn't you say you could teach me a better haughty look last year?"

"Probably."

"That's enough of that," Lavender interrupted as she got up and bounced over to the phonograph. "Time for more music and dancing."

Harry sat back against the couch, deciding to relax. While he knew Pansy enjoyed it for the obvious catchy melody and beat, the lyrics about enjoying silence always appealed to him more. After years trapped in a cupboard, silence was an old friend to Harry.

The blonde cuddled up next to him was humming along pleasantly.

"Don't you want to dance Luna?"

"I'm not much of a dancer," she shrugged. "You know Harry, I always thought it was obvious that you would be Arthur reborn, if anyone. The orphaned hero destined to save the world and all that. Which makes Pansy Guinevere, I guess."

"Who would you be then? The only other girl in that story I can remember was Morgana le Fay and I don't think of you as much of a villain. No offense."

"None taken. That just means you won't see me coming."

Harry looked down at her typical dreamy expression and couldn't contain his snort.

"You wouldn't turn on me Luna. Maybe Hermione could be Morgana then? She can be kind of shifty sometimes."

"You've forgotten Morgause," Luna said. "She was Arthur's half-sister who seduced him and was the mother of Mordred."

"So, I should beware of any sons of yours then?"

"No, I'm not sure if I would want to be Morgause either. I'd rather be your Lancelot."

"My greatest knight who also would have an affair with my wife?"

"It won't be an affair if I marry you both though," she teased. "You're my best friends, I would never come between the two of you. I don't think anything could, really."

"I'd hope not," Harry muttered.

"Don't worry, Harry. I predict a happy ending for the two of you."

"You're missing Trelawney's huge glasses to give a proper prophecy."

"I'll just have to borrow yours, I guess," she said as she reached up and pulled them off him. "How can you see through these things? They're giving me a headache."

"You had better hurry with your prediction then."

"Right." Luna cleared her throat and spoke in an even more breathy tone than usual. "The hero with the lightning scar and his love, the cunning lady, shall prevail against their enemies, against all war and darkness. They shall live happily ever after.

"And Harry won't have to be a baker unless he really wants to. But his friend Luna will always be happy to share his brownies."

"I think I could live with that."

She handed him back his glasses and stretched out on the couch, while using Harry's stomach for a pillow. A few minutes later, when a certain song began, she reached up and tapped on his chin to get his attention.

"Will you tell me about the dress?" Luna asked quietly.

"Probably should do it later," Harry whispered back. "I don't want to annoy Pansy. That's the first time I've seen her have much of a sense of shame."

"I think it's because Neville was here. If it was only the rest of us, then it would have just been girl talk."

"And that doesn't count?"

"Not in the same way."

"I guess that sort of makes sense."

"We'll just have to talk her into showing me this blue dress some time in private. I still haven't gotten to see her Yule Ball outfit either."

"Thanks for reminding me of that," Harry growled. "I've got to get her to wear it again."

"My birthday is coming up," Luna suggested.

"Well, a special occasion does call for a special dress then. Luna, you're a genius."

"You're not so bad yourself."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly enough as Lavender was delighted by the music and the girls continued to dance. Harry joined them after a while, and they even got Luna to skip and hop around merrily in something that could at least loosely be considered dancing.

Hermione and Neville never did return.

Once dinner time rolled around, Dobby popped in to transport the phonograph and albums back to their rooms and handle the clean up.

Harry and the girls all headed down to the Great Hall, but Lavender dropped back and pulled him aside for a moment.

"Where did you learn how to make pot brownies?" she asked in a whisper.

"Last summer at a party."

"Harry, you are my new best friend. Do you have any more?"

"Yeah..."

"We've got to do this again some time. Please?"

"We probably could. But if you try to throw a big party we'll burn through it quick and I'd have to have a lot more time to bake."

"We'll keep it small then."

"Okay, but don't tell anyone. How did you know?"

"I have an older sister and two cousins who mostly live in the muggle world. You think pretty teenage girls who go to parties don't know about weed?"

"Right, that seems obvious."

"Parvati and Neville are purebloods, so they wouldn't be likely to have been exposed to it, and Hermione, um..."

"Yeah, she's not the party girl type," he chuckled.

"Right," Lavender quickly agreed, clearly not trying to say anything too insulting about the girl who had been Harry's best friend for four years. It did seem like Hermione was trying to get along better with her dorm mates, and Harry wondered how much the fact that she no longer spent all her time with a couple of guys might have helped that along.

Not being quite so over eager in class was almost certainly a factor too.

When they sat down at the Gryffindor table that night, neither Hermione nor Neville were there. They came in separately later and sat far apart, so Harry had a feeling that her efforts at trying to help him get over his embarrassment earlier that afternoon had failed.

Harry had seen more than a few people glance his way when he came in with four girls, and all of them a bit sweaty, although Parvati, Lavender, and Pansy had used charms to fix their hair. Luna didn't care of course, and Harry had given up on that a long time ago.

Besides, Pansy mussed it up a bit and said he looked fine, so he trusted her judgment. Her opinion about his appearance was the only one that mattered to him anyway.

But he had a feeling that there was a new round of gossip starting up, so he just sat down and listened to Luna tell a story about some sort of lost magical creature from South Patagonia, wherever that was. He understood how the rainbow-furred cannibalistic squirrel went extinct, based on their diet if nothing else. Luna claimed that their incredibly bright plumage worked as a sort of magical camouflage though, as most muggles in the area could not believe anything so colorful could actually exist.

Whatever cares he might have had about rumors quickly slipped away.

Luna was the best.

* * *

And that's why a week later he found himself sitting next to her father on a bench outside an Ann Summers store. Harry was wearing a glamour to look older and he made sure it was an unusual one so that he could try to look a little less out of place next to Xenophilius Lovegood, who was dressed as a rather prototypical old hippie. He even had his own home-made tie-dye shirt that he dug out of a closet.

Harry wasn't dressed nearly as outrageously, but he did let Luna and Pansy charm his hair blue. It was the birthday girl's wish, although technically her birthday was the coming Monday. Thankfully, it was a Hogsmeade weekend, so the foursome all made arrangements and had their house-elves transport them off to the muggle world.

The shopping trip idea was Pansy's and considering what the mannequins in the store window were wearing, Harry thought it was a good one as he knew that there was no way that Pansy wouldn't end up buying herself a few things as well. He would probably be out of muggle money by the end of the day, but it was going to be so worth it.

"I'd like to thank you for this, Harry."

"It's more Pansy's idea than mine."

"True, but I can't thank her at the moment. You two mean a lot to my daughter. Plus, something like this," he said as he motioned to the lingerie store, "isn't really the type of thing a father knows how to do. Times like this always remind me how much I wish Selene was still here. For Luna's sake even more than my own maybe."

Harry didn't really know how to respond.

"Luna means a lot to us too."

"You haven't told me about any boys you've had to scare off."

"No, that hasn't been an issue yet," Harry shrugged. "Luna's told me she isn't interested in dating anyone right now, and I guess I already intimidated enough people last year, so no one has been bothering her too much. Parvati, one of our other friends, has a sister in Ravenclaw that she asked to keep an eye on Luna too. Just in case."

"I appreciate that," Xenophilius replied.

"So, do you have anything planned for this summer yet? I know you and Luna often go on trips, searching for lost magical creatures and things like that."

"Not yet, but I often have readers write in who think they have spotted the odd and unusual somewhere."

"I guess you've probably been to a lot of different countries then."

"Oh yes, dozens by now. I'm not sure I remember them all, to be honest. There are more than a few places where the magical governments don't align with the muggle, so borders aren't always the same. It does make international port keys confusing at times to muggleborns. Apparently, the muggles have recently separated the Czechs and Slovaks into their own nations, but in the magical world they were never joined in the first place."

"Hmm. I guess with the signing of the statute of secrecy all those years ago, the magical governments parted from the muggles and politics have been different since then."

"Wars too. For example, magical France never surrendered to the Germans in World War II. Wizards and witches played a huge part of the French resistance."

"Magic would have helped protect them from the Nazis, right?"

"Precisely."

"Damn." Harry could only shake his head in disgust. "It's too bad we don't have a real teacher for history at Hogwarts. I mean, I like catching a nap while Binns drones on about goblins every day, but I bet there are a lot of interesting stories we could be learning instead."

"I would usually do my assignments for Potions in the class, personally. I've heard they got Slughorn to come out of retirement this year."

"Yeah, and he is an infinitely better teacher than Snape ever was."

"Luna tells me you're in his Slug Club."

"I am," Harry admitted. "It's not exactly my cup of tea, but it has been useful to be able to socialize with some people that wouldn't be in my normal circle."

"I never was one of his favorites," Xenophilius replied as a sad smile came over his face. "But Selene was. I believe she knew your mother somewhat because of that. I remember she was devastated when she heard of your parents' deaths."

"I wish I could have met her."

"I'm sure she would have liked you."

Two laughing girls came strolling out the door, arms loaded with bags. Pansy was charmed to look older as she was supposedly taking her younger cousin shopping, and they both had clearly been enjoying themselves.

"Did you spend all my money?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

"Not quite," Pansy answered with a smirk. "I made sure to save enough so we could go out to eat afterwards, and personally, I don't feel like going to the Three Broomsticks yet again. Why don't we find something around here?"

"I saw a Chinese place a couple of streets over," Harry suggested.

"That would be excellent," Xenophilius said with a large grin. "I haven't had any Cantonese cuisine since the last time I went to Hong Kong when Luna was little. Do you remember that sugarplum?"

"Not very much of it, sadly."

"We'll have to go again some time then."

"Well, I guess we can eat least have some of the food today," Harry said as he lead the group in the direction of the restaurant he had previously spotted. They stopped briefly near an alley between two businesses to call Winky and Dobby to take all of the girls' packages off. Harry still had one present back at Hogwarts- he hoped Winky didn't mind too much when Luna asked her to wear a wig so they could look alike.

From what he had seen of the house-elf, she was a lot happier, and Harry had a feeling that Winky would feel it was an honor to be asked to match her miss Luna.

* * *

It was later that Sunday night, and Harry was putting his own formal outfit from the Yule Ball on. Luna had talked Pansy into getting all dressed up again since she had missed seeing it the first time, and Pansy had therefore proclaimed that if she had to look fancy then so did he.

Because of how much he loved Pansy's dress, he was happily following orders. Harry was also wearing his contacts again, and he was considering wearing them more often in the future. At least for the third task, he didn't want to chance his glasses falling off in the middle of whatever danger they threw at him next.

Pansy had disappeared into her room two hours ago, and Harry had once again been ordered to play records to keep her entertained while she was getting ready.

Midnight was fast approaching and Pansy summoned him into the second bathroom so she could fix his hair with a bit of gel to add the final touch.

Pansy looked just as incredible, although if he could have paid closer attention he might have noticed that she hadn't been quite as meticulous with her hair and that she was barely wearing any makeup.

But when your girlfriend has a slit up to her thigh and is showing off more cleavage than at any other time, a guy can only notice so much.

He would do his best to make sure not to drool in front of Luna.

"Ready?" Pansy asked, noting Harry's slightly vacant expression.

"I think so."

"Then let's wait out in the living room."

They had just gone out and noticed the birthday cake that Dobby had finished and set out on the table in front of the fire, with plates and cutlery all waiting for the birthday girl.

"Nice work, Dobby."

"Thank you master Harry." The elf had a huge grin, but before he could say anything else, he disappeared with a pop.

A moment later, he returned with Luna, who was dressed in pyjamas as if ready for bed.

"Oh my! You both look fabulous. Let me get a closer look."

She skipped over to them and then walked around them both, taking in their appearances. Harry had left the room more brightly lit than usual, especially for that late at night. Officially, it was for Luna's benefit, but obviously he was enjoying how sexy Pansy looked too.

"Harry, you look very handsome. I think you definitely look better without glasses."

"I've been told that by a couple of people," he chuckled. "I'll probably start wearing contacts more often."

"Excellent. Now Pansy, you look... absolutely incredible. You're sex on two legs. How in the world did Harry keep his hands off you long enough to go to the ball?"

"Well, he knew that the better he behaved, the more fun he would have by the end of the night."

"Your willpower is amazing, Harry."

"See, that's what I keep telling her. I haven't ever talked her into skipping classes to just stay in bed all day."

"True, but you have tried to do just that a few times on the weekends," Pansy argued with a laugh.

"Who can blame him?"

"Thank you Luna."

"Alright, now we just need one more thing to make the recreation complete. Music!" Luna went over to the phonograph and flipped through the records, apparently looking for one in particular. "Ah! Here we go."

Harry knew the song immediately and smiled, having a feeling Pansy might have helped her choose the music.

"May I have this dance?"

"You may," Pansy replied, taking his hands as he stepped up to her and they began to slow dance to the familiar slide guitar and breathy vocals of Mazzy Star.

In truth, Luna had her own reasons for choosing that song, although Harry was correct that Pansy had suggested it. She smiled as she watched her best friends dance together, even throwing a color charm to give the light in the room a hazy, blue tone.

For a few minutes, Harry completely forgot about anything other than the girl in his arms. Pansy smirked at him every time he glanced down at her cleavage.

When the song was over, Luna clapped and called out "Bravo!"

The music was turned off and the charm was ended, the light going back to normal.

"Now it's time for cake," the birthday girl said happily.

"No, first it's time for us to sing Happy Birthday," Harry replied, and they did so while Dobby snapped his fingers to light the candles.

"Make a wish!"

Luna was in a very good mood as she blew out her candles and ate way too much cake. Harry and Pansy had to be more careful, not wanting to drop any crumbs on their formal wear.

"Do you mind if I sleep in the extra bedroom tonight?" Luna asked when she had finished her third serving.

"I don't care," Harry shrugged. "Dobby, could you take Luna back to her dorm early enough in the morning so that she won't get caught or in trouble?"

"Dobby can do that for miss Luna."

"Thank you, Dobby," Luna replied. She turned to Harry and Pansy with a smile on her face. "I guess I should get some sleep and let you two get out of your clothes."

"It's a good thing we took naps earlier," Pansy said with a small yawn. She stood up and hugged Luna, leaning in close to whisper something in her ear. It was then Harry's turn, as he hugged her and wished he a happy birthday once again.

"Good night," Luna said as she happily skipped off to bed.

"Now, for my favorite part of the night. Helping you out of that dress again," Harry said in a quiet growl that made Pansy giggle.

Pansy watched as Dobby put the left over cake away and began to douse the lights. She leaned in, taking Harry's arm as they slowly headed for their own bedroom.

"Harry, I love you," she laughed. "I hope you are never cured of this addiction to me."

"Me too."

* * *

What Harry didn't know was that Pansy had borrowed his invisibility cloak and left it on the bed for Luna. She covered herself with it and hurried to sneak into the other bedroom before Harry and Pansy could head inside and close the door.

Pansy had whispered that she would try to make sure to slow Harry down to give her enough time, and she succeeded. The birthday girl had requested another show, but this time Pansy didn't want to take a chance that Harry might feel inhibited.

She knew that he would be more assertive if he didn't know that Luna was there watching them. Even more so when she had him leave the lights on- Harry was a very visual person and loved looking at her.

Luna would be able to better enjoy things that way than in the dark too. And this was supposed to be educational after all, so the more Luna saw, the more she would learn.

At least, that's what Pansy was telling herself.

Almost as soon as the door was closed, she felt him wrap his arms around her and slide his hand up her thigh. Pansy loved Harry's reaction to the slit up the side of the dress.

"No underwear?"

"I wanted things to be authentic to the night of the Yule Ball," she purred in response as his fingers slowly began to tease her.

"You are officially a goddess," Harry chuckled.

"Then shouldn't you start worshiping me?"

"Of course, my love."

* * *

The next day all three of them would be completely exhausted as Harry's enthusiasm had lasted very late into the night. Pansy enjoyed his attention, as he seemed intent on trying to make her pass out.

Luna was glad she had learned the silencing charm early so that she hadn't been discovered by Harry.

Her classmates wondered why she kept quietly singing to herself all day long.

_"Fade into you... I think it's strange you never knew..."_

* * *

The rest of March passed in relative calm. Harry was thrilled to have had a third month pass by without any adventures or danger.

The first Saturday of April found him once again in a Slug Club gathering.

He was glad to see that Hermione and Neville had gotten past the embarrassment from the impromptu party a few weeks earlier. From what she had told him, Hermione was flattered that Neville seemed to fancy her, but after what had happened earlier that year with Krum, she just wasn't in the mood for dating.

Harry could understand that.

They were getting along well though that night, and even speaking with Susan Bones. He wondered if maybe Hermione was trying to play matchmaker there.

Once Slughorn's attention was focused on something having to do with the ministry that Diggory and a couple of the others were talking about, Harry slipped away to join Pansy, who was talking to Flora and Hestia.

"Harry, just the man we wanted to see," Hestia said quietly.

"What can I do for you lovely ladies?"

"Such a charmer," she giggled.

"Not now Hes," Flora interjected. "You should know that we got a letter from our parents telling us to stay at the castle for the Easter holiday."

"No great hardship there," her sister added with a grin.

"True. I'm just wondering what they might be so busy with."

"With everything else that's gone on the last several months, that could be suspicious," Pansy agreed. "Does your family have a house-elf?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Just a thought I had," Pansy replied, although Harry caught the look in her eye and wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was. He would have to talk to Dobby later that night.

"Never mind that, has there been anything unusual going on down in the dungeons?" she asked.

"No," Hestia answered. "Thankfully, Slughorn keeps a closer eye on things than Snape ever did. Warrington still acts like a sleaze, but most of the girls keep their eyes open, so there haven't been any problems."

"What about Nott?"

"What about him?" Flora replied.

"How has he been acting?" Pansy asked.

"I'm guessing Slughorn must have said something to him because he's been keeping his head down, especially the last month or so. I don't think he wants any attention after what happened earlier this year."

"Plus, he had so many detentions," Hestia giggled. "I think Harry scares him."

"Good," Harry said. "He should be fucking scared."

"Not now, Harry," Pansy chided. "Little Teddy isn't worth getting angry over."

"Little Teddy?"

"That's what his older sister told us she called him when he was annoying her."

"Oh, that's just perfect," Hestia answered with a grin. "I'm going to make sure that everyone knows to call him that from now on."

"That fucking cretin deserves it," Flora added with a scowl. "I can't believe some people are stupid enough to think love potions are somehow charming or funny. I'd gut anyone that even tried to give one to me or Hes."

"Thanks, sis. But let's talk about something more pleasant please."

"Agreed," Pansy said.

"Alright. Did you know that the rumors about Harry's supposed harem have dried up this spring?" Hestia asked.

"Finally," Harry sighed.

"Don't be like that. Flora and I haven't even been mentioned in any of them yet," Hestia said with a teasing smile. "What's a girl got to do to get some nasty gossip started about a possibly shameful relationship with you, Harry?"

"Look somewhat disheveled?"

"That's all?"

"Some people have overly active imaginations," he replied with a shrug.

"We don't need to be in the spotlight like that right now anyway," Flora interrupted before her sister could respond. "But Harry, would you do us a favor?"

"Sure."

"Beat the crap out of the Bulgarian sleazebag and the stuck up French tart in the last event of the tournament."

"I'll try," he laughed.

"Your country is counting on you, Harry." Hestia was grinning again. "So, no pressure."


	60. The Lurking Darkness

* * *

"Ow!"

Harry had tumbled over onto the floor of their quarters next to the couch. He was glad there was a rug that he landed on, as his legs were still quivering from an amazing orgasm. Pansy looked to be in similar shape, laying face down while her legs were dangling over the side of the couch. He heard her panting, roughly in time with his own labored breathing.

"Harry?" she asked, still gasping for air as she turned towards him. Her hair was in complete disarray and her cheeks were pink after their recent exertions. She was a sweaty mess, which to Harry meant that she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

He had to remind himself that he had fallen over as he was now gawking at her like an imbecile.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are today?"

"That's what made you say ow?" she asked with a smile.

"In a roundabout way, yes. If you weren't so incredibly sexy, then I might be able to control myself-"

"Doubtful," she teased.

"Well, maybe not," he shrugged with a grin of his own. "But we could have made it back to the bedroom."

"We'll make it there eventually," she replied as she brushed her hair out of her face and propped herself up with one elbow. "The night is young, Harry."

"If we were in bed, this would count as pillow talk."

"We do have some things to talk about, don't we?"

Harry nodded as he pulled his pants up from around his ankles and managed to stand, as well as helping Pansy up. They both started straightening their clothes after a round of charms to clean and freshen themselves up.

"Where should we start?" she asked as they sat down on the couch and Harry lifted his left arm so she could curl up against his side.

"Holiday plans, I guess. None of our close friends are leaving for the Easter break, so we can skip the train. That will give us some extra time."

"I'm looking forward to it. As a child, I never would have thought I would enjoy my time in the muggle world so much. My father is probably rolling over in his grave," Pansy snorted. "We aren't going to do anything related to school. I need a break."

"I could write a few more of my own assignments," Harry offered. "I didn't mean to make you-"

"That's not a big deal, Harry. You look over my work for Defense and Runes, anyway. While I am glad, for your sake, that Hagrid has forgiven you, I am also more convinced that we should drop one of our electives. Next year, with the OWLs, things will be even worse. At this point, I'm not sure if we should pick Arithmancy or not."

"It has gotten a bit more interesting this term," Harry admitted. "I mean, it's still a lot of theory, but now that Vector has started tying it into ritual magic, I actually look forward to the class."

"I know. The problem is that Care of Magical Creature is probably the easiest class we have in a lot of ways. You know I'm not a fan of Hagrid's like you are, but the fact that he almost never assigns us any essays is a big plus."

"Well, we don't have to decide that till this summer. So, nothing but fun for the next week then?"

"That may be the best plan you've come up with this year."

"Alright, on to the next topic, which won't be as fun. What are we going to do about Nott?"

"I think we should wait till the summer to deal with him. He's a minor annoyance compared to you getting through this stupid tournament safely. Besides, I've kept my eyes on him, and I think someone, probably Slughorn, reminded little Teddy of how you dealt with the Malfoys last year. You intimidate him."

"Good, but that's not enough. He tried to-"

Pansy silenced Harry with a kiss before he could start ranting. She was brilliant that way. Harry relaxed his clenched fists and heeded his girlfriend's demand for his attention. Whenever she put her tongue in his mouth like that, he was unable to focus on anything else.

"I know what he tried to do, and he will not be getting away with it," Pansy said, once they came up for air. "Let me scheme up something good, and we'll take care of that little cockroach this summer. He won't be under the watchful eyes of people like Dumbledore and Slughorn then."

"Okay. Ready for Dobby?"

"Yes. Dobby can you help us?"

"Of course miss Pansy," Dobby replied as he popped in. Pansy noticed that he had gotten a lot quieter about it over the last year, something that Harry had mentioned before as well.

"We found out that the Carrows don't have a house-elf," she began. "Could you go to their home and do a little spying for us?"

"Dobby cannot," he replied, looking down as if he were ashamed. "Dobby knows not where Carrows live."

"If they're behind any sort of wards, it could be hard for you to find them, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, master Harry. It would be easiest if Dobby could follow miss Pansy's friends home."

"Too bad they're staying here for Easter then." Harry brought his free hand up and rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "And you think Winky is still too damn loyal to the Crouchs to make that a safe target?"

"Dobby could go there, but Winky would know, even now that she has a new family. She could warn them. Winky never stopped loving the Crouchs, not even after being given clothes. That's why she was so unhappy when Dobby brought her to Hogwarts. It is very good that miss Luna took her into her family. Miss Luna is a good witch. Master Harry and miss Pansy have good taste in friends."

"Thanks Dobby," Harry chuckled then turned to Pansy. "Disappointing, but nothing new there. We don't have any good ideas right now for Dobby to investigate."

"Not safely, at least," Pansy agreed. "Don't worry, Dobby, we'll have some more important work for you one of these days. This summer at the latest. I'm pretty damn sure of Flora and Hestia. I think we could trust them to help lead you to their home, and then we would hopefully have some new targets for finding out who some of the other Death Eaters are."

"We still know about Crabbe," Harry pointed out.

"True, but there is the off chance that the Crabbes have a loyal house-elf."

Harry and Dobby both snorted at that.

"I know, more likely than not they either don't have one or treat it poorly. But we don't want to take any chances. Dobby, you're worth too much to us to endanger you or give away the secret of just how useful you really are."

Dobby blushed deeply at that, being considered too useful to waste was just about the best compliment a house-elf could get.

"Alright. I guess we just have the end of the year and the damn tournament then. Nothing major we can really plan for right now."

"Then, I guess we don't have anything else to do before bed," Pansy teased, and Dobby popped away, knowing what his humans were going to be doing. She stood up and began to strut towards the bedroom. "Coming Harry?"

"Hopefully," he teased in response as he got up to follow her. "Can I just say that I love how horny you've been these last few months? Must be my good influence finally rubbing off on you."

"Maybe," she giggled. "I'm ovulating right now. Do you know what that means?"

"I did my homework. Should I double up on the contraceptive charm?"

"No, the spell is fine. Even for people with a fraction of your power, the charm reliably lasts all day long. What I was trying to get to is that women tend to be more interested in sex when they can get pregnant. Our bodies want us to reproduce."

"I'm surprised that you know so much about biology. I wouldn't think that sort of thing would be taught to magical children."

"It isn't necessarily, but my mother told me a few things when I was younger, and I've always had a tendency to read up on subjects that would have alarmed my parents. Like books about sex magic," she hinted.

"I get it- studying sex and magic meant they would have noticed when witches were more likely to get pregnant."

"Yes, and witches have always kept a very close eye on our cycles. They often tie in to the phases of the moon, which is why a lot of the older religions had moon goddesses. The pagans were more connected to nature, and in a lot of ways magical people still are, at least compared to muggles."

"Okay, well that explains why you're dragging me to bed now," Harry said as he began to get undressed, his eyes never leaving Pansy as she did the same. "But that's only a few days a month."

"It probably is your fault to some extent too. I've felt differently ever since we revealed our relationship."

"Better?"

"Yes. I'm a lot more confident. And happier.."

"Good," Harry said as he climbed into bed. Pansy took a moment longer, but she was soon crawling over him with a look of arousal.

"I might also secretly enjoy the angry glares of all the girls too."

"I don't know how much of a secret that is," Harry tried to argue. But then Pansy was leaning over him, her breasts inches away from his face, and Harry's concentration was only on their shared pleasure for the rest of the night.

* * *

_"I feel so extraordinary. Something's got a hold of me..."_

Harry knew exactly what had a hold of him that night, as he was once again back in a nightclub dancing with Pansy. He was starting to really love it, or at least dancing with Pansy, because she always took it as an opportunity to get dressed up. She looked really sexy, and by the time they got home that night, she would be just as excited as him.

It was a good thing that she had suggested a nap that afternoon. They were likely to be up all night, and that was after the night before when they were still at Hogwarts. If they had taken the train, they would have likely slept for the entire trip.

Once the song was over, Pansy had another reason to drag him off to the record store. By the time they went back to Hogwarts, she would be the proud owner of half a dozen New Order albums.

Two hours later, happily laying in bed in the sweaty afterglow, Pansy rolled over to look at Harry. He noticed that she pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts, meaning she wanted to talk to him and have him actually pay attention.

"What is it?" He was going to make sure to pull that damn sheet back down as soon as this conversation was over.

"I was a bit disappointed tonight. I was hoping to see Vanessa."

"They're probably busy. Not everyone can go out dancing whenever they want. Isn't the wedding in another month or so?"

"Yes, and I'm still upset that we won't be able to make it," Pansy frowned.

"We could send them a gift at least. I'm sure Dobby wouldn't mind discreetly dropping something off."

"I know, I just wanted to see the ceremony and everything."

"Sorry sweetheart. Maybe they'll record it though. One of their friends is bound to have a camcorder. Then, you could get together and watch the tape this summer."

"That would be nice. Not as good as being there in person, but it'll have to do."

"You can call her tomorrow. I know we've got their number written down around here somewhere."

"Right, good idea," Pansy said, looking frustrated. "You realize I've never actually made a phone call before?"

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that. I haven't made too many either. I'll walk you through it tomorrow, if you like."

"Thanks Harry."

"You're welcome. Now, you're not the only one disappointed tonight, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

Harry answered by reaching over and uncovering her.

"I'll be very disappointed if you think we're ready to go to sleep yet."

"You're insatiable, you know that?"

"Less talking, more boobies."

* * *

"Hey, Ruby."

It was the afternoon of the next day and he had gone downstairs to the tea shop, figuring he had plenty of time to relax.

"Harry, weren't you wanting to use the phone?"

"Pansy needed to call a friend, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be talking for awhile."

"I see," the older woman nodded, already pouring him a cup. "It must be hard to have friends here when you're off at school for so long."

"It never really mattered for me until recently."

"So, who's the friend?"

"I don't want to keep you from getting anything done."

"Don't be silly," Ruby replied, gesturing around to the almost empty room. "I have nothing but time to kill right now."

"Alright, let it never be said that only women gossip," he teased.

"Oh, hush if you aren't going to be any fun."

"Her name is Vanessa. We met her last summer when we went out dancing."

"I hope you two are careful when you do that. You're both still awfully young."

"Whatever, _mum_ ," he snorted. "Anyway, Vanessa had just finished her law degree, and she and her boyfriend Steven were moving in together. We went to their housewarming party; remember when Pansy was learning to bake?"

"How did that turn out?"

"Not bad, especially considering how she had never spent much time in a kitchen before. I think she really wanted to try to impress Vanessa."

"Because she's older?"

"Yeah, in a way." Harry leaned in, not wanting the couple a few tables over to hear this next part. "A lot of things in this world are still new to her. New to me too sometimes."

"I see. So this Steven and Vanessa are like the hip older couple that you two can look up to."

"Something like that, I guess," Harry shrugged. "I think they're going to be talking for awhile because Vanessa's wedding is coming up and Pansy really wishes she could go to it."

"I understand." Ruby had a wide grin. "I remember being a teenage girl and dreaming about my own wedding. You realize this is going to give her all sorts of ideas, don't you?"

"That's okay with me."

"Harry!" Pansy came bouncing in the door and threw her arms around him.

"Hi," he said as she pecked his lips with a smile on her face.

"We don't have anything important to do for the rest of the day, so I told Vanessa we could come over. She was going over the decorations she wanted with Lizzie. You remember her cousin, right? Well, anyway, they got into an argument about something, and now she needs another woman's perspective. So I volunteered."

"Okay. Let me just finish my tea."

"Good, I'm going back upstairs to get ready. Oh, and don't worry, Steven's there too so you won't be bored while we talk about the wedding."

She hurried out the door and disappeared while Ruby laughed.

"She's a good girl, Harry. A lot of people wouldn't think of making sure you had something to do. You're lucky."

"I know, but she also might just want me to stay out of her way. I've gotten used to being dismissed when it's time for girl talk. Thanks for the tea."

"You're welcome," she said, not even bothering to argue this time as Harry set down a few quid and got up to leave.

Ruby never charged him, but Harry always tipped her more than enough anyway. She would just have to make sure they came over for a couple of good home cooked meals later that week. Maybe she would bake a pie or two? That would teach him- it was her prerogative to spoil the lad if she felt like it.

* * *

"Thanks for the help, Harry," Steven said as he handed him a floor tom out of the back of a van. They were around the back of a nightclub, preparing for a gig, and Harry was learning that the drummers always had the most gear for a show. Steven's equipment consisting of two guitars, an amplifier, and box of effects pedals was simple compared to a drum set, and from what he was told, Richie's wasn't even that elaborate compared to what some people used.

Harry was an old hand at manual labor, and the free admission was a nice treat considering he didn't mind helping out anyway.

Pansy was off to the side talking to Vanessa and Richie's girlfriend, who was a total fox named Barbara. Harry wondered how the drummer had managed to get a girl that was so clearly out of his league.

'I guess it's true that some women really like musicians,' he thought as he hefted another drum through the door and onto the stage.

"Thanks Harry," Richie said as he was reassembling the drum kit.

"No problem."

He stepped back outside, dodging Paul who was carrying the high hat, and found Steven locking up the back of the van.

"All done for the moment," Steven said as he threw an arm over Harry's shoulders and led him over to the ladies. "Show's not supposed to begin for another fifteen minutes."

"And that's just when you'll start tuning up," Vanessa added with a laugh.

"Babe, there's such a thing as being fashionably late. You know the crowd is never ready right at the start time.

"Besides, it gives us a chance for a little pre-show pick me up," he finished, pulling a joint of his shirt pocket.

"Great idea," Paul said as he came back outside. "Richie should just be another minute."

Harry winded up coughing hard for a minute after his toke, and Pansy was only moderately more successful. He thought that brownies were much more fun, but at least none of the actual adults gave them any grief over it.

The joint was passed around for a couple of minutes as everyone made small talk, and Harry realized it was probably a good idea to take the nerves off before getting ready to perform. Pansy had done an admirable job at helping to relax him before any of his quidditch matches the year before, and he had certainly enjoyed the relief.

A few minutes later, they were following Vanessa out onto the floor as the crowd was beginning to assemble at the front of the stage. Harry guessed there were probably a couple of hundred people. He and Pansy were each holding a coke as Vanessa had suggested they not try to drink too much during the show, especially since they were going back to her place afterwards.

"Where did the name come from?" Harry asked as they waited. Hiding From Frank was kind of an odd choice. He imagined Luna would like it though.

"I guess you've never seen Blue Velvet?" They both shook their head so she continued. "It's a great movie. Sort of a strange, moody mystery. Frank is the villain, and there's a scene where the main character hides from him in a closet."

"Oh."

"They originally called themselves Mute Witness, but then Morrissey had a song called that a few years ago, and Paul can't stand Morrissey. Plus, I think they wanted to go with something even more avant-garde."

"But The Smiths were great," Pansy argued.

"Don't look at me," Vanessa replied. "I like his solo stuff too. I think it's his persona. Plus, Paul really loves steak, so the whole hardcore vegetarian, 'Meat is Murder' thing really pissed him off."

"That's ridiculous," Harry said.

"You boys can be silly, Harry. That's why you should always be glad when us ladies take pity on you and allow you in our presence," Vanessa smirked.

"Now I see why you like her," Harry told Pansy.

"She's not wrong," Pansy giggled.

"I'm really glad you guys could be here for this," Vanessa said, raising her voice above the din as the crowd drew closer to the stage. "They usually play with another band. They're all really pumped to get to play a long set tonight. It's going to be something of a last gig too, at least for awhile."

"Because of the wedding?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, and then our honeymoon. We're both incredibly excited. Glastonbury should be amazing- it's too bad you can't come."

"If we got out a week earlier, we would be there," Pansy answered with a frown. "It sounds like a blast. Harry's heard me complaining about missing your wedding too. For most of the week, really."

"We've got a week in France after that, although I think Steven's more excited for the festival."

Harry chuckled at her fake pout.

"He won't be if you're dressed appropriately," he replied. "Pansy and I went to Nice last summer. If he isn't gawking at you while you're on the beach, then his eyes must not be working."

Pansy elbowed him in the side before he could say anymore, as she had told him more than she was probably supposed to about the swimsuits and lingerie Vanessa had already packed for the trip.

"You'll just have to tell me about it this summer," Pansy said. "I hope to see the wedding video too."

"Will you be taking notes?" Vanessa teased.

"Maybe."

"She's got plans for you, Harry." Pansy was grinning at Vanessa but he just shrugged in response.

"That's fine with me. Most of her plans are better than my own."

"You're no fun. Provoking you doesn't work if you're just going to agree with me."

"I tease him in very different ways," Pansy said.

"Ways that are not appropriate for public," Harry added.

"She's clearly too good for you then," Vanessa laughed.

The main lights went down and the stage was bathed in cool colors, greens and blues mostly, as the band took their places. The drummer counted off and a sound erupted, the crowd yelling in approval.

Pansy took a half step back at the volume, and Harry took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist. She smiled in response and leaned into his embrace.

It was going to be a good night.

* * *

"Harry." She was shaking him, and his head was pounding. "Harry! For fuck's sake, wake up!"

"What?"

"Here," she handed him his wand and was helping him to sit up. "Our glamours have worn off. Vanessa and Steven are bound to be awake soon, if they aren't already."

"Ugh." He sat up and winced. He thought he remembered most of the concert, but he had no idea what had happened after that.

"Come on, Harry. We don't need them wondering why we look like teenagers all of a sudden."

Right. Glamours. Pansy was trying to get him to focus. His eyes hurt, but he blinked a couple of times and thought he could handle that, despite how bright the room was. At least the curtains were closed.

Harry did his best to focus and reapplied the glamour charms.

"Are you guys alright in there?"

"We'll be out in a minute," Pansy replied, muttering 'I hope' under her breath.

Pansy dug a compact out of her purse and checked herself in the mirror.

"Good job, Harry. I was worried there for a minute."

He was still clutching his head and didn't even notice as she took his wand and put it away.

"I'll help you up."

A couple of minutes later, they joined their hosts in the kitchen.

"What the hell happened?" Harry croaked out as Vanessa handed him a cup of coffee.

"What do you remember?" Steven asked.

"Your show. It was good, although I'm not sure I saw all of it."

"I feel like I kind of owe you one, Harry," Vanessa said. "Pansy and I went to the bar to get more drinks about two thirds of the way through, and someone apparently tried to slip something into one of our drinks. Only thing is, we ordered the same thing for all three of us, and you happened to get the one that was spiked."

"I guess that's good," he said, still rubbing his forehead. "I would have had to kill someone if they had done that to Pansy."

"My hero," she said quietly, still minding his headache. "We should get back to the flat and let you rest more."

"You don't have to hurry off," Vanessa said.

"No, that's alright. I need to pack things up before we head back to school tomorrow anyway." Harry let Pansy decide what they were doing, he just wanted to go back to sleep for the next month or so.

"Let me give you guys a ride home at least," Steven offered.

Thankfully it was only a few miles away, so it wasn't too long before Harry could crawl into bed.

His head was still throbbing when they made it back to the flat, but he still noticed the envelope sitting on the couch.

"We got some mail."

"I'll help you to our room, and then I'll check on it," Pansy replied and Harry nodded along. She pulled his shoes off and Harry laid down, using both hands to cover his eyes and forehead. He heard her moving around, going out to the living room and then coming back.

"It's from Sirius."

"Read it to me please."

"I don't know if I should."

"Pansy, I doubt the mutt is going to say anything that offensive. I don't feel like opening my eyes right now."

"Alright," she said and Harry heard her tearing open the envelope. "Hmm. It's pretty short."

_'Dear Harry,_

_Pay attention to the Daily Prophet. Good news should be coming soon. And I hope to have a hilarious story to tell you._

_Love, Sirius.'_

"Great, I wonder what he's done this time," Harry grumbled in response.

"No sense in worrying about it now. Why don't I go get a wet towel for your head?" He heard her stand before he could even agree, and a moment later, she was pressing the cool cloth to his head.

"I really love you right now."

"Yes, well you took this curse for me, so to speak. It's only fair that I nurse you back to health."

"I still appreciate it."

"Dobby's making some soup for when you feel up to eating something. Just try to relax for now."

"Okay."

* * *

The month of April had come and gone, and Harry could hardly believe his luck. Two straight months without any danger. It felt almost miraculous.

Of course, the third and final task of the tournament was still looming ahead, along with whatever that may bring. The news from Sirius had yet to show itself either. Harry just hoped he was being more careful than he had in the past.

He had also taken to writing more of his own assignments. Harry was now dealing with everything for Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy, Defense, and Runes completely on his own. The other classes thankfully didn't have too many essays.

The reason why, as usual, was Pansy.

Unlike Harry, she did have the end of term exams coming up, and he wanted to make sure that she wasn't overly burdened because of him. He even helped her study, sometimes without letting it devolve into an excuse to do anything sexual. With as much as she had followed his lead in working with Moody and extra practical lessons, he felt he owed it to her to make sure she had a chance to do as well as possible with her finals.

In part, that was why they were at breakfast one Sunday in May. Pansy had talked him into not sleeping in because she wanted to get a lot of work done that afternoon.

Hedwig swooped in, delivering the paper as usual, and finally Harry had received the news from Sirius.

_**Honor Duel Turns Deadly! Auror Revealed as Death Eater!** _

He began to scan immediately, and exhaled once he saw that Sirius had prevailed and Yaxley was deceased.

"Looks like Sirius has been busy," Pansy said.

"I wonder how badly wounded he ended up this time," Harry muttered as he kept reading. Pansy poked him in the side to draw his attention.

"Speak of the devil."

Sirius was striding into the Great Hall with his left arm in a sling and a smile on his face. Not too badly wounded, it seemed.

"Harry, I guess you've seen the good news."

Harry looked him over as he nodded, then pointed to his godfather's injured arm.

"Andromeda's work?"

"No. Would you believe a pretty little healer at St. Mungo's this time?"

"Maybe, but I also might think you were exaggerating to make the story better."

"You're no fun, Harry," Sirius laughed as he patted him on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you in private once you're done eating."

"Would you like to join us, Mr. Boardman?" Luna asked.

"I haven't been called that in a long time," Sirius snorted. "I will neither confirm nor deny that I may have allowed a young lady or two to assume that I was that wizard just because of the resemblance."

"Sure," Harry drawled. "Let's try to keep your ancient past where it belongs. Some of us are trying to eat."

"Don't be rude, Harry," Hermione admonished him as she scooted over. "You're welcome to sit with us."

"Thank you, miss Granger," Sirius said as he plopped down between her and Harry. "It has been far too long since I sat at this table. Those were some of the best years of my life. Sadly, I see the elves still aren't putting out enough bacon."

"No, that's just because you arrived after Hedwig had already been here," Pansy said.

"I make sure to look after my ladies, with or without feathers as the case may be," Harry said with a grin. "And today, she did deliver your long awaited good news."

"Well, I'll fill you in more once we're alone. I would hate to traumatize the young ladies. You, on the other hand, I have a duty to-"

"Irritate?" Harry suggested.

"I was going to say _perturb_."

"Did someone let you borrow a thesaurus?"

"No, I have my own, thank you very much," Sirius answered as he raised his chin. "It was very useful when we were taunting all the little Death Eater wannabes back in school. Too many purebloods fall back on the same few boring insults. No imagination in that lot."

"You should spend more time with Luna then," Pansy recommended. "She's the most imaginative girl I know."

"That's very sweet of you to say," Luna replied as she leaned her head against Pansy's shoulder. "Your reputation might take a hit if you keep being so nice in public, though."

"Not when it's you Luna. You're my girl," Pansy said as she wrapped an arm around her. "It's not as if I'm hugging Granger or anything else ridiculous."

"Of course not," Harry chuckled, putting down his fork. "I guess I'm done. Ladies, I'll see you all later. Try not to have too much fun without me.

"Pansy," Harry kissed the side of her mouth once she had finished taking a drink. "Luna, keep an eye on her for me till I get back."

"Will do!" Luna snapped off a crisp salute even though her hand still held a fork full of sausage.

"Alright Sirius, let's go."

Harry got up and they walked out into the hallway. As soon as they climbed some stairs to the next floor, Harry opened the door to a disused classroom and stepped inside. Sirius followed him, closing the door.

"I thought we might go back to your quarters," he began, but Harry waved him off.

"Dobby!"

"Master Harry sir!" the house-elf popped in, happily ready to serve. He had been somewhat disappointed that morning that he hadn't been allowed to make breakfast.

"I've got a job for you to do. I want you to make sure that no one tries to bother Pansy while I'm busy with Sirius here. But don't let anyone know you're there unless it's necessary, okay?"

"Dobby can do that, master Harry."

"I know you can. Take good care of her."

Dobby smiled and disappeared.

"Is that really necessary?" Sirius asked. "I've heard of over protective boyfriends, but you're taking it to another level, Harry."

"Sirius, the headmaster of Durmstrang is a known convicted Death Eater, and he is also the most likely suspect for me being in this stupid tournament in the first place. His star pupil already tried to assault my best friend and at least interfered if not tried to outright attack me during the second task. Meanwhile, one of the little bastards from Slytherin tried to slip Pansy a love potion."

"You caught him then?"

"Pansy detected it and Slughorn confirmed things. If he had succeeded, we would not be talking right now because I would still be busy torturing him to death. That was four months ago, mind you."

"Well, I can't say I blame you for that," Sirius nodded. "I fell victim to one in fifth year. Thankfully, it wasn't very strong, but I never would have been caught in a broom closet with Edna Dorsey otherwise. She didn't even have the decency to know what she was doing. I mean, sure she looked like her mother might have mated with a baboon, but a blow job's a blow job. Or, it should have been."

"I think we should hold off on the rest of this conversation until we get back to my quarters."

Sirius agreed so he instead took to whistling as they climbed the stairs up to the Gryffindor tower.

Harry tried not to let it bother him, but he still took the several flights of stairs a little faster than usual. If it just so happened to make Sirius winded enough to stop by the fifth floor, then that was certainly nothing more than a happy coincidence.

"Alright, alright," Sirius panted as they neared the Gryffindor common room. "You're going to give your poor godfather a coronary."

"Actually, my godfather is rich and he was being an arse, so I'm sure he deserved it."

""I'll get you back for this, Harry."

"You'll try," he replied before giving the password to the Fat Lady and quickly heading over to his quarters. Once the door was closed behind them, Harry went over to the little kitchen area and started looking for tea.

"You could have had your house-elf do that if you weren't so bloody paranoid. I went to school with at least half a dozen Death Eaters, and I was never as bad as you."

"You didn't have as many people trying to kill you, I'd bet."

"Just my family mostly," Sirius snorted. "So, I guess you'd like to hear the whole story."

"It's too bad he couldn't be taken for questioning, but getting Yaxley out of the ministry was definitely something that needed to be done. What happened to the arm?"

"Caught a bludgeoning spell in the shoulder. Got a little bit dislocated. It'll be fine in a day or two."

"Nothing more serious than that?"

"No."

"Good."

"What did you think of me stealing from your playbook?"

"Huh?"

"Unlike you, I actually slept with his wife instead of just making him think I had done so. Let me tell you, Harry, it was glorious. Apparently old Yaxley had become so immersed in the Dark Arts that he was impotent. Or at least his sex drive was so low that his wife was very unfulfilled. Which just meant that she was insatiable for some Sirius loving."

He waggled his eyebrows dramatically.

"Your puns are terrible," Harry groaned as he finally remembered to start the water boiling. Sirius could be such a huge distraction.

"Then I guess you don't want to hear more about it? Carina told me she danced with you at Narcissa's party a year ago. That made you a lucky boy, just not as lucky as I got. Her breasts were fucking outstanding, Harry. Merlin bless the ingenuity of witches and their cosmetic charms. I think she's a year or two older than me and she still didn't need to wear a bra. Listen to me, I sound like I'm in love."

"Or in lust, at least," Harry chuckled.

"Same thing," Sirius replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I spent three entire nights with her, hoping to sneak out just when Yaxley returned one night so he would see me leaving and challenge me to a duel."

"He could have just tried to kill you on the spot."

"He had spent so long maintaining his good name as an auror that I figured he wouldn't be that cavalier and would rather try to get rid of me in a more legal way. It was a calculated risk. Besides, now we're even."

"Huh?"

"When you saved my life, I told you I owed you a life debt and you said if I killed another Death Eater, we'd be even."

"Shit! I just said that as a joke."

"Maybe, but magic might not have seen it that way, and now I shouldn't have a debt hanging over me. Not that I think you would have done anything awful with it-"

"Probably just something humiliating," Harry smirked.

"Exactly, but now I don't have to worry about that," Sirius said with a grin.

"So, are you going to keep seeing the widow Yaxley?"

"I don't know. It might not be as exciting without the threat of her husband catching us. Besides, I'm only thirty five, you can't expect me to settle down yet. And I'm very concerned that Carina might think I was getting serious about her."

"So, seducing her away from her husband was fun, but consoling a widow not as much?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I spent all last night _consoling_ her. She turned into a screamer too. And she did this thing with her tongue-"

"Sirius, please, for the love of all that's holy, don't tell me any stories about a woman's tongue and your body. I just ate and I don't enjoy vomiting."

"Spoilsport."

"What did we need to talk about in private anyway?"

"I have a lot more to tell you about Carina. Have you heard about how some women can squirt when they have an orgasm?"

"Someone kill me," Harry muttered as the tea was finally finished. He grabbed the tray and carried it over to the table in front of the fireplace as Sirius started to sit on the couch.

"You might prefer the chair," Harry suggested.

"Why?"

He waited until Sirius had started to take a drink of tea before responding.

"I've had a lot of sex on this couch."

The spit take was glorious.

"Dammit, Harry," Sirius said. "I thought you didn't like talking about sex."

"I didn't say that," he teased.

"Alright then." Sirius sat up a little straighter with a smile on his face. "I'm actually a little torn on Carina. I mean, she is fabulous looking, but I don't know if I really want to pursue a relationship with her. But then the sex is so fucking amazing. She even let me bugger her last night. If you haven't tried that, I can't recommend it highly enough. There's just something about a woman bent over on all fours in front of you..."

"Imagine that, you prefer doggy style," Harry chortled.

"What can I say? I'm an arse man. Don't tell me you're not."

"I'm just a Pansy man," Harry shrugged.

"You don't have to say things like that when she's not here, you know?"

"It's true. I like every part of her."

"Ah, to be young and in love," Sirius sighed.

"Do you and Carina actually, you know, talk and stuff?"

"Of course."

"Maybe you should focus a little more on that to determine how far you want things to go with her."

"Look at you, being all mature and reasonable," Sirius teased. "You're probably right, but I just haven't really considered a real relationship in a long, long time. And with the idea of a war possibly starting back up, I'm not sure how much I could focus on one anyway."

"It's likely she might not want to jump right back into marriage, you know?"

"True. It would make the gossip that much worse if she and I immediately showed up in public together. I'll just take it slow and see what happens. I might be able to get some more information from her. Speaking of which, we now have two more names on our list. David Gibbon and Thorfinn Rowle, both were younger associates of her husband that spent a lot of time with Yaxley last summer right around the time of the Quidditch World Cup."

"That's not proof positive, but it's certainly worth checking."

"Carina said that both of them tended to follow his orders."

"Henchmen?"

"Likely," Sirius agreed.

"Alright, but for fuck's sake be careful. You've been wounded both times you've gone up against a Death Eater this year. We don't want the third time to be the charm."

"Fair enough."

"It will give you a chance to get to know Carina better. We all need a chance to take a break while we still can."

"That's a good idea," Sirius said as he sat back in his chair. "How's your Legilimency?"

"Not bad, as far as I can tell. Why?"

"It might be a way for me to show you the duel. Give you some more ideas for how to do things the next time you get in a fight."

"Worth a shot, I suppose," Harry said as he drew his wand.

"One thing I've found is that simple spells are often better, especially one on one. I tend to favor Reducto a lot. You can still damage the area around your enemy even if you miss, and that can be very helpful. Plus, it's three short syllables, which makes it fast to cast. One of the only drawbacks of the killing curse is that it's six syllables. Even a fraction of a second can matter in a fight to the death."

"That makes sense. Is there another drawback?"

"In the last couple of years at Hogwarts, they start teaching silent casting. It works for a lot of spells, but not the killing curse, which requires too much power and focus. According to most theories anyway. Every time I've seen it cast, the Death Eater shouted the damn thing."

"I understand. The Patronus charm is similar and it requires powerful emotion to cast too."

"Exactly," Sirius replied. "Give me a second to get ready and then hopefully you'll get to see how the fight went with Yaxley."

* * *

Harry spent the next couple of hours going over the fight between Sirius and Yaxley before he led the older man down to an empty room where they could practice together. They agreed to take things somewhat easy due to Sirius' injury, but he could still cast at Harry and make him work up a sweat dodging spells. He had given Harry the advice that mobility in a fight was always something that would be on his side against older wizards. Harry might never have the knowledge of spells of someone like Dumbledore, but his youth and stamina would be on his side against older opponents.

According to Sirius, the Death Eaters never did much in the way of dodging. They favored numerical advantage and the terror of seeing killing curses flying, which was enough to cause most magical people to try to flee. Mastering the fight or flight impulse was a huge step in the battle that few ever managed.

Harry kept that thought in mind as Sirius put him through hell that afternoon, launching spell after spell at him. By dinner time, he had gone about three steps beyond tired and sore. As he soaked in the shower before heading down to the Great Hall, Harry decided that he would need to start running at least a couple of times a week to build up his stamina more. One of the only downsides about not being around Dudley anymore is that he wasn't as fast as he used to be.

He had six weeks before the third task. Hopefully that would be long enough.

* * *

Two weeks later, Harry was on his way down to the Quidditch pitch one night after dinner. Pansy was back in their quarters as he had been once again summoned for part of the Triwizard Tournament.

The other two champions had already beat him there even though he was close to ten minutes early. Lugo Bagman was standing in the middle of a maze of low hedges, no more than two or three feet tall.

Harry noticed that for once neither of the heads of the other schools were there with their champions as the former quidditch star went over the goal of the third task, to make it through the maze, past all obstacles- including some creatures provided by Hagrid, which Harry was definitely not looking forward to as the blast-ended skrewts were a fucking nightmare. It was a simple goal though, fastest to the center would reach the Triwizard Cup and thus be declared the winner.

Harry wasn't there to win though. He was expecting trouble, and that's why he was keeping a close eye on Viktor Krum.

The Bulgarian was his usual surly self, but Harry didn't notice anything out of the ordinary from him.

Once Bagman had finished going over the rules, they were dismissed to go back to their accommodations, and Harry decided it was time for him to have a talk with Fleur Delacour. Getting Bagman to stop trying to chat with him was annoying, but Harry managed it soon enough. He sped up his pace so he could catch the French champion.

"Fleur, might I have a word with you? In private?" Harry glared at Bagman, who finally took the hint and walked off.

"Of course."

They headed off towards the forest. The Beauxbatons' massive carriage was parked in that direction.

In the darkness, neither of them noticed another figure watching quietly near the edge of the trees.

"What do you wish to speak about 'arry?"

"This final task. Well, and the second task too in a way."

"Ah, so you wish for me to repay you for rescuing Gabrielle? What is your request zen? You know I am in last place at ze moment?"

"True, but winning has never been my main concern. I might not have had to help your sister if not for Krum's interference. Who can say for sure if he was just being _clumsy_ in his altered form or if he had more nefarious motivations."

"You're suggesting it was a deliberate attack. Why?"

"There was already some bad blood between us because of how he treated my best friend at the Yule Ball."

"Zere were several rumors going around about zat night."

"I'm sure," Harry sighed. He could see the outline of the carriage in the distance as they continued to walk closer to it. Hagrid's cabin was even closer along the path they were taking. "I hope your night was pleasant enough."

"It could 'ave been worse. Ze Ravenclaw boy turned out to be a fool, but it was easy enough to send 'im off when 'e bored me. My allure can be quite useful. Now, tell me what happened between Krum and your friend."

"Let's just say that he wanted to be more physical with her than she wanted."

"I see. But 'ow are you involved?"

"I helped Hermione get away from him that night," Harry eventually replied. It was basically the truth, without revealing Dobby's involvement.

"And zis led to you taking up 'er patronage. Was 'zis just to protect her? Zat could lead you to problems in ze future."

"Hermione's one of the smartest and most driven witches in the school. I think it's more likely that I'll make her look bad than any damage she could do to my reputation. Besides, we've been best friends pretty much the entire time we've gone to school together. I'm sure I can count on Hermione."

"Alright, zen back to what you were going to request."

"Right, well, I don't trust Krum at all. It's even worse when you consider that Karkaroff was a convicted Death Eater. I've had a few encounters with them in the past, and they usually try to kill me. I wouldn't be surprised if Krum tried to attack me during the third task.

"Therefore, I propose that you and I team up to get through the maze together. You can help watch my back in case Krum tries anything. Plus, two people will certainly have more luck against whatever obstacles we might come up against, and believe me, Hagrid is likely to put some very dangerous magical creatures in the maze. When we make it to the center, I'll even let you take the trophy."

"You would let me win? Why?"

"I don't care about winning. I never wanted to be in this tournament in the first place."

"So you were telling ze truth about not putting your name in ze goblet," Fleur said as she slowed to a stop. "It seemed like you were just being rude zat night. Not zat I have room to talk."

Harry saw her give him a tentative little grin and he nodded while he thought of a response.

"I don't suppose either of us made a very good first impression that night. Sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his neck while Fleur accepted his apology with a quiet murmur of _merci_.

Before he could say anything else though, there was a rustle coming from somewhere nearby in the woods. Harry immediately drew his wand and he saw Fleur reach for her own.

"Who's there?"

A figure struggled through the brush, and once he got a little closer, Harry recognized that it was Mr. Crouch. He looked like he had struggled through the entire forest. His clothes were torn in several places, his normally meticulous hair was out of place and drenched in sweat, and he had scratches as well as what appeared to be bits of glass embedded in the left side of his face.

"Mr. Crouch, are you alright?"

But instead of responding, Crouch stumbled onto his knees and let out a soft moan.

Harry kept his wand out but took a couple of hesitant steps closer. Crouch looked up, and Harry saw a look of terror on his face.

"Dumbledore!" he gasped. "Must... see... Dumbledore. Never should have... escaped... my fault. All... my fault."

"Can you stand up? We can get you to professor Dumbledore very soon," Harry said while he scanned the nearby area, as Crouch kept looking over his shoulder, as if someone had been chasing him.

"Close. Always... kept close. Mistakes, my mistakes. So many... Dead now. Poor... Bertha. The blood... too much. Nothing... could be done. Should have... never listened... damn elf..."

""E seems to be out of 'is mind," Fleur said quietly as she stepped closer to Harry. "What could 'ave caused zis?"

"I'm not sure we want to find out. Let's see if we can get him out of the forest at least. Hagrid's hut is pretty close by. He could help get Crouch up to the school."

Harry stepped closer and helped the disheveled man to his feet.

"Mr. Crouch, if you can come this way, we can get you to Dumbledore. Can you walk just a bit more?"

"Just... a bit more. Yes," he replied with a groan.

Harry took a couple of steps back towards Fleur.

"If you can guide him, I'll drop behind in case someone followed him here." Fleur looked ready to agree but before Harry could turn back to Crouch, a voice cried out.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry grabbed Fleur and they spun around a nearby tree, trying to dodge out of the path of the killing curse, wherever it might have come from. There was a thud behind them.

He crouched down low and edged towards the right side of the tree's trunk while motioning with his hand to wait.

Fleur's eyes were wide in fright, but she remained silent as she nodded and raised her wand, waiting for a further attack to come.

Harry took a deep breath and listened, but heard no further movement. As quietly as he could, he leaned out and tried to spot the mysterious attacker. Less than ten feet away, Mr. Crouch lay face down on the ground and Harry could already guess at his fate. Peering deeper into the woods, Harry saw a figure standing no more than thirty feet off.

He was about to cast a spell when he noticed that the figure wasn't moving. Why would someone cast the killing curse but not continue the attack nor flee to escape discovery? He chose a different spell, hoping to capture whoever this was in their momentary indecision.

_"Petrificus Totalis."_

He hadn't learned to cast the spell silently, but he managed it with little more than a whisper and the target was still not moving, so he was pretty sure it was a hit. Harry leaned back behind the tree and raised a finger to his lips as Fleur looked down at him. He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket, never more glad that Pansy had insisted he carry it with him.

'Just in case' had never been more prescient.

He covered himself in the cloak, cast a charm to muffle his footsteps, and crept out towards the shadowy figure. The sun had set and without a moon in the sky, there was very little light. Harry was nearly right in front of him when he saw who it was.

_Krum._

The Durmstrang champion was definitely frozen in place, and his wand was in his hand although it was now stuck to his side by the body bind curse, but the unusual thing Harry noticed was the vacant look in his eyes.

Harry knew that look. Moody had made sure it was something he would always recognize.

It was the Imperius curse.


	61. Backup Isn't Always Enough

{French}

* * *

_So, you've just caught the apparent murderer and yet he appears to be under the Imperius curse. This means that someone is controlling him. Someone who is likely to be out here in the woods as well. Think Potter. What do you do?_

_You need back up._

Harry's thoughts were racing as he tried to keep everything he'd learned from Moody in mind as he crept back to where he had left Fleur.

"It's me," he whispered once he spotted the French girl and removed the invisibility cloak.

"Did you see someone?"

"Yes, but it's complicated. I need you to watch my back for a moment while I summon help."

"'Ow are you going to do zat?"

" _Expecto Patronum!_ " Harry's dragon roared out as it raced out of the forest. "Hagrid's hut is nearby. Hopefully that will get his attention."

It was a tense silence for the next couple of minutes as they waited for help to arrive. Fleur tried to keep her eyes on the woods while Harry guided his dragon in the direction of Hagrid's, had it circle three times and then fly back towards him as slowly as possible.

Finally, two large figures came rushing towards them.

He and Hagrid hadn't been quite as close ever since he accidentally killed the dragon in the first task, but Harry was as glad as he ever had been to see his half-giant friend. And even more so as he saw that he had his enormous crossbow in one hand and his umbrella in the other. Not that there was any chance of rain, but Hagrid never had been one for subtlety.

At the moment, Harry didn't care about being subtle. He just wanted to make sure they got out of this alive because his intuition told him that there was someone else out there in the Forbidden Forest.

For one thing, he wasn't sure if Krum could have summoned up the needed hatred and power to cast a killing curse while under the Imperius. He'd need to try to remember and ask Moody if that was possible.

Behind the groundskeeper, Madame Maxime had her wand out, casting a light spell to guide them through the brush. She began speaking in French to Fleur once she was in sight, asking what was going on.

"Harry, I saw yer Patronus. What are yeh doin' out here? With 'er of all people!"

"Fleur's not so bad once you get to know her," Harry said, trying and failing to chuckle. His nerves were still too tight from the close call. "Fleur and I were just talking about the third task, and we were actually headed back to the Beauxbatons carriage when we saw someone coming from the woods..."

Harry quickly summarized what had happened while leading them over to where Crouch's body lay and then a bit deeper where he had captured Krum.

"I knew those ruddy Durmstrangs were up ter no good."

"Hagrid, wait! I don't trust Krum either, but look in his eyes. He's been cursed. I don't know if someone forced him to do this or not. We need help. We need to get professor Dumbledore and Moody at least. Can you go up to the castle?"

"I don't know if I should leave yeh out here, Harry."

"I've got back up now," Harry motioned to the two French witches. "Just hurry. Please."

"Alright. I'll be as fast as I can."

Hagrid slung his crossbow over his shoulder and barreled back through the trees. His booming footsteps could be heard ringing through the forest as Harry turned back to look into the dark woods.

"We should probably keep the light off until they get back," Harry suggested. "If there is someone else out there, it will lead them right to us."

{"Fleur tells me you speak French, Mr. Potter."}

{"I do."}

{"Very good. Your accent isn't even too bad. A magical charm then?"}

{"Yes."}

{"Lucky you. I learned English the hard way,"} she chuckled. {"If you will stay here with Fleur, I will go deeper into the woods. I can cast a spell out there that will reveal a larger area and the two of you can then remain hidden here in the shadows."}

{"Okay. Be careful, Madame Maxime. I think I heard something else moving around out there, and there are acromantulas, Centaurs, and who knows what else that live in the forest."}

{"I am tougher than I look, Mr. Potter."}

She turned and headed deeper into the trees and disappeared into the darkness. Harry stepped back over to Fleur quietly, trying to listen for any other threats. Knowing his luck, the acromantulas were probably headed his way. Hagrid's friend or not, Aragog and his family should not be allowed anywhere near a school.

A bright light illuminated a section of the forest at least one hundred feet away, but he heard no other sounds or spell casting.

"How did you know I spoke French?" Harry asked Fleur in a whisper as they waited.

"Gabrielle gave you away," she replied with a smile. "My sister told me zat you spoke in French to 'er when you 'elped 'er out of ze lake. She 'as been very proud of the fact zat ze famous 'arry Potter saved 'er. In a small private school in France, your fame grows larger every day."

"It could be worse I suppose," he sighed.

"May I ask why you learned to speak our language?"

"You've met Pansy, my girlfriend?" She nodded and he continued. "Her mother's side of the family is mostly from France. Last summer we went there for her mother's funeral. Pansy had learned French from her mother and maternal grandmother, so she learned how to cast the charm to teach it to me. It would have been a nightmare asking her to translate everything for me."

"Zat is considerate of you. I am sorry you must 'ave only painful memories of my country."

"Oh, that's not true at all," Harry said with a grin. "While our trip there got off to a very rocky start, Pansy and I needed a real vacation after everything we had been through. So we spent the next couple of weeks in Nice. The beaches of the French Riviera will cheer anyone up. Especially when you get to cover your bikini clad girlfriend in sunscreen every day."

"Zere is a charm to protect from getting a sunburn, you know?"

"Now where would the fun be in that?"

Fleur laughed at Harry's waggling eyebrows, but they both grew quiet as she noticed another section of the woods light up. This time it was further off to their right.

"Madame Maxime has covered a lot of ground."

"Long strides." Fleur looked over at him and raised her eyes in alarm. "Zat's why you knew men drooled over me! You must 'ave seen me at the beach!"

"You and Gabrielle," Harry confirmed with a nod.

"I assume your girlfriend must not 'ave been impressed zen?"

"Oh, no she was very impressed with you. She said you were the blondest French woman she had ever seen. I pointed out that your little sister was even more fair."

"No, I meant zat she must 'ave been annoyed by your reaction."

"To you?" Harry snorted. "Believe it or not, I am smart enough not to stare at other girls when I'm right next to my girlfriend. Besides, she looked incredibly sexy in her bikini. I didn't need to gawk at anyone else."

"You are far ahead of ze curve. Most boys your age would 'ave to learn that lesson ze 'ard way." Fleur grinned as she chuckled to herself while Harry merely shrugged.

"I've learned plenty of other lessons the hard way, believe me."

They settled into a more relaxed silence for a couple of minutes after that. It had been long enough since the original danger had passed that their nerves were no longer on edge.

"Alright there, Harry?"

Hagrid had returned with Dumbledore and Moody as well as Madam Bones and two other women he didn't recognize. One had long, straight black hair but the younger woman had short, spiky pink hair. Harry was a little surprised that a ministry employee would look like that.

"Tonks take the witness statements. Jones, examine the body and then check the captured wizard. I hope the backup arrives soon." Bones was giving orders and Moody was asked to help investigate the scene. Dumbledore sent Hagrid off to the Durmstrang ship to find Karkaroff then listened patiently as Harry and Fleur gave their stories. Harry made sure to let Madam Bones know that Madame Maxime was still off somewhere in the forest, searching in case there was someone else out there.

It took several minutes and unfortunately once Karkaroff arrived, they were forced to answer even more questions as he was none too pleased by his champion being detained and accused of murder.

Roughly half an hour later, there were even more questions as the bureaucrats showed up. Krum's status as a Bulgarian citizen made things into an international incident. That meant an ambassador and three lawyers, plus two wizards from the ICW, all getting involved.

When he had a free moment, Harry asked professor Dumbledore if he could send a message to Pansy to let her know what had happened. He knew that she was going to be worried out of her mind.

By the time the night was over, Harry was incredibly grateful that it was a Friday so he could sleep in the next day.

* * *

"Finally!" Pansy said as she got up and ran over to embrace him as soon as Harry returned to their rooms that night.

"Sorry it's so late," he answered as he held onto her. "I hope you got a message at least. I asked Dumbledore to let you know that I was okay."

"I did, but I wasn't content to try to go to bed without you."

"I'm glad you waited up."

"Me too." Pansy drew him in for a rather needy kiss, but after everything that had happened that night, he appreciated it and returned her enthusiasm two fold.

"I probably need a shower."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you are a bit musky."

Harry laughed at her response.

"Yeah, well it's been a busy night. Although most of it was just answering questions. Has Dobby been around?"

"I asked him to go check to make sure you were safe, but he said he needed to go tell Winky about her former master after that. I doubt the poor little thing will take this well. It's too bad Luna isn't home to help her deal with it."

"We should probably suggest that she call her and try to spend some time with her. I know Luna always cheers you and I up, so I imagine she'd be able to work her magic on Winky too."

"That's a good idea," Pansy concurred. "Dobby?"

"Dobby is here miss." He appeared without a sound.

"Hey Dobby, I guess you heard the news then. Is Winky going to be alright?"

"Winky was very upset to hear about her old master. Dobby tried to calm her down."

"Alright, good job on that," Harry said, bending over to pat his shoulder. "I'm going to need to talk to you and Winky tomorrow. But I think we should all try to get some rest tonight."

"Good night, master Harry!"

"Night Dobby," Harry answered to the empty air as Dobby had popped away. "I might soak for awhile in the shower, see if the hot water will help me calm down."

"If that doesn't work, I'm sure I could think of something," Pansy teased with a smirk. "I'll just be waiting in bed. Don't take too long Harry."

They kissed one more time before he headed for the bathroom.

But Harry spent several minutes just letting the water wash over him as he tried to soak in everything that had occurred that night and think if he could have done something different. Plus, what the hell had happened to Crouch? He looked like he had escaped from someone, but why would someone attack a judge? From everything he knew of the final task, the judges didn't matter anymore. It was just a race to the finish.

Then, maybe Crouch had stumbled into something else?

Harry probably should have talked to Winky tonight, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't be in the right state of mind to listen. He'd just have to take care of that idea when he woke up. At this rate, it would probably be much later than Mr. Lovegood might want breakfast anyway.

By the time Harry had dried off and gone to bed, Pansy was fast asleep.

As much as he might have enjoyed having some fun, he was exhausted from the stress of the evening. And she looked so peaceful. Harry could use some peaceful right then, so he slid under the sheets next to her, curled up, and drifted off.

* * *

_"Crucio!"_

The screams of the man cowering before him were exquisite. He was happy to be able to hold a wand again specifically for purposes like this. Being formless was horrific, and it was his job to make others feel horrific, not feel that way himself.

"Enough." He released the spell and waited for the young man to look up.

"Forgive me, master. I will not fail you again." He was panting, obviously still in pain, and his eyes showed that his remorse was true.

"You have done well before. I trust this was only a momentary failing. You are lucky though, as your blunder has been corrected. I can understand the anger at having such a disappointment for a father, Barty, but do not let your personal affairs get in the way of your duty again. Am I clear?"

"Of course, master."

"Good. Pack everything useful up. We are leaving this place. And I know just where to go. Where they would never think to look for us..."

* * *

Harry sat up with a hiss as his scar was once again burning. He should have expected something to happen after a night like that, but it had been months since the last vision he'd had from that fucking bastard. How could he hold a wand?

"Harry? What is it?" Pansy asked drowsily. Looking around, he could tell why as it was still dark outside.

"Fuck," he muttered as he rubbed his forehead and thought for a moment. They couldn't wait. This might be too important. "I had another Dark Lord dream."

"Oh shit." Pansy groaned as she forced herself to sit up as well.

"What happened?"

"I'll explain in a minute, but we need Dobby."

"Master...called?" Dobby responded as he appeared with a yawn.

"Sorry to wake you Dobby, but this is urgent. I need you to get Winky to come here. I have a feeling I know what happened to her former master."

"Dobby will get Winky," he replied just before he disappeared.

"Should we get up?" Pansy asked, but the two elves returned almost immediately. "Never mind."

"Dobby says mister Harry knows what happened to poor master Barty sir," Winky said with tears in her eyes.

"I do, but I wanted to make sure that it would be okay with you first. I think an evil wizard broke into your former master's home and hurt him. Dobby says you still care about the Crouch family, so I didn't want to alarm you, Winky, alright? I would like for Dobby to go to the Crouch family home and try to see if he can confirm something for me, because I think it was the Dark Lord who did this."

Winky gasped and began to cry.

"No, mister Harry, it can't be. He who must not be named cannot be back. It would make everything bad again. Please, mister Harry. Please be wrong."

"I know this must be upsetting, Winky. That's why I didn't want to make you worry. I just wanted to let you know so that you wouldn't freak out when I sent Dobby there. Will that be alright?"

"Yes mister Harry. But Dobby must be careful of the evil wizard."

"I completely agree with you about that," Harry answered. "Dobby, this will probably be dangerous, so I need you to do whatever you need to make sure you aren't caught. Just check to see if anyone is at the Crouch home. If there is, come back and we'll contact the DMLE. If there isn't, then see if you can find any signs of a struggle or anything like that. I think Crouch was attacked at home.

"In fact, there might be a broken window," Harry said as he scratched his cheek. "He had some bits of broken glass in his left cheek. That might be how he escaped, if I'm right. But be as careful as you can, alright Dobby? I don't want you risking yourself if there is anyone there."

"Dobby will master Harry!"

With a pop, he was gone.

"Do you want to wait with us Winky?"

"Winky should stay to make sure Dobby gets home safe. Dobby would do that for Winky."

"Alright, why don't we wait out in the living room?" Pansy suggested. "We can have some tea while we wait."

"Winky will make the tea!" She popped out of the bedroom and could be heard puttering around the little stove.

"It amazes me how doing some bit of work always seems to cheer them up," Harry said as he got out of bed.

"I hope Dobby is okay."

"I have faith in him. If I tell him to be careful, he won't want to fail me."

"It makes me wonder if anyone else has ever realized how useful house-elf loyalty can be. So many wizards and witches I've heard of just take them completely for granted."

"I think that's true of most people, magical or muggle. I try not to take anything for granted because I grew up with basically nothing."

"That still sucks, but at least you're better off now."

"We all are I think," Harry said as he offered Pansy a hand to help her out of bed. "Let's not keep Winky waiting."

* * *

In the end, Dobby returned safely but with little news. There had likely been a struggle at the Crouch home, as he did find a broken window, but the house was empty. Winky was still very upset as Dobby escorted her back to the Lovegood residence.

Harry and Pansy eventually managed to get back to sleep.

The next day, Harry made sure to suggest to professor Moody that the DMLE might want to search Mr. Crouch's home in case they hadn't thought of it. Moody said that he had already been sent over there along with Amelia Bones and three of her senior aurors but even with the help of his magical eye and decades of investigative experience, there was little to discover.

Someone had clearly been staying there recently, and more than just one old man, but more than that was hard to tell. There was a residue of very dark magic though.

Mad-Eye ended up escorting Harry up to the headmaster's office where they were met by Madam Bones as well and the four of them all delved into Harry's memory of the conversation, brief and unfocused as it was, trying to discern whatever they could of what Barty Crouch had been trying to say.

There was little that could be gleaned from his rambling as he was only semi-coherent, but Harry found out that the 'poor Bertha' he had mentioned was likely a reference to Bertha Jorkins, a ministry employee who had gone missing the summer before while on vacation.

When Harry asked about her, he was told that she had worked in the Department of Magical Sports and Games. That meant she would have known about the Quidditch World Cup as well as the Triwizard Tournament, so it seemed likely that someone had used her for information about one or both events.

Harry shuddered as he remembered the dream the previous summer of the witch that Voldemort had possessed and he worried that he knew her fate could only have gotten worse from there on.

* * *

"Still nothing?" Pansy asked the next Thursday morning when Harry checked the Daily Prophet during breakfast.

"Nope."

"That's frustrating."

"In a way, but maybe that means they're trying to do a thorough job for once. I didn't think the ministry had it in them."

"Calling Bones in before Fudge could bury things as usual probably helped."

"I think the fact that Krum was involved was an even bigger part of it," Harry suggested. "You can't accuse a Bulgarian quidditch star of murder and not expect someone to notice."

"It has been nice not to see his grouchy face staring at us." Pansy looked across at Hermione, who was deep into the paper, and motioned towards her. "Or your friend, who he's given an evil eye any time you haven't been looking."

"We've got Moody this afternoon," Harry stated. "With luck, maybe he'll be able to tell us something."

"Yes, we just have to get through McGonagall first. You did finish the essay didn't you?"

"Don't worry, I did."

"Good. We've got a free period before lunch. What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I was thinking that you probably need more time to study for all the upcoming exams, right?" As she nodded, Harry continued. "Then I was going to let you do that while I went for another run. It's not that fun, but I think I used to be faster when I had to flee Dudley and his gang of bullies almost daily. The extra stamina could come in handy for whatever I run into during the maze."

"Alright, sounds like a plan."

* * *

As the Defense class was excused later that day, Harry and Pansy stayed behind as usual.

"I bet I can guess what you two are most interested in today," Moody grunted as he sat down in his chair and waved them over to the front of the room. "But go ahead and ask."

"I don't suppose you can tell us anything more about whatever's happening with the Crouch case? Or Krum more specifically?" Harry inquired.

"Officially, I don't know anything. I am retired, you know," Moody snorted. "Unofficially, I would expect little to come of it really. Krum was under the Imperius, that was definite. It might be the only time I know of where that excuse was actually true. Bah!"

"Does that mean he'll still be participating in the third task?" Pansy asked.

"Oh, definitely. Binding magical contract and all that. Even if the boy was guilty, they'd likely let him compete and then arrest him at the end of the tournament. So, you better prepare for having to deal with him, Potter."

"I was planning on it."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Two more questions then. First off, can you give me advice about what spells would be more or less useful against magical creatures?"

"That's good thinking Potter. Come up with a list of creatures you can think of and I'll give you notes on all of them."

"That would be great professor," Harry replied with a smile.

"Well, unofficially, I might have a bit of a bias for one certain champion. Especially since he seems to be more on the ball than most of the other brats around here," Moody chuckled.

"Okay, one more thing then. I was wondering something about the Unforgivable Curses. You said that the killing curse required a powerful amount of magic to cast it properly and negative emotions drive that. But on the other hand, the Imperius Curse makes a person feel good when they submit to the caster's will. That's one of the things that you said make it so hard for people to resist. So, how would someone under the Imperius be able to summon up the power needed to cast something like the killing curse?"

"That's a good question laddie. But you also sort of answered it yourself. I've always said the Imperius is by far the worst of the three and you're close to discovering why. Think it through."

"I think I see it, professor," Pansy said, obviously uncertain.

"Well, share with your boyfriend. I think he's close, but he always tells me you're more shrewd than he is."

"It's because of the caster's will."

"Definitely in part, yes. The caster has to have a strong enough will to make someone take another person's life. Muggles are particularly weak to this as they don't have any magic to help fight it off so only someone with a very strong will might be able to do so. That's one of the things that made the Death Eaters so terrifying when they attacked muggle targets. But that's only one bit."

"Is it because of how good it feels?" Harry asked.

"Exactly! Well done lad." Moody gave him that satisfied grin that Harry now recognized despite all the scars. "The Imperius makes doing as you're told feel good. So instead of the Dark Arts being powered by negative emotions, everything gets twisted up and they can be powered by the submission itself as well as anything else the victim might be feeling-- that is unless they are actively resisting."

"So, someone who wouldn't normally be able to cast the killing curse could do so under the Imperius? Shite, that is worse."

"Shite indeed," Moody laughed. "The torture curse is very nasty business, I would never say otherwise, but the Imperius can do so much more damage. That's not even mentioning the fact that someone placed under it can then place others under its effect as well and the original caster can then build a pyramid of victims."

"Fuck me," Harry muttered.

"It's a good thing we're not in class, Potter. But yes, now you see why it's the most dangerous. Imagine if Voldemort cast it on two people, and the next week they cast it on two people, then the next week each of them cast it on two more, and so on. Powerful Dark Lords can quickly build up their armies like that. Grindelwald was said to have done something like that back in the thirties. One of the only good things about the Dark Lord was that he didn't seem to enjoy using it nearly as much as the other two.

"The killing curse, evil as it may be, is a quick, clean death. I've seen many more horrible fates befall people than that. I'd much rather go that way than having all my organs removed one at a time. Or all the blood in my body spurt out through the closest available orifice. Or-"

"I think we get the picture, sir," Harry said, feeling more than a little nauseous.

"Right, well then, any more questions?"

"I think that's enough for today," Pansy replied, trying not to show her own distaste.

"Alright then. I hope you're still planning on sitting the exam, Potter."

"I am. Defense is one of my best subjects, and frankly, I'll probably need to study more for it than anything else. For practical reasons, I mean."

"Good lad. Write up a list of any magical beasties you think Hagrid might be able to get ahold of as soon as you can and I'll see about any strengths and weaknesses I can think of for them."

"Thanks, Moody."

* * *

The three weeks before the third task rushed Harry and Pansy worked, studied, and did all they could to try to prepare for the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry ended up only sitting the exams for Charms, Defense, Potions, Runes, and Transfiguration. He took the Potions final mostly just to see how different his final grade would end up with a real teacher instead of Snape. Professor Vector gave him a blank copy of the Arithmancy test that he was going to take over the summer and then compare with Pansy's, just to see how well he was still doing in the class.

The third task was set for the Friday night after the final exams. Pansy still had History of Magic in the morning, but was lucky enough to have the afternoon free. They were planning on trying to get a bit of last minute prep work in, with her drilling Harry on everything Moody had written down about a number of 'interesting' creatures that they thought Hagrid would likely set loose in the maze.

And a little very last minute bit of relaxation would probably be a good idea too. Pansy didn't want Harry's nerves to be too tense before he faced the end of the tournament.

But that morning as they ate breakfast, professor McGonagall informed Harry that he was expected to gather with the other champions in the nearby antechamber so they could spend the day with their families.

"Must be Sirius, I guess."

"Well, go on then. I'll do a bit of last minute studying and see you later," Pansy said. For once, Hermione was far from the only person with a book open while they ate.

Harry kissed Pansy on the cheek and headed for the room that McGonagall had indicated. Just as he opened the door, a large black dog tackled him to the floor and licked the side of his face.

"Surprise!"

"Sirius, you slobbered on me," Harry whined. His godfather pulled him to his feet as Harry tried to wipe his face clean with the sleeve of his robe.

"Very dignified," a brown haired woman teased with a grin.

"Harry, let me introduce you to some of the only people to whom I'll admit being related. My cousin, Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, and their delightful daughter Nymphadora."

Each of them smiled and shook his hand while Harry recognized the auror with the pink hair.

"Sorry I couldn't properly introduce myself the other night, Harry. On duty, you know? And just call me Tonks unless you want me to hex you."

"Not little Nymmie? Sirius said he was able to get away with that."

"Only because mum stole my wand before I could make him pay," she growled. "You're not starting off any better, Potter."

"I could probably use the experience at dodging curses anyway."

"See mum, that was permission to hex him."

"One of these days you will have to grow up, Nymphadora," her mother said with a hint of a groan. "I spoke with my sister about you, Mr. Potter. I can never thank you enough for freeing her from Lucius."

"I hope she's doing well."

"It's been somewhat hard for her to get over the loss of her son, as you can probably imagine, but moving away has given her a fresh start. We write each other every now and then. I think Cissy's in a much better place now."

"I'm glad to hear it. Give her my best wishes the next time you hear from her."

"I will."

""Arry!" Two blonde French girls were coming over to see him, Gabrielle dragging her sister along behind her. Their amused parents were laughing behind them. Harry noticed Sirius going glassy eyed as multiple Veela were now in sight.

This was going to be such great blackmail later.

"Bonjour Gabrielle."

Within the next few minutes, the youngest Delacour proceeded to dominate Harry's attention while Fleur introduced her family and Andromeda got to slap Sirius upside the head for gawking at both the French champion and her mother.

Oh yes, Harry was definitely going to use this to take the piss out of him for years to come.

* * *

Harry introduced the Tonks family to Pansy and his friends at lunch while 'little Nymmie' glared at him, as she now felt more than happy to spend part of her afternoon trying to hex him for daring to repeat one of her cousin's jokes.

He supposed they were cousins too, admittedly more distantly related. Closer than most though, and Harry was always glad to have some more support. A trained auror could be of great help to him in the future, so he didn't tease her any more than was really necessary.

Besides, Sirius was so much worse about it.

'About everything, really,' Harry thought with a grin. 'Still, some of that stuff he told me about everything he had done with Carina Yaxley could be very useful for the future. I definitely want to try to make Pansy squirt uncontrollably. That sounds fucking awesome! Not sure if she's up for anal, though she did seem to like it that time I licked her areshole. Damn, I really love her bum.'

"Earth to Harry," his girlfriend said, drawing his mind away from his much happier thoughts and back to the people gathered round him. "Are you about ready to practice this afternoon? I think everyone's done eating."

"Um, yeah, I suppose. Do you still have the list Moody gave us in your bag?"

"Of course. One of us has to be organized."

"It is your job to look after me, huh?"

"Can we get to the part where I get to punish him?" Tonks asked with a grin as her pink hair shifted to dark red. Her eyes too, actually. She had explained her abilities that morning, but damn, red eyes were really off putting.

Harry wished this day was over so he could celebrate with Pansy in private. He even had a couple of ideas.

But for now, he was being led up the stairs by his dutiful girlfriend who was more focused on keeping him alive than their sex life. If not for the visitors, he might have gotten a quick shag before practice.

The things he had to suffer.

* * *

Tonks was much more of a challenge than any of his friends had been during their practice fights that afternoon, but her lack of coordination did give him one victory. Of course, at least three other times she luckily tripped out of the way of his spells. Still, only losing four to two against an active duty auror gave Harry a confidence boost.

He went back to his room for a shower before dinner.

Pansy didn't want to make things to blatant, apparently, as she didn't join him. Harry felt more than a little disappointed at that. But she was waiting for him in their bedroom after he was clean and she gave him a blow job to help his nerves and remind him what he had to look forward to after the task was over.

As long as he accomplished his goals.

In short, he had to keep an eye out for Krum as well as any other potential dangers or traps in the maze. Someone had put his name in the damn Goblet of Fire, and Harry knew that tonight was the last chance for it to get him killed, which meant he had to be extra cautious.

At least having Fleur teaming up with him should help his odds.

He forced himself to eat a normal meal that night, as it seemed like almost every Gryffindor (and more than a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws) came by to wish him good luck, pat him on the back, and whatnot. He even saw Ron give him a couple of odd, wistful looks, but the only Weasleys that said anything to him were the twins.

There were a few girls that he caught staring at him, such as Ginny who blushed at him. However, Pansy must have noticed as well, and the youngest Weasley soon turned away from his girlfriend's possessive glare. He noticed with a quiet chuckle to himself that she was allowing Parvati's rather obvious stare go unmentioned though. It amused him how Pansy's jealousy was assuaged when only certain girls were giving him any sort of attention. Of course, Luna and Hermione didn't count, and now Parvati was on that list as well as the Delacour sisters apparently.

Speaking of whom, Gabrielle apparently got bored sitting with her family and the Beauxbatons delegation, so she escaped to come over and squeeze in between Harry and Hermione. She began telling him of all her summer plans, and how he just had to come visit them, and how it was such a shame that the school year ran so long because he had missed out on going to the Cannes Film Festival with her and her parents the month before.

Harry just had to see The City of Lost Children, which was apparently beautiful and brilliant and definitely should have won the Palme d'Or. Of course, the film was only in theaters in France as England was such a horribly unfashionable primitive country full of brutes. Harry just happened to be one of the outliers, a hero who was a gentleman yet manly enough that she might have other uses for him in a few more years.

Harry wasn't sure if he should be horrified or amused that she was hitting on him. Pansy's barely controlled laughter let him know which way she was taking it, so he tried not to let it bother him.

He was curious about the movie though, if nothing else just to see what a little girl's taste would be like, especially as she seemed to be a film snob. A ten year old film snob, at that- her birthday had been just a couple of weeks prior and Harry had already heard all about it.

Hermione tried to participate in the conversation, although she wasn't quite fluent and Gabrielle tended to talk faster than anyone else he had ever met.

Dumbledore announced that the task was almost ready, so Harry stood as the champions were to head down to the quidditch pitch first while everyone else would gather in the stands.

Sirius shook his hand and said that Harry already had the victory in the bag. He appreciated the confidence.

He got hugs from several of the girls.

Hermione told him to be careful.

Luna told him that she would take care of Pansy while he was busy and try to keep her calm.

Gabrielle told him that she was secretly rooting for him to beat her sister.

As for Pansy, she kissed him passionately and whispered in his ear about how she would shag him senseless as long as he came out of the maze safe and sound.

Harry liked to think that the catcalls and whistles that followed the very public display of affection were just as much in favor of Pansy's motivation as he was.

The next several minutes were tense as he, Fleur, and Krum walked outside together, following Ludo Bagman who was chattering away.

When they reached the edge of the pitch, they were met by professors McGonagall, Moody, Flitwick, and Hagrid who were all going to patrol the exterior of the maze and who could be summoned if one of the champions ran into something beyond their capabilities by sending red sparks into the air.

For a moment, Harry weighed the idea of just sending them up immediately to get out of the last task entirely. But that didn't seem fair considering the bargain he had struck with Fleur, so he put the thought aside and took deep breaths as the stands filled with people.

His eyes scanned the crowd until he saw where his closest supporters were gathered. To her left side, Pansy had Parvati and Lavender. To her right were Luna, Hermione, and Neville. For just a second, Harry wondered if he might be making another batch of pot brownies for his friends next year.

Sirius was sitting right behind Pansy, along with the Tonks family. If anything went wrong, his godfather had sworn to help protect her.

He wondered if maybe the Death Eaters were planning another attack at such a prominent sporting event as had happened the summer before. It seemed possible, especially as he noticed there was once again very little in the way of security. Minister Fudge was there with a couple of aurors. If you counted Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Madam Bones, who was there sitting in as a replacement for the deceased Mr. Crouch, you had only five aurors on site in case of any sort of emergency. That really wasn't enough for a prestigious international event.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman said as he began to fill everyone in on just what was going to happen. Harry took another deep breath as it was explained that the winner would be whoever reached the Triwizard cup that was in the center of the maze.

Since he was in the lead from the scores of the first two tasks, Harry had a several minute head start. Krum had an even longer advantage over Fleur due to her being unable to finish the second task.

This meant that Harry was going to have to go into the maze and just wait for almost fifteen minutes. He supposed that he might be able to make one last preparation once he was out of sight in the hedges.

Bagman's introduction finally ended and a short blast of his whistle allowed Harry to begin.

The entrance path lead to a fork, and Harry turned to the right, allowing him to disappear from the view of the audience.

"Dobby!" Harry called and his faithful elf appeared. Thankfully, there was enough noise from the crowd that he was almost certain they would be unheard.

"Master Harry, what can Dobby do?"

"Nothing yet. I'm going to wait for Fleur and she and I are going to tackle the maze together. However, I called you here because I want you to keep an especially close eye on Pansy tonight, at least until I come back. If anything goes wrong, anything at all, make sure she is safe. And don't leave her alone. I trust Luna and Sirius to help, but I know you won't let me down, Dobby.

"Pansy means everything to me, and I'm afraid the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters are going to do something tonight. Whatever it might be, keep her safe."

"Dobby promises he will take care of miss Pansy."

"Thanks, Dobby. It means a lot to me." Harry patted the elf on the shoulder and exhaled, trying to calm himself as he waited for Fleur. "Hopefully, I'll see you again in an hour or so."

As Dobby disappeared, Harry checked his pockets. He pulled on his invisibility cloak and just a few seconds later saw Krum take the other path at the fork in the maze. Once he was out of sight, Harry removed the cloak and put it away.

He had the map with him as well, and he checked it one last time. Only a couple of the ghosts were still in the castle- the ever gloomy Bloody Baron and the quiet and aloof Grey Lady. By contrast, the more sociable Fat Friar of Hufflepuff and Nearly Headless Nick were both in the stands of the quidditch pitch with the crowd.

"Arry?"

He put the map away as Fleur appeared.

"I wondered if you would truly wait for me. You 'ad such a lead."

"I don't trust Krum at all, and I already told you I don't care about winning."

"Fair enough. Shall we go?"

"I'll take the lead for now, I guess." She nodded as they started off deeper into the hedge maze.

* * *

"I really hate this," Pansy sighed. Luna squeezed her hand in support. "Harry was entered for some damn reason, and I just have this terrible feeling that whatever it is will be revealed tonight."

"I know what you mean," Hermione agreed. "As bad as it was going with Harry to try to stop Quirrell, just sitting here and waiting for something to happen might be worse."

"It will be alright girls," Sirius said, trying to soothe their nerves. "Harry's got a good head on his shoulders. He'll make it out alright."

"I hope so," Pansy exhaled, trying to control her fears.

"Let me know if I can do anything to help," Luna said. "Unfortunately, I doubt a tickle fight would be appropriate right now. Plus, it's a little too cramped."

"I wouldn't enjoy a tickle fight without Harry here anyway," Pansy replied. "Have you and your father planned any vacations yet?"

"His last letter said that he had a lead on a Moon Frog in Mongolia, but I actually hope it doesn't pan out. Mongolia wasn't very fun the last time we went. I'd rather go somewhere with a beach."

"Is that because of what I told you about going to the beach with Harry last summer?"

"Maybe," Luna replied with just a hint of a blush.

Pansy only smiled as she remembered helping pick out a swimsuit for Luna on her birthday. She had a feeling Harry would feel very uncomfortable if he saw the blonde in her bikini, and Pansy knew how hilarious that could be. She wondered if he or her father would be more disturbed by how their little Luna was growing up.

"We'll have to see about arranging something then."

Pansy just hoped they would be talking about their summer vacations tomorrow instead of any new crisis. But the tight knot in the pit of her stomach just would not go away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry and Fleur had made good time going through the maze. The only obstacles they had run across were a blast-ended skrewt, which Harry was able to aim low enough to hit on its underside with an Expulso, and an odd golden mist that Fleur explained would cause the area to reverse gravity. Getting through it was thankfully easy enough although it was a disorienting feeling to be briefly walking upside down.

There were a couple of dead ends as well, but nothing too challenging.

They turned one more corner and came across something Harry hadn't seen in a year.

Edmund Parkinson standing over Pansy while he used the torture curse on her. It made his blood boil with rage.

"Isn't zat your girlfriend?" Fleur asked but instead of answering, Harry angrily shouted _Riddikulus_ and the image of her father exploded into bits of blood and bone.

"Merde!"

"Sorry. I really don't like boggarts."

"I guess not. Are you alright?"

"I think so," Harry answered, realizing he was sweating and his heart was racing. "Give me a second."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but before he could take a second a voice rang out behind him.

_"Stupefy!"_

Harry dropped to his knees and immediately fired a stunning spell of his own completely on instinct. Krum fell to the ground and Harry immediately revived Fleur.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oui," she answered as he helped her to stand. "You were right zat Krum would try to attack us."

"I'm just glad he didn't try anything more dangerous than that."

"Shall we go on?"

"I guess we have to," Harry sighed. "I sort of wish you weren't here now."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd like to beat the shite out of this bastard. Maybe shove his broom somewhere very unpleasant."

""Arry, you need to relax." Fleur used an Incarcerous spell to bind Krum and then sent up red stars to summon the professors. Then she turned and tugged on Harry's arm, pulling him deeper into the maze. "Let ze teachers take care of 'im. We need to finish ze maze and zen we can celebrate."

"Right, let's go."

"I'll take ze lead for a bit while you try to calm down. We should be 'ome free now."

* * *

"Red stars!" Parvati gasped. "I wonder if it was Krum or Delacour?"

"How do you know it wasn't Harry?" Tonks asked as she leaned down. She had spent most of the contest gossiping with the students and trying to ignore her mother's glare as she had done everything she could to avoid any conversation that wasn't completely frivolous. She would much rather talk to the teenagers, in part just to wind her mum up over her refusal to grow up. Maturity was overrated anyway.

"Please, Harry is going to win this thing hands down," Parvati replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If you had seen him stop the Dementors last year, you would understand. He is amazing."

"While I appreciate the confidence in my boyfriend," Pansy teased with a smirk, "you might be wrong this time, Parvati. Harry doesn't particularly care about winning. And I would be willing to bet that it was Krum that is out."

"Why Krum?" Tonks inquired. "You really think that pretty little French girl is more of a challenge than someone trained by a Death Eater?"

"I'm not sure actually," Pansy admitted. "But, I know for a fact that the pretty little French girl is working with Harry tonight."

"Why? Harry doesn't need her help." Parvati looked very bothered at the idea of Fleur and Harry being together.

'Probably worried about another girl that might jump her in the queue,' Pansy thought with a snort. 'I definitely wouldn't be allowing that. Come to think of it, I don't think her little sister would put up with it either. She seemed happy to lay claim to her future paramour.'

The look on Harry's face when Gabrielle was blatantly flirting with him had been hilarious. Pansy just couldn't help but laugh at the girl's certainty and his discomfort. If Harry was going to have a fangirl, it was great that he had one that would be so very amusing.

"Whether or not he needs her help, Harry doesn't trust Krum at all," Pansy said as she brought her attention back to the question Parvati had asked. "He figured that Krum might try something in the maze, so he made a deal with Fleur that they would watch each other's back just in case."

"Damn! I wish you had told me that sooner." Parvati muttered something under her breath. "I bet Padma that Harry would win. She demanded two to one odds too because he was in the lead."

"Sorry. Maybe she'll call it a draw if they tie," Pansy suggested. "As long as they get past Krum and whatever horrific monsters Hagrid put in there, I suppose it doesn't matter who wins to Harry. They might just grab the cup together."

"That would work, I guess. We aren't usually too competitive with each other."

"Now you've just got to hope that Harry isn't feeling too chivalrous," Luna added. "He could always let Fleur have it since he hasn't cared about winning throughout the entire tournament."

"That's not helping, Luna," Parvati growled.

"Well, we could make another bet. I'll bet on Harry and you can bet he loses, so you'll end up even regardless of what happens."

"You don't know how much she wagered," Tonks reminded Luna.

"It doesn't matter. I don't particularly care about money."

"While I appreciate the offer, Luna, I'll have to pass. I'd rather just put my faith in Harry. He hasn't let me down any other time I've been cheering for him."

"That's my godson," Sirius proudly laughed. "Perfect record in quidditch. First place in both tasks so far. And from what I heard, he blew everyone away at the Yule Ball too."

"It was mostly Pansy that did that," Parvati said.

"It was a very good night," Pansy smiled happily.

"Do I need to have a talk with Harry?" Tonks suggested with a grin. "I don't think any of us trust Sirius to do it properly."

"Hey!"

"No, Harry knows how to make Pansy happy," Luna replied. "Very, very happy from what I've seen."

"And just what have you seen?" Tonks asked with a curious frown.

"Don't answer that, Luna."

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry and Fleur had taken a path that was obstacle free for the last twenty minutes ever since they had dealt with four acromantulas.

_Four of the horrible things!_

Harry was seriously considering slapping Hagrid. Thankfully, he had remembered the spell Moody had suggested while Fleur had screeched in anger and channeled her Veela blood to unleash several fireballs. The enormous spiders stank when they were roasted, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about the awful monsters coming after them anymore.

They turned one last corner and saw the Triwizard cup gleaming with light ahead of them. They picked up the pace as they closed in; the tournament was almost at its end.

"You should take it, 'arry," Fleur said. "I already owed you for Gabrielle, and Krum 'ad me knocked out. You deserve it."

"I don't really care about winning. I'm already famous enough."

"And I don't want you to let me win."

"We could take it at the same time," Harry offered. "Split the win."

"'Arry, my family is very wealthy. Ze prize money would do you more good. You 'ave yourself and your girlfriend to look after. Take ze cup and let zis be over."

"Are you sure?"

"Oui."

Harry looked back at the cup. If there was going to be a trap, shouldn't it already have sprung? The monsters they had encountered weren't too awful. And if Krum was going to attack him, why only use a stunning spell? It didn't make sense.

"Go on, 'arry. Pansy is waiting for you."

 _Pansy._ Grab the cup and finish it. Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded.

"Thanks, Fleur."

He reached out with his free hand, and in a flash of light, Harry Potter disappeared.


	62. Alone in the Graveyard

* * *

"Harry!"

Pansy had cried out his name and was squeezing Luna's hand so hard that she gasped in pain. Her left hand was clutched to her chest as she began hyperventilating.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked.

"I don't know."

"That's a lot of red stars," Parvati whispered.

There were indeed a stream of them shooting from the center of the quidditch pitch. The center of the maze. Something had gone wrong, and the knot in the pit of Pansy's stomach crept up to clench at her heart. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face and Luna pulled her over into a hug, cooing into her ear that Harry would be back, that he wouldn't leave her.

She knew it was an attempt at soothing her fears, but Pansy could hear the hint of uncertainty, as not even Luna could remain perfectly unfazed by the terror of Harry being once again endangered by unknown forces.

Somewhere deep inside, Pansy knew. The Dark Lord's plan, whatever it was, had taken effect.

_Please come back to me, Harry._

* * *

He recognized the sensation of being pulled through a howl of wind and swirling colors. Someone had turned the bloody cup itself into a portkey. The trap had been sprung at the very last moment, just as he had let his guard down, thinking it was over.

As his feet slammed into the ground, he crouched down and let go of the cup. He shook his head to clear the lingering sensations and looked around.

He was in an old graveyard, overgrown with foliage. There was a church off to his right, although he couldn't see any light coming from it. Off to the left was a hill with an outline of a large manor in the distance. It seemed like he was completely alone, but there was also something there- some inexplicable feeling- as if he was being watched.

Was that a rustling he heard?

As he held his breath in order to try to pinpoint any sound, his scar began to tingle.

 _Great, just what he needed_. The tingle turned to an itch and then began to burn. Harry reached up with his left hand and rubbed at it, but the pain was slowly building. He needed to get out of here, wherever here was.

Then a figure was approaching from out of the shadows of a clump of trees near the bottom of the hill. The pain was still growing, and Harry realized that could only mean one thing. The time for thinking was over.

_"Stupefy!"_

Harry cast a stunner at the robed man who countered with a shield spell. Before he could fire again, his scar seared worse than it had since he had been in the presence of Quirrell's possessed body in his first year and he struggled to remain standing. That brief pause was enough.

_"Depulso!"_

The banishing spell sent him crashing backwards into a tombstone. The back of Harry's head hit with a thud and he fell into darkness.

* * *

"Dobby!" As soon as she could control herself enough to think, Pansy called for him and the elf immediately appeared in front of her. "Go find Harry!"

"Dobby cannot, miss Pansy. Dobby promised master Harry to make sure miss Pansy was safe."

"I am safe," she argued but he was shaking his head.

"Too many people could hurt miss Pansy. Dobby swore to master Harry. Dobby must keep his promise."

"But-"

Luna pulled her up to her feet.

"Let's get you inside. Once you're in your quarters, you'll be safe. Then Dobby can check on Harry."

"Alright."

"I'm coming with you," Sirius said.

"We'll stay and see what happens," Andromeda said. "I can contact you if we find out anything more."

"Thanks, Andi," Sirius replied.

"I'll get down there and see if I can be of any help." Tonks stood and pushed her way through the noisy crowd.

"Alright, follow me girls." Sirius lead the way, and people stepped aside as he quickly got them out of the packed stands. As soon as they got out of sight and underneath the bleachers, Sirius threw up a Notice-Me-Not charm. "It should be safe now for Dobby to pop us up to your quarters without anyone knowing."

"Good idea. Dobby, can you take the three of us together?"

"Dobby thinks so, miss Pansy. Everyone hold on."

The pop was louder than usual, but a moment later they were all standing near the couch in Harry's quarters. The couch where she and Harry had spent so much time for the last two years. She choked back a sob and took a deep breath while Luna guided her to sit down.

Dobby was kneeling and gasping for breath.

"Three is probably the limit," the elf said.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked.

"Give Dobby a moment, miss Luna."

"No one can get in here without Harry's permission, right?" Sirius inquired.

"Right," Pansy answered as she tried to fight off the haze she'd felt for the last few minutes. "That means I'm safe now, Dobby. As soon as you can, go find Harry. Rescue him. Do whatever it takes, Dobby. I can't live without him."

"Take me with you, Dobby," Sirius requested. "If the girls are safe, then I can help."

"Dobby can do that."

"Disillusionment first," Pansy suggested. "You're liable to be heading into enemy territory."

"It's not just Harry that professor Moody's been rubbing off on," Luna grinned, trying to cheer her obviously distressed friend up. Pansy forced something meant to be a smile that was more of a grimace than anything else though.

Dobby hopped up on the table in front of the fireplace and took hold of Sirius's hand before they both disappeared from view.

"Ready, mister Sirius?"

"I'm ready. Let's bring our boy back."

They were gone with a loud crack.

Pansy stopped trying to hold back her tears and collapsed into Luna's arms.

* * *

"Awaken the boy."

_"Crucio!"_

Harry jerked into consciousness when every type of pain he could imagine all flooded his nervous system at the same time. It was as if his skin was being flayed from his body, while his blood was burning, and his bones were being crushed. It was only a second, but it was the worst second of his life.

"Inventive, Barty," a high pitched voice laughed. "Don't do too much damage though. The boy is mine to play with before he dies."

"Of course, master."

Harry blinked open his eyes and saw the same man he had tortured- no, the Dark Lord had tortured- from his dream the month before. He was bound to a gravestone with ropes. His glasses had fallen off when he had been hit by the spell, but the robed figure was close enough that Harry could still make him out.

"Hello, Potter. Welcome to the night of the Dark Lord's return and the end of the boy-who-lived."

There was a large stone cauldron several feet away with a fire already roaring underneath it. To his right, Harry saw a grave that had been dug up, a skeletal body revealed within the opened coffin.

"Enjoy your last moments while you can, boy."

"Enough," a cold voice hissed. "Put Potter's glasses back on. We don't want him to miss out on any of this. Then begin the ritual."

"Yes, master."

Barty reached down to the ground nearby and then shoved Harry's glasses back onto his face. He couldn't see Voldemort, but Barty turned away and picked up a small bundle of black robes.

His momentary curiosity soon turned to horror as _the thing_ was revealed. It was shaped roughly like a rail-thin child, but Harry could not imagine anything less human. Its skin was a dark crimson, hairless and slimy. The limbs were spindly and far, far too long. The face was all wrong- flat, noseless and with lips so thin Harry barely noticed they were there. If there were ears, they too were almost flat against the head of the thing.

And then there were the eyes. The gleaming red eyes, burning bright in the dark night.

Harry knew those eyes. He felt them burrowing into his mind, reminding him of all his fears, all his pain, and the haziest image of green light flickering as the woman with red hair fell to the ground.

"I see you, Harry Potter. I can feel your terror, your weakness. Before the night is through, you will be free of all your burdens and worries. You will feel the pain of being ripped from your body. The same pain you caused me all those years ago. And then you will face oblivion."

The cold high voice laughed and Harry's scar once again flared with a searing pain.

Barty carried his master with an air of reverance over to the cauldron. There was a hiss of steam as the thing was dropped into the boiling water.

Harry tried to wish that the thing would boil and drown, but he knew that whatever dark magic this was would never let him off so easily.

 _"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"_ Barty called out as his wand pointed at the skeletal figure and a bone floated over and dropped into the cauldron. Sparks flew and Harry could see the surface of the water shift to an unnatural, vivid shade of blue.

Barty reached into his robes and pulled out a wicked, curved knife. The dark blade was serrated and seemed to blend into the very shadows.

_"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master!"_

Harry could hardly believe his eyes as the dagger sliced cleanly through Barty's wrist and his left hand fell into the water, turning it a brightly burning red.

But the Death Eater was not finished yet.

He set the blade down atop a nearby gravestone and pulled his wand from inside his robes. He barely winced as he used some sort of flame charm to cauterize the wound and then turned to Harry, taking the ritual knife back in hand. Barty smiled coldly as he stepped forward.

He cut just enough of the conjured rope from Harry's left side to have access to his arm, then sliced his sleeve out of the way as well.

 _"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe!"_ Barty slashed into the flesh of his forearm more carefully than Harry would have expected, and the blood began to trail down towards his wrist. The Death Eater held the knife up and flicked it at Harry, splattering drops of blood all over his face and neck while sneering at him.

He stepped back to set the blade down again and then pulled out a glass vial that was then pressed up against the cut on Harry's arm. Blood seeped into it for several moments as the crazed man kept grinning at Harry until it was nearly half full. Only then did Barty walk over to the cauldron, pouring it in as well.

As soon as the blood hit the water, it flashed a blinding white and Harry slammed his eyes closed. The light was so strong that he could see it even through his eyelids and it pulsed three times before fading.

Even though he feared what would come next, Harry's eyes opened and he saw steam billowing out from the cauldron, filling the entire area with a fog that then coalesced into a shape, slowly taking on the form of a man.

No, not a man. A humanoid figure yes, but definitely not a man.

"Robe me," the high, cold voice hissed.

* * *

Only seconds after the initial crack, Dobby and Sirius reappeared in front of the couch, falling to the floor.

"What happened?" Pansy shrieked.

"Dobby is unsure. Dobby has never felt that before."

"I think I know what it was," Sirius said as he rubbed his knee that had banged into the edge of the table. "There are spells you can put up to block apparition. I guess whoever has Harry doesn't want to be disturbed."

"But no one thinks to block against house-elves," Pansy insisted, unmindful of the tears still falling. "No one."

"I guess they're really paranoid."

"Dobby, can you feel where Harry is?" Luna asked.

"Far away," he answered after closing his eyes. "Master Harry is in a dark place. Dark with evil magic. Dobby can't see through the shadows. The shadows must be blocking the magic."

"But he's alive?" Pansy asked with a tremor in her voice. "Say he's alive, Dobby! Say he's alright! Please! Please... say he's alright..."

The elf took a deep breath and clenched his eyes shut.

"Dobby can tell that master Harry is alive. Alive, but in pain. It is terrible that Dobby cannot help him. Dobby will punish himself for failing the great Harry Potter sir."

The elf twisted its ears and ran over to the fire that lit with a snap of his fingers. He then stuck those fingers into the flames.

"Stop! Stop, Dobby! You can't punish yourself while Harry is still in danger!" Pansy yelled, and the elf turned back around.

"Dobby has never been so ashamed," he said as he fell to his knees and began to cry.

"Winky?"

There was a pop as Luna summoned her family's elf.

"Hello, miss Luna," she said with a bow. "What can Winky do?"

"First, please make sure Dobby didn't injure himself."

"Dobby's being a foolish elf again," she castigated him as she checked him over, holding her hands over his and healing the burns. "How will Dobby take cares of his family with burnt hands?"

"I'm sure it was just a mistake he made," Luna suggested. "Dobby would never want to let the Great Harry Potter sir down."

"Of course, miss Luna is right. Yous be listening to good miss Luna, Dobby!"

"Dobby is sorry. Dobby is so, so sorry."

"I'm sure you are, but let's concentrate on trying to help Harry right now," Luna replied. "Dobby, why don't you keep trying to focus on Harry? That way you'll know as soon as he is away from the Dark magic that is blocking you from going to him."

"Winky, can you do me a favor?" Sirius asked.

"Winky's not knowing you."

"Let me introduce you, Winky. This is either Stubby Boardman or Sirius Black. He's been known by both names. He is Harry's godfather and he wants to try to help Harry."

"Mister Harry is a good wizard and a friend to Winky's family. What does mister Stubby want Winky to do?"

"I'd like you to contact my cousin, Andromeda Tonks. She was waiting in the stands to see if Harry returned or if they could find out what happened down at the quidditch pitch. See if she knows anything yet."

"Wait!" Pansy interjected. "Check with Tonks too. I mean, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda's daughter. She's an auror, she was going to try to help. She's probably more likely to know something."

"Winky will be right back," she said with a nod and then disappeared.

* * *

Barty was flexing the fingers of his shiny new silver hand that Voldemort had conjured to replace the one he had sacrificed. He was thanking his master with a voice filled with awe, but the Dark Lord had turned his attention back to Harry.

"You have been given a great honor, Harry Potter. Only one of two people to witness the glory of my rebirth. Of course, by the end of the night, that won't matter anymore, but you must treasure these things while you still can. Would you like a history lesson? Or perhaps I should properly introduce you to my most faithful servant- Barty Crouch Junior. I'm told you were acquainted with his dearly departed father.

"Of course, poor Barty missed out on the opportunity to murder him. I was not so unlucky. Can you believe it, Harry? A mere muggle was somehow able to sire the greatest wizard ever to live. And then he had the nerve to turn away from my mother, to turn away from magic. What a fool! Well, he paid for that treachery.

"And yet, even years later, he repays me by playing his part tonight. An easy part it was to play, too. Almost as easy as your role, Harry. To bleed, and cower, and die.

"But not yet. You might still have a few lines before the curtain falls."

"You really like to hear yourself talk, huh?"

The Dark Lord laughed, but his mirth was mixed with a cold anger.

"Brave to the last, eh Harry? Well, you may have a point. I did have years to plan for this, so coming up with things to say was obviously a part of that. A bit dramatic, to be sure, but an element of theatre is useful when you want people to follow you properly without having to punish them all for their stupidity and cowardice. It's hard to get things done otherwise.

"Come to me, Barty!"

Crouch knelt before the Dark Lord.

"I live to serve, master."

"Show me your arm."

Riddle smiled as the Dark Mark was revealed, the faded tattoo now vivid with color that turned to jet black as Voldemort pressed his long bony finger to it.

"Look, Harry. Isn't it beautiful?"

Voldemort raised his wand to the sky and cast some sort of spell then smiled down at his Death Eater.

"Well done on the protection, Barty."

"Thank you, master."

"As for you, Harry, you should prepare yourself for our guests to arrive. But I don't want to get your hopes up. No one is going to rescue you. Only those who bear my mark can approach us here.

"And they will all appear, or others may be joining you in death tonight." Riddle laughed again and turned away. "Now, we wait."

* * *

"Winky's be having messages from Tonky ladies. Nice miss Andie-romeda says that mister Harry has disappeared and people bes panicking. Younger miss Nymmie says that mister Mad-Eye is keeping watch over nasty foreign dark wizard. Younger miss has gone to watch the gates in case anyone tries to enter or leave."

"Thank you, Winky," Sirius answered as the girls were still huddled together on the couch. He could tell that Pansy was on the edge of losing it, but considering how he had acted years ago, he could hardly blame her. Thank Merlin that Luna was there. "Did you see professor Dumbledore by any chance?"

"Yes, mister professor Dumbledore was talking to his flaming bird. The bird was sad, not beings able to help its master."

"Damn," Sirius sighed. "That would have been good if it had worked. I wonder if that same dark magic that Dobby spoke of is keeping the phoenix away as well. No luck yet, Dobby?"

"Not yet, mister Sirius."

"Fuck."

"Mister Sirius should not bes using such filthy language in front of young misses," Winky scolded, waving a finger at him threateningly.

"Sorry, Winky."

Pansy chuckled for a second as Luna continually ran her fingers through her hair as she laid her head in the blonde's lap. Harry would love to see his godfather being treated like a naughty boy by Winky. She'd have to remember to tell him about that when he got back.

Because he had to come back. He just _had to_.

* * *

"Was it Karkaroff?"

The red-eyed monstrosity turned back to him and looked him over speculatively.

"You may be smarter than you look, Harry," the Dark Lord chuckled. "Yes, Igor was my agent inside Hogwarts. One of them anyway. Crouch Senior was as well, for a time at least. Why do you think both of them scored you so highly?"

"Does that mean you had Bagman under your spell too?"

"No, if that fool was biased towards you it was likely due to his vice of choice- gambling. The last Barty had heard of him, Bagman was deeply in debted to various people. I had considered using that knowledge if necessary, but my plans went well enough without him."

There was a moment of silence that hung between before being replaced by repeated cracking sounds as figure after figure, all dressed in dark cloaks, masked and hooded arrived. Harry tried to count them all, and guessed there were at least twenty as they slowly approached Voldemort.

One by one they fell to their knees, kissing the hem of his robes as they crawled before the Dark Lord, all of them groveling and fawning over their master.

'So much for the pride of purebloods,' Harry thought with disdain. He then noticed an enormously long snake slither into the middle of the circle that was forming as the Death Eaters stood back away from Harry and Voldemort. Barty was still in the middle, off to Harry's right.

 _"These are all weak foolsss, massster,"_ it hissed.

 _"Indeed, Nagini, but they are my weak foolsss,"_ Voldemort replied, and Harry realized he was speaking in parseltongue as none of the Death Eaters reacted at all.

"Welcome, my old friends. It seems as if were only yesterday that we were united like this, does it not? Thirteen years have gone by in the blink of an eye. All of you returned to my side in mere moments now that I have returned.

"And yet, where you have been all this time? What have you done while I was away?"

Harry noticed at least two figures flinch in the shadows as Voldemort turned slowly, looking over his minions.

"I smell something... Is it guilt? What could you have to feel guilt over?"

No one moved as the Dark Lord peered at each of his robed followers one at a time.

"Could it be your cowardice? You who had sworn yourselves to me, who had seen my power and flocked to my banner, fell back into the shadows as soon as my so called demise was announced. Back into familiar places in society, claiming to be enchanted if you were suspected at all, and back to consorting with the rabble that had quivered before me, fearing to even give voice to my name.

"Is it guilt? Guilt to have betrayed me for the comforts of your lives, hiding your robes away in the back of a wardrobe somewhere as if being a Death Eater was a mere costume you had once worn and set aside. Something only in your pasts.

"Were you so foolish to believe me truly gone? That my magic could be defeated? Have you fallen before the myth of the _boy-who-lived_?" he sneered as he looked back over at Harry.

"Or perhaps you all were just afraid to stand against Dumbledore? Such a powerful wizard, isn't he? How many of our attacks did he ever foil? How many victims did he avenge by striking you down? How many of our forces fell to his mighty Order of the Phoenix whenever we battled? How many of you did he make sure faced justice once I was gone?

"Perhaps I have forgotten, but as I recall, the answers were always few if any. That pitiful old man never had the stomach for war, and yet as soon as your leader was away, you all just... gave up. You slunk back into the shadows and seemed to pretend that it was all over.

"I must confess that I am left feeling somewhat... disappointed."

"Forgive me, master," a deep voice answered as he fell prostrate before Voldemort, shaking even as he again kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robe. By chance, Voldemort was looking in Harry's direction and his scorn was plain to see.

"You want forgiveness, Crabbe?" Voldemort let the question hang for a moment before raising his wand. _"Crucio!"_

The Death Eater writhed and screamed on the ground under the spell before it was ended.

"I do not forgive nor do I forget. All of you owe me for thirteen years of silence. None of you sought me out or tried to follow the whispers of my whereabouts. I know those who did, those who stood loyal." He paused before an empty spot in the circle of Death Eaters surrounding him. "Here is where my faithful would stand amongst you. The Lestranges all shall be honored for their loyalty. None of them renounced me. None of them pretended to be victims. We shall have to remove them from Azkaban soon. My servants that have suffered while I have been gone will be rewarded for their faith and brought back into the fold.

"Of course, one has already returned. Come, Barty." Crouch stepped over and knelt before Voldemort, looking down in reverence. "Young Barty here searched for me with the Lestranges and was then imprisoned along with them. His mother talked her fool of a husband into freeing him before she died, although he was kept in another sort of bondage. Years under the Imperius curse. Some of you claim to have suffered similarly when questioned by the aurors. And yet it was Barty here who broke from his captivity and rejoined me. I have to wonder why all of you fled at the sight of my mark when he cast the spell last summer at the quidditch match. Did even my true followers really believe that there was some rogue Death Eater out there?

"That is the story that came out after someone murdered MacNair, is it not? But I know that none of you would ever do such a thing, would you? No, I believe not. I shall find out who was responsible, though, and the killer will pay for his crime.

"And speaking of paying for his crime, I am pleased at how well Igor has done so far. I know that he betrayed us years ago, and he shall have to compensate Rookwood greatly once he is freed, but he has done my will for almost a year now. I shall have to make even greater use of him in the future because he owes me more than most."

Voldemort came to a stop and slowly, menacingly, strode back over in front of Harry.

"We have a few others that are missing as well. How many followers do you owe me now, Harry? Shall we count? First we have Lucius, who would have been most valuable to me with his purse strings and societal connections. Then the little spy who led me to your parents. Well, I must admit that Pettigrew was so worthless that I will his concede his loss. He did owe you something, did he not?

"But Severus, on the other hand, would have been worth quite a bit more. For his abilities at least, although his loyalty was to some extent... questionable. I was amused to hear of how you got rid of him though. Calling on magic itself to repay his treachery towards your father- bravo. Such vengeance is something that I can appreciate. That must not have been something that the population of Hogwarts was expecting to see from their supposed savior. Am I correct?"

"Probably not," Harry replied with a shrug. "I've gotten past the time when I cared what the public thinks of me."

"They are fools, are they not, Harry?" Voldemort inclined his head slightly and turned back towards his followers. "That was something I learned long ago. But even among the masses, others have also removed some of my followers. Three killed or arrested because of that pointless display of muggle baiting at the World Cup. And most recently, Yaxley losing a duel merely because his pride was stung as his wife fraternized with another wizard. So very disappointing.

"I shall have to work to rebuild my forces. But enough of that! Let us get to our main event, shall we?"

Voldemort turned back to Harry and held him with that burning red gaze.

"Harry Potter. The bringer of my downfall. Shall I explain how this happened? A forgotten bit of old magic as his mother stood before him and sacrificed herself in an attempt to save the boy. It was a miscalculation, but it has been rectified. Lily Potter kept me from being able to touch him, but tonight I have overcome that protection."

He flaunted this statement by reaching up and softly stroking Harry's scar, which again seared with pain. Voldemort laughed as Harry gritted his teeth to keep from crying out.

"Such bravery shall be rewarded, momentarily, my dear boy. A fitting end comes soon enough. But I must return to my tale. For when I was unable to kill him I was ripped from my body. None of you can imagine the pain. You all must remember my goal of conquering death. Even I, who have gone further along the path to immortality than any others before me, cannot fully explain what happened that night. In the end, I became something less than shadow, a wraith, formless but still tied to this world. So long was I weakened as I waited for one of my followers to seek for me. To enable my return.

"Well, time passed before someone came upon me. A young, gullible wizard who led me back to England in an attempt to steal the philosopher's stone. An artifact so powerful that I could have been reborn. And once again, it was young Harry who thwarted me. The _boy-who-lived_. The savior. The hero.

"Tut-tut, Harry. You should have learned your lesson from your parents. Playing the hero only gets you killed." Voldemort flourished his wand and the ropes around Harry disappeared. "My Death Eaters might still be confused about how such a pitiful boy could possibly be my downfall. I must show them the truth. You understand don't you, Harry?

_"Crucio!"_

It was the same pain he had felt when Crouch had awoken him, only somehow worse as Voldemort held him under the torture curse for what could have been an eon for all Harry could fathom. Time ceases to have meaning when your entire being feels like it is being shredded and melted.

He couldn't remember screaming, but when the Dark Lord finally released him from the spell, his throat was sore. He felt his limbs tremor as he realized he was face down on the ground.

"So much for the vaunted legacy of Harry Potter. We can see that he survived by a mere stroke of luck. But just to drive that point home further, I will finish dispelling the myth of the boy-who-lived tonight, once and for all. I will even give him a chance to show his worth. He is a Gryffindor, is he not? Brave enough to face down dementors, or so I've heard. Well, he shall have his chance to display his powers before you all.

"And then he shall die."

Harry looked up as he struggled to get back to his feet. The huge snake was coiled to the side of Voldemort and he was stroking her head softly.

 _"Ssssoon, Nagini. The boy will make an excellent dinner for you,"_ the dark lord hissed, then turned with a sneer back to Harry.

"Barty, give the boy his wand. Your time is at an end, Harry Potter."

* * *

For the second time, Luna felt Pansy tremble and moan. While she usually envied her friend for her deep connection to Harry, who she so clearly loved, tonight it had proved to be a double-edged sword. ' _Alive, but in pain_ ,' Dobby had said, and she knew that Pansy was feeling some sort of echo of Harry's condition.

Magic is a wonderful but terrifying thing.

"Still no luck, Dobby?" Sirius asked, breaking the tense silence.

"No, mister Sirius."

Luna wondered if there was anything more that she could do. This feeling, this helplessness, was the worst thing she had experienced since the day her mother had died. As much as she loved Pansy, who had taken her under her wing and helped her to understand so many of the things that she had gone through over the last couple of years, it was Harry that she knew would stand in front of a dragon for her, even wandless, and die before letting her be harmed.

How could she not love him?

The girls in her dorm were still afraid to even look twice at her since Harry had entered her life, despite the previous year and a half of torment as they had felt free to take advantage of her reluctance to fight back.

Tonight, Luna knew, that had to change.

Somewhere, Harry was fighting for his life, facing who knows what.

The time when she could be a kind girl even to those who would hurt her, unwilling to retaliate against those who would bully, and injure, and destroy... that time was over. When Harry returned, because she refused to consider a future without him, she would have to learn to fight. To stand beside him and drive the monsters back into the darkness.

But at that moment, she felt powerless. There had to be something more she could do other than just holding onto Pansy as she cried and feared for the love of her life. If she couldn't stand beside Harry, she at least had to do everything she could to take care of Pansy for him.

They were her best friends. Her only real friends, actually. And Luna was not going to lose either of them, no matter what. Her mind made up, it was time to prepare things for when Harry returned.

"Winky," she called.

"Yes miss Luna?"

"I need you to get a calming draught for Pansy."

"Of course, miss Luna." She quickly popped in and out, handing over a vial of liquid.

"I don't know-" Pansy began as Luna practically forced her to sit up.

"I know it is hard right now, but he _is_ coming back. And Harry will need you to be strong when he gets back. He will need you to comfort him and take care of him. Whatever he goes through won't matter as long as he makes it back to you. You know how single-minded he can be. It will take more than a Dark Lord and his henchmen to come between the two of you.

"So, we're all going to stop worrying and start preparing. If he's hurt, then we'll make sure to tend to his injuries. Sirius and I will only be able to do so much tonight. Harry's bound to be tired and stressed. Probably needing some physical affection to help him recuperate. That will be up to you, my dear Pansy.

"But once tonight is over, we will be at war. We will learn everything we can about how to fight. How to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We'll find out more about Harry's enemies- our enemies- and we'll make them wish their precious Dark Lord had never come back.

"Because I love you and Harry, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure the two of you get your happy ending. You both deserve it, more than any two people I've ever met. Now drink this and let's start to think about the future."

Pansy wiped at her eyes and then swallowed the potion.

"Well said, Luna," Sirius added as he got up. "I can tell you both about what happened in the war last time. What we did wrong, especially. There's no sense in all of you not learning from my mistakes if at all possible."

"Thank you," Pansy whispered as she crushed her best friend in a hug. "I love you too, Luna."

"I know you do, but I won't spread it around in public. You do have a reputation to protect, you know?" Pansy and Luna laughed together and the emotional tide of the evening had crested. Now all they needed was for Harry to return.

"Besides, one of these days, I expect to be godmother to your and Harry's children."

* * *

"Have you been taught how to duel, Harry Potter? Or has the school fallen even farther than I had imagined?"

"I thought you'd heard how I killed Lucius," Harry answered with a grin.

"I dare say you will find me much more of a challenge than that soft, pompous buffoon. To think all it took was a few months in Azkaban and rumors of a dalliance with his wife to make him lose his self-control so badly that he was defeated by a mere boy."

"Who said it was just a rumor?" Harry smirked. "I wonder how many of your followers have lonely, unsatisfied wives at home. That's the peril of arranged marriages I suppose. That's how Yaxley met his end too, after all. My godfather stole my idea. I guess it won't work on you though, huh Tom? There isn't some secret Mrs. Voldemort, is there?"

"I think you'll find that _I_ have no weaknesses, Potter," the Dark Lord hissed, his anger obvious.

'Right, bantering with the bad guy is a bad idea,' Harry thought and he could just imagine Moody ready to curse him for his stupid bravado.

"Now, bow and prepare to die."

Harry copied Voldemort's ever-so-slight inclination and they both raised their wands. But there was no count off, no other formalities. Only the Cruciatus curse once again flying fast and true and what seemed like an eternity of pain.

He was still screaming when the spell was lifted and he struggled to his feet even as he felt his muscles twitching uncontrollably.

"That's just a taste of what I have in store for you tonight, Harry. It is only going to get worse. You do realize that, don't you? I will make you a deal though. Let it never be said that I am completely without mercy. We all know which of us is the most powerful. We all know who is bound to win. I will grant you a quick, clean death. Just as I granted your father. I will end the Potter line with a moment of kindness.

"All you have to do is beg me. Beg me to end things, and you will know no more pain. No more sorrow. Isn't that better than some pointless struggle? Isn't it?"

The red eyes were boring into him, trying to force him to admit his defeat, but Harry was far too stubborn to ever grovel before this bastard or anyone else. He was going to die on his feet, one way or another.

"Answer me! _Imperio!_ "

He remembered this feeling, and the will pushing him to submit was much stronger than when Moody had cursed him. Much stronger than when Pansy had tried it as well. There was peace there, if he would just accept.

_'Beg me, Potter. Beg me to end things.'_

'No.'

_'You are a fool to resist. It will get you nothing but more pain.'_

Harry felt the pressure rise, the attempt at domination, but even as that floating calm sensation tried to press into him, thoughts of dominance and submission as well as his earliest experiences with the spell made him think of Pansy. The time that he had let the spell wash over him when they were in that special room back at the castle.

He wasn't going to let anyone else control him, and a surge of anger rushed through him at the thought of this monster trying to intrude on his memories of someone so precious as Pansy.

"NO!" he roared, as the Imperius finally failed.

There was a resounding silence as the Death Eaters backed away, subconsciously having some idea that things were about to get worse.

"You dare say no TO ME? Perhaps another taste then?"

But Harry was not merely standing there waiting for another curse. He started to fire off a _Reducto_ as quickly as he could raise his wand.

Voldemort shielded against it with a negligent wave. At least he hadn't been able to fire off another round of the torture curse. However, it also made him less willing to play with his prey any longer.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Reducto!"_

Harry still didn't know for sure that he had the power and right emotional state to be able to successfully cast a killing curse of his own, so he fell back to the advice Sirius had given him. Three syllables is less than six, and that split second was enough to save his life because the two spells collided in midair, blue light smashing against green.

But they did not ricochet off each other, as he had seen happen back in Moody's class on a couple of occasions. Instead the two spells seemed to battle each other. It was for dominance once again, his will pushing back against the Dark Lord's need to kill him, to reclaim his invincible reputation.

The wand in his hand started to vibrate, and Harry went to reach for it with his left hand as well, to try to stabilize it, but something stopped him.

Maybe he could do something else? Something to get a moment to escape. All he needed was a distraction and a few seconds. He still had his invisibility cloak with him. But how?

Then he remembered the few spells he had tried to master wandlessly. Harry doubted that a cleaning charm would do him any good at the moment... but the summoning charm was the second he had learned. And if he could just spot something to use it on.

He clenched his right hand on his wand as he scanned his surroundings. The two spells, still linked, were illuminating the area much brighter than it had been. Voldemort was saying something, ranting to his minions about not interfering, how he would finish the boy.

Man, he really liked to listen to himself talk.

And then he saw it. The ritual knife was still sitting atop the headstone where Barty Crouch had left it several minutes ago.

Trying to summon it might not be the best idea though. And yet, he wasn't nearly as practiced with the banishing charm, at least not to where he could necessarily manage it silently.

He focused back on the two spells pushing against each other for a moment, as Voldemort's green light had pressed further towards him. With a grunt, the blue light surged back away from him and they were once again split halfway between the two.

No moment like the present, Harry thought.

" _Depulso!_ " he screamed and the knife flew straight into Riddle's left shoulder. With a howl of rage, the connection between the spells was broken as the two lights flew off in random directions.

This was the moment Harry needed. Just off to his right, he saw the enormous snake amongst the crowd of Death Eaters, hissing angrily. _That's the best target_.

_"Confringo!"_

Harry turned as the blasting curse left his wand, not waiting for the explosion before he ducked behind the largest nearby gravestone and frantically pulled his cloak out. He was covered and hidden, but he still needed to escape, even as he heard Voldemort screaming in rage.

For a moment, it sounded almost as if there were two of him.

Harry began to move, trying to sneak away, but there were still so many Death Eaters. How could he manage to avoid bumping into any of them in all the chaos? If only he had his own portkey.

But then he remembered.

He did have one. His ring- the Potter family ring. It could take him to any of his family's properties.

Well, a portkey had gotten him in, so hopefully one could also get him out. He grabbed the ring and focused.

_Get me the fuck out of here!_

* * *

"Something has changed!" Dobby yelped.

"What is it Dobby? Can you feel where he is now?" Pansy had gotten up and ran over to in front of him as soon as the elf opened his mouth. "Go get him, please!"

"Dobby can't. Master was there, still in the dark magic, but then he was gone."

"No!" Pansy screamed, grabbing and shaking the elf. "He can't be gone!"

"Not dead, miss Pansy. Just gone. Like master Harry is hidden. Hidden by powerful magic. Maybe the most powerful Dobby has ever felt."

"Keep reaching out to him then. As soon as you can, go get Harry and bring him home."

"Dobby will. Wait!" He closed his eyes again, his magic focused on reaching out to the missing head of his family. "Dobby can't feel the dark magic anymore. Master Harry must have escaped somehow. Dobby bes ready!"

Sirius raced over to try to grab onto the elf, but Dobby disappeared.

* * *

"Ow."

Harry sat up as he rubbed his left side. Apparently he had landed on a not so small rock, laying there in the slightly overgrown yard. Where was he? But then he looked up and saw the house with part of its roof still blown out all these years later. He was back in Godric's Hollow. Back where it all began more than thirteen years ago.

"Fitting I guess," he muttered. He tried to stand but felt another tremor go through his left side. He had never been in an earthquake, but he supposed that this was something like the aftershocks that kept coming after the main event. Harry wished he could remember more from science class all those years ago because maybe then he would have some idea how long this would last.

Of course, that assumed that magic was anything like nature.

'Probably not,' he thought with a frown.

He looked down and saw that his left arm was still bleeding too. Harry really wished that he had learned a spell or two to help with this. Maybe after tonight Madam Pomfrey would be more willing to teach him. She couldn't fuss over him if he died before making it to her hospital wing.

Not seeing or hearing anyone around him, Harry removed the cloak and put it back in his pocket. Whatever else happened in the future, he was definitely carrying it with him from now on.

Or at least until Riddle and all his scumbags were dead.

He probably needed to start wearing his contacts all the time too. If Voldemort hadn't wanted to gloat, not having them on tonight could have made things much, much worse.

He tried to stand again but felt lightheaded.

Then he heard the pop and saw two enormous green eyes right in front of him.

"Hi, Dobby."

"Master Harry sir! Wes all have been so worried!"

"I'm alright," he replied but he was unable to keep it from sounding like a groan. "Well, mostly."

"Dobby must get master back safe to miss Pansy!"

"Wait! Wait, just a second, let me think."

"But, master, you're hurt," Dobby whined.

"I know, but it's not as bad as it could have been. Look, people still don't know that you can pop me directly into the grounds of Hogwarts, right?"

"Miss Pansy does, and a few others too."

"But very few people, right?"

"Yes, mister Sirius also tried to keep the secret tonight."

"Good on Sirius then. Do you know what else was happening?" Harry tried to decide what exactly he should do. Dumbledore would have to be told about this. Come to think of it, Madam Bones was there too. Hopefully she could be of some help.

Of course, Minister Fudge was there as well, but Harry had no faith that he would be anything other than useless. At least he didn't still have Malfoy whispering in his ear and filling his pockets with gold.

Dobby began to tell him of where various people were and the things that had gone on in Harry's absence. He noticed that he was even more lightheaded, though.

"Dobby, can you tear my sleeve off?" he asked as he raised his left arm and the elf obeyed immediately. "Nice, now, wrap it around where I'm bleeding."

"Master Harry needs to get to a healer," Dobby said in a worried tone.

"I know, and I think that's what we should do. You said Tonks was at the gates, right? Then let's pop back right outside them and she can help get me to Madam Pomfrey. One blood-replenishing potion and I should be a lot better."

"Dobby can do that."

* * *

Before he could say another word, his elf had grabbed onto him, and Harry was now looking up at Hogwarts, all lit up in the distance.

"Harry!"

Tonks came running over to him, wand out and casting 'Lumos' so she could get a look at him.

"What the bloody hell happened to you?"

"It's a long story. Do you know where Madam Pomfrey is?"

"She was over at the pitch last I heard. They were hoping you might come back to the same place if you could get away from wherever you went."

"Okay, can you help me get to her? I think I could use a potion to help with the blood loss."

"Do you have any other wounds?"

"I don't think so, but this one on my arm might have hit a vein. Or an artery, I can never remember which is which. Anyway, it hasn't stopped bleeding and I think I might fall over."

And fall over he almost did, but Tonks caught him under his non-bleeding arm and helped keep him standing.

"Alright let's go. Try not to pass out on me."

"Will do, Tonks. Dobby, please go tell Pansy that I'm back and okay and tell her where I'm going to get patched up. Oh, and tell her that I love her. In fact, tell her that first."

Dobby agreed and vanished, off to complete his mission.

"You know, you're probably my favorite distant cousin right now."

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," Tonks chuckled as he continued to lean on her.

"Naw," Harry drawled out. "I'm not a pureblood, remember? But then, you aren't either. But you're like backwards of me. Pureblood mum, muggleborn dad. From what Sirius told me, your mum's side of the family was pretty awful. Although I think he was way too hard on Narcissa."

"Aunt Narcissa was pretty awful when I was a kid. I barely remember hearing from her."

"Well, she was trapped in an arranged marriage with a closeted homosexual slash murderer. That can't have been too fun, you know?"

"Yeah, mum told me you had a soft spot for her."

"I think it was a hard spot, actually," Harry giggled, still feeling drowsy as Tonks kept him marching. He could hear the crowd in the distance.

"Wait a minute," she actually stopped walking and both of them tripped over onto the ground. "Sorry Harry, let me help you up. Sirius said it was just a rumor that you had slept with Aunt Narcissa. That it was just something Lucius dreamed up as an excuse to try to kill you because you had gone to her ball while he was imprisoned. You didn't really do anything with her, did you?"

"It wasn't my fault. You try saying no to a beautiful woman."

"That's actually pretty easy for me, Harry," Tonks snorted.

'Yeah, well, you know what I mean."

"Weren't you only thirteen at the time?"

"Yeah, but she was lonely. And so sad. I mean, can you imagine not having sex for more than a decade? Damn, now _that's_ a fate worse than death. Plus, I think it was the biggest slap in the face she could imagine to a Death Eater like Lucius."

"I can't believe it."

"Please don't tell anyone. It's better for everyone involved if people just think it was a rumor."

"I bet Pansy wasn't too happy with you, huh?"

"It was her fucking idea!"

"What?"

"Getting Lucius properly riled up by the idea of his wife sleeping with me so he would challenge me to a duel. Right when he got out of Azkaban, he would have been at his weakest, and most unhinged. That's what we hoped and what we got."

"Why the bloody hell did you want him to try to kill you?"

"So that I could kill _him_. Do you know what that bastard did the year before? He unleashed a thousand year old basilisk on a school full of children. Including his own son! It's a miracle no one died. Especially me. Remind me to show you my other arm. It hurts like hell when a Basilisk tooth goes most of the way through your arm."

"There's no way anyone could survive that," Tonks said in disbelief.

"I barely did. Only 'cause of Fawkes showing up and crying on the wound. Being poisoned actually hurt a lot worse than just the bite did. I mean, I guess it wasn't exactly a bite because I was stabbing up into the thing's brain at the same time."

"Harry, some of your life sounds completely unbelievable."

"Hey, I was there, and I don't always believe it."

They were finally nearing the quidditch pitch, and someone saw them. Thankfully, it was Luna, and she and Pansy came running over, with Sirius huffing behind them.

"Harry!" Pansy nearly bowled him over as she embraced him. Then she was kissing him, and Harry wasn't about to let her go either.

Several seconds later, Tonks stopped just coughing politely and actually poked him in the side.

"More of that later, yeah?"

"Right. Let's get me patched up first."

"What happened?" Pansy asked, looking down at his arm.

"We'll probably need Dumbledore and others to hear the whole story. Is Madam Bones still around? Because she should be there too, I think."

"I'll go find everyone," Sirius said.

Other people were starting to surround them, some of Harry's friends as well as a whole lot of spectators, gawking at Harry once again. He felt like a car wreck that everyone was looking at for a chance to see some gore.

Thankfully, Tonks was on the job. She pulled her wand and yelled out.

"Clear the way before I start hexing people." Her official 'auror on duty' voice seemed to do the trick, because the masses parted and Harry saw Madam Pomfrey rushing his way from a nearby tent.

"What happened to you, Harry?"

"Oh nothing you haven't seen before, I'm sure," he giggled. She looked thoroughly unamused. "Seriously, this might not even crack the top five times I've needed your services."

"Get him over here to a bed," she answered with a frown. "Then let me see that arm. And Tonks, clear the rest of these people out."

"Yes, ma'am."

There was just something about Poppy Pomfrey. Even a few years after graduating, Tonks still didn't want to cross her. Harry knew he was going to have a fight on his hands later, but there was no way in hell he was spending the night anywhere other than in his own bed- with Pansy.

She had the cut on his arm taken care of quick enough, and moments later one of the Hogwarts house-elves had delivered a blood-replenishing potion that Harry immediately gulped down. Within a couple of minutes, the lightheaded feeling passed and he felt a lot more alert.

Then, it was time for the interrogation to begin.

The headmaster had arrived, as had Sirius, Moody, Bones, Fudge, and McGonagall. Tonks had disappeared at some point in the commotion. The students were ordered out, although Harry had his arm around Pansy and professor Dumbledore nodded in agreement, knowing that they would not be parted for the rest of the night.

Harry began his tale by suggesting that someone should arrest Karkaroff.

Who else would have turned the cup into a portkey but the already known and convicted Death Eater?

Almost at once, politics started turning everything into a mess. Fudge wasn't too happy about arresting the head of a foreign school, but Amelia Bones was officially in charge of an active investigation, so she ordered him detained for questioning. It was a matter of semantics that allowed the minister a bit of cover.

While an ambassador from Bulgaria was on hand, due to Krum, Karkaroff was Serbian. Harry had a feeling that someone would be contacting that country's government soon as well.

Then his story began, of how the cup was a portkey and how he was attacked and captured by Barty Crouch Junior. For the second time, Fudge began to protest, saying that he was dead. Harry responded by telling of how his own father had supposedly gotten him out of Azkaban and kept him prisoner under the Imperius.

The minister clearly wasn't happy with Harry's story, and he had a feeling that the bumbling idiot was going to be a real problem one of these days.

Professor Dumbledore kept Harry focused on telling his story though, so he told of how he was knocked unconscious only to wake up bound and helpless as he watched the ritual that gave Voldemort a new body.

The headmaster was paying very close attention to every word.

Harry went on to explain how the Death Eaters were called back to their master's side and how Voldemort forced him to duel, hoping to end speculation of how Harry had been his downfall years ago. He told of the spells colliding and using a blasting curse to make a distraction so that he could escape.

When asked where the Triwizard Cup was, Harry had to assume that it was still at the cemetery.

Soon enough, Fudge was blustering about how none of this could possibly be true, but thankfully Madam Bones was there and she suggested that he let her investigate the claims before they announced anything to the public. That seemed to soothe the minister, at least for the moment, and he was soon being escorted home by his auror guards.

"Useless bloody fool," Amelia muttered as she watched him go.

"You know, Madam Bones, it might be a good idea to contact the press before the minister tries to bury the truth," Harry advised. "He didn't seem to like having to face what's happened. A few pictures in the Prophet might keep him from doing anything too stupid."

"That's about what I think of the moron too, Potter," Moody snorted. "Is it any wonder I retired shortly after that useless fool was elected? He had Lucius bloody Malfoy pulling the strings from day one. I wish I had gotten something on that slippery bastard back when the war was still going."

"I can't take the press before we know if there's any danger there," Amelia replied. "But if someone were to get an anonymous tip shortly thereafter that a big story was breaking, then I wouldn't necessarily be able to stop someone from taking a few pictures and asking a few questions."

"You're alright, Amelia," Harry smiled. "Can I recommend the name Simon Brightwell? He did me a favor awhile back and I have no doubt that he'd be one to seize this opportunity for another front page headline."

"I'll remember the name."

"Amelia, if the cup is still there, I should be able to trace it now," Dumbledore suggested. "Perhaps you should gather a few more aurors and we can hopefully find some evidence."

"I already sent Tonks to round up as many as she could. Alastor, I'd like to have you come along as well. Who knows what that eye might catch that we could otherwise miss."

"I'd be happy to help, but someone should stay behind to make sure the school is safe. We've already had one kidnapping from the grounds."

"Professor McGonagall, I trust you can watch over the school while I'm away?"

"Of course, headmaster."

"Excellent. Sirius, if you would, make sure to keep an eye on Harry at least until I'm back."

"He can follow us to the hospital wing," Pomfrey said.

"No need, he can just follow me back to my quarters," Harry replied. Dumbledore, Bones, and Moody all left to try to track down the crime scene. He wondered for a moment how many of the Death Eaters might have been hit by the blasting curse. He was pretty sure he at least got the damn snake.

"After what you've been through, I will need to do a more thorough check up, Potter," the healer insisted, drawing Harry's attention back to her.

"Madam Pomfrey, I really don't want to argue about this, but I am not spending the night in the infirmary. I was already kidnapped once tonight. I am going to sleep somewhere that I know is secure."

"The hospital wing is perfectly safe."

"Look, I trust maybe five people in the entire school to watch my back after everything I've been through tonight, and I am not going to sleep where anyone can possibly have access to me. I _am_ going back to my quarters, but I will be sure to come back tomorrow so you can check me over."

"Potter-"

"Poppy," Sirius interrupted. "Harry will be safer there. And he will have plenty of people watching over him. I promise you that if there's anything else wrong with him, anything at all, I'll be as fast as possible at getting him directly into your care."

"Fine, but it's on your head, Sirius Black. And yours as well, Mr. Potter. Foolish, headstrong teenagers," she muttered as she walked off. Harry smiled as he imagined her throwing her hands up in the air at his obstinate behavior.

"Well, now that that's been decided, shall we be off?" Sirius asked with a grin.

Harry and Pansy followed him, and they soon found several others waiting nearby to see if Harry really was alright. Luna and Hermione were there of course, and the rest of his Gryffindor year mates were as well as the Weasleys. Even Ron.

Hermione and Luna raced to see who could hug Harry first and everyone seemed to begin talking all at once. There were congratulations and concerns, people all wanting to make sure that he was unharmed, wanting to know the truth of what had happened when he had disappeared.

It was too many questions, and Harry had already gone beyond his breaking point and back again once or twice. He needed to be in bed as soon as possible.

Eventually, Sirius bellowed loudly enough to make everyone fall silent. He was going to get Harry back to his room because he needed his rest and they could all wait to hear whatever Harry might want to tell them until tomorrow.

There were still a few mutters at that, and Hermione in particular looked unhappy about it.

Luna just kissed Harry on his cheek and whispered 'welcome back' in his ear. As she slipped back behind the rest of the crowd, he saw her wave and walk off with Winky beside her.

That was a weight off his chest. He knew that she could get back to her dorm safely with Winky there to look after her.

As much as he appreciated his other friends' worries about him, he was also very glad that they moved in a group back up to Gryffindor tower together.

* * *

"Sirius, I might need you to stick around here for the last few days of the term. An attack dog might be the only way I get a moment's peace."

His godfather just chuckled as the door closed behind him. Pansy was guiding Harry over to the couch. Her arm had been wrapped around his waist for the entire trip back to their rooms, so she couldn't have missed the occasional tremor.

"Now, what did you not tell everyone while we were down there?" she asked as he slumped down into the seat. "Don't tell me that shaking is nothing either, Harry."

"I might have not revealed every little thing to Madam Pomfrey."

"Harry, dammit! How many times?"

"How many times what?" Sirius asked.

"Two," Harry answered. "No, three. Crouch got me once too."

"He was hit by the Cruciatus curse," Pansy growled. She clenched her hands and closed her eyes before kissing Harry's forehead. "I'm still glad you weren't stubborn enough to talk Moody into letting you see what it was like."

"Well, good news, it turns out I can keep fighting afterwards. Not very well, but-"

"But you made it back. That's all that matters."

"Yeah." Harry squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "You know, Riddle's actually hit me with all three unforgivables now. The Imperius wasn't so bad. Probably helped save my life actually."

"How so?" Sirius asked, taking a seat in the nearest chair.

"My ring," Harry replied. "When Moody was teaching us about how to fight off the Imperius curse a few months ago, he mentioned how the Potter family ring probably helped a bit. I think that little subconscious reminder might have been what I needed tonight. I don't normally think of it, you know? But, I remembered what else it could do right when it mattered most."

"A portkey!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Exactly. Riddle said something about a protective spell over the area that would keep anyone but his servants from reaching us, but the Triwizard Cup had summoned me there as a portkey, so I had to hope that a portkey would be able to get me out. And the ring does function as one, able to take me to any Potter home. I ended up back in Godric's Hollow."

"Where it all started," Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, I hate that fucking place."

"Me too. I wish I could go back and fix everything. I still can't believe I trusted that fucking rat."

"By the way, you should be extra careful in the near future. Riddle was none-too-pleased at losing Yaxley's service in your duel. And he was positively furious about the rumored 'rogue Death Eater' who was blamed for MacNair's death."

"I'll be on guard."

"I'm going to get the bedroom ready," Pansy stated as she got up.

"I don't think I need to know about that," Sirius chuckled.

"Not like that, you immature prat. I looked up treatments for Cruciatus exposure back when Harry was insanely considering being trained to withstand torture. Massage helps reduce the after effects. Besides, I might owe Harry a massage or two."

"I think I'll owe you several more this summer," Harry teased in response as she kissed his cheek and headed for their bedroom. "Sirius, if you haven't done it before, try giving a woman a sensuous massage."

"What makes it sensuous?"

"The right type of massage oil helps, but it's mostly about the nudity."

His godfather barked out a laugh and Harry smiled as he tried to relax. This had been a very long day.

"Hey, where did Dobby go?"

"I asked him to get a couple of potions for us. He and I are going to stay here tonight and make sure that you are alright. We'll need the extra energy to stay up, just in case. It will be the first time in a long time that I've been up all night worrying over you. The last time you were about six or seven months old."

"What happened?"

"Oh, it was just a bit of colic. Nothing serious really, but everything seems so much more important to new parents. Your mum and dad were both so worried over you. Your dad especially. I think I must have made half a dozen pots of tea that night."

"I'll probably be that way too someday."

"You think so?"

"I didn't grow up with any family, Sirius. Well, not any real family anyway. I've got the beginning of one now. Whenever Pansy and I have kids, I'm pretty sure I'll be the most obsessive, doting father imaginable."

"Just not too soon, okay?" his godfather teased.

"I'm not in that big of a hurry," Harry smiled. "But I'll be sure to get in tons of practice before it is time."

"You're really already sure you're going to marry her, huh? Just like your dad, Harry," Sirius barked out a laugh. "James was head over heels for your mum for so very long. I figured that meant I needed to play the field enough for the both of us."

"How very thoughtful of you."

"I like to think so."

"Oh, _Harry_ ," Pansy called to him from the bedroom in a slightly sing-song tone.

"I guess that means good night, Sirius. A good end to it at least."

"Go on then. You deserve to get lucky after everything else that's happened."

* * *

"Do you need help taking your clothes off?"

"I don't think I would ever turn down that offer," Harry teased.

"I meant are you in pain, you silly man."

"Nothing too bad right now." He kicked off his shoes and Pansy stepped closer to help him pull the shirt over his head. "Actually, I think I hurt way too much to be able to take off my pants."

"At least you're in a good mood," Pansy smiled as she undid the button and zipper. "I heard a lot of laughter out there."

"Yeah, Sirius was trying to keep my mind off things I think."

"It's good that you have him."

"True," Harry said as Pansy slid his boxers down and he helped her stand back up. "I think it's even better that I have you though."

He pulled her in for a kiss and felt himself growing erect against her. Pansy had stripped down to a purple babydoll nightgown and she felt wonderful in his arms.

"Lay down on the bed."

"Now we're talking."

"Massage first, Harry. Your muscles will need it before we do anything more fun."

"You're right I suppose," he sighed as he crawled to the middle of the bed.

"Of course I am. Someone has to take care of you." Pansy climbed on top of his back as he lay face down. He felt her lean down and kiss the back of his neck.

"That's nice."

Then her hands began rubbing, starting with his neck and shoulders. She was using some sort of oil or lotion. Harry couldn't tell what it was, but it felt different to what he remembered using on her during a few special occasions. Of course, it could be different just being on the receiving end for once.

"Ohhhh yeah," he moaned as Pansy moved down to the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades. He had been more sore than he realized. "I don't think I've told you that I love you enough tonight."

"I love you too, Harry," she giggled. "But be quiet while I work."

"Whatever you want, my love."

He needed to have another of those special occasions some time this summer as soon as he could. Pansy was his goddess.

"Rest and relax now."

* * *

Within fifteen or twenty minutes, Harry had dozed off. She continued to work on his arms and legs for awhile after that as she had noticed a couple more muscle twitches even as he slept.

Dobby had brought her a pain potion which was now sitting on the night table on Harry's side of the bed. He hadn't asked for one, but it couldn't hurt to have one on hand in case he woke up feeling worse.

A part of her wanted to wake him up. To have some fun now that he was back- back with her, where he belonged. Harry's arms wrapped around her, feeling him buried deep inside her, his mouth on her neck or her breasts while she held him close.

She wasn't sure why a few tears leaked out at that thought. Maybe it was the terror of earlier that night. That Harry would not return. That she would never feel him next to her again.

Pansy thought of how Harry had broken down after the second task and how he spoke of not being able to sleep without her next to him. If he hadn't come home tonight, if... if he had died... she wasn't sure how she could ever sleep again without Harry.

_Without Harry._

That thought was so completely horrifying that she laid down next to him and pulled him as close as she could. In his sleep, Harry's body still reacted to her and soon their arms and legs were entwined as she snuggled her face into the crook of his neck.

"I can't lose you, Harry," she whispered. "I don't care what it takes. Even if we have to drop a bomb on that bastard. I love you."

Maybe it was just her imagination, but Pansy felt like he pulled her just that bit closer, and moments later she fell asleep. In Harry's arms, where she belonged.


	63. A Good Morning and Last Minute Details

* * *

The first thing to wake her the next morning was the feeling of Harry's lips tenderly kissing the side of her neck. She felt his arousal poking against her bum and one of his hands softly caressing her right breast. It was the way she was meant to wake up, and after everything from the previous night, it was a huge relief for things to be so normal.

And normal with Harry meant that she was the constant recipient of his lascivious attention.

"That feels nice," she purred as she wrapped her hand around his own.

"You always feel nice to me," Harry agreed, pressing that much closer to her. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"How do you feel?"

"Can't you tell?"

"You know what I mean."

"I feel like having some fun. As I recall, you promised to shag me senseless after I finished the third task."

"You were supposed to come out safe and sound," she complained, and Harry felt her squeeze his hand.

"I'm okay now. Everything is going to be alright. So, I think that means we should celebrate."

"You always think we should celebrate," she giggled as his erection poked at her. "But I guess you're right this time."

"Good."

Pansy let him roll her over as his hands slid down her sides and she turned right into another kiss. She leaned back and looked down at him as she straddled his waist.

"I wasn't awake long enough to tell you how much I like this," Harry said as he ran his fingers over her babydoll nightgown. "You look good in purple. But you know what you look even better in?"

"Nothing at all?" she answered with a smile.

"You know me so well." Harry chuckled but it didn't stop him from raising her arms and lifting the lingerie over her head. His hands went almost automatically to her breasts and she purred happily as Harry licked one of her nipples. "So much better."

"I think you should probably let me handle things," Pansy said with a smile as she pushed him back down to the bed. "We can't have you overexerting yourself after last night."

"I don't see you wearing your sexy nurse's outfit."

"Want me to put it on?"

"I can't wait that long." His arms pulled her back down to him and she eagerly slipped her tongue into his mouth. "I am so hungry for you."

"Not for breakfast?"

"Food can wait. You're tastier anyway."

"Then tell me what you want, Harry."

"If you won't let me up, then you're just going to have to climb up here and _sit on my face_." His voice went deeper and grumbled out the last few words and Pansy felt herself growing wet just at that sound and the command in his words- she loved when he told her what to do. Something about playing with Harry in the bedroom often brought out her submissive side.

It probably didn't hurt that he always wanted her to do such fun things.

Before she was even conscious of moving, Pansy was crawling up over his body and then she looked down at him, happily noticing his hungry grin. But just as she was almost in reach, she turned around, wiggled her bum at him and then carefully set her knees on either side of his head. Harry was never one to be patient, but she didn't mind as his lips were instantly kissing and tasting her.

She didn't want him to get too much of a head start though, so she leaned down and took him in her mouth as well. For the next several minutes, they were in a race of tongues, each eager to drive the other to ecstasy. It was such a fun game, as regardless who came in first place, they both always won. Pansy thought she was in the lead, as Harry seemed to be getting close.

Then he had to go and cheat.

She wasn't sure what the hell he did, but she burst into an orgasm as his tongue started vibrating faster than she knew was possible. And he didn't stop either. She wouldn't remember later if that climax just lasted ridiculously long or if there was ever enough of a pause for it to be considered multiple orgasms. Whatever he was doing, it was amazing and also completely overwhelming.

She screamed out, but the sound was quite muffled since her mouth was full. And Harry seemed to like that a lot as it triggered his own orgasm. She had to pull herself off him as she was so out of control, afraid she might hurt him, bite down accidentally or something, and she was still screaming even as he came and it flew seemingly everywhere. Some of it got in her mouth, some on her face, and she was glad that she had her eyes clenched shut as a bit hit next to her right eye. If she could concentrate on what was going on, she probably would have been quite annoyed that there was even some in her hair.

But he still hadn't stopped.

"Aaah... oh fuck... Harry... stop... too much..."

His tongue finally slowed and she collapsed, her head against the top of his left hipbone. Pansy realized she still had his cock in her grip, and both it and her hand were very sticky. Thankfully a few of her fingers were relatively clean, and she used two of them to reach up and wipe away his cum that was nearly in her eye.

"Shit, Harry, you came everywhere," she panted out before breaking into a giggle. "What the fuck was that?"

"Parseltongue," he chuckled.

"Holy crap. Okay, it was amazing, but you should probably warn me next time. Especially if we're in this position. You really don't want me to bite down accidentally because you're driving me out of my mind."

"So, it was a mind-blowing orgasm then?"

"Definitely."

"Cool. I'm going to try it again." And before she could say a word of protest, Pansy felt Harry's tongue once again going to work on her.

Thankfully, he didn't jump right into it, but built things up somewhat slowly. She was still highly aroused though and apparently he could tell too. Just as she was closing in on another orgasm, Harry began doing that vibrating trick again and she saw stars.

"OH FUCK!"

It was every bit as powerful as the first time, and once again it stretched on for as long as he kept doing _that_. Part of her never wanted him to do anything else. But he just kept going on and on and the sensations became so overpowering that she began to whimper.

"Oh god... too much."

She felt him chuckle but he didn't stop hissing directly into her clit. An even more uncontrollable orgasm crashed like a wave over her and she screamed out again.

"Stop, stop... oh please... stop." Harry finally released her only to have that evil snake-like tongue of his slither inside her. He must have been drowning by now. "Oh fuck, Harry... don't. I feel like I'm going to pee."

He gave her one last long lick.

"Fine," he said with an overly dramatic huff that blew cool air over her pussy and bum. It felt so good on her drenched and sensitive skin. But before she could relax, she felt Harry moving again and then he was licking her arsehole.

"Oh fuck... Harry." She was too aroused and out of control to moan out anything more coherent than that. And of course, within moments he was hissing into her bum. It felt strange, but sort of pleasant at the same time. Then his hand reached up between her legs and he began to finger her while his thumb rubbed circles around her clit and it was soon all too much, bringing her to yet another climax.

"Aah..." she started to moan out, but then she saw that he was hard again, so Pansy decided it was time to take control of the situation. She pulled away from him, scrambling forward on her shaky knees until she was lined up over him and then she sank down.

Her back was still to him, and the different angle was really nice. It was similar to when she was on her hands and knees, and whatever nerves that were being hit felt incredible.

Harry seemed to be liking it too as she felt him squeezing her bum and moaning out while she rode him. Within a couple of minutes, she felt him spill inside her and she let out a pleased little sigh. She hadn't come yet, but after all the previous orgasms that wasn't a problem.

She wasn't sure if she even wanted another for awhile. She might need a nap after all this. Pansy hadn't let him overexert himself, so Harry in turn had apparently decided to make her a quivering wreck. She began to giggle and she felt him sit up, wrapping his arms around her. His hands cupped her breasts while he kissed his way up her spine.

"What's so funny?"

"You just- agh! This was ridiculous, and fun, but now I don't know if I'll be able to get out of bed today."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry teased.

"Help me lay down. I can barely move a muscle because of you."

"Alright." Harry did as she asked, even going so far as to maneuver her legs into a more comfortable position before leaning them both back down and then turning them until they were spooning.

"Pull the sheet up."

"As you wish," he chuckled.

"Don't be so smug."

"I think I have a good reason to be smug right now."

"Maybe just a little," she admitted. "I don't think I want you to do that all the time though."

"Why not?"

"It's fine today because we don't have to get up and go to class. If we had Herbology in an hour, you might have to carry me there."

"I could probably manage that."

"I doubt Sprout would like it if I curled up in a ball and slept through her class."

"I suppose."

Pansy just murmured in approval as he snuggled in close and kissed the side of her throat.

"Before I pass out and forget, there are two things. Dobby?"

"Miss Pansy?" the elf yawned.

"Were you up all night, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Yes master Harry. Dobby had to make sure you were alright."

"Thanks. You can hopefully get enough rest today."

"But first, I need you to do something," Pansy interrupted. "I need you to get a bottle of muggle mouthwash."

"Yes miss Pansy."

A moment later the elf had returned and set the bottle down on the night table beside the bed.

"Thanks Dobby. You should be able to take the rest of the day off, I think."

"Now then," Pansy said, sitting up after Dobby disappeared. "I assume you want to try anal one of these days."

"Maybe," Harry replied with a smile. "What gave it away?"

"The fact that you stuck your tongue up my arse?"

"You have such a cute little butthole."

"You're ridiculous, Harry," she sighed. "Alright, so two things. First, go rinse your mouth out before you try to kiss me again."

"Fair enough."

"Second, you're going to have to work your way up to it. Don't expect to just shove that thing up my bum one of these nights when we're having sex."

"Working my way up to it sounds like fun."

"I'm sure," she said with a smirk. She grabbed the bottle of mouthwash and handed it to him. "Go on you weirdo."

"If liking your arse is weird, I don't want to be normal." Harry was smiling as he headed to the bathroom.

"What time is it?" she asked a moment later, after the water in the sink had finished running.

"After eleven," Harry replied as he came back and climbed into bed, not giving her time to protest before a kiss turned into a snog.

"Minty fresh. Good boy," Pansy smiled once he gave her a moment to breath. "I should have enough time for a bath."

"That sounds like fun."

"No more fun this morning. Go take a quick shower. I'm going to close my eyes for a few more minutes."

"Alright, my love."

* * *

Not too much later, Harry awoke Pansy and led her into the bathroom. He had already gotten the water nice and hot for her and she thanked him as she sank into the tub. He got dressed and went out into the living room where he saw Sirius nursing a drink in a chair next to the unlit fireplace.

"Harry! Give me five!"

His godfather was smiling brightly as Harry walked over and high-fived him.

"What was that for?"

"You guys didn't use any silencing charms," Sirius replied as he waggled his eyebrows.

"We don't usually need them," Harry blushed as he sat down.

"Well, whatever you were doing, good job. It's never a bad thing when a woman is screaming out like that. I would know. And I notice that Pansy hasn't joined us yet either."

"She's taking a bath. I might have worn her out."

"You dog you. I don't think I've ever been more proud."

"Jealous?"

"I've got a blonde that I'll be seeing soon enough. I'll be fine."

"Do you want to be jealous?"

"What do you mean?"

Harry smiled and then hissed at him.

"I'm not a snake, Harry."

"Pay attention to the tongue, Sirius." And he hissed again.

"Oh, you fucking bastard. That's cheating!" Sirius barked out a laugh and then leaned back in his chair. "I needed that after last night. That's certainly a good morning, huh?"

"I think every morning should start with sex ideally."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Did you get any rest last night?" Harry asked.

"Yes, actually. I think your house-elf might not have given me the right potion because I passed out probably about two in the morning or so. I woke up and went in to check on you just after dawn. You and Pansy were curled up together. It was very cute."

"Cute huh?"

"Just be glad it was me. If your parents were around to see their teenage son sleeping with his girlfriend like that they might not have been so happy about it. Well, actually your dad probably would have been proud; I'm not sure about your mum though.

"By the way, the paper came. That bloody bird of yours nearly took my hand off this morning."

"You didn't have any bacon for her," Harry answered as he looked over at the Daily Prophet.

_**Dark Lord Returns? Dumbledore Claims You-Know-Who is Back!** _

"I'm guessing people won't be happy about that headline," Sirius said. "Dumbledore sent me a message late last night. He'd like for us to join him today to look over your memory of last night to see if he can determine anything more about what happened. I imagine Madam Bones will be there too."

"I'd like Moody to come as well."

"Not a bad idea. I know Mad-Eye's got a reputation for being paranoid, but he's caught more of those bastards than anyone else. It's almost time for lunch. I bet you're hungry- for something other than your girlfriend maybe?"

"Food sounds good," Harry replied, ignoring the teasing. "Are you going to stick around then?"

"For as long as you need me to."

"Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem. I'm going to go splash some water on my face in the other bathroom. You might want to check on your girl. I'm starving."

* * *

The midday meal was every bit as noisy as one might have imagined after the main story in the paper as a number of people came over to ask Harry if it was true. He decided just to tell the rest of Gryffindor that he would tell everyone what he could that night after dinner as he had a meeting with the headmaster that afternoon and he didn't know how long it might go on.

After they had eaten, Harry and Sirius walked together towards Dumbledore's office. His godfather kept trying to tease him about having a girl on each arm, but he just responded that he couldn't help it if Sirius was jealous.

In truth, neither Harry nor Pansy wanted to be far apart after the day before. They stopped by the gargoyle that led up to the headmaster and the girls went into a nearby room to talk and wait for Harry's return.

Moody was already there and Dumbledore had set his pensieve out on a small table.

"Madam Bones should be joining us in just a few minutes," the headmaster said. "If you would, Harry, please focus on your memories of everything that happened at the graveyard. We can then be prepared for Amelia's arrival. I believe she will appreciate it, as doubtless she has been very busy."

Harry noticed that Dumbledore and Moody both looked rather tired.

"Am I the only one that got a full night of sleep, sir?"

"You needed it the most, Harry."

"There's a lot worse things to lose than sleep, Potter," Moody added with a rough laugh. "Some of us had work to do."

The fireplace roared to life as Madam Bones stepped through.

"Ah, Amelia, excellent timing."

"Albus," she nodded at him as she joined them by the pensieve. "Is everything ready? I will doubtless be called away soon. We got to question Karkaroff, but an ambassador is on his way. Cornelius is already throwing a fit after the morning paper.

"And speaking of the minister, this is for you mister Potter." She handed him a bag of gold. "There should have been a ceremony to award you for winning the Triwizard Tournament, but Fudge was too out of sorts to handle it. Plus, the trophy itself is still evidence."

"I don't think I want it anyway. Not after that night. Maybe it could be put in the school trophy room when you're done with it."

"An excellent suggestion, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "Well, to keep us from wasting any more of Amelia's time, let us begin."

They all leaned over and slipped into his memory.

The beginning was simple enough- Harry was transported to the cemetery, his scar burst into pain and he was overcome by Crouch. The adults, other than Moody, were horrified to see him awoken by the Cruciatus, and they were all shocked to see the hideous thing that Riddle had been before the ritual. Dumbledore in particular stepped closer to watch for any details of that dark ceremony as Voldemort was reborn.

Amelia was disgusted to see the supposed champion of pureblood supremacy admit to having a muggle father. Harry heard her muttering about the hypocrisy.

Sirius laughed and patted him on the shoulder for calling the Dark Lord out on liking to hear himself talk.

Moody and Bones were both disappointed as the Death Eaters arrived to find that only Crabbe senior was named, as it would have been much more convenient if they had others to start working on.

Professor Dumbledore frowned when Harry told Riddle that he didn't care what the public thought of him. The headmaster then sighed as Voldemort spoke of overcoming Lily Potter's protection but he seemed specifically interested in how the Dark Lord spoke of going further along the path to immortality than any others.

Harry had to wonder what that was all about. How did Riddle _not quite die_ all those years ago? It was something that had bugged him before.

Sirius winced as Harry was once again forced to suffer the torture curse before the Dark Lord wanted to make a show of his death.

"Idiot," Moody growled when Harry started bantering with Voldemort before the duel.

His godfather still had his arm over Harry's shoulder and he began to squeeze as he saw Riddle deliver another Cruciatus followed by an Imperius to try to make Harry beg for death. He cheered when Harry roared out his refusal and began to fight back.

"What is this?" Madam Bones asked when the two spells collided and began to push against each other.

"I'll explain when we're done," Dumbledore replied and Amelia nodded.

They then got to the part where Harry made his escape. Sirius gasped when Harry cast the banishing charm, sending the ritual knife into Riddle's shoulder, while his wand was still occupied.

A moment later, they were all back out of the memory and Moody stomped over to Harry.

"What did I tell you Potter? Moron," he said as he slapped the back of Harry's head. "Never banter with the enemy. Especially not with the bloody Dark Lord himself.

"But good work, laddie." He then held his hand out for Harry to shake. "That was one of the best escapes I've ever seen. Badly outnumbered. Took out several of the bastards, and got away from the middle of a crowd without any further wounds. I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks." Harry was surprised to feel a little choked up.

"Me too. You saying it was one thing, but actually seeing you get hit by all those Unforgivables," Sirius shivered in disgust. "Thank Merlin the killing curse didn't hit."

"It didn't hit Harry, you mean," Amelia added. "It appears that Bertram Bole died from you-know-who's killing curse after the linked spells were broken. What was that all about, Albus?"

"I have studied wandlore some in my years, although I would not call myself an expert. If secrecy were not so important at the moment, I would suggest we contact Garrick Ollivander, but from what I do know, I am fairly certain it is because the wands belonging to Harry and Voldemort contain matching cores. Tail feathers from the same phoenix."

"Hello Fawkes," Harry said as he swooped over to land on his shoulder and sang out a note of pride.

"This phoenix, to be specific," Dumbledore chuckled. "Someone must be feeling theatric."

"I wonder where he gets it from," Harry teased with a smile.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're suggesting."

"Does this mean that this could happen again if Harry and Riddle come up against each other in the future?" Sirius asked. Harry was happy to have converted him to calling the evil bastard by his real name.

"I think it is quite possible, although they would both have to be casting spells at the same time and while facing each other."

"I'll just have to curse him in the back then."

"I'd prefer that," Sirius agreed. "Of course, I'd prefer that one of the rest of us do it instead."

"That sounds like a plan that I approve of," Harry nodded. "You all get to work on taking Riddle down. My summer vacation's coming up, and there's a beach calling my name."

"If only it were that simple," Amelia muttered. "On the other hand, you did help us out more than you know, Harry."

"Amelia, I don't think-" Dumbledore began but was cut off.

"He's proven that he can handle himself, and I don't believe in leaving people in the dark, headmaster. It's bound to come out in the paper anyway. When you cast that blasting curse at the snake, you also hit at least five other Death Eaters."

"Are they all dead?" Harry asked.

"Yes. At least those five are- if you hit any others they may have survived. You-know-who appears to have ordered the dead to be left behind as the Death Eaters had left before we got there."

"That's good I guess. Fewer of them out there right now."

"It saddens me to see how little those deaths affect you, Harry," Dumbledore sighed. "You are far too young to be so badly jaded."

"Whose fault is that?"

Harry scowled at the headmaster who looked mournful in response. Before the tense moment could be drawn out too long, Sirius piped up with a question.

"What were Riddle and his snake saying, Harry?"

"Nagini called the Death Eaters weak fools, and Riddle agreed but said they were _his_ weak fools." Harry thought it over for a moment. "I guess even though we were in my memory you all still only heard the hissing?"

"Yes, pensieve memories are not subjective like that. If someone is speaking another language, only those who speak the language can understand it," Bones answered.

"Was that all they said?"

"Um... no, Riddle then said that he'd feed me to her after I was dead. I figured that with how much he seemed to actually like the snake that it meant something to him. More than his followers, at least. That's why I cast the blasting curse at it."

"That may have been the best thing you did, Harry." Dumbledore's mood was back to a more positive note. "Voldemort did seem to have some sort of bond with the snake, possibly a familiar even, and taking away that weapon was definitely a good idea."

"Thanks. I thought so too, based on how angry he was when I did it."

"So, what do we do now?" Sirius asked.

"That's the real question," Moody replied with a scowl. "With a useless idiot like Fudge in charge, we can hardly count on the ministry to prepare for war. I'd guess the coward will slink into the shadows and try to find more supporters."

"He mentioned breaking the Lestranges out of Azkaban," Sirius pointed out. "There are other Death Eaters locked away there as well. That would be a likely target."

"But not for some time yet, I think," Dumbledore suggested. "Knowing Voldemort as I do, I believe Alastor is correct in suggesting that he will hide his presence for the immediate future. An attack on the prison will likely come later, when our defenses are lowered. If there are no other sightings for awhile, many people will become complacent and that is where the real danger lies."

"The only things I can follow up on right now are investigating Karkaroff and Crabbe," Amelia said. "The former will likely get bogged down with politics. As for the latter-"

"That sounds like something for me to work on," Moody interjected. "It always was the part of the job I was best at."

"We'll have to talk more later. I've got to get back to the ministry."

"Good luck, Amelia. Do let me know if I can offer any assistance," Dumbledore said as he saw her off through the floo before turning back to the others. "I think it's time for us to reconvene the Order. Can I count on you both?"

"If a fight's coming, you know I'm in," Moody answered.

"Sirius?"

"I'm going to be staying with Harry for the time being, but I will probably have time to help this summer."

"Very well. I have many things to arrange and many people to contact, so I trust you three can see yourselves out. And thank you, Harry, for showing us everything that happened."

"You're welcome sir."

Sirius led them down the stairs from the headmaster's office, with Harry in the middle and Moody's distinctive gait clomping behind him.

"It's a good thing the term's basically over. I've only got a week to waste before I can go back to being officially retired."

"I thought you were going to help Amelia?"

"Aye, lad, but she's agreed to put me on reserve."

"What's that mean?" Harry asked.

"It means that I'll technically be back on the job but I won't have to do any stinking paperwork," Moody chuckled.

"Worst part of the job," Harry agreed with a grin.

"Exactly."

"Could I ask for a favor, professor?"

"Only one more week I have to hear that dreaded word. Go on then, Potter."

"I was hoping you could leave me some suggestions on what to do to work on being better able to defend myself. And others too, potentially."

"That's not a bad idea. Who knows who Albus will get to replace me next year. I'll think on it and get back to you before the end of the year."

"Thanks Moody."

"No problem. Black, I'll be seeing you."

As the old auror clomped off down the hall, Harry and Sirius knocked at the nearby door and the two girls emerged.

"Was it a productive meeting?" Pansy asked.

"Fairly, I think. What should we do for the rest of the afternoon?"

"I need to go back to my dorm," Luna replied.

"We can walk you back to Ravenclaw then."

"What did you beautiful ladies talk about while we were busy?" Sirius asked with a smile a moment later.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pansy retorted with a smirk.

"Yes, I would." He grinned right back at her.

"I don't believe our girl talk is appropriate for your delicate ears," Luna suggested with a hint of... was that a smirk? On Luna? Pansy really was starting to rub off on her.

Harry could only laugh to himself.

When they reached the Ravenclaw tower, Luna hugged Pansy and then Harry.

"For the record, I don't think you're a weirdo Harry," she said before leaving them with a smile.

"What was that about?"

"None of your business, Black," Pansy growled irritably as she turned away. Harry hurried over and wrapped his arm around her while they walked.

"Come on, Harry, throw a dog a bone here," Sirius whined.

If only Harry knew how to conjure one...

* * *

 _'Right, so this isn't going to be awkward at all,'_ Harry thought as he stood near the front of the Gryffindor common room. He was glad for the bit of masonry coming out from the hearth of the fireplace- it gave him a few more inches to help see over the crowd. He wasn't the runt he had been a few years ago, but it still helped at the moment because it looked like every member of Gryffindor had packed in, and it appeared that some of them had brought in friends from the other houses as well. There were several Hufflepuffs, some of whom he recognized, and he had noticed at least four Ravenclaws including Parvati's twin Padma.

He thought he saw a bit of green somewhere in the back even. That was pretty surprising, but then again, the members of Slytherin probably had more than anyone to think about with the return of the Dark Lord. Harry wasn't sure how many of them might be related to one of the Death Eaters, but he had a feeling that it was bound to cause strife in the near future.

At least he had Pansy and Sirius standing up there with him for moral support. Luna was sitting right in front with Hermione and most of the other fourth years, although Ron was further in the back by his siblings.

Okay, so... where to start?

Harry cast a Sonorous on himself to make sure he didn't have to yell.

"I suppose you all want to hear about what happened to me last night." He paused for a minute as a number of voices called out in agreement. "Alright, I assume you were all there for the third task. To keep from this taking all night, I'll only cover the most important bits."

Harry noted a few grumbles at that statement but pushed on.

"After making my way through the maze, I grabbed the Triwizard Cup which had been turned into a portkey that was apparently programmed to activate when I touched it. A moment later, I found myself transported to a cemetery obviously far away from here. A robed figure came towards me, and unfortunately I was captured."

"How?" someone yelled out.

"You ever get banished head first into a tombstone? Not the worst thing I've had happen to me, but regardless, I woke up later and found the robed figure was a Death Eater named Barty Crouch Junior. His father was one of the judges of the tournament, and he was killed in the Forbidden Forest about a month ago. According to what I was told, the father had been talked by his wife into freeing his son from Azkaban as a sort of dying wish and he was then kept under the Imperius curse by his father. Once he broke free from his father's control, he rejoined the service of Tom Riddle."

"Who's Tom Riddle?" Hermione asked from nearby. He looked over and saw her wink at him- Harry knew that she already knew, but she obviously wanted to help him spread the news.

"Tom Riddle is the real name of the monster who calls himself Lord Voldemort." There were a few gasps and shudders at the name, so Harry drew his wand and repeated the trick the Diary spirit (or whatever the hell it was) used to reveal his true name and the anagram he had created as a teenager.

"How do you know that?" Angelina asked from where she was sitting with rest of the quidditch team.

"He told me," Harry answered with a shrug. "The cemetery turned out to be where his muggle father was buried."

"No way!"

He couldn't see who yelled that out, but there were obviously more than a few people who found that hard to believe.

"It's true. You can look him up, he was a prefect and then Head Boy back in the Forties.

"As for why a half-blood would lead the cause of pureblood supremacy? Simple enough, he wanted power. A lot of political power and wealth has always been concentrated in the older families, and many of them wanted to make sure they kept that power. The most fanatical of them hated not only muggles but also the witches and wizards who came from a muggle background. I don't know if Riddle personally hated muggleborns, but he certainly hated muggles, so I guess it was an easy enough movement to use for his own ends.

"He obviously never cared that much about purebloods though, based on how many of them he and his followers killed.

"But anyway, let me get back to the story. When I awoke Barty Crouch performed a ritual to return Riddle to his body. I won't describe it though; I don't want to give any of you ideas if one of you decides to become a Dark Lord some time in the future." That got a couple of nervous laughs. "Riddle got his body back, and it was just further proof that 'blood supremacy' meant nothing since he doesn't even look close to human anymore."

"What does he look like?" one of the Weasley twins asked.

"Well, he's basically shaped like a man if it was also part snake and part demon. He doesn't have any hair. Not even eyebrows. He doesn't have lips or a nose either. His skin is as white as chalk and his fingers are about three inches too long. Oh, and he has dark blood-red eyes. So yeah, I find it hard to believe he cares about blood supremacy when he looks more like a monster than a man.

"So, Riddle regained his body and summoned his Death Eaters. It looked like there were about twenty of them, although it was kind of hard to count. The only ones he named were Barty Crouch and Crabbe. Not the one in fourth year, obviously, but I'm guessing maybe his father. Since Malfoy and Goyle's fathers were both Death Eaters too, that's probably not a surprise."

"Then what happened?" Parvati prodded, and Harry was glad for it as he didn't want to go off on a tangent. People were probably already guessing at who the other Death Eaters were, and if any more of them had children at the school.

"Then Riddle gave a big speech about how he was disappointed that they had put away their Death Eater robes and hidden among the public for so long. He also had to taunt me about how he was going to kill me to end the legend of 'the boy who lived.'

"Oh, and one thing I should mention is that he had this huge snake. It was like twenty feet long. He seemed to really like the snake too. That will be important a little later.

"So Riddle decided to make a big spectacle of killing me in front of his followers so they would know that what happened when I was a baby was just a fluke. He had Crouch give me back my wand so that we could supposedly duel.

"As a side note, if a Death Eater ever offers you the chance to duel, don't expect them to follow any rules. They're likely to just start throwing the Unforgivable Curses at you, at least judging by what I've seen from Lucius Malfoy and his boss."

"Did Riddle use the killing curse on you again?" Hermione asked in a panicked voice.

"That comes later in the story. First he had to go through the other two."

Silence followed that revelation. Harry let it play for a moment.

"I know a lot of you had professor Moody's lesson on them, but I'd really have to recommend against being subjected to any of the three. The Cruciatus hurts more than words can express. Thankfully, Riddle wanted to use it to humiliate me, so he didn't hold me under it for too long. He then used the Imperius to try to make me beg for death. His version was more powerful than Moody's by quite a bit, but I was able to throw it off.

"Riddle didn't like my disobedience. He's used to everyone bowing down before him. That's what all his followers did when they showed up. They crawled on the ground and kissed the hem of his robe. It was pathetic. If anyone ever tells you that there's some sort of glory in serving a psychopath like that, ask them if they like groveling and being tortured. Because when Crabbe asked for forgiveness for not trying to find Riddle after his downfall, he cast the Cruciatus on him. That's how he treats his followers- like they mean nothing to him. I doubt anyone ever mentions that when they try to recruit new servants for the cause. Because that's all they are."

"You're getting off track, Harry," Pansy reminded him and he nodded.

"Right, sorry. So, Riddle got mad when I wouldn't beg for death. We cast a couple more spells at each other. I cast a Reducto that collided with his killing curse. But they didn't bounce off like you might think, they sort of got stuck and began pushing against each other. It was pretty strange; even Riddle and the Death Eaters were confused by it. He yelled at them not to interfere, that only he was allowed to kill me. It was a lucky break, and it gave me time to try to think of a way to escape."

Everyone in the crowded room looked to be on the edge of their seats.

"There was a knife that Crouch had used earlier that he had set down on one of the gravestones. I banished it into Riddle's shoulder, then fired a blasting curse at his pet snake, and used the distraction to escape."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"The cup functioned as a portkey to take me there, so luckily, a portkey could still take me away."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Neville asked. "I had guessed that professor Dumbledore or the people at the ministry would have wanted you to keep things secret."

"A lot of them probably do," Harry replied. "I don't think secrecy will help though. Riddle and his Death Eaters like to hide in the shadows, so I don't want to make it any easier on them.

"I know a lot of people here haven't believed me about things in the past." There were more than a few faces either blushing or looking away at that statement, including Ron who Harry spotted sitting over by his brothers. "We can't afford for that to happen now. Everyone needs to be aware that Riddle and his Death Eaters are back, and that sooner or later, we could all be in danger."

"So, what do we do?" Lavender asked.

"Warn people, for starters. Warn your families and friends. If any of you know anything about suspected Death Eaters, tell someone. I'd suggest professor Moody, but he won't be here next year. Contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Or you could tell Susan," Harry said, pointing out the now-blushing Hufflepuff sitting near the back of the room. "Her aunt is the head of the DMLE.

"We've gone to school with some of their kids. Someone must know something. Every Death Eater that gets arrested is one less murderer, one less terrorist. The less of them there are walking free, the safer our friends and families will be. The safer we will all be."

* * *

Several minutes later, Sirius followed Harry and Pansy back into the privacy of their quarters.

"I notice that you didn't stick around to answer questions," Sirius said as they all sat down.

"I told them all I was going to. I didn't want to give anyone a chance to start expressing disbelief. If they're stupid enough to do that, they can do it without me letting them have such a public forum."

"I heard a few people talking about learning to fight. Don't be surprised if they ask you about that."

"If they want to learn to fight, they should ask someone older. Ask Moody. Or their parents, most of them must have lived through Riddle's first rise to power."

"Most of the people that lived through it did so by not getting involved in the fighting," Sirius replied with a sigh. "Far too many of those of us who fought back ended up dead. Like it or not Harry, some of those kids are going to look at you and think that you could teach them to fight. Hell, a lot of them are probably young and stupid enough to want to fight."

"We're teenagers, Sirius. None of us should be fighting. Hell, I don't _want_ to fight. I've had to, but I'd much rather Riddle and all his minions just drop dead tomorrow so all that I have to worry about is where to go on vacation with my girlfriend."

"I wish it were going to be so easy."

"Me too."

"Sirius is right, Harry," Pansy piped up. "It's not a secret that you got extra lessons with Moody, nor that you had Luna, Granger and I helping you train. Next year, people are likely to want to do something similar, and they're probably going to look to you to lead them. We should prepare for that happening."

"Ugh, just what I needed, more summer homework."

"Just think about what you might want to teach people, and who you might want to teach," she suggested. "A lot of them can go to hell for all I care, but I think we all know that you're going to end up helping at least some of them."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, on a different note, do you think Hedwig would mind sending a couple of letters for me tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"I think I could talk her into it."

"Good. You're not the only one who would like nothing more than to spend the summer relaxing with a beautiful lady by his side."

"I wonder where Riddle and his troops are hiding. Maybe a meteor will fall on them and we can all take the summer off."

"That would be nice."

* * *

The next morning's paper showed that Fudge was already trying to stick his head in the sand. The Daily Prophet revealed that the ministry's official position was that Harry's kidnapping was the work of suspected rogue Death Eaters. Dumbledore's previous statement that Voldemort was back was called "wild speculation."

Harry sighed at the stupidity.

Hedwig decided to stick around in order to eat all the bacon in sight before agreeing to deliver Sirius's mail. She even stole a piece off of his plate. He pouted about it through the rest of breakfast.

Pansy suggested learning to love sausage instead and Harry smiled as she took a very suggestive bite of a link. Sirius called him a lucky dog with a pat on the back.

At a different table, two girls read through a letter and looked over at Harry with trepidation.

When Harry's group finished eating and got up to leave, the Carrow sisters followed quickly behind them.

"Harry!" Hestia called out once they were away from the Great Hall. There were bound to be a few people that saw them interact in the halls, but this was far too important to worry about that now.

"Hestia, Flora, what can we do for you?" Pansy asked as they all turned around.

"We need to talk. In private."

"Alright," Harry answered and went looking for an empty room. That was one of the nice things about Hogwarts, with all the multiple floors and wings, there was almost always a nearby classroom that hadn't been used in decades. Meanwhile, Luna begged off saying she had some things of her own to do and that she would rejoin them at lunch. Within a couple of minutes, Black came across a viable room.

"This one should work," Sirius suggested as they all went inside. "No portraits. I figured that would be a good idea."

"Right. Privacy spells first," Flora said as she pulled her wand. Then they all found places to sit. "We need your help, Harry."

"Okay, what kind of help?"

"We got a letter today," Hestia began. "It's both good news and bad news. I mean, it's the same news but it has a good and a bad side."

"What is it?"

"You killed our parents." One would think the girls would be upset by that, but Flora looked relieved and Hestia was almost bouncing in her seat with delight. "They were some of the Death Eaters that were called to that graveyard. The rumor is that you fired a blasting curse into a group of them."

"That rumor is true," Harry admitted.

"Then thank you," Hestia said as she got up and came over to hug him. "This is a great relief to us. We were dreading this summer."

"However," Flora interjected, "Hestia and I also now have a different kind of problem. Namely that we're still only fourteen and we will need some form of guardian. With our parents dead, the next closest relative is a great aunt that we haven't seen in years.

"That wouldn't be so bad, but there was always an assumption that service to the Dark Lord was something to be passed down in families. Our great aunt Sabrina is in no position to be able to protect us if they try to pressure us into joining them."

"Since I can't count on Harry for the proper introduction, perhaps you would do the honors, Pansy?" Sirius suggested.

"Of course. Sirius Black, meet Hestia and Flora Carrow. Ladies, this is Harry's godfather, officially Lord Black."

"My pleasure," Sirius said as he gracefully kissed the backs of their hands. "I assume you were hoping that Harry could help you out, but might I suggest myself as a possible guardian for the two of you?"

"That's not a bad idea," Pansy agreed.

"Why would he be a better option?" Flora asked. "No offense intended, Lord Black."

"None taken, miss Carrow. For one thing, I know what it's like to have escaped from a rather Dark family. For another, I have access to a very large home that has a number of protections on it already and that will shortly be placed under even great secrecy. There would be no safer place for you this summer."

"Plus, being under the protection of the Black family might be a better option at this point compared to just Harry," Pansy added. "Sirius has more resources and options, not to mention the fact that he can apparate, and Harry's house is not that big."

"One other thing," Harry interrupted. "I know you two are purebloods, and I tend to spend a lot of free time in the muggle world, which could be hard to get used to. Especially at a turbulent time like this, you might feel more comfortable in a magical environment.

"I'm not saying no," he added. "But Sirius is probably a better option. Even with as much as I tease him otherwise, he's a good man."

"Can we have some time to think it over?" Flora asked. Hestia looked eager to accept help from either of them while her sister remained somewhat more reserved.

"Of course," Sirius replied. "I'll have my house-elf get to work cleaning up a couple of rooms for you, just in case. We've got a few days before you would need to decide."

"That is most gracious of you, Lord Black," Hestia smiled. "You as well, Harry. We'll let you know as soon as we can."

"Glad to help," Harry replied. "I appreciated the warnings you gave me this year."

"We've got some things to do," Flora said. "I'm sure we'll be in touch soon. We'll have to be careful though. It's too bad we don't have another Slug Club meeting to use for cover."

"If you're worried about being seen with Harry by other Slytherins, you could always use his owl," Pansy suggested.

"Hedwig would probably enjoy getting to deliver another letter for once."

"Harry, you made me bribe her with bacon!" Sirius objected.

"I'm not crazy enough to stand between an owl and her bacon. It's not my fault that you haven't learned that lesson yet."

"Ignore these two jokers," Pansy interjected. "Hedwig is pretty distinctive and as long as you remember that Harry has trained her to believe that she's the most glorious owl in the world, I'm sure she would be glad to bring him a message."

"She's the one who trained me."

"Alright, I think we'd better let you go before these idiots get us all distracted," Pansy said. "We can wait a few minutes if you want to leave without attracting any attention."

"Good idea," Hestia replied. "Thanks, Harry, Lord Black, for the offers."

"Call me Sirius. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing each other over the summer regardless of which choice you make."

"Now you're butting in on my vacation too?" Harry moaned. "I think we'll need to find a beach that doesn't allow dogs, Pansy."

"What kind of beach wouldn't allow dogs?"

"The classy kind."

Hestia was giggling at Harry and his godfather's banter but followed her sister out of the room. Once the door was closed, Pansy turned to Sirius.

"I appreciate you offering to step in like that."

"I think I can relate in a way. I know I would have been relieved if someone had killed my mother for me when I was their age."

* * *

A little while later, Harry and Pansy first met the rather unpleasant Black family house-elf named Kreacher. He and Sirius seemed to loathe each other, and it made all the more sense that Sirius had called for Dobby's help when he had been wounded in the fight against MacNair a few months prior. Kreacher would have likely done all he could to make sure his master had perished. As close a call as that had been, Harry was that much more glad he had Dobby on his side.

Sirius ordered Kreacher to clean and prepare a couple more bedrooms for possible guests, which left him grumbling until it was mentioned that they were proper pureblood witches from the Carrow family. The scowling elf would probably be happy to think that the guests were the daughters of Death Eaters.

Once that was done, the trio headed back up to their quarters. Harry said he needed to find someone because he had an idea of something to do before the end of term. He was planning on grabbing the map to locate Parvati, but he ended up not needing it. When they entered the Gryffindor common room, she and Lavender were just coming down the stairs from their dorm.

"Hey Parvati!" he said, waving them over. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"After warning everyone the other night, I figured it would be a good idea to specifically talk to a few people who could be in greater danger."

"And you thought of me? Why me?" she asked.

"Blame the Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter. I know a lot of people probably realized it was just ridiculous gossip, but it did publicly connect you and I. That is something the Death Eaters might try to use. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my friends became targets some time in the future. So I wanted to check to see what you were doing this summer, to see if you would be safe enough wherever you live and everything."

"Oh, that's sweet of you," Parvati answered with a smile. "I should actually be safer than almost anyone else though. Padma and I are going to be spending most of the summer with our family back in India. Unfortunately, it will really cut into my social life, but at least this is one summer when it will have another benefit. Do you really think they might try to attack me?"

"Better safe than sorry," Pansy replied. "Almost everyone reads the Prophet, so Harry is right that you could be in slightly more danger than most as one of his friends. We should talk to Luna and Granger too."

"I was already planning on it. Lavender, I think this is one case where you should be glad that you weren't included in the silly harem rumors."

"Thanks. Unfortunately, my mum's a muggleborn, so I worry that she could be attacked. I'm going to tell her and dad everything you said when I get home."

"I hope nothing happens. You might want to keep your wand with you though. It would be better to get in trouble for underage magic than to let them hurt you and your family."

"Mad-Eye Moody has definitely rubbed off on you, Harry," Parvati grinned. "I think the two of you are right in this case, though."

"We were just going outside to enjoy our last free day," Lavender said. "Do you want to join us?"

"Sorry, I've got work to do. Pansy, you could-"

"No, I'd rather make sure you don't wear yourself out. I'm still on nurse duty after the other night."

"Well, don't have too good a time you two," Parvati teased. "I guess you do have a chaperone for once."

"Speaking of... where did Sirius go?" Harry asked.

"You'll never guess," Pansy answered, pointing over her shoulder to a loud group laughing on the other side of the common room.

"Ah, Fred and George. That makes sense. Let's go retrieve him. I actually do need his help for something."

* * *

"Those two are pretty funny guys," Sirius said when Harry dragged him off to his quarters. "You could take a few lessons from them about having more fun. You're way too serious most of the time, Harry. Believe me, I'm an expert at being-"

"Stop! No puns. Please. I'll hang out with the Weasley twins more next year, I promise. Right now, I need your help."

"With what?"

"I'm curious too. What idea have you come up with, Harry?"

"Hermione and Luna are my two closest friends, and that means I expect them to be at the top of the list if Riddle decides to go after someone I care about. Hermione's been my best friend pretty much since I started at Hogwarts, and Luna has been attached at the hip to both of us for the last year and a half. I want to keep them safe."

"So, what's the plan?" Sirius asked.

"I used runes to enchant Pansy's locket with several protective features. Most notably, I made it into a portkey that can be activated with a phrase. I was thinking I could make something similar for the two of them. Since none of us can apparate yet, it would give them a way to escape if they needed it."

"Where would you have it send them?" Pansy asked.

"I was thinking the safe house."

"What safe house?" Sirius wondered.

"A property that I don't think anyone knows of," Harry replied.

"That's not a bad idea. I should see about getting one of those. Maybe somewhere in the middle of nowhere." Sirius started to pace. "I wonder if I could... I suppose but... Right sorry, just thinking to myself. What do you need me to do, Harry?"

"I was hoping you could go buy a couple of lockets like the one Pansy wears." Pansy got up and walked over to show hers to Sirius. "It shouldn't be too hard for me to do the rune work since I've already done something similar."

"Enchanting things always was something I enjoyed," Sirius said. "I'm glad to see you following in my footsteps, Harry. Remind me to show you my motorcycle some day. It shouldn't take me too long to get a couple of lockets for you. I can go after lunch."

"Thanks, Sirius."

"So, what else is on the agenda for today?" Pansy asked.

"I'm wondering when the names of the other Death Eaters I killed at the graveyard will be released. Madam Bones told us that Riddle's killing curse must have bounced off and hit... what was his name? Something Bole?"

"Bertram," Sirius replied. "He was a friend of my father's. I was glad to hear that mean, old bastard died. Amelia mentioned that you got five Death Eaters with your blasting curse. Other than the Carrows, we don't know the other three yet."

"There were supposedly roughly two dozen at the Quidditch World Cup attack," Pansy interrupted. "We know that Nott was killed, Goyle and Avery were arrested there. Sirus then took out MacNair and Yaxley. Two dozen minus five would be nineteen, and Harry said roughly twenty were at the graveyard, so that sounds about right. If he had twenty Death Eaters and six died there, the Dark Lord could be down to only fourteen or so followers right now."

"Of those fourteen, we have names for Crouch and Crabbe," Harry added. "I know Crouch wasn't by the snake, so he's one of them. It's possible Crabbe survived."

"No, we know he did," Sirius noted. "Amelia said that he was one of the only leads she had. She wouldn't have said that if he was one of the dead."

"You're right."

"We also can add Gibbon and Rowle to that list," Sirius added. "The two names I got from Carina as people that worked with her husband."

"You should mention them to Moody."

"I will." Sirius barked out a laugh and sat down with a smile. "This feels so much better than last time. We have some names to work with and a bunch of the bastards have already been taken care of. Now we just need the momentum to keep working in our favor."

"It's too bad that Fudge seems determined to drag things to a halt."

"Useless moron," Pansy snorted. "Are all politicians as inept and stupid as him?"

"Every single one I've ever heard of," Sirius replied with a smirk. "At least this way if I do hunt down and kill another one, I can cast the Dark Mark and have it blamed on a rogue Death Eater."

"It would be funny for people to think there was a traitor in the Death Eater ranks wiping out their own forces."

"Might even make them paranoid enough to start going after each other," Pansy suggested.

"We should be so lucky."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Sirius handed over two silver lockets for Harry to get to work on. He spent several hours over the next few nights carving the runes as that was the only time he felt safe enough to ask Pansy to take hers off so that he could make sure he got everything just right.

After their last Arithmancy class, Harry went off to spend the rest of the afternoon with Hermione as Pansy was pulled aside to talk with Daphne Greengrass.

Once the usual privacy charms were cast as well as a couple more that Pansy hadn't seen before- Daphne must have been feeling particularly cautious- she noticed the grimace on her former dorm mate's face.

"Normally I would be loath to admit this, but I think I need your help," Daphne said.

"Now you've got my attention..."

It ended up being a scheme that Pansy was fully engaged in, but she left Harry out of it. He had more than enough requiring his attention at the moment. Moreover, she thought it would be doing him a favor to take care of the problem on her own.

Plus, some things were better left in the hands of women. Precision was more Pansy's strong suit.

Harry wouldn't find out about it until after the term was over.

* * *

Thursday afternoon saw the last Defense class that Harry had with Moody. The semi-unretired auror got up from behind his desk as the rest of the students filed out.

"When Albus asked me to come teach, I thought I would hate it," he snorted. "I haven't been very good with kids for a long time. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. You certainly kept things interesting, Potter."

"I don't think it's possible for me to have a quiet year here at Hogwarts."

"I got something for you." He tossed Harry a small notebook. "That should give you plenty to work on next year, even if they replace me with an idiot."

"Thank you, sir. I... This means a lot to me. I'll have to think of a way to repay you."

"Just try to keep yourself and your friends alive. That's the best you can do. It will prove that you learned everything I taught you."

"I will, sir."

"Call me Alastor, lad. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other one of these days. You've done plenty of fighting. Heh, probably more than anyone else since I left my glory days behind. Now, go on with you. I've still got too much packing to do before I can leave here and get back to doing what I'm best at.

"Oh, and Harry," Moody called out just before they left the classroom. "Tell Sirius thanks for the tip on Gibbon and Rowle. With any luck, I'll be busy this summer hunting down the filth."

* * *

Harry's final lesson that year was in Potions with professor Slughorn. For the most part, the jovial teacher went over what he had assigned for the summer and the things they should expect for their upcoming OWL year. It didn't sound too awful, although that could be because Harry no longer dreaded the class the way he had when Snape was still around to torment all but the Slytherins.

Pansy told Harry she had an errand to run after the class, which was fine with him because he wanted to talk to old Sluggy before he left for the summer.

"Professor, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Certainly, Harry. What can I do for you?" Slughorn motioned for him to come to the front of the class where he was sitting behind his desk.

"I don't know what all you've heard about what happened to me last week. We haven't talked since then."

"Oh dear. I assume you mean all the unpleasant business with the Death Eaters? Well, you might not be too surprised to find out that the headmaster made sure to go over everything with me last Sunday. Especially with the death of the Carrow girls' father, and the possibility of at least one of my other students having family involved, we are likely to have a rough time next year. It almost makes me wish I had stayed retired."

"I'm glad you didn't, professor. It's been a pleasure having your class this year."

"You know I've already submitted your final grades, Harry. No need to butter me up anymore," he chuckled. "But I concur, it has been a pleasant year for me as well. Now, what were you wanting to ask me about?"

"Actually, I was wondering about Tom Riddle." Harry could practically see the blood drain from Slughorn's face. "He told me his real name and I realized that you must have taught him. I know professor Dumbledore did as well. But, I guess you were his head of house, so you probably knew Tom better than the headmaster. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. No surprise there, huh?"

"Understandable, yes," Slughorn exhaled. "Do you have something specific you wanted to know about him?"

"I... I'm not sure really. Did the headmaster tell you about his diary?"

"D-diary? What diary?"

"A couple of years ago, Lucius Malfoy slipped Riddle's diary to a student. But it wasn't just a diary- it was alive, sort of. It was able to possess the girl and force her to open the Chamber of Secrets. Just as Riddle had done all those years ago, when Moaning Myrtle was killed. Although, I guess he was able to blame that on Hagrid at the time. Huh, you must have taught Myrtle and Hagrid too, now that I think of it. Wow, that's-"

"Don't go making me feel too old now, Harry."

"Sorry sir, it's not that, it just struck me that you must have taught a lot of people over the years. Didn't you say you'd taught for fifty years here at Hogwarts?"

"Fifty-one now."

"Did you teach McGonagall too? I'm not sure how old she is and, well, it isn't polite to ask a lady her age."

"Yes, I did," he chuckled merrily. "Let me see, Minerva graduated in 1954 I believe. She came back to teach within a couple of years. It wasn't too long before she was replacing Albus as both head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration. She was Head Girl in her time here as well. That shouldn't be too surprising, eh Harry? She was very driven, even as a girl."

"That does sound like her. I think it also explains something about why Hermione looks up to her so much. She's much the same way. Very driven. I imagine she's already got her eye set on becoming Head Girl herself in a couple more years."

"I think miss Granger has a good chance. Of course, she'll be pleased to be a prefect first."

"Naturally. I can't think of anyone more right for the job than her."

"Don't say I said anything," Slughorn winked conspiratorially. "Officially, no prefects for next year have been decided upon yet."

"I didn't hear a word, sir," Harry replied with a grin. "But I think it would shock most people if they gave it to someone else. I like Parvati and Lavender, but even they would probably tell you that Hermione should be the girl's prefect next year.

"We've gotten a bit off topic though. I wanted to mention Riddle's diary because I briefly had it and when I wrote in it, it answered some of my questions before showing me a memory. And then later, when I rescued Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets, she had the diary there with her."

Harry noticed Slughorn becoming paler by the minute but continued on with his story.

"Whatever Riddle had done to the diary, it was somehow draining the life out of her. I saw Riddle, or something like a ghost of him. Only more real than a ghost, and he was a teenager, the same age as when he made the diary. He told me things- things about how similar we were. Both with dead parents, orphans, raised in the muggle world. I didn't grow up in an orphanage like Tom did, but I think I would have been better off if I had. He also mentioned a few similarities between our personalities, and...

"I don't know if anyone told you, professor, but I'm a parselmouth, just like Tom was. The headmaster thinks that I got the ability because of him. That when he failed to kill me all those years ago and gave me this scar he somehow gave me some of his powers as well. I'm not sure how you learn a magical language through a scar, but magic doesn't always make sense to me.

"Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that I've been wondering what exactly drove Tom Riddle to becoming Voldemort. Because we do have similarities. He killed Myrtle when he was only something like sixteen. I've killed people too. I mean, obviously it's a different thing to set a basilisk on a schoolgirl compared to fighting Death Eaters, but I just can't help but wonder. Could I become anything like him? Where did he go wrong? I know that's not really an easy question. Maybe Tom himself couldn't answer, assuming he was sane enough to try."

"Harry, I don't know where Tom Riddle went wrong all those years ago," Slughorn sighed sadly. "I was not aware that he was responsible for Myrtle's death, but it does explain a few things, especially about how Albus never trusted him. As for what drove him to become you-know-who, I believe it was power at first. If there was something else, he hid those motivations from me."

"Did he ever have someone he loved?" Harry asked.

"Someone he loved? I don't remember any particular romantic interests of his, if that's what you mean."

"Yeah, I... I don't think I would ever want to take over the world like he did. That sounds like way too much work, if you ask me. But... I wonder if I could be driven to killing people. Not just when fighting Death Eaters, I mean. For... other reasons."

"Like if something happened to young miss Pansy, you mean," Slughorn finished his thought as Harry had trailed off. "You're not as mysterious as some people might think. Love has driven plenty of men to greatness, while grief and loss have driven just as many to do horrible things. Believe it or not, I was young and in love once too."

"Miss Carrow?" Harry asked. "I think I remember you said her name started with an A but..."

"Amaltheia," Slughorn laughed. "No, I had a crush on her, but she was a year older than me and always seemed so out of my league. Beautiful girl, but nothing ever developed between us. No, I was thinking of someone else. Someone I haven't spoken of in a long time..."

He sighed before drifting off, his eyes unfocused and distant.

"Her name was Grace," he said in a somber tone. "I loved her more than any man had ever loved a woman. At least, so I thought at the time. We were engaged to be married, you know. I can hardly believe it was so long ago."

Slughorn again drifted off, but Harry remained quiet on seeing the look of loss in the old man's eyes.

"She died," he whispered. "She was an auror, fresh out of training. She was assigned to work with a veteran while she learned the ropes. There was an attack on a young family by what was thought to be a single werewolf. When they tracked him down, it turned out there were two of them. Brothers. They had taken precautions, but they weren't prepared for dealing with two of them.

"They killed the bastards, but not before she..." Slughorn failed to stifle a sob. He wiped at his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. "When I saw her, the beautiful woman I loved, with her face mangled and one of her arms torn off, I wanted to hunt down and slaughter every werewolf in the world. For just a moment, that rage swallowed me. But then I looked down, and saw her engagement ring, and it suddenly hit me. Our wedding day would never come. We would never have children. I collapsed Harry. I wept for what seemed like hours.

"In the end, grief won over rage. It still led me into darkness. I delved into research, even the darkest arts, looking for anything that could possibly bring her back to me. I never found anything that would work. The closest was the old children's story about the Deathly Hallows, but not even the mythical Resurrection Stone could truly bring the dead back. Only a shadow of them, something like a ghost. I was miserable, Harry, but even a ghost of her would have been better than nothing.

"Believe it or not, Hogwarts is what saved me."

"How so, professor?"

"I had been let go from my previous job and was lucky enough for there to be an opening for a Potions Master," he chuckled. "For future reference, when someone says they were let go, it's a polite way of saying they were fired. Now Grace, she had spent much of her childhood in America, her father's work had taken them over there before she could start here at Hogwarts. We met about a year after I graduated. She had moved back to England with her mother. As much as I had enjoyed my time here as a student, the fact that this place was somewhere that didn't remind me of her- it was what I needed at the time."

"And then it turned out you were a great teacher," Harry added.

"I don't know if I was great at the time, but it was something that I quickly learned to love. Influencing young minds was incredibly rewarding. And it made things easier over time. Our children would never be born, but I could play mentor to so many others. It never replaced what I lost, but it gave me something else.

"Would you like to know a secret, Harry?"

"Sure, professor."

"My Grace, she had red hair. I've always had a preference for it ever since. Sometimes when I would see students come through here with red hair, it would make me think of her and wonder if one of our children would have looked like that. I admit, it's something that I've let bias me at times. Like with your mother, Lily. She had almost the exact same shade of dark red hair that my Grace had. It gave me a predisposition to like her. The years of teaching her made that even stronger. I was old enough by then that she would have been more like a granddaughter to me, but I liked to think that Grace would have loved your mother just as I did."

He gave Harry a sad smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"If I could channel my grief into something positive like teaching, then remember that you could too if it ever came to that, Harry. Let's hope things don't come to it though. You're still young, and hopefully you have time enough for love."

"Thank you, professor. I think that helps."

"I'm glad, my boy. Have a good summer, Harry. Try to let the adults worry about things for awhile."

* * *

Meanwhile, Pansy had gone down to the Beauxbatons carriage to track down Fleur Delacour. She was let inside and directed to a door, where she knocked and waited. The space expansion charms must have been very tricky to make this place so enormous on the inside.

"Bonjour," Fleur said when she answered. "What can I do for you, Pansy?"

"May we speak in private?"

"Certainly, please come in."

"Thank you." Fleur's room was as elegant as she expected from everything else she had seen and rather clean. Then again, they were scheduled to leave the next day, so maybe she had just packed earlier than some would. Pansy and Harry still had some of that to do. She pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Fleur. "That states that I am here on official business for House Potter."

"Yes, I see 'Arry's signature. What sort of official business do we have to discuss?" Fleur looked intrigued, especially at Pansy being sent as a negotiator. It was hardly a normal situation.

"You had agreed to go through the maze with Harry so the two of you could look out for each other as he did not trust Krum. You did this because of Harry's rescue of your little sister, correct?"

"Oui."

"And then Harry had to pull you out of the way of a killing curse when Mr. Crouch was murdered. Later, in the maze, Harry took out Krum when he had sneaked up behind you and already knocked you out with a stunner."

"Let me stop you for a moment. I do not owe 'Arry a life debt. I already checked even though 'e 'as not suggested wanting any rewards, but as a Veela, I was raised to be careful of predatory men. Not zat 'Arry is one, of course."

"True, but he did end up helping you, more than you might have helped him, right?"

"Yes. Where are you leading zis questioning?"

"I've learned that your father works in the French ministry. I don't know what you and he might have heard yet about what happened to Harry."

"At ze graveyard? Your government's official position is-"

"It's nonsense spouted by cowardly politicians. Harry told me everything that happened. The Dark Lord was there. And that's why I want your help. Or, your father's, really. If things get bad here, if the Death Eaters start up their attacks again, I want to have an emergency way to flee the country. With an imbecile like Fudge in charge of things, it would be for the best if it was done legally and above the board."

"We could certainly arrange something like zat. Gabrielle would be delighted if 'Arry came to visit anyway."

"I'm sure," Pansy said with a droll tone. "Your sister's crush on him is fairly amusing."

"It is not 'er fault zat your man is such a 'ero," Fleur replied, stifling a laugh. "Gabrielle's own personal 'ero ze way she tells ze story. I love my sister, but I can already tell what a terror she is going to be when she 'its puberty. You may 'ave to protect 'Arry from 'er some day."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I believe ze easiest option would be to arrange for an unlimited portkey. Normally, travel between two countries is more limited, but I know it can be done. My parents 'ad one this year. A destination would be ze only trouble, but if you would not mind coming to the Delacour chateau, zen it should be no problem to arrange for my father."

"That would be much appreciated."

"It is simple enough, and you are right zat I do owe 'Arry a favor after everything. Is zere anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Officially no. But unofficially..."

"Yes?"

"Harry told me that you told him he should take the cup. That you felt he deserved the win more. Normally, this would have been a nice overture on your part, but as things turned out it led to him being captured, tortured, and nearly killed."

"Zat is 'orrible, but surely you do not blame me for ze trap."

"Harry is everything to me," Pansy said in a low voice. "You are a friendly acquaintance. If something worse had happened, I would very much blame you for not taking the trophy when I know that he didn't want it. He didn't even want to participate in the first place. As it is, I am still slightly cross with you."

"Zen what do you want from me to clear ze air between us?"

"Nothing major. Just a small favor you could do for me. It would only take a moment of your time."

"Color me intrigued."

* * *

Harry and Pansy met up again shortly before the Leaving Feast. Luna would not be joining them for the first meal in a long time, but she seemed to be in a good mood anyway, no doubt in part due to the fact that Ravenclaw had won the house cup. It was the first time in a decade that neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin won, but neither Harry nor Pansy particularly cared. House points matter very little when you've got things like Dark Lords and summer vacations on your mind.

The feast itself went well enough after Dumbledore gave a small speech about everyone being careful over the holidays. Knowing that Harry's speech a week before had already gone around the school like wildfire, the headmaster seemed less tense than he had the previous few days. Even if the ministry was downplaying the return of Voldemort, the students knew more than enough to warn their families.

Harry spent much of the meal talking with Hermione of things they wanted to do over the summer. They hadn't spent a lot of time together recently, and Harry was starting to regret that. He hoped that maybe they could get together once or twice while they were away from school.

After the feast, Harry quickly pulled Hermione aside while Pansy went to fetch Luna. They stepped into the nearest room once they were all together and Dobby popped in with two small packages that Harry handed over to the girls.

"Presents!" Luna beamed. "You shouldn't have, Harry."

"These are important, and I needed to make sure you both had them before we left school. Go on, open them."

Luna tore into hers and was delighted by the silver locket.

"It's just like Pansy's! Except the pictures are missing."

"Well, I thought you might like to put your own in there," Harry replied.

"Could you copy them from her locket?" Luna asked. "You two are my best friends, you know."

"I know that charm," Pansy said, so she took her locket off so that Luna could have a completely exact duplicate.

"There are runes on them," Hermione said as she examined hers. "I recognize some of them. Protective runes."

"Right, there are a couple of things like that, but the most important part is that I've charmed them both to act as portkeys that you can activate with a word as long as you're wearing them. Hermione, yours is 'quaffle' and Luna's is 'basketball.' I figured that neither of you particularly cared about sports, and I chose something from the magical world for you because I doubt you'd talk about quidditch while you're back in the muggle world, and Luna I picked something from the muggle world so that you wouldn't accidentally trigger yours either."

"What happens if we use them?" Hermione asked.

"You'll be transported to a safehouse."

"What if I'm with my parents?"

"As long as you're holding onto them, they'll go with you. It should work fine even though they're muggles as long as you're there."

"Where is this safehouse?"

"That's a secret. The only people who've been there are Pansy, Dobby, and I. I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible, just in case. If you do have to use the portkey, call for Dobby and he can let me know what happened."

"This is very thoughtful, Harry," Luna said as she hugged him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I appreciate it too, Harry," Hermione agreed. "I wish I didn't think I might ever need such a thing."

"Yeah, me too. But I figure that you've been my best friend for four years now, and Luna, you've been with me and Pansy a lot ever since we met. Then, with Skeeter's gossip, you've both been even more publicly connected to me. That worries me because even Death Eaters must read the paper. I just want both of you to be safe, and until we learn to apparate, this seemed like the best way."

"I may never take it off, Harry," Luna replied. "This way I'll still have you and Pansy with me all the time."

"Well, hopefully we'll get to see you some time over the summer too. You'll just have to talk to your dad about what he's got planned for you."

"I'll wear mine too," Hermione added. "I hope I don't need it, but you're right. It's better to be prepared for problems. What are the other protections?"

"There are a few things. I can fill you in later if you don't mind. Luna needs to get back to her dorm, and we haven't finished packing."

"Alright."

"Just the train ride home then," Luna said as they started walking up the stairs towards the Ravenclaw tower. "Let's talk only about pleasant things tomorrow, okay? I don't want to spend the last few hours with you guys worrying about Death Eaters."

"That sounds like a plan," Harry answered with a smile. "I am so ready for summer."

**End of Year 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Death Eater score card: Goblet of Fire has 30 Death Eaters at the graveyard along with 3 others mentioned (Crouch, Snape, & Karkaroff) which is a total of 33. Of those, in this story 12 are dead (Pansy's father, Malfoy, Snape, Nott, MacNair, Yaxley, Bole, Alecto & Amycus Carrow, 3 others unnamed at the moment) & 4 are imprisoned (Goyle, Avery, Pettigrew, Karkaroff). So, Harry's guess that Voldemort only has 14 is close, but the real total is 17. I figured I should mention this since some stories feature tons of Death Eaters (like the Deathly Hallows movie where Voldemort's army looks enormous), but I'm sticking closer to what we see in the books.
> 
> Also, yes, Nagini is dead and another horcrux has been destroyed, accidentally in this case. For the record, I imagine the snake was made into a horcrux with the death of Bertha Jorkins. I tend to assume that Harry was meant to be the final one and that Nagini came only after Riddle got his little homunculus like form at the beginning of Goblet of Fire.
> 
> Next, someone wondered why Harry wasn't sure if he could use the killing curse since Harry is willing to kill in this story. From what we see in canon, using the Unforgivable curses requires you to have the exact mindset or they won't work and Harry did not want to take that risk with a spell he had never used before, especially when his life depended on it.
> 
> I'm basing this on what we learn from Moody's lesson about the Unforgivables (suggesting that the entire class could cast the killing curse at him and he wouldn't even get a nosebleed) and from when Harry tries and fails to properly cast the Cruciatus on Bellatrix in Order of the Phoenix.
> 
> Also, as much fun as Harry throwing around killing curses and wiping out the Death Eaters may be, Harry isn't that filled with hate. The one time he's actually used one of the three Unforgivables (not counting when he & Pansy were practicing the Imperius on each other) was when he used it to force Pansy's father to slit his own throat. Harry hated him more than anyone. Voldemort murdered his parents (who Harry doesn't remember) and keeps trying to kill him, but Edmund Parkinson abused Pansy, the love of his life.
> 
> Similarly, the only time Pansy has used the Dark Arts was on Draco, who she had feared being forced into an arranged marriage with and loathed, and arguably the Dursleys, with the whole blood magic ritual to frame them for Harry's supposed murder. Again, those things were very personal.


	64. Ramifications of Sins, Old & New

* * *

Horace Slughorn had been called many things over the course of his life. Vain. Self-serving. Lazy. Manipulative. Arrogant. But even those most inclined to speak ill of him would never have thought of him as confrontational.

That made it all the more surprising that he was striding as quickly as he had in years on the way to track down Albus Dumbledore before his old colleague could escape into his office. The students had just left for the train taking them away as the year had ended, but Old Sluggy felt like this was going to be the most stressful summer since Lily Potter's death. He was strongly considering hiding out at the school until September came around.

But today, he had a mission.

Lily had been one of his all time favorite students, and it was more than just the fact that she reminded him of his long lost love. She was driven in that way that only the young can be- out to change the world, to make it a better place- before age and cynicism brought on the pain of wisdom. Her son was thought of as something of a miracle, and this past year made Horace start to believe that maybe there was something to that. Harry Potter was more than just a scar on his forehead. He had a different sort of drive, and burgeoning magical power of the type seen at most once in a generation. Whereas Tom Riddle had something similar, although more of a will to control others, Harry's was more focused on fighting to stay alive, and that was heartbreaking. No teenager should have to fight for survival, and certainly not have to kill in order to do so.

That far too much weight had been left on the shoulders of Harry Potter was disgraceful. It was even worse for Horace as he had taught so many of the now revealed Death Eaters, more often than not coming from his own house, and in the decades past, he had been on good terms with Millicent Bagnold as her career had bloomed before becoming the Minister of Magic. It was clear now that she must have been much more corrupt than even most politicians once the number of Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup was revealed.

Horace always assumed that some of those claiming to have been under the Imperius had lied, but to see the stark truth was still shocking.

The failures of the past had left this mess now, and it was time for Slughorn to do something to try to help clean it up. Old men like he and Dumbledore should have been the first line of defense, but he had retired in comfort, and while Albus had not, it seemed that the headmaster had clearly not done enough either. It was shameful to find that Harry had to deal with what Horace now knew he had faced in the Chamber of Secrets.

He hadn't felt so ashamed in a long time. It was time to make amends for one of his oldest sins.

"Albus! I need to speak with you." He had finally reached the headmaster, just down the hall from his office.

"What can I do for you, Horace?"

"We'll want to do this in private."

"Very well. On to my office then?"

"Yes."

"Are you alright, Horace? You look out of breath."

"Why do you think I have my own quarters much nearer to my classroom? I'm too old to be running all over the castle."

"You're younger than I am," Dumbledore replied with a grin.

"I'm more sensible too, _clearly_."

"Clearly," the headmaster agreed with a chuckle.

They walked on together for a few moments and then took the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. Slughorn collapsed into the nearest chair almost immediately.

"Now, what has you so bothered?"

"Give me a moment, Albus. I need to catch my breath because I'm going to need it for all I have to say."

"Please take your time." Dumbledore sat down as well and tried to get as comfortable as he could in his chair. Horace was well known for his loquaciousness, so he assumed this could take awhile.

"I had a very enlightening and distressing conversation with Mr. Potter just before he left for the summer. He wanted to ask me about Tom Riddle. You didn't put him up to it, did you?"

"No, although I am not completely surprised that he would ask you about Tom. I am a little disappointed that he came to you before speaking with me, though. I had hoped that our relationship had mended somewhat over the last few months."

"Harry told me about Riddle's diary. Do you know what happened to it?"

"I believe I have it around here somewhere," Dumbledore replied.

"I assume you studied it then?"

"I did."

"Dammit, Albus, I'm not here to play games. You know what Riddle created, don't you? Please tell me you're just being mysterious and secretive as usual, and you're not actually going senile."

"I can assure you I am not going senile."

"Then why haven't you searched for more of the blasted things?"

"I have done some research over the years for trophies that I believe Voldemort may have used. I was not sure that was what he had done until recently."

"Harry put that diary on your desk two years ago! What have you done in the meantime? I will not let the entire weight of the world be placed on a teenager's shoulders! Harry has done far more than enough already! Two Death Eaters arrested because of him, several others killed. That's more than even you tallied, I believe. Only Alastor has done more. Has this country fallen so far that we're going to rely on Harry to save us again? Because the people who should have cleaned this mess up years ago decided not to do what was necessary, we're now on the brink of war. A war we were supposed to have already won."

"I need more information if we are going to have a chance to clean this mess up for good." Dumbledore fixed Horace with a piercing gaze, and the Potions Master rubbed his weary face and sighed.

"Seven," he croaked out. "He wanted a seven part soul."

"Six horcruxes then," Albus replied quietly. "He would have created six. I have a few ideas that I can work on. We at least have had some good news recently. Harry killed Voldemort's snake at the graveyard, and from what I saw in the pensieve, I am almost positive that means two have now been destroyed."

"And what about the boy?"

"What about him?"

"Don't be obtuse with me," Horace said angrily. "You told Harry that the Dark Lord had transferred some of his powers, including the ability to speak parseltongue to him. How could that possibly be? What type of scar has that sort of power?"

"I don't believe-"

"Damn you, Albus! How long have you known?"

The headmaster sat back in his chair and looked away.

"Since his parseltongue ability came to light," he admitted, still unable to face his oldest colleague.

"And how long have you suspected?"

When the silence was his only answer, Horace kept demanding.

"How long?"

Albus turned back around with a tear rolling down the side of his face.

"Tell him, Albus. He deserves to know the truth."

"How can I? After all he's already faced, how can I tell him what fate has in store for him? How can I ask even more of him?"

"What do you think you're going to ask? That he sacrifice himself? That the price the Potter family paid all those years ago wasn't already enough? That he throw his life away? The hell with that, Albus. It's going to take a lucky shot for anyone to take down Riddle, whether he's mortal or not."

"What do you suggest then?"

"That whenever that lucky shot comes, we make sure he can't escape. Since a killing curse in the back won't work, we need to hit him with something that will disable him, leave him vulnerable for a moment when he can't escape. Then we pour the draught of living death down his throat, bury him in the deepest, darkest tomb in the world, and let Harry Potter live his life in peace."

"Potions can't always be the answer, Horace. I'm afraid things won't be that easy," Dumbledore sighed. "No one has ever captured Voldemort."

"And the only one who has ever killed him was apparently Lily Potter. At least that's what Harry and I believe, since the idea that he has a 'magical forehead' offends the both of us. We can't just pray for another miracle like that. From what I've heard, Harry was able to at least duel him to a standstill at only fourteen. Maybe with some more actual training, one of these days he will be up to the job, since you apparently refuse to do it."

"At my best, I was never able to beat Tom. I don't know that anyone could truly defeat him."

"So we should all just give up then? Concede the country to him? I suppose we could at least smuggle the children out so that they won't burn with the rest of us as England goes down in flames."

"I am not giving up," Dumbledore said, some of the fire coming back to him.

"Then you bloody well better get to work," Horace replied. "I've got a draught of living death to brew. If you come up with a better idea, let me know."

"I will, Horace. For what it's worth, thank you for your honesty."

"It is the best policy, or so they say," Slughorn snorted as he stood and began to leave. "Tell him, Albus. Or I will."

* * *

The train ride had been quite relaxing. Harry had spent much of the time just talking with Hermione and Luna, both of whom he made plans to visit in the fairly near future. He also had brief conversations with several of his other friends, including Neville, Fred and George. Parvati and Lavender had stopped by to wish everyone a good summer.

Flora and Hestia had sent a message earlier that week that they had decided to take Sirius up on his offer, so they knew to expect to see him once they arrived at King's Cross Station. The twins were in their own compartment though, as they were trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Harry expected they would take their time in getting off the train as well for the same reason. That suited his purposes just fine; he was already starting to miss Luna even as they spoke of the upcoming summer.

He knew some of what Pansy had planned though, and it would begin later that very day.

Harry looked over at his girlfriend and marveled at how calm she could be. There was little that he was going to have to do, other than watch and worry he supposed. He just hoped that everything would go well. Knowing his luck, it would either be a breeze or a nightmare.

When the train pulled to a stop, they waited for the crowd to thin a bit. Plenty of people were in a hurry to get away for the summer. They escorted Luna to meet her father and Hermione gave Harry one last hug before she went through to the muggle side of the station to find her parents.

A few minutes later, Harry led Pansy over to Sirius, who was off to one side, leaning against a wall. 'Trying to look cool,' Harry thought with a snort, but to his annoyance it did actually sort of work for his godfather. The smirk on his face told Harry that he knew it too, the smarmy bastard.

"Hey there," Sirius said. "How was the train ride?"

"Nice and quiet," Pansy replied. "Nothing dangerous or out of the ordinary at all. Now if only the next couple of months will cooperate and be just as calm."

"I could definitely use the chance to unwind."

"Good luck with that, Harry. Ah, and here they are!"

Flora and Hestia had joined them.

"May I welcome two such lovely ladies to the Sirius Black Summer Home for Wayward Girls. All those determined to be as disappointing to their evil parents as possible are our most favored guests. I myself continue to torment my mother even years after her death."

"Thank you, Lord Black," Hestia responded with a grin on her face even as she curtsied. "My sister and I shall endeavor to be thoroughly horrible."

"Then I think you'll fit right in," he said with a smile.

"If you get sick of his nonsense, feel free to hex him as much as necessary," Harry told Flora with a smirk. "Someone will probably need to keep him in line."

"I'm sure I can handle him."

"I'm sorry my dear, but you're far too young to be handling me," Sirius teased. "Now, I think it will be best if we head to my home first and make plans to visit yours after we've got your school things stowed away. Kreacher!"

The grumpy house-elf appeared, already muttering about his awful blood traitor of a master, but Sirius paid him little mind as he gave the order to deliver the Carrow twins' trunks to his home.

"Are you sure you don't need our help?" Pansy asked.

"No, I've got back up coming by later. I'm sure we'll be alright, and I assume you have things to do as well."

"Alright, take care of yourselves," Pansy said as she turned to the Carrows. "Let us know if anything important happens. But most of all, try to enjoy the summer. With any luck, things will stay quiet for awhile."

"That would be nice," Hestia replied. "Maybe we can even treat this as an actual holiday for once."

"It would be a nice change," Flora agreed.

"Well, the summer after my third year was the first really good one I ever had," Harry added. "Maybe it will be pleasant for you too. Sirius, I imagine we'll talk soon."

Before he could escape, Sirius wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Take care of him, Pansy. You're not the only one who loves Harry."

The girls chuckled at Harry's embarrassed discomfort before Sirius took the arms of Flora and Hestia and side-apparated them away.

"Just think of the bright side, Harry," Pansy said with a smirk. "At least he didn't lick you this time."

* * *

Dobby had been waiting for them under Harry's invisibility cloak and he took them back to the flat as soon as they were alone. They quickly set aside their belongings, covered themselves with the cloak and then were once again popping across the country, this time back to Hogsmeade.

Specifically, to the ground floor of the Shrieking Shack. Dobby led them to a room down a hall where their victim was waiting. Little Teddy Nott was tied to a chair, facing away from the door, and unconscious.

"You made sure no one saw you?"

"Yes, miss Pansy."

"Good work Dobby."

Harry got to go first, as he was in charge of softening up Teddy's defenses. He entered the room and cast a spell to awaken the Slytherin.

"Wakey, wakey." Harry walked around to where he could be seen.

"What? Potter? What the bloody hell is going on? Let me go."

"You know, Teddy- you don't mind if I call you Teddy do you? That's what your sister said she called you, so I thought you might like it. The thing is, you tried to slip a love potion to Pansy. While it didn't work, the idea was that you wanted to rape my girlfriend. That's not something I can easily forgive. I've thought long and hard about what I wanted to do to you to show my disapproval of your actions."

"You'll never get away with this Potter. Someone will have noticed that I'm missing, and they will find me. You're going to be in so much trouble, and Pansy-"

"Say one more word about her and you won't leave this room alive, you maggot." The look in Harry's eyes was enough for Nott to know that he meant it. "Now then, I believe I was trying to tell you about all the things I planned for you. For example, I considered cutting your thumbs off.

"Now, why the thumbs, you might ask. Scientists think that we evolved to become the dominant species on the planet in part due to our thumbs. Unlike most animals, we could pick things up and use them as tools. Tools became weapons. Tools led to discovering things like controlled fires that we could use to cook food or stay warm at night. Tools led to greater intelligence as we discovered more and more we could do. Fast forward thousands of years, and here we are with our civilization and all that we've accomplished.

"You need your thumbs to do all sorts of things, you know? Imagine how much harder it would be to try to write without a thumb. Or hold a wand. Or slip a potion into someone's drink."

"Potter, please, just let me go," Nott begged. "I'll never go anywhere near either of you again."

"But then I had another, simpler idea," Harry continued, ignoring the pleas. "I could cut your balls off. Not nearly as elegant or inventive as removing your thumbs, but damn did it sound satisfying. I even learned a castration curse. Pansy's father had all sorts of interesting things in his library, at least before we stole most of them. Did you know the Parkinson family used to deal in the slave trade? Hundreds of years ago, of course, but there was still a lot of knowledge in some of the old family tomes. You see, slaves were used for different tasks, and there were plenty of people who didn't take kindly to being enslaved. That shouldn't be surprising. I certainly never enjoyed it.

"But, getting back to the point. Some slave masters were willing to do all sorts of things to make sure their property behaved themselves. Sometimes they went so far as to castrate the men. Now, wizards could do that so much more quickly and cleanly with magic, and... well, I think you see where I'm going with this."

Nott's begging had turned to quiet whining and sobbing. Obviously, he saw exactly where Harry was going with this.

"Luckily for you, I decided against that as well. I didn't want to have to see you naked or get too close to make sure I didn't accidentally kill you if I did that. And obviously, I wasn't going to ask Pansy to do it either. That meant I had to come up with another new idea.

"I don't know if you heard the story going around, but when your precious Dark Lord kidnapped me, I got to experience the Cruciatus curse. Three times even! It was not pleasant, to say the least. But now, I have the perfect opportunity to practice casting it on someone else.

"You remember Moody's lesson, don't you Teddy? You have to really mean it to cast one of the Unforgivable Curses. Well, you wanted to hurt the woman I love, so you can be damn sure I mean it when I say that I want you to _suffer_."

"Please, Potter, don't-" Nott pleaded.

"But in the end, it wasn't his decision," Pansy said as she stepped around in front of Nott. "It wasn't Harry that you were going to hurt. At least, not directly. It was me. And therefore, it was my choice about what we would do to you.

"I can understand his ideas. If some stupid girl had done something like that to him, I would gladly have butchered the fucking cunt. I would happily watch the life fade from her eyes and sleep well that night afterwards. But, unlike Harry, I also remember that there are things more important than watching you suffer."

"I'm lucky to have someone so brilliant on my side," Harry said with a smile. "Killing you would be easy. But you were the son of a Death Eater."

"Just as I was the daughter of one," Pansy added. "I knew all sorts of things that were useful about the Death Eaters because of that. So, I'm guessing it's likely that you know something useful as well. Time to find out.

" _Legilimens!_ "

Harry took a step back as Dobby set up a chair and desk nearby, so that Pansy could make any notes. Judging by the smell, Nott had pissed himself in the last few minutes, so it was doubtful that he would be able to put up much of a defense, even if he had been trained in Occlumency in the first place.

He kept his wand at the ready though, just in case. If this worthless piece of shite so much as blinked at Pansy wrong, he was not going to survive the night.

* * *

An hour later, she took a break but refused to let Harry try. Pansy's contention was that if he got a look at the wrong type of memory, he would lose control and possibly kill Nott. He had to admit that she was probably right.

"Please, just let me go," Nott begged once again. Pansy was writing at the desk, so Harry decided to answer instead.

"Oh, don't worry, we will. We will let you go and everything will go back to normal."

"Really?"

Harry chuckled darkly. He was telling the truth, to a certain point of view.

"It would go easier on you if you just told us everything we wanted to know. Starting with the names of every single person you know or suspect to be a Death Eater."

"Whatever you want," Nott croaked, his voice hoarse.

Pansy perked up at that and came around to stand in front of him. She motioned for Harry to go sit at the desk and once he was ready to take notes, she led Nott through the interrogation. This time, she just focused on looking in his eyes, looking for any sign of lies.

For several minutes, he talked and answered questions. There were only three new names they were able to get out of him that night, but she also had a number of other interesting facts set aside for possible follow up. More than enough to blackmail his family as well.

One last time delving into his mind provided nothing else of real use, so Pansy told Harry that she was done. He nodded and stepped in front of Nott.

"We're almost done, Teddy. Aren't you excited by that?"

"You really are going to let me go?"

"Yes. We just have to do one thing first."

Pansy and Dobby disappeared with a pop.

"You're all alone with me now. I really, really want to try out the Cruciatus curse on you. You deserve nothing less. But Pansy wants to make sure I don't leave any evidence behind, so for her, my safety is of greater importance than my need for vengeance. It's your lucky day. The only thing is, you won't remember just how lucky you got.

" _Obliviate!_ "

He saw the recognition fade from Nott's eyes as the spell went to work.

"In fact, you won't remember much of anything at all," Harry whispered a moment later as he covered himself with the cloak and walked away.

* * *

Harry had focused his will into erasing Teddy Nott's mind. Not just that evening, or that day, but everything. Going back years. He left him barely more than a toddler. It was kinder than he deserved, but for his family's sake, he would give the Notts another chance. Maybe without a Death Eater father to guide him, he could turn out as someone not worth killing.

Harry had done a lot of killing. He had never had a chance to torture someone, and as much as a part of him wanted to, it was probably for the best that Pansy had talked him out of it. She was much more concerned with them getting away with everything and making some progress in the war rather than making Nott pay for failing at being a rapist.

Dobby was once again invaluable as their partner in crime. He had procured a bottle of firewhisky that would be poured down Nott's throat and all over his clothes before he would be left on the outskirts of the village later that night. A teenage boy deciding to celebrate with too much firewhisky was something that happened often enough. Figuring anything out about what happened to him would be obscured even further by the alcoholic stupor.

Back at their flat, Harry ordered a pizza for dinner because Dobby was busy dealing with Nott and then erasing any traces left behind at the Shrieking Shack.

He was trying to relax while he ate another slice of sausage and pineapple. He had been told that ham or Canadian bacon were the more popular pairings to go with pineapple, but he was pretty sure Hedwig would have mangled his half of the pizza if anyone had uttered the magic 'b' word within range of her hearing. And ham was just fucking gross.

Pansy was vowing revenge on PizzaExpress for sullying her half of the pizza with an errant piece of pepperoni. It was hilarious to Harry, and he was struggling not to laugh. She had ordered only veggie toppings (black olives, bell peppers, and mushrooms) even though she tended to eat just as much meat as he did. For some reason, pepperoni was one of her mortal enemies. She called it a greasy, disgusting, fake meat-like substance that should be banned from existence.

The only reason she was currently ranting against the injustice of how her half of the pizza had been sullied was because there was a commercial break. They had been watching footage from the recent Glastonbury Festival, specifically Pulp's headlining performance, and it made Harry consider even more strongly than before leaving the magical world behind. Their friends Vanessa and Steven had been able to go there just before heading to France on their honeymoon. He wouldn't have been so envious of them if not for the fact that somewhere between Do You Remember the First Time and Common People was when Harry was busy being kidnapped, tortured, and nearly killed.

It was certainly one occasion in which the muggle world would have been infinitely preferable to the magical one.

"Stupid fucking pepperoni," Pansy muttered once again, glaring at the offending interloper that Harry had removed and set aside. He could have told her to get over it, but it was just too funny to listen to her.

Something had been bugging him though, and he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Pansy, sweetheart, can I ask you something? If you can stop swearing at the evil piece of meat, that is."

"Fine," she huffed in response. "What is it?"

"I feel like I forgot something from the end of the year. I mean, I know there was a lot going on, but it just seems like there's something I meant to do and..."

"And you don't remember what you didn't get around to doing. Don't worry, Harry, I probably know exactly what it is. I also know that it was taken care of, if it's what I'm thinking of. I'll give you a hint: think back to the third task."

"Voldemort? I don't think I forgot anything about that. That's the main thing I was focused on."

"That was after the third task."

"Yeah, I... Fuck! Krum! I was supposed to make him pay for being a sleaze to Hermione."

"Never fear, Harry, I saved you the trouble."

"You did?"

"Well, Daphne and I did, actually. And Dobby helped, of course. You'll have to remember to thank him when he gets back."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold on," Pansy said as she took another bite to finish the slice of pizza she had been eating. "This is a bit of a story. I'm done eating for now. Let me go wash my hands and get a drink."

"Okay." Harry enjoyed more of his pizza while she got up and went about her tasks. He looked over at the pepperoni and considered giving it to Hedwig. She might like it. Pansy was right that it was pretty greasy, but then again, so was bacon.

On cue, Hedwig flew into the room from where she had been resting in the second bedroom, landing on Harry's shoulder. It was kind of funny that his owl had her own room. However, it was even more disconcerting to think that she might be psychic. He had only thought the word bacon in his head, and yet here she was.

Maybe there was something to this idea of a magical familiar bond?

"Prek!" Hedwig shouted angrily.

"Right, sorry girl, I was just thinking. I'm not sure if you'll like this, but far be it from me to keep you from eating whatever you want. Here."

The owl grabbed the pepperoni and devoured it.

"I'll take that as a yes. You going out for the night?"

She gave him one of her better glares but then nodded when Harry didn't get up.

"Forgive me for worrying about you, your majesty," he said as he stood and walked over to the window to open it for her. She must have noticed his eyeroll too, because Hedwig swatted him with her left wing before flying off into the night.

"I think she was good training for you, Harry," Pansy said with a smirk as she came back over to the couch with a glass of water.

"How so?"

"You learned how to treat a lady and when not to argue with us."

"I guess. I think she's actually more high maintenance than you."

"Right," Pansy snorted. "Alright, so now it's story time. Get comfy, because I need to go into the backstory first. I assume you've never heard of the Widow's Curse?"

"No," Harry replied as he sat down beside her. He wiped his hands and face on a napkin while Pansy leaned against him, then he wrapped one arm around her as she snuggled into his side.

"Then that's where we'll start. The story goes that a long time ago, there was a beautiful young witch who was married to one of the richest men in the land. Unfortunately, only a couple of years into the marriage, her husband died, before they had children even.

"So now this beautiful young woman was as rich as could be, and soon she had suitors lining up to try to win her hand. Not only would they have a chance at a beautiful wife, but also all of her dead husband's wealth that was left behind.

"Of course, the widow had truly loved her husband, and she was angry at the people who infringed on the time when she should have been allowed to grieve for her lost love. But she, and the wealth, was far too tempting for all sorts of conniving men. Since she was not given what she needed by the schemers around her, she decided to make them pay for their trespasses.

"However, she was also a cautious woman, and she knew there was a nearby wizard who would gladly implicate her if she merely cursed them all or poisoned them. There were only so many lethal curses and poisons known at the time, and the wizard was most skilled, even in the dark arts.

"Therefore, she had to create her own way to get her revenge against the men who were constantly abusing her hospitality, trying to woo her. She came up with something new. It was a combination of a spell and an inactive poison. First, the hex would cause the victim to leave her presence as soon as possible. Then, once they had gone home, they would feel a strong disinclination to be around her again- or even anyone who merely resembled her. This would keep them away for at least several days.

"Once the spell ended though, if they decided to once again bother her, the poison would trigger. It was seemingly benign, but under the specific condition of the person who had ingested it not learning from their mistakes, then it would become deadly.

"You see, the witch was as brilliant as she was beautiful, so the curse would drive people away from her, and it would be a week or more later before they would die if they decided to push their luck. Because the lethal part of the magic was cast to modify what was ingested to temporarily become poisonous, the magic was basically impossible to detect. And with the victims having not been around her for days or weeks before falling ill, there was no evidence to tie her to the crime.

"Within a month, her two most obnoxious suitors had left, returning to their homes where they later expired from mysterious illnesses. Within six months, three others had died, while at least a dozen men had gone and never returned to bother her again.

"She was then finally left in peace. For a year, she mourned, rarely being spotted in public. Over that time, there was a severe winter, and her crops were decimated. Come the next spring, she searched through the town for a home with the most luscious garden. She found one where a young man had always tended to things for his parents as he had grown. She hired him to come work for her, helping her to restore what she had lost to the cold. He was polite, and a hard worker, and eventually even the witch's heart began to thaw.

"But she never forgot what had happened when she had lost her first husband. She saved the knowledge of the curse she had used and when her daughters were old enough, she passed the magic on to them. It is said that she somehow was able to hide the secret of the Widow's Curse so that it could only ever be used by women."

"Like the Fidelius charm?" Harry asked.

"Possibly. I'm not sure if that part of it is true or not. Anyway, that is the backstory. Now we get to how the Widow's Curse ties in to things today. And for that, I must go back to our last Arithmancy class of the year."

"When Daphne wanted to talk to you?"

"You do remember. Good. Now, something you would not remember is that last fall, at one of Slughorn's little parties, I was speaking with Daphne, Flora, and Hestia, and the topic of Krum and his predilection for younger girls came up. Most specifically, Daphne threatened to cut his balls off if she ever caught him looking at her younger sister. What you doubtlessly wouldn't have noticed is that Astoria turned thirteen last year and had a major growth spurt. She's not as tall as Daphne, but her curves started coming in with a vengeance, which caught the eye of the Bulgarian sleaze. Daphne saw him sit near Astoria one day and try to chat her up. Naturally, she was furious."

"I can imagine," Harry agreed.

"Indeed. However, she was able to control herself enough to not just perform an impromptu castration. She asked for my help in procuring the needed ingredients from Slughorn's stores and making sure Krum got dosed with the would be poison."

"Why did she ask you?"

"Ah, well, it turns out Daphne is smarter than most witches and wizards. Do you remember when the dementors attacked the quidditch match?"

"How could I forget?"

"When you collapsed after casting the Patronus, I screamed out for Dobby and he took us to the infirmary. Daphne remembered that and realized that we have a house-elf. Plus, she knew that you had it out for Krum after things with Granger and the Yule Ball, and then also his interference at the second task-"

"Not to mention his attack in the third task when he was apparently under the Imperius, again."

"Precisely."

"So, she used the Widow's Curse on Krum? Wouldn't that not really matter? I mean, since it's not likely that he'll be around the Greengrass girls again, I don't see how it could be that big of a deal."

"Think bigger than that, Harry. Daphne cast it so that he would not be interested in any underage girls anymore. Since, that seems to be his type..."

"He's doomed," Harry finished with an exhale. "Remind me never to get on Daphne's bad side. Or even glance at her little sister."

"Don't worry, Harry. I'll protect you from the big bad witches of Slytherin."

"Good. That's better than what I had come up with for Krum anyway."

"Which was what?"

"Shove a broom so far up his arse he could taste it."

"So vulgar, Harry," Pansy scolded, although it was somewhat weakened by the smirk. "You've clearly been spending too much time around Sirius."

"Someone's got to be a bad influence on him."

* * *

The next day, they had finished breakfast and were sitting out on the balcony, enjoying the pleasant morning. Well, late morning anyway.

"So, what do we need to do this summer?" Harry asked.

"We're not going to get involved with anything unless absolutely necessary," Pansy answered. "You did more than enough at the graveyard. Let people like Bones, Moody, and maybe even Dumbledore- if we're lucky- get to work on dealing with the Death Eaters."

"It's just too bad we've got such a bloody coward like Fudge as the minister. How did someone that stupid win the office anyway?"

"Good question. But I want to have a summer that we can enjoy for as long as possible. Knowing your luck, something's bound to come up one of these days."

"True enough," Harry sighed. "I assume you want to go see Vanessa and Steven when they get back from their honeymoon?"

"Of course. Last I heard, they were due back the middle of this coming week. I'll leave her a message later."

"Sounds good. Luna's going to be out of the country for a couple of weeks too."

"Yes, that's too bad," Pansy added. "It would be fun to spend more time in the muggle world with her. We could invite her over when she gets back."

"I guess if we were going to let anyone know where we live, it would be Luna."

"I don't think she would mind sharing a room with Hedwig, either."

"They'd likely stay up all night talking about some sort of conspiracy to keep the owls from taking over."

"Harry, you're the only one that's ruled over by his own owl."

"Then we'd better keep Luna away from her before they start an animal revolution."

"Alright, off the topic of Luna, we have plenty of time to just relax. I actually am going to need to use the second bedroom anyway."

"For what?"

"A project. Don't snoop or I will be very cross with you, Harry."

"Fine. Let's do something fun tonight then."

"Like what?"

"Go see a movie? Maybe try something new to eat?"

"Not go out dancing?"

"Not tonight," Harry said. "For one thing, Sunday night wouldn't be the best time, plus you know you'll enjoy it more if we go when you and Vanessa can hang out together."

"I suppose. Why don't we go pop in on the Brightwells for tea this afternoon?"

"That works for me," Harry sighed happily. "You realize what this means?"

"What?"

"Tonight. Dinner and a movie."

"It's a date," Pansy answered.

"Yes. A date. Nice and simple. No monster-filled tournaments. No Death Eater ambushes. No Dark Lords trying to kill us."

"At least not tonight," Pansy snorted.

"I'll take it, even if it is just for the night. I'm planning on savoring all the nice, mellow evenings we can get."

"Fine, but not too mellow," Pansy responded with a grin. "We're seeing something scary and you're going to eat something exotic and probably far too spicy. I expect you to keep me entertained, Harry."

"I'll do my best, sweetheart."

"Good answer." Pansy leaned over and kissed the side of his neck before whispering in his ear. "The more entertained I am, the more likely I am to be inspired to make the end of the night special."

"You do know how to motivate me."

* * *

They ended up trying sushi for the first time that night, so the food didn't leave his mouth burning enough for Pansy to laugh at him, but Harry did try one of the spicy rolls and loved it. Trying the wasabi did the trick though, as no one was there to warn him about how potent it was.

Harry got his revenge though by daring Pansy to taste it as well. Before they could leave, they both had to order drinks to mask the overwhelming flavor. And they then decided to also order popcorn, candy, and sodas when they got to the movie theater.

It ended up finally working, although Harry noticed a hint of aftertaste that lingered even until the next day.

They had a good time at the movie though. A ten o'clock showing on a Sunday night of a movie that had already been out for a few weeks meant they had the theater all to themselves. If things had been different, Harry would have likely tried to get Pansy to fool around, but they both enjoyed In the Mouth of Madness too much to do much of that. Harry figured that he could wait until they got home.

His girlfriend was becoming quite the horror buff. Harry tended to like the genre for the most part too, but he really loved it because of how much she tended to cuddle up next to him when things got scary. And even better, she almost always ended up turned on afterwards.

The next few nights proved this theory to be true. They had gone to a video rental store and rented a whole bunch of other John Carpenter movies as the two clerks working there kept suggesting more and more things for them to watch.

They were told to start with Halloween, and while it was a good movie, the simplicity of a guy with a knife slashing teenagers didn't particularly thrill them. Harry thought it was because they had already experienced so many actual monsters in the magical world that they needed something a bit more bizarre.

The aliens from The Thing were much more impressive.

"You know, according to that computer simulation in the movie, if the Things got away from Antarctica, then that means we are all infected by now," Pansy said that night in bed, after they had concluded their usual festivities. Harry had grown used to abnormal pillow talk like this following horror movie nights.

"True. I don't think it matters that much though."

"You aren't worried that I could be a monster lurking inside this cute teenage girl exterior?"

"I'd go with sexy teenage girl more than cute, actually," Harry said which made her snort as he used the opportunity to roll over and begin playing with her boobs.

"Stop being such a simple minded guy for one minute. Answer the question."

"Okay, well it wouldn't matter because in that case, I'd be an alien shapeshifter thing too. So, no big deal."

"Really?"

"I'd be okay with being a tentacle monster from outer space if you were one too," Harry teased with a smile. "Might make it even easier to deal with Riddle and the Death Eaters, actually."

"That's a thought."

"Just don't change shapes while I'm playing with your boobs, alright?"

"Because that would just be _tragic_ ," Pansy drawled.

"Exactly."

"Alien monsters that want to take over the world is okay, but only as long as it doesn't interfere with our sex life." Pansy snorted and shook her head. "You're ridiculous Harry."

"And yet you love me." Harry sat up and leaned down to kiss her again. "If I'm going to sign up for a horror movie scenario, then you have to agree to not editing out any sex scenes. I am not willing to compromise on this."

His lips made their way down her neck and collarbone as Pansy moaned and shivered slightly.

"I don't think it would count as a tentacle, but I do like that trick you do with your tongue," she purred. "I guess that means I'll allow one more sex scene tonight."

"Best secret space alien girlfriend ever."

* * *

The morning came too soon after all the fun they'd had the night before. Harry had to get up as Hedwig demanded his attention. Not only had she brought the paper as usual, but she also came bearing a letter from Sirius.

Pansy came out of the bedroom in a dressing gown and sat down on the couch beside him with a yawn.

"What are we doing awake?"

"Uh..." Harry yawned too then looked down at his hand. "Oh, I got a letter. From Sirius."

"What does he want? No, wait, don't tell me. We need breakfast or at least coffee before I'll be able to focus on whatever he's bothering us about."

"Good idea."

"Dobby will have food ready in just a few minutes," the house-elf said as he appeared over by the kitchen area. Sure enough, the smell of bacon, eggs, and sausage cooking soon filled the room.

"Thanks Dobby."

Two steaming cups floated over towards them while Dobby didn't even turn around. His ability to multi-task was pretty awesome.

"You're the best, Dobby," Pansy said as she savored the first sip of her coffee. "The fact that you always get the exact amount of cream and sugar is one of the absolute best things about you."

"Thank you, miss Pansy," he replied happily as he continued cooking.

"Alright, now I'm ready. What does your godfather want?"

"Um, let me see." Harry scanned down. Thankfully, Sirius was pretty brief when he wrote. "Wants to meet us tomorrow at noon at the Leaky Cauldron. Something about his home and a headquarters."

"Okay. We'll need to set an alarm if we're going to have another movie marathon tonight."

"Sounds like a plan."

Pansy yawned again even between drinks of her coffee.

"Let's plan on a nap this afternoon too. I don't believe in waking up before nine during the summer."

"Agreed. Good thing Dobby found those extra thick curtains for the bedroom. I'd say we could go back to bed now, but I'm all of a sudden hungry."

Hedwig was still awake too as she swept into the room, devoured the bacon right out of the pan and then fled back to her cage in the second bedroom.

"That is the most spoiled owl in the world," Pansy chuckled. "I would be jealous, but you're good about remembering to spoil me too."

"We make each other happy," Harry replied. "Isn't that what we're meant to do this summer?"

"I'll drink to that." She set aside her cup and lay her head down in his lap. "Just give me five more minutes before breakfast."

Harry smiled as even the coffee wasn't strong enough to keep Pansy from dozing off.

* * *

Dobby had to put the food under stasis when he was finished a moment later. Master Harry had fallen asleep with his head slumped against his chest. His humans were so silly. Dobby carefully moved them so they were both stretched out on the couch together. It wouldn't do to leave them in such uncomfortable positions.

Sometimes it seemed that his work at taking care of his family was never through. Those were some of the best moments for Dobby. But while his people were sleeping, it gave him another chance to check on his second family as well.

Master Harry fish and Miss Pansy fish were swimming around in their tank with four little baby fishies following them around. Dobby made sure to give them plenty of food. He still hadn't decided on names for the little ones yet. Maybe he could ask his humans for help with that later. For the moment, he was content, merely waiting for the next thing to do.

He took that opportunity to pop into the bedroom the scary miss Talons used to check on miss Pansy's potion. It looked like the lacewing flies were stewing nicely. Miss Pansy was good to have let Dobby help her with the process. She often came to him when she wanted to do something that would surprise master Harry. It made him feel that much better to be able to do something special for his family.

The elf then went back to the living room and waited for them to wake up so he could serve them breakfast. They looked very peaceful, but Dobby was pretty sure the time to relax would not last as long as his humans might like.

He would be there to watch over them whatever may come though. It brought a smile to the elf's face. His family was wonderful. The nasty dark wizards would be fools to cross Dobby's family. He would just have to remind master Harry that Dobby could fight to protect them too.


	65. Ideas for the Future

* * *

"It would be nice not to have to do all this," Harry groaned as he once again cast glamour spells on himself and Pansy. She had _suggested_ that he learn a couple of different disguises for this trip into the magical world, just in case.

And people thought that Harry was the paranoid one.

But she had a point. His recent abduction by 'rogue Death Eaters' had been front page news, and they didn't need the attention when they were going for an apparently clandestine meeting with his godfather. Sirius had told them to look for the man with the most ridiculous handlebar mustache at the Leaky Cauldron.

He probably just should have picked somewhere to meet in the muggle world, instead.

"Alright, how does that look?"

They were in the bathroom so that Pansy could admire them both in the mirror to check his work.

"Good enough, I suppose."

"Finally."

"Don't be careless, Harry. We still don't know the names of all our enemies."

"I know. Last summer was a lot more fun than this one so far."

"You just want to go live on a beach for a few weeks again," Pansy snorted.

"And you don't?" Harry replied, his disbelief obvious from his raised eyebrows.

"Let's just get this over with. Got your cloak?"

"Of course. We can't let anyone see our secret weapon, now can we?" Harry turned to the house-elf standing just outside the doorway. "Ready when you are Dobby."

* * *

Sirius hadn't been kidding, it really was the most ridiculous handlebar mustache Harry could even imagine. The curly cues on the ends were a particularly nice touch.

The fact that he had insisted on Harry asking him if he was interested in a serious business proposal had been pretty galling though. Harry was determined to smack him as soon as he could as payment for the awful pun.

Dobby was following along behind them once they got out of the cab and walked towards a playground opposite a row of townhouses. They stopped just outside its gate as Sirius turned to them and leaned in close to whisper.

"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at number twelve, Grimmauld Place in London."

He then beckoned them across the street as the hidden house came into view, seeming to push its neighbors out of the way. Sirius led the way, only stopping at the front door to put a finger to his lips to suggest they enter quietly.

Harry had to imagine it was due to the large painting hidden behind curtains along one wall of the entrance hallway. From what he had heard of the Black family, whoever it might have been was likely a huge bastard. They took the stairs up one floor and followed Sirius into a large drawing room.

Waiting inside were Flora and Hestia Carrow, sitting on a couch opposite the door.

"Nice disguises," Hestia said with a smile.

"A lot better than Sirius at least," Flora snorted.

"These two philistines just don't appreciate a good mustache." Harry rolled his eyes and slapped his godfather on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You know I hate puns about your name."

"I like the mustache though," Pansy grinned. "It reminded me of Old Sluggy."

"Okay, now _that_ was a low blow," Sirius replied as he restored his usual appearance.

"Why? He's a great teacher," Harry argued.

"And a much better head of Slytherin than Snape ever was," Hestia added.

"May he forever rot in hell," Sirius nodded. "However, Old Sluggy's about a hundred, while I am still in the prime of my life."

"So you keep saying," Flora challenged. "And yet the only female company I've seen you have are those cousins, the Tonks ladies."

"Well, it's an old family secret," Harry replied. "How do you think the Blacks kept themselves so pure? His parents were cousins, after all."

"Second cousins!" Sirius protested.

"That makes it soooo much better." Pansy couldn't help but start to giggle. Harry and the Carrows joined her while Sirius pouted.

"I am never telling you any more of my secrets, Harry."

"Alright, enough taking the piss out of the old man. I assume we're here for a reason?"

"Yes. While it was originally Dumbledore's idea, Mad-Eye was able to talk me into it. This place is bigger than what anyone else in the Order could offer up. You'll notice we've cleared some space here. This room could serve as a triage if anyone gets wounded. That was a big concern last time around."

"Sirius never starts at the beginning," Hestia interrupted. "The Order of the Phoenix was the name of a group that fought against the Death Eaters back in the first war."

"Who else was part of it?" Harry asked.

"Well, your mum and dad, for starters. Remus. Mad-Eye and Dumbledore of course. The Longbottoms- I believe you know their boy, Neville?"

"You knew Neville's parents?"

"Yes," Sirius sighed. "They were a few years older, already finished auror training by the time I graduated. It was terrible, what happened to them."

"We heard about it," Hestia said as Sirius shook his head, reminiscing sadly. "That was the most awkward thing, in our first Slug Club meeting, no less. He was clearly uncomfortable being put on the spot like that."

"I didn't hear the whole story until I got out, although my dreadful cousin shrieked out a few things while I was still stuck in Azkaban with her. Anyway, there were other members too, but most of them aren't around anymore. I doubt the names Benjy Fenwick or Dorcas Meadowes would mean much to any of you. Or... Marlene McKinnon.

"Damn, I really miss Marlene. She was my girlfriend briefly, in sixth year, but she never held that against me," Sirius chuckled. "Marlene was a close friend of your mum, Harry. Her whole family was killed."

He stood up and began to pace, clearly angry and upset.

"So many people died, and the ministry didn't have the decency to clean up the bloody mess. And now, that imbecile Fudge is covering things up and keeping Amelia from doing her job properly."

"No surprise there," Harry interjected. "This is the same useless minister that sent Hagrid to Azkaban, without a trial mind you, because 'they had to be seen doing something.' Stupid wanker."

"Yes, and he's been leaning on the Prophet too. That's why there's all this rubbish about Dumbledore trying to stir up trouble by claiming that the Dark Lord is back."

"No one wants to hear that," Hestia added. "People would rather believe that it's just a few of his followers acting out, rather than Riddle himself."

"So, I take it this Order has been reformed?" Pansy asked.

"Yes. Not too many members yet, but we're trying to get ready as fast as we can before things start to get worse. Thankfully, we've got Harry on our side this time." Sirius chuckled but Pansy growled to make him stop. "Not that I want Harry on the front lines, but he has given us a good head start at least."

"Speaking of which, we should probably pool our intelligence while we're together," Harry suggested as he looked over at the Carrow twins. "I hope you two know of some other possible Death Eater names that we can have Moody get to work on."

"We have three new names," Pansy added.

"Where did you get them?" Sirius asked.

"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."

"Are you sure of the source?"

"Sure enough on the first two- Luther Flint and Simeon Montague."

"They aren't surprising. Their sons are both horrible bastards too," Flora replied. "What about the third?"

"Emery Warrington. Just rumors there but probably credible enough to look into him. He's the uncle of that sleaze Cassius." Pansy smirked as Flora's eyes squinted angrily at the mention of his name. She remembered hearing of his clumsy 'flirtation' that Flora had rebuffed with violence. "Have you told Sirius that story yet?"

"No, but I totally will," Hestia answered. "It's funny now that some time has passed."

"It might not be next year," her sister disagreed. "With their precious master's return, some of the little shites like Warrington are bound to think they can get away with worse things than that. We'll have to be more on guard than ever before."

"That is going to suck," Hestia frowned.

"How bad do you think it might get?" Sirius asked.

"There's a handful like him that no girl would want to be caught in an empty corridor with."

"It will be okay, Flora. We'll just have to stick together like always."

"You know you girls can come to me if you need help with anything," Sirius said. "As your acting guardian until you come of age, I can fight honor duels for you."

"I appreciate that Sirius, but I'd rather have the problem dealt with before anything happened to either of us," Flora replied.

"I know, I just-"

"Maybe Harry can help!" Hestia suggested with a huge smile. "Everyone knows you got private tutoring with Mad-Eye Moody last year. Not to mention fighting your way free from that graveyard. You could teach us how to fight."

"Well, I believe I won that bet." Sirius grinned at Harry who rolled his eyes. "Two months before the next school year begins, even!"

"We never bet anything, you prat."

"Still-"

"What are you two talking about?" Hestia interrupted.

"I predicted that other students would ask Harry for help learning to fight after he told his story about what happened. Sadly, I saw this coming."

"Why sadly?" Flora asked.

"Because wars have always been fought by the young. We were teenagers when we started fighting back against the Death Eaters," Sirius sighed as he sat back down in an armchair. "I am sorry that it looks like you're all likely to end up doing the same thing. If I could, I would gladly kill every last Death Eater before any of you have to do so."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and Moody will catch a break this summer," Pansy suggested. "One house with a Death Eater meeting is all we really need. A little Fiendfyre and problem solved."

"That would be great, but knowing my luck, I'm not going to be holding my breath." Harry scratched his head. "So, has this Order done anything yet?"

"We've only had a week or so. It's just been the old crowd getting back into contact with each other and feeling out some new possible members. For example, Nymphadora is in, and Andi is threatening to kill me if anything happens to her. But Mad-Eye himself recommended her, so who am I to say no?"

"Alright, well let me know if anything truly important comes up," Harry replied.

"I think today has already been the most important thing so far. Between your three and the one the girls had-"

"Bulstrode," Hestia added, noticing Pansy's frown. "Millie's uncle."

"I always wondered if there was a reason she knew how to fight before she even started at Hogwarts." Pansy sighed. "She only ever really talked about her mum."

"I think a lot of us Slytherin girls have had some family members we didn't want to talk about."

"That's why I'm afraid it's going to get worse," Flora added. "There were very few female Death Eaters, and they were all barking mad. There's a reason for that. We're going to need your help, Harry."

"I know. I've already started thinking about it some. It's really too bad Moody won't be at Hogwarts next year." Harry turned to Sirius. "Do you know if Dumbledore has found a Defense teacher yet?"

"I don't think so."

"You should suggest that he look for another retired auror if possible. We could use someone with experience like that."

"Most retired aurors aren't like Mad-Eye, Harry."

"They can't be worse than Quirrell or Lockhart were," Pansy replied.

"Alright, I'll mention it. I'll talk to Mad-Eye too, let him know the new names we have for suspected Death Eaters. But, I also wanted to show you around the house, even if it is an awful old mess."

"It isn't too bad," Flora argued. "Especially since Kreacher has started cleaning for us."

"The little monster likes the girls," Sirius chuckled. "Thinks they're proper purebloods."

"Maybe we just haven't given him any reason to dislike us."

"Yes, well this place is behind enough protections that there's no way the ministry could bust anyone for underage spell casting. Feel free to help the little ingrate if you want."

"I already did," Flora replied. "He was so affronted by the idea of one of 'the young mistresses' having to help him that he worked extra hard that day."

"Was that the day that we found him passed out in the kitchen?"

"That's the one," Hestia giggled. "Poor little guy was trying to make tea and fell asleep. We heard the kettle boiling with him snoring away beside it."

"Anyway, let's start the tour." Sirius stood and walked back out into the hallway. "We've got several rooms on this floor and the next that still need some work. We're going up above that."

"Lead the way."

They climbed more stairs and came to a somewhat cleaner hallway with a few doors that were open and two that were closed.

"On the right, we've got our rooms," Hestia said. "I'm the further one. The middle door is a bathroom that we share."

"On the left, I've got one set aside for Tonks," Sirius added before opening one of the doors. "I've got this one for you, in case you ever stay over. It's plain but clean. You could decorate it however you want if you're going to be spending any time in it."

"Thanks, Sirius. What's the other closed door at the end?"

"That was my mother's room. Kreacher is still rather fond of her, so he kept it cleaner than anywhere else even years after she died."

"Where's your room?"

"Top floor. It's my old bedroom from when I still lived here. The only other was my brother's. I haven't had the heart to open it yet."

"Why not?" Pansy asked.

"My little brother, Regulus, was the good son according to my parents. The one who went into Slytherin like he was supposed to. He was the good little pureblood who looked down on the muggles. And he was the one who ended up joining the Death Eaters. Foolish little Reggie. He got in, realized it wasn't what he thought it would be and then apparently did something wrong, because he was killed. He was only eighteen at the time.

"That's what I mean about wars always being fought by the young," Sirius sighed. "Riddle's followers started working on recruiting him before he even got his OWLs and my insane mother thought it was a wonderful thing. I never saw him again after I graduated from school.

"Right, so these top floors are for family, or close enough to it. I was thinking of having a couple of the lower rooms set up just in case someone needed a place to crash on occasion. Otherwise, we'll probably need at least one or two just for storing some of the massive amounts of old junk that my family had accrued over the years. I would just chuck a lot of it, but I know how crazy some muggles are about antiques, so I'll wait and see if any of it has value."

"Aren't you rich, Sirius?"

"You can never be too rich, Harry. Besides, money is often a very important thing when war comes. Supplies are necessary, even for wizards and witches. We still need things like food or healing potions."

"Fair enough. Are you really staying in your old room? I wouldn't think that would be the type of place you would like to take a lady."

"That's a rather long story, Harry. Needless to say, I wasn't originally living here. I had a smaller place of my own. But we needed room for the girls, so the brief bit of clean up that had gone on over the last year suddenly became a higher priority. Other than that, well, it's sort of private."

"Come on ladies," Pansy said as she led Hestia and Flora towards the stairs back down. "It's time for girl talk."

"Ooh, what do we have to talk about?" Hestia giggled.

"No, I meant for them." Pansy motioned with her thumb back over her shoulder. "They might not call it girl talk, but believe me, that's exactly what it is."

"Your girlfriend is really mean, Harry."

"If you can't handle a teenage girl teasing you, Sirius, that's on you. Why don't you show me your old room? I trust that would be private enough."

"Alright, follow me." They went up one more story, where there were only two doors and a last bit of stairs leading up to the attic. One had obviously belonged to Regulus Arcturus Black, as it was labeled so, and Sirius opened the other door to what had been his bedroom as a teenager. Harry chuckled at the posters on the wall that were all either of girls in bikinis or motorcycles. Or in one case, a girl in a bikini astride a motorcycle.

"Very classy, Sirius."

"I know, right? My mum really loved my redecorating."

"I can imagine." Harry took a seat on a chair- there was no way he was going to sit on Sirius' bed. Who could know how much wanking had gone on there? "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Mostly bad news, but a little bit of good too. First, I wanted to talk to you about Remus."

"What about him?"

"I know you resent him for not being in your life while you were young." Sirius raised a hand before Harry could angrily retort. "I'm not going to argue with you about it- I've told him he was wrong too. However, Remus is on our side for the coming war. We need every ally we can get. I just want to make sure you can handle that, especially since the two of you might run into each other here."

"I guess so. Just as long as he doesn't try to involve himself in my life. He's lost that right."

"Fair enough. I heard about your friendship with Ron Weasley falling apart last year."

"Yeah, so what? There's no way his mum would let him join this group, even if he were of age. The woman's a domineering nightmare."

"Well, I've only met her once or twice so I won't argue that point, but Arthur and Molly are in the Order. I don't know if any of their sons will be invited or not. The oldest two live out of country, but that could be useful to get foreign contacts anyway. I liked the twins, but I don't know if they could be serious enough about really fighting."

"I think they could," Harry replied. "Probably. What about Percy?"

"Ah, he's the one who joined the ministry, right out of Hogwarts, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, sadly the ministry's certain brand of idiocy and arrogance sunk into him nice and quick. He and Arthur had a huge fight. Percy's with the 'official position' and doesn't believe Dumbledore."

"Or me, really. Eh, no big loss. Percy always was a wanker with a stick up his arse. I can't imagine he'd be of much use anyway."

"It would have been nice to have another set of eyes in the ministry, though," Sirius countered. "Regardless, he's out. Are the twins of age?"

"Yes. They're going to be in their last year at Hogwarts. They're the beaters on our team, by the way."

"Any good?"

"Yeah. They would probably shit themselves if they found out you were Padfoot."

"Really?"

"They found the map when they were firsties and used it to learn many of the school's secrets. They passed it on to me in my third year, when I was searching for the evil Sirius Black, shortly after the bastard stabbed me."

"I've apologized like six or seven times for that. I was going for the rat."

"Your aim was terrible. Stick with wands instead of knives."

"You're so very, very funny." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I'll have to meet some of my fans then. Do you still have the map?"

"Of course. I think I'll be carrying it with me from now on. Who knows how soon it will be before some children of the Death Eaters start causing problems. Or, hell, some of them could even be recruited into his ranks. Especially with the numbers Riddle has lost."

"That's a horrifying thought."

"Better to have it and be prepared than to be caught with our pants down, though. You did just say that your brother was recruited when he was still a teenager, so we know it's happened before."

"Yeah, fuck. I'll bring that up with Dumbledore next time I see him. He needs to be more aware of that potential danger in the castle." Sirius scratched behind his ear, and Harry was amused as it was one of a few little things he did that were reminiscent of his animagus form. "Anyway, I mentioned the Weasleys for a reason. If the Order is having a meeting, their kids would likely be around, so you might run into Ron. I doubt from what I've seen and been told that Molly would leave them home alone."

"Definitely not," Harry agreed. "It wouldn't be a big deal, at least for me. I don't hate Ron or anything, I just can't trust him. He was too much of a jealous, immature arsehole, and I had no time to deal with that while someone was clearly out to kill me last year. Honestly, we had been growing apart for awhile; I doubt he could have handled the truth that his best mate was dating a Slytherin. Pansy couldn't stand him either, and I was obviously always going to side with her."

"I would be worried if you didn't," Sirius grinned. "From everything I've heard, the two of you are quite the couple."

"Are you trying to get me to talk about my sex life again? What's the matter, has Carina realized she's out of your league?" Harry's teasing faltered when he saw the reaction on his godfather's face.

"That's another bit of the bad news. She's gone."

"Shit. I'm sorry, Sirius."

"Thanks, Harry. I can't say I blame her. She was married to one of those Death Eater bastards. When she saw the writing on the wall, she was smart enough to realize that the ministry was covering up just how bad things were. I talked to her before she left. She sold her home and headed to America. Figured it would be a lot safer with the Atlantic between her and the bloodshed that's to come. Smart gal, really."

"Yeah. If things get bad enough, I'm going to do the same. It's not my bloody job to save the world. Pansy and I have talked about it some. The only problem is it seems like Riddle is obsessed with coming after me, and I don't know how far he might go in continuing that."

"So moving might not be enough then. That is a problem," Sirius nodded. "I'd rather you not be part of things either, but better to be prepared just in case."

"Right. Any other bad news?"

"Isn't that enough so far?"

"Yes, but I try not to get my hopes up."

"Nothing else for now, but I'm sure we'll have more coming soon enough."

"I'd better get back to Pansy then. I want to enjoy as much of the summer as I can before things turn to shite again."

Sirius barked out a laugh and stood up. "Good to see you've got your priorities sorted."

* * *

The rest of the week flew by as Harry and Pansy continued to enjoy their summer vacation and refused to even think about the next school year. By the time Saturday rolled around, they each had plans to visit some friends.

"Harry! Welcome," Vanessa said with a smile as she pulled him in for a hug and kissed his cheek when she opened her front door.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

"Sorry, Pansy, it's just that Steven told me how Harry had given him a little push about finally asking me while we were on our honeymoon. He said it was excellent advice that made him get his arse in gear. I thoroughly appreciate it. I was afraid he was going to wait until I smacked him over the head with a bridal magazine."

"It's alright. This just means that he won't have any excuse about waiting too long to ask me. Will you, Harry?"

"Have a little faith. I can be pretty romantic when I put my mind to it."

"That you can," Pansy agreed before turning to her host as they followed her inside to the living room. "I trust you're enjoying married life, Mrs. Frost?"

"Mrs. Frost," Vanessa grinned. "I haven't gotten tired of hearing that yet. The last few weeks have been just amazing. That is, other than some of the stress leading up to the wedding itself. But everything else was wonderful. I have the wedding video pulled out to show you."

"Great. I was hoping to see it."

"It's a shame that you couldn't make it."

"I know. Our school year ran long though, and it would have been right before final exams if I had tried to get away."

"Well, at least you can watch it this way," Vanessa answered as she turned on the telly with a remote. "To be honest, I'm looking forward to it also. I'm curious to see how well it fits with everything I remember. Especially the reception, as I got more than a bit tipsy."

"I guess this is my cue to leave then," Harry said. "I hope you two enjoy the afternoon."

"We will, Harry."

"You've got Hermione's number if you need anything."

"Don't worry so much," Pansy chided. "I'll be fine."

She pulled him down and pecked him on the cheek.

"You have fun too, if you can."

"Alright ladies. I'll be back this evening."

"Bye Harry," Vanessa replied as he headed for the front door. "So, who is Hermione?"

"Harry's best friend."

"I take it you don't like her?"

"Was I that obvious?"

"Just a bit," Vanessa laughed. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's probably the most uptight girl I've ever met. And she's just so..." Pansy grimaced for a moment. "You know the teacher's pet stereotype. Nose always in a book. That's her. And because she's smart and reads all the time, she thinks she knows _everything_. She can be so damn full of herself that I just want to slap her sometimes."

"I see."

"But she and Harry were already best friends when I met him, so I've had to put up with her because of him. Thankfully, Harry has made it a point to try to help her relax and pull the stick out of her arse. We might have slipped her some pot brownies last term." Pansy and Vanessa giggled together. "That helped."

"I would imagine so."

"Now, you've got to tell me everything about the honeymoon."

"Let's do things in chronological order," Vanessa replied. "First, the wedding video, then Glastonbury, then France."

"Sounds like a plan. Oh, and I'll need something to write on."

"Why?"

"To make a list for the next time I make Harry take me to the record store. Our music collection is getting pretty big. We saw some footage of the festival, so I've already got a few ideas."

"Okay. I'll have to try to remember every band we saw. There were a lot of them."

"Thanks."

"But after that, we get to the fun stuff," Vanessa giggled. "You won't believe what we did the first night in France. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk straight the next day."

* * *

"Hi Harry." Hermione answered the door and waved him inside. "Mum, Harry's here! We're going up to my room."

"Alright honey. Try not to ravish him so loudly that your father hears."

"Mum!" Hermione squeaked in outrage. "Ignore her. Come on."

She pulled his arm and led him to the stairs.

"Why does she think you're going to be ravishing me this afternoon? Have you invited me here on false pretenses, Hermione? Because I won't protect you from Pansy's wrath, just for the record."

"She's being ridiculous." Once they were inside her room, Hermione slammed the door shut. "I told her about how you had warned me about Viktor and how I was too stupid to listen."

"I would say more stubborn than-"

"Whatever. My mother has gotten this foolish notion in her head that I'm smitten with you now."

"You're not though. Right?"

"Of course not, Harry. I think we both know that wouldn't work between us. You're one of the few people I know more stubborn than I am. Not to mention your possessive girlfriend."

"I don't think she's that possessive," Harry argued.

"You've clearly never seen the way she glares at Ginny then."

"I'm the same way about her. I did threaten to kill Viktor at the Yule Ball on her behalf, as you may remember." Harry smiled happily. "Pansy enjoyed that."

"What? You threatening to kill someone on her behalf? Don't tell me that's one of her turn-ons?"

"My lips are sealed."

Hermione was scowling at the dopey grin on his face. "You two are unbelievable."

"Did I tell you I have a favorite broom closet because of that night?"

"I don't want to hear it." Hermione shook her head and put her hands over her ears. "We have more important things to talk about."

"Hermione, you're my best friend, so let me fill you in on a little secret. There is _nothing_ more important than that to me."

"I'm sure, but your sex life doesn't actually interest me, believe it or not. Have you been reading the Daily Prophet?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "I skim it usually, but I haven't seen anything interesting, other than Fudge burying his head in the sand and calling Dumbledore a rumor-mongering charlatan. I was honestly surprised at the minister's vocabulary. But I suppose it is possible that the writer embellished his words."

"Then you haven't paid enough attention. The other day there was a story that mentioned you very specifically."

"Oh?"

"The statement was that because you were admittedly kidnapped and tortured, any testimony you might give about what happened that night would have to be treated with skepticism since you could have been delirious from the pain. Apparently, someone on Fudge's staff heard the real story because they mentioned the fact that you were placed under the torture curse."

"There's definitely someone smarter writing Fudge's statements then."

"It might be Percy," Hermione responded. "I heard from Ginny the other day. Apparently, Percy and Mr. Weasley had a big row because Percy is toeing the line, agreeing with the 'official position' put forth by the minister, while Mr. Weasley is firmly in professor Dumbledore's camp. It's caused all sorts of problems at the Weasley home. Ginny says things have been really tense, especially between the twins and their mum. They saw it as no big loss that Percy abandoned the family, and as you can probably guess, Mrs. Weasley did not agree with them."

"I guess we should be glad to be only children right now, huh?" Harry smirked. "I suppose Percy would be smart enough to write speeches for Fudge."

"He was Head Boy, so yes, he would be more than capable. It could also be problematic that he knows a bit more about your life than most people at the ministry. In fact, he might have been the one to mention that you were tortured."

"Since he had four younger siblings who heard the real story and likely told their parents," Harry finished her thought. "Oh well. I never expected much out of the ministry anyway. At least a few of the bad influences were removed. Can you imagine how much worse this could be if Lucius Malfoy still had Fudge in his pocket?"

"That would have been very bad," Hermione agreed. "I wonder how many of Tom Riddle's followers are still out there. If we go by the reports from last year's Quidditch World Cup and what you saw at the graveyard, minus the ones we know of who have been captured or killed, we're left with roughly fifteen. Of course, that assumes that he hasn't recruited any more since his return."

"Which would likely come from the same families he already has access to, since Riddle has apparently decided to keep a low profile while Fudge blunders things. The real question is just how much more cautious he might be for now. On the one hand, it's good that the Death Eaters aren't causing any problems, but at the same time, that means it will be even harder to catch any of them. I just hope Moody has some luck this summer."

"You haven't heard anything else then? Not from Sirius maybe?"

"Nope. I talked to him several days ago, but I told him not to tell me anything unless it was really important. I'm focused on enjoying my summer while I can. Life is stressful enough when I'm in the magical world. I'm trying not to worry about these things while I'm on vacation from all that."

"I guess I should do the same then," Hermione sighed. "There's not really anything I can do about any of those problems while I'm here anyway. It's just so frustrating!"

"You're fifteen, Hermione. You don't have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"But if they do come back, as a muggleborn, I'll be in a lot of danger."

"True. I guess you'll want to join the new group I'm going to be starting when we go back this fall."

"What new group?"

"I was talking to the Carrows the other day-"

"From the Slug Club?" Hermione interjected. "I didn't know you were friends with them."

"We had to keep any contact as quiet as possible. Their parents were Death Eaters."

"Oh."

"But the key is that they _were_ Death Eaters. They were two of the ones that I hit with the blasting curse at the graveyard. We talked before the end of term, and I introduced them to Sirius. He is acting as their guardian until they come of age. They needed someone to help them because the last thing they want is for Riddle to expect them to join his little band of terrorists."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Sorry if that sounds wrong, but I would think that they would have been raised to think that way, like how Draco was for example."

"How many female Death Eaters have you heard of?"

"Not many."

"Counting all of the recent names, we're up to three out of more than thirty. There's a reason for that."

"Meaning?"

"Come on, Hermione. Isn't it obvious? A group of mostly male psychopathic monsters who will happily kill and torture people that also know the Imperius curse. Why wouldn't women want to join a group like that?"

"Oh that's... awful," she gulped. "I understand now. So, you're friends with Flora and Hestia Carrow then?"

"Yes. They gave Pansy and I a couple of warnings over the last year."

"I did see them talking to her several times in the Slug Club meetings. I just assumed that she was catching up with other Slytherin girls that she knew."

"Some of that too," Harry agreed. "But anyway, the point of all this is that they asked me to help them learn how to fight. It's not a secret that I had extra lessons with Moody last year, so I guess it's to be expected that people would want me to help them learn to defend themselves-"

"Especially since we all know that you've had to do so on multiple occasions," Hermione finished. "You know that any group you're in I'll be a part of, Harry. Who else is going to organize things for you?"

"I suppose Pansy could," he shrugged.

"Speaking of the coming school year, do you think we'll be prefects?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"You definitely will. Who else would they pick? Lavender? As for me, I suppose so, but I haven't given it much thought really."

"You're the obvious choice too, Harry. You're ahead of all the other guys academically, at least in most classes. You've got the gravitas to make people listen to you and follow your lead."

"Gravitas?"

"From the Latin word for gravity."

"Oh." He thought for a moment and shrugged. "I guess I will be a prefect too then. I hope it doesn't eat into my free time too much. Speaking of free time, what have you been up to this summer?"

"First I finished rough drafts for all my summer assignments-"

"Hermione, don't make me bring Luna over here to tickle you. I meant for fun."

"Well, I just started reading this new book. Mum and I always go to a bookstore when I get home for the summer. It's become sort of a little tradition of ours."

"So, she's where you get your love of reading from?"

"Both of my parents love to read to some extent, but mum is more obsessed with it like I am. Anyway, the book is called Northern Lights, and it has some really fascinating ideas. It's a fantasy novel, and the characters all have these talking animal spirits that are part of them."

"Really bringing out the inner animal then, huh?"

"Basically yes. The idea got me to start thinking about what my animal might be."

"I guess that's sort of like an animagus in our world. I've noticed Sirius has some traits that are reminiscent of his dog form."

"What do you think I might be?" Hermione asked.

"I assume you've thought about this for all the people in your life," Harry answered with a grin. "Let me think about it for a couple of minutes."

"Okay. Do you want to stay for dinner? My dad was planning on making hamburgers. He got this new grill and wants to try it out. Honestly it's like he's an overgrown kid with a new toy."

"Don't be hard on him. Better he be like that rather than some boring old man. I think that's one of the things I like about Sirius, actually. I don't know if he'll ever really grow up."

"I thought you found that frustrating."

"At times it can be, but we get along really well in general. I think his growth was stunted by all those years lost in Azkaban. Sirius would definitely have a dog- one that would try to sniff the arse of every woman it saw."

"I did not need that image in my head, Harry."

"Sorry," he replied, but his teasing tone betrayed his mirth. "I think Pansy would be a fox."

"You mean like the form of her Patronus?"

"Yeah. If I had seen yours take shape, I could probably guess more accurately. Since I haven't, I guess I'll say you would be like a... hmm, maybe a..."

"What? You looked like you wanted to say something," Hermione prodded.

Harry thought for a moment, looking a second answer. His original thought, a beaver, he knew that she would take as an insult about her teeth, even though he thought of it because of how hard working and smart they are to build their dams and lodges. He needed to come up with a different intelligent animal. Finally, a memory of an old nature program he'd seen a fragment of came to him.

"A gorilla."

"Why a gorilla?"

"Because they're really smart. You know, like that one that learned sign language. I couldn't pick a dumb animal for you."

"That's not what I would have thought, but I can understand your reasoning."

"What would I be then?"

"I'm leaning towards a lion," Hermione answered.

"I guess it's good that I ended up in Gryffindor then," he snorted in response.

"Have you ever seen a nature program about them? The males tend to be relaxed and lazy most of the time, but they can be ferocious when it's time to fight."

"Plus, they've got that dark, shaggy mane of hair," Harry nodded. "I can see that."

"Very true." Hermione made a face. "It's apparently one of the physical traits that a lot of girls like about you. As someone else who has messy hair, I really don't see the appeal."

"As long as Pansy likes it, that's all that really matters to me."

"You've got it so bad for her," Hermione laughed. "I suppose I should try to become better friends with her so that I'm invited to the wedding one of these days. Speaking of Pansy, where is she today?"

"She's visiting a friend who just got back from her honeymoon. There's going to be plenty of girl talk, and I wasn't really invited."

"A muggle friend?"

"Yes."

"Do any of these muggles know how old you are?"

"No," Harry chuckled. "That's made for a few secretly hilarious conversations, but we've managed for the most part."

"Just be careful, Harry. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Don't worry so much. Now, do we have anything else important to talk about? Because if not, I'd really like to have one of those hamburgers you mentioned."

"My dad's going to be happy to see you then."

* * *

He heard the giggling as soon as Steven let him in the front door. When he found Pansy still on the couch with Vanessa with an empty bottle of wine on the table in front of them, Harry thought he understood. It was probably going to be a good thing actually, as she tended to get horny when she was tipsy.

That worked well for his plans for the rest of the night.

"Sweetheart, are you about ready to go home?"

"Almost. Let me find my list though."

"List?"

"Here it is," Pansy replied as she lifted her empty glass and waved a piece of paper at him. There was a lot of writing on it as well as a few red drops smudging things in places. "We're going to need to go to the record store."

"Oh, I guess you got around to talking about the festival then?"

"And a lot of other things," Pansy giggled and Vanessa joined her. Harry looked over at Steven who grinned.

"They've been doing a lot of that ever since I got home," he answered. "Honey, why don't you tell Pansy good night? I probably need to get you to bed soon."

"I guess you didn't get enough of that in France?" Vanessa teased.

"You should he hope didn't," Pansy replied. "I need to go home and shag Harry silly too."

Both ladies stood and hugged just slightly clumsily. Steven and Harry shared a look but made no comments. You never want to upset a woman right before you're hopefully going to have sex.

"Good night you two," he said a moment later as he led Pansy out the front door. Before they could even make it more than a few steps, Pansy had thrown her arms around him and was kissing his neck. Harry was able to keep his focus long enough to look around, throw up a notice-me-not charm and call for Dobby.

By the time they were home, Dobby was quick to excuse himself as he disappeared with a pop.

They didn't make it to the bedroom. The couch was close enough, and Harry never was going to say no to Pansy when she took the initiative like that. They could always go to bed for round two.

* * *

The next morning, well afternoon really, as they didn't make it fully out of bed till lunch time, there was a letter waiting for them.

"Who is it from?" Pansy asked.

"Luna."

"Oh good, I've been waiting to hear from her. Hand it over." Pansy didn't even really wait, she pulled it out of his grasp as fast as she could. "Great, she'll be back in plenty of time."

"Plenty of time for what?"

"I've decided to throw you a birthday party."

"A birthday party? Here?"

"No, not here. Sirius actually sort of suggested it when we were still at school. We're going to have it at his home, where there is a lot more room-"

"And it's more secure than inviting a bunch of people to our flat."

"Right."

"Huh... I guess I've never really had one before."

"I know, that's a big part of the reason I wanted to do it. I'm sure you liked the way we celebrated the last couple of birthdays, but I wanted to do something special for you. Something different."

"Thanks, that's..." Harry smiled as he gathered his thoughts that had suddenly become a lot more emotional. "You're wonderful, you know?"

"You are too, Harry. It will be nice to remind you that I'm not the only one who cares about you. Sirius would have pouted if I didn't talk you into it anyway, and he has been really helpful over the last year. You two are good for each other."

"Yeah, I think we are."

Pansy set the letter aside and climbed onto his lap. She snogged away most of his ability to think before leaning in to whisper, "And we can always have a private celebration of our own later that night."

"I really, _really_ love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: June 24, 1995 is the canon date for the third task and the Glastonbury Festival really was going on at the same time. Pulp was that night's headliner, so that bit about Harry's captivity coinciding pretty much exactly with the concert is true... you know, if a fanfic of a novel could occur at the same time as real world events or whatever.
> 
> As a fan of 90s music, I would probably kill 3 or 4 people to be able to go back in time & attend. Unfortunately, I was too young, poor, & American to make it back then.
> 
> But seriously, just look at some of the bands that were there: Oasis, Pulp, the Cure, Dave Matthews Band, Portishead, Weezer, Everything but the Girl, the Black Crowes, Soul Asylum, PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley, the Prodigy, the Offspring, Supergrass, Live, Elastica, The Verve, The Charlatans, and the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant reunion tour. It was also the first year they had a dance tent for bands like the Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack.
> 
> Harry & Pansy will be making it to the next one (which didn't happen until 1997), so we all have that to look forward to as a form of authorial wish fulfillment. Just let me get the pesky plot out of the way first. :)


	66. From Celebrations to Darkness

* * *

"Happy Birthday!"

The voices sang from all around him as Harry blew out the candles atop a large chocolate cake. He wasn't as addicted to chocolate as Pansy was, but he was sure that Dobby's work in the kitchen would prove to be as exquisite as ever. The faces around him probably meant more than the cake and the presents anyway.

Pansy and Luna were there of course, standing on his left, while Hermione and Sirius were to his right side. Since the party was being held at Grimmauld Place, Flora and Hestia were in attendance as well, hanging back a bit from the crowd. Tonks and her parents had come along also, adding in a touch of family, even if it was somewhat distant. She happily tried to tease Harry as if he were nothing more than a younger cousin anyway.

If he had been nervous around girls, it would have worked much better for Tonks, but Harry hadn't been like that since before he was with Pansy. Come to think of it, his confidence in general had been much greater since she came into his life. It was one of the many benefits she had brought him over the course of their relationship.

The gathering was small enough that they decided to have it in the drawing room instead of the rather massive dining room. It made things a bit more intimate, plus it gave Sirius a reason to chuckle at the thought of Kreacher grumbling about having to clean up after a party for anyone other than a proper pureblood. People had spread around the room, sitting on various chairs and couches while the small pile of gifts was on a desk at the end of the room. According to Hestia, she had to give Kreacher very specific instructions for him to get things ready properly since he and Sirius could hardly stand each other.

His godfather had been unable to contain his glee at introducing Hermione as a brilliant young muggleborn witch to the grumpy old elf who had scowled and muttered as he had gone off to hide in some other part of the large old townhouse.

Hermione had found Sirius' home very fascinating, even if the decor left something to be desired. Personally, Harry didn't mind the snakes and whatnot- his prejudices against Slytherins had died pretty hard over the last couple of years. In fact, after all the horror movies he had watched with Pansy, he thought the setting was kind of enjoyable in an odd way. Then there was the enormous Black family tapestry that covered one wall which was of interest to almost everyone.

Especially with all the scorch marks where people had been blasted off by Walburga (Sirius' _delightful_ mother) and others of her ilk that had been some of the most hardcore blood purists around for ages.

Harry had spotted where Sirius had once been but his eyes drifted off to a Charlus Potter.

"You're related to the Potters?" Hermione asked, as she had seen the same thing.

"Of course."

"Why is that a surprise?" Hestia asked. "If you go back far enough, everyone in this room is related, other than you Hermione."

"What? Really?"

"Only by marriage, in my case," Ted piped up. "I'm a muggleborn like you, which is why Andi was removed from the tapestry."

"Aunt Walburga was a nightmare," his wife added. "I wish my sisters hadn't been foolish enough to go ahead with their arranged marriages. Look where they ended up. I was never willing to marry some idiot just because his blood was pure enough for the standards of awful people like most of my family."

"That was one of the many good things about running away when I did," Sirius said. "I was still sixteen, so they hadn't tried setting me up with anyone. With my reputation as a disappointment and trouble maker, they might not have had any takers anyway. At least, not of the right sort according to my parents."

"Where did you go?"

"I had originally thought of going to my great aunt Dorea's, but she was ill at the time, so I ended up staying with Harry's grandparents. Dorea was also James' aunt, so we were related by marriage fairly closely, although I can't remember exactly how close by actual blood."

"I do remember another Black somewhere in the Potter family," Hestia said, and she continued as she noticed Hermione's questioning look. "I've always been fascinated by genealogy. It's been awhile since I went through the Potters though. But the point does stand. All magical families have intermarried over the years. There are only so many of us to go around. In fact, Harry is our fifth cousin."

"Wow, I didn't know that," Harry replied.

"Your grandfather Fleamont's maternal grandmother was a Carrow. She was cousins with our great, great grandfather."

"If you look over here," Sirius said as he stood and walked over to one side of the tapestry before continuing. "Note the names Longbottom, Yaxley, and Crouch. The blast mark right there is where Cedrella Black was before she married Septimus Weasley, Arthur's father.

"I also see Bulstrode, Crabbe, Flint, Macmillan, Prewett, Rosier... many of those family names might sound familiar to you. Prewett is of particular note. Molly Weasley was born a Prewett. I'm related to the Weasleys you all know as distant cousins on two different sides. It goes back a few generations, but that's how the magical families tend to be. I don't remember any Lovegoods though."

"You would know if you were related to us," Luna replied softly with a dreamy smile. "My family has traveled a lot and therefore the Lovegoods have married foreign witches and wizards more than most British families. For example, one of my grandmothers was from Sweden."

"That explains the blonde hair," Hermione suggested.

"No, that's actually from the other side. My Swedish grandmother was a redhead."

"Speaking of redheads, Fred and George were going to try to stop by," Sirius added. "I like those two. However, they weren't sure if they could make it. They were hoping to smuggle in some firewhisky, but I told them I had plenty.

"Besides, if someone's going to get my godson drunk for the first time, then you can be damn sure it's going to be me." Most of the room chuckled, although Hermione appeared somewhat disapproving and Andromeda merely rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile, Harry looked over at Pansy who smirked and nodded briefly.

"Uh, actually Sirius, it's a bit late for that." There was a moment of silence before Tonks and Sirius started a wave of laughter that swept across the room.

"Harry, what am I going to do with you?" Hermione scolded. Then she turned to Pansy. "I suppose this is your fault?"

"Are you expecting me to be a good influence on Harry? I thought I was supposed to be the 'wicked Slytherin witch who was corrupting the famous boy who lived' according to all the gossip." Pansy smirked at Hermione's guilty blush. "I hang out with Parvati and Lavender a fair amount, so yes, I've heard what you have called me as well."

"Harry, I'm not sure if I should be feeling proud of your precociousness or upset at missing out on another milestone. Did you have a hangover?"

"Yeah Sirius, it was awful. I'm in no hurry to do that again any time soon."

"Agreed." Pansy raised an eyebrow when Sirius looked over at her. "I'm his girlfriend and we live together. Of course I was with him when we both had too much to drink."

"I sometimes forget how close you two are," he shrugged. "Sorry. Still, I'm going to have to teach Harry the proper technique so he will enjoy it more next time. Learning your limits is a good idea."

"Agreed," Tonks said. "I remember my first few disasters when drinking. I'm just glad mum never caught me any of those times."

"I bet you're a fun drunk," Harry said.

"I'm always fun."

"There's no way you're more fun than me," Sirius challenged. "I wrote the book on being a fun drunk."

"Children, behave please," Andromeda teased. "As the one responsible adult here- and no Ted, you don't count either- I am going to have to veto any drinking at a fifteen year old's birthday.

"Apologies, Harry, but you'll have to wait till next year to have that kind of party."

"Fair enough."

Harry wasn't a huge fan of drinking anyway, not after that awful hangover last summer. Pot brownies were so much more fun, yummy, and without the nasty side effect of waking up feeling like he was dead. Besides, he wasn't sure if Hermione would be very fun while drinking, assuming he could talk her into it in the first place. Luna, on the other hand, he worried more about not wanting to make her sick; he could already imagine having to keep her from having a sixth or seventh white russian and then trying to hold all that hair out of the way while she vomited later.

He grinned to himself at these thoughts, so much more relaxed than he had been over much of the last year. Even with Riddle and his minions out there, somewhere, Harry was having a pretty great summer so far.

He ended up opening his presents shortly thereafter, and the most notable one by far was the enchanted mirror that Sirius gave him. It was part of a set that he and James Potter had used back when they were at Hogwarts together, another heirloom passed down to Harry. That would have been nice enough, but he also saw the utility of such a thing and soon had Sirius teaching him the enchantments used to create them.

Harry was going to make at least one more set, so that he and Pansy could talk with Luna whenever they wanted. Between being in a different year and house at school, not to mention all the traveling she did with her father, it would make all of them a lot happier to be able to keep in touch so much more easily.

Sirius used this time to also speak of his beloved motorcycle, which he had heavily modified with magic that he couldn't wait to go over with Harry. Unfortunately for him, it was going to have to be another occasion, as the sun was already setting by that time and he would need more daylight to properly show off his pride and joy.

Besides, Harry needed to get home for his private celebration with his amazing girlfriend. He wasn't sure exactly what she had planned for him, but the look on her face when she came home with two bags brought back from her shopping trip a few days before hand promised a very enjoyable night.

* * *

When he woke the next day, Harry was still a bit sore from the previous night. He could only imagine how Pansy would feel.

The girl in question was sleeping soundly, spooned in front of him, and he could see a red spot on her neck just beneath her ear left over from their intense exertions. Harry knew that he must have had a few marks of his own. Pansy liked to bite and scratch occasionally when things got really heated.

And they had been so very heated for his birthday. When your girlfriend surprises you by dressing up as a sexy French maid, there is no other choice but to shag till you can't move. He smiled as he thought of the fact that he could check another couple of positions to try off the list. However, surpassing half a dozen rounds could even wear him out.

Hence why he woke up without any morning wood for once.

Most of her costume was draped over the dresser off to the side of their bedroom. Harry sincerely hoped that none of it had been damaged or torn last night, but he supposed that the mending charm could fix that if necessary. He was absolutely going to make sure she wore it again.

It was interesting how she tended to be the one to come up with ideas like that more often than he did. Harry realized that he should probably try to be a bit more creative for her sake. Pansy would probably love it if he came up with some sort of kinky roleplaying scenario that would tickle her fancy.

Thankfully, he had several months before her birthday or Valentine's Day came around again.

But it did make him pause and recognize that they hadn't yet celebrated an anniversary. Harry wasn't sure what date they should pick. The first day they talked and got to know each other? Or the first time they kissed? They couldn't go with their first date since they had already been together for months by the time that happened. Pansy had never mentioned it either, but he supposed he should ask her about it one of these days.

He felt her stir beside him and she drowsily moaned. He wondered if she was going to doze back off, but a moment later, she rolled over and smiled at him.

"Good morning."

"Morning sweetheart. How do you feel?"

"Not too bad." She lifted the sheet and looked down. "But thank god you didn't poke me awake today. I would have to curse you if you had."

"Lucky me," he chuckled. "Apparently, even I have my limits."

"Don't pout, Harry. I have a couple other things for us to do today anyway. But first, I think I'm going to need a nice long bath. You might want to take a shower before I do."

"Do you want to eat first?"

"That sounds good." She pulled the sheet up over them both, trying to be somewhat mindful of Dobby who had loudly disappeared with a pop after they got home the night before. Poor little guy knew exactly what they were going to be doing. "Dobby?"

"Good morning, miss Pansy. Ready for breakfast?"

"That would be wonderful, Dobby."

With two snaps of his fingers, trays for each of them appeared loaded with food. He must have realized that they would be really hungry. Harry smiled as he realized just how perfect Dobby made everything, as usual.

"Thanks Dobby, this all looks amazing."

"Master Harry is most welcome."

Dobby left with a huge smile on his face, and a few minutes later they heard him talking to his pet fish out in the main room. Harry shared a grin with Pansy as they began to eat.

When he was finished his breakfast, he followed her suggestion of showering quickly so that she could soak in the tub for awhile. Just as he came out of the bathroom, he saw Pansy closing the extra bedroom door behind her.

"Am I still not allowed to know about your secret little project?"

"Not just yet, but very soon."

"Okay," Harry shrugged. "I guess I've got plenty of time to do whatever I want for awhile?"

"Yes, so go ahead and put on The Bends," Pansy teased.

"Am I so predictable?"

"I would call it _obsessive_."

"Well, I'm obsessive about you too," he teased in response. She pecked him on the cheek and shooed him out of the bathroom.

Once he heard the water running, Harry made his way over to the record player and started listening to Radiohead. Pansy was right, he was kind of obsessed with that album. Not that she could say much, as she had been playing the Portishead record at least once every night for the last two weeks.

It must have been half an hour later when he heard Pansy finally get out of the bath. He was already on the album's second side, and Harry could agree with Thom Yorke's idea of wishing he was bullet proof, even if curse proof would be the more relevant phrase in his life. That briefly made him wonder if the Death Eaters would be any worse if they had guns as well as wands.

Probably not, since he doubted any of them would have any skill with some 'filthy muggle weapon.' He could practically hear the sneer of an imaginary Death Eater's voice in his head.

"Harry? I need your help." Pansy ended his train of thought as she came out wrapped in a bathrobe. "I need you to cast a couple of enlarging charms on a few pieces of clothing for me."

"Okay," he replied, reaching for his wand despite his confusion. "Why?"

"All will be revealed very soon." Pansy led him into their bedroom and where Harry proceeded to follow her instructions for altering an entire outfit in several minor ways. A few inches here or there, in this place, then that, then another. Thankfully, she was very specific because otherwise he would not have had any idea how detail oriented Pansy was going to be about getting the clothes just right.

She then gathered everything in her arms and headed for the extra bedroom. Hedwig opened one eye to glare at them as they disturbed her rest but Harry was too surprised by the obvious potions set up that Pansy had brewing to notice.

"It's almost finished," she said, and then Harry realized what it must be as she scooped some of the concoction out into a cup and then placed a long silvery blonde hair into it. "Bottoms up."

Harry grimaced as she swallowed, remembering how awful the polyjuice had tasted when he had infiltrated the Slytherin common room.

"That wasn't as disgusting as I was afraid it would be." Just after she finished speaking, Pansy's face began to shift and he realized that she was still wearing the bathrobe for a good reason as her body started to grow, adding inches to her height and her curves. Harry turned around, as he was afraid that the robe might burst open and he wasn't exactly sure why Pansy was turning into Fleur Delacour.

"Maybe I should wait outside while you get dressed," he suggested as he started walking towards the door. Pansy was paying close attention to his reaction, but she didn't say anything. Harry would have been nervous if he had seen how closely she watched him.

He sat on the couch and tried to puzzle out just what his girlfriend was up to now.

"So, what do you think?" she asked when she revealed her full get up for the day. Normally, she would just be asking about her clothes, but today she was actually wearing another girl's form too. It was more than a little disconcerting.

He also noticed that she had a flask in one hand she sat down on an end table.

"I don't know. What am I supposed to think?"

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to be someone else? Only for a little while?"

"Sort of," he said. "Not really though. When I was younger, I mostly just wanted the Dursleys to not be such evil bastards."

"What about in the magical world? I know it bothers you when people stare."

"Sometimes it does, but mostly that just makes me wish they would leave me the hell alone. I've never really thought about wanting to be someone else. Certainly not enough to go to those levels." He waved his hand at her, but Fleur's face smirked back at him with an expression that was pure Pansy and that was as confusing as anything.

"It's sort of Parvati's fault, in a way."

"Why are you blaming Parvati for this?" Harry asked and Pansy filed his defense of her away for later scrutiny.

"We were talking a few months ago and she said something about imagining having boobs as perfects as Fleur's, which made me think of how interesting it would be to be so different. Just for a day, to be..." She sighed and Harry waited for her to finish her thoughts. "To be all the things I'm not. Tall, and voluptuous, and blonde. It should be a very interesting experience."

"If you say so," Harry responded while looking askance at her. "What are we going to do while you're... not you?"

"We're going out. Shopping. Eating. Maybe a movie or something later."

"Okay." He got up and grabbed his wand and key, preparing to follow her lead. "You know, you could have just gotten a different outfit instead of making me play the role of magical amateur tailor."

"True, but it might be good practice for later." Harry looked questioningly at her, and Pansy blushed slightly. "I might have forgotten, alright? I don't always plan everything out perfectly."

Harry chuckled as she grabbed her purse and they were soon out the door.

* * *

It was maybe the twentieth catcall before Pansy started scowling at the various guys that kept whistling, calling out, or just gawking at her. He had a feeling that she wasn't enjoying this as much as she had thought she would.

He wondered once again in his head on just what she was thinking today. They'd had guys try to flirt with her before when they were out together, but it wasn't to the level of Pansy-as-Fleur and yet Harry felt strangely less jealous. Oh sure, he would still happily gut anyone that tried anything, but he wasn't quite as possessive over her since she wasn't... well, her.

Harry briefly thought of a line from a Doors song he had heard somewhere- the strange days had certainly found them.

At least she wasn't dragging him clothes shopping since she really couldn't. Not unless she had a lot more hair from Fleur to repeat today's little excursion, and that was something of a relief. He didn't think he had done anything wrong yet, but he had a feeling that if she was trying on clothes as Fleur that she would also be judging his reactions a lot more closely than usual, and that would likely lead to something unpleasant.

Girls were so much more complicated and befuddling than guys.

So far, the best part of the day might have been when they had gone to the food court and the guy who had taken their order gave Pansy her ice cream cone for free with a whole lot of stammering and some really pitiful attempts at flirting.

She had licked the cone in a completely over the top way as the poor fool watched them walk off and Harry couldn't resist beginning to giggle.

"Don't ruin my fun, Harry," she scolded him before taking another ridiculously seductive lick of her ice cream. For some reason, it only made him laugh more.

"Sorry," he replied but the grin said otherwise. "Do you think it's cold enough back there to keep him from-"

" _Harry_ ," she warned with an angry mutter.

"It didn't look like he went all the way to-"

"I swear, if you push me any further, you'll be wearing this ice cream."

"Fine," he teased. It would have been a bad pun anyway.

The fact that she was continuing to treat her cone in a way clearly meant to make men drool was pretty funny. Especially a moment later, when one guy actually walked right into a potted plant while watching her. It was enough of a surprise that she joined him in giggling as they made their way to a store selling linens.

"Do we need new sheets?" he asked as she led him inside.

"Do we _want_ new sheets is the correct question. I think we should take a look. We certainly give them a work out." An older woman working near the door sputtered at that before she could introduce herself and ask if they needed any help.

Harry was pretty sure that was precisely as Pansy had planned it.

She led him through the aisles and he noticed that there were only a couple of other guys in the store. Both of whom were following their wives around looking rather bored and henpecked. (Not that Harry was either of those things, of course.) He guessed that she might have wanted a break from all the male attention and that was possibly why they were taking their time looking for new sheets. Well, she was looking for new sheets anyway. As long as they didn't feel too scratchy or hot, he wouldn't particularly care what she chose.

"What do you think of lavender?" she asked.

"Our classmate?"

"No, the color."

"Huh?"

"This Harry," Pansy sighed, pointing to a set of sheets that she was considering.

"I like purple," he shrugged. "Works for me."

"It's not purple, it's lavender."

"Which is light purple," he answered, smiling as she clearly became exasperated with him. "I think Lavender would probably look good in lavender too."

"Why? I suppose she would, but that doesn't seem like the type of thing you would notice."

"I just thought it would be fun to say."

"You've clearly been spending too much time around Sirius."

"Maybe so. How was your uncle Malcolm?"

"Good. He spent a lot of time asking about you, actually."

"Why?"

"I think he wanted to make sure you were still treating me well. Plus, he's obviously worried over all the rumors."

"What did you tell him?"

"That he had nothing to worry about as far as you were concerned. I've got you wrapped around my little finger."

"At least it's a nice finger."

"He's still concerned about my future, but the fact that we are a known couple actually soothed that some. You were right too."

"About what?"

"Professor Sprout. Uncle Malcolm revealed that he had indeed been corresponding with her, and she had given rave reviews over us as a couple ever since the Yule Ball. She also told him that it was about time."

"Despite teaching one of my least favorite classes, I can't help but agree with her."

"I'm getting these," she said as she picked up the lavender sheets and Harry just nodded along. It was a good thing they had gone by the bank earlier. He had no idea that bedding could be so expensive, but he would probably buy her anything she asked for that day. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

"Have you decided what else we're doing today?" he asked when they left the linen store behind.

"I was thinking we should try that Italian place for dinner later."

"Sounds good."

"Do you really not care what I pick for us to do today?" she asked. Harry could only smile at her.

"After last night, I'm putty in your hands."

"That was pretty fun, wasn't it?" Pansy grinned and even though she looked like a French blonde, it was another expression that he could see his actual girlfriend shining through. He had mostly gotten used to whatever this was she was doing today. "It's too bad there aren't any movies out that I want to see."

"We could-"

"No Harry, I am not going to see that silly movie about that bat guy."

"It's Batman," he huffed, but Harry knew she called him the bat guy just to annoy him.

"The commercial looked retarded. Not even wizards wear outfits that ridiculous."

"What about Xeno?"

"Are you seriously comparing those silly characters with Luna's father? Because I probably would go see a movie about him actually."

"Yeah, that does sound pretty good," Harry chuckled. "We really should have Luna over one of these days."

"I talked to her about it at the party. She's been so busy traveling most of the summer that she hadn't done her assignments for school yet, but she was going to get caught up and then come visit hopefully next week."

"Great. I've missed her."

"Me too," Pansy sighed before a smile came over her face. "That reminds me- we need to get a couple of mirrors."

"Good idea. We might want to get more than a couple though, just so I can practice to make sure I get everything right."

"And if you succeed, we'll have extras. You can have them ready before Luna comes over, right?"

"I think so. It shouldn't be too hard."

"We'll to stop by the video store later. We can at least rent something."

"And you can be amused by guys staring at you while we're there."

"That too," she teased. "We should rent that movie that Vanessa told us about."

"Um, you'll have to remind me."

"Blue Velvet. It's where Steven's band name came from. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you don't remember much from that night."

"Yeah, right. I actually do remember that. It was from somewhere in the middle of their concert through the rest of the night that I missed out on."

"It didn't end up being too fun once I realized what had happened to you. We got you back to their place and tried to let you sleep most of it off. You were slurring your words and pretty out of it, but thankfully, you listened to me when I told you that you needed your rest."

"I obviously knew you'd take care of me."

"I think I'm about ready for dinner, Harry."

* * *

The dinner ended up being amusing for a different reason, as they had a female server who couldn't stop scowling at Pansy-as-Fleur. Harry had a feeling that the way she was displaying her cleavage probably had something to do with it. Harry did his best to smooth things over. Thankfully, it was one of those places where you could see into the kitchen, and the food was placed on a counter once it was finished, so he was pretty sure the waitress didn't have a chance to spit in their food.

He tried to put that thought out of mind and just enjoy the meal. It was delicious, and not even that expensive, all things considered.

By the time they were walking home that night, Pansy had grown quiet. Harry was leaving her be, as she had been kind of moody that day.

The oddest thing for him hadn't actually been seeing Fleur's face all day. He got used to that after a while. It had been the height difference. He was so used to how Pansy fit next to him, and not only was Fleur a lot taller but she had also worn high heels, so he had spent the day looking up slightly at her. It made walking around with her just feel... off.

They also lucked out in not running into the Brightwells either coming or going. It would have been a very odd thing to try to explain.

She sighed when they got back inside their flat and fell back onto the couch.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I guess," she shrugged, reaching down to take off her shoes. "I should have had you make these slightly larger."

"Foot rub?"

"I love you, Harry." She leaned back and closed her eyes. He found it a bit odd, because even her feet were different, so he wasn't sure if he was doing it quite right, but she seemed to relax. After a couple of minutes of near silence, broken only by Pansy pleasantly moaning when he got to a couple of particularly sore spots, she sat up and kissed him.

Harry was so surprised that he barely responded before she stood up.

"Put on Dummy for me while I go get changed."

"Of course. I'm the one who's obsessive," he muttered as she disappeared.

"Side two!"

He complied with her request, and he had to admit that he was starting to associate Portishead so much with these wonderful summer nights that the album had really grown on him. Harry couldn't argue with Pansy's reasoning that the album was great music for shagging to.

He sat the movies they had rented over by the telly and went back to the couch, kicking off his own shoes. Harry briefly wondered what Dobby must be up to, but between the busy day and all the fun from the night before, he eventually started to doze off.

* * *

"Monsieur must wake up," the husky voice called to him, drawing him from the hazy dream of Pansy doing a strip tease to Glory Box. That was something he really needed to request when he was awake.

But then he was awake. Wasn't he?

And there was Fleur Delacour leaning down over him, stretching out Pansy's french maid uniform. Wait...

"I 'ave a reward for you 'arry," she purred, her cleavage spilling out of the top as she reached for his belt and began undoing his pants.

"Pansy? What?"

"No 'arry. Not Pansy. Not tonight."

"What should I call you then?"

"Whatever you want 'arry. You are my master."

"Which makes you..."

"Your servant," she grinned as she continued removing his clothes. "Or perhaps, you would prefer to call me your _slave_?"

"Oh fuck..." She took him in her mouth and he lost most of his ability to think.

"Turn around, slave," he growled at her a moment later. When she complied, he flipped up her skirt and saw that she was going bare underneath. "You're missing part of your uniform."

"Master, 'ow will you ever forgive me?"

"I'll have to punish you first." He lifted his hand to spank her but decided to give her a lick first. He saw her shiver at that and then he brought his hand down with a smack. "At least you taste good."

"Oui, master, please punish me." She wiggled her bum at him and Harry was soon alternating between spanking and going down on her. He couldn't tell from her reactions which she was enjoying more.

Soon enough, he moved to kneel behind her as she bent over and he thrust into her beginning a vigorous bout of sex.

"Fuck me 'arder, master." But not quite vigorous enough, based on that comment. Harry took her challenge to heart, even as he briefly smiled at how she was trying to keep up the accent. He pulled on her long blonde hair and she moaned.

"You like that, you filthy french whore?"

"Oui, master. More!"

He was almost surprised that he hadn't had an orgasm yet, but he supposed he had the overwhelming night before to thank for that. Pansy was quick to cum, and once she had finished, he began to slow his pace a bit. He leaned back and looked down at her arse as an idea struck him.

He sucked on his middle finger, getting it nice and wet, then circled it around butthole, which elicited a nice little gasp from her before he pushed it inside her.

"Oh..." Pansy paused for a second, then started slowly rocking back against him. "Master, you're just as filthy as I am."

"That's why we're a good match," he said with an exhale as they started moving in time with each other, and he even began fingering her bum in rhythm with his thrusts.

"Fuck," she groaned as their pace slowly built. "Master, please..."

"Tell me you love it."

"Oui, yes, I love it."

He reached up to pull her hair again.

"Tell me what you want."

"I want you to fuck me nice and hard until you cum inside me." He sped up as he felt himself building to a climax, her words of encouragement pushing him further. "Yes, like that. Fill me up, Harry.

"Oh, fuck," she moaned. "I'm close, Harry. Choke me."

"What?"

"Choke me!"

It had almost broken his concentration, but he used his free hand to wrap around her neck and gave it a squeeze, feeling himself begin to cum. As his muscles started to spasm, he squeezed harder than he meant to, a fact that he realized a moment later, but Pansy's orgasm began as his was ending, so he didn't let go or stop until she was finished.

"Yes!" she gasped once he released her, and Harry's torso slumped against her back.

They both remained that way, just trying to catch their breath. He eventually pushed himself back up and off of her, collapsing against the couch, then shifting to a more comfortable position to sit.

"Are you alright?"

Pansy wriggled around on the couch until she could sit and lean up against him. She still looked like Fleur though, so once again he noticed the wrongness of how her body fit next to him. And he spotted how red her neck was.

"Shit, did I hurt you?"

"I'm alright, Harry."

"I just-"

"I said I'm alright," she said, even as she rubbed her throat softly. "I'm the one who asked you to choke me. I knew what I was doing. Or at least, I thought I did."

"Why?"

"It was something Vanessa mentioned to me," she shrugged. "It sounded fun to try."

"Was it?"

"It was a nice orgasm, but my neck is a bit sore."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She sat back and peered into his eyes. "Do you realize you haven't kissed me today?"

"I haven't?"

"Not since I turned into Fleur."

"Oh, well..." Harry blushed and looked away. "It felt wrong with you looking like that."

"Wrong? We just had sex with me looking like this."

"Yes, but..." Harry sighed. "It's not the same."

"How so?" she asked as she turned him back to her, and raised herself up to intentionally draw his eyes down to her breasts which made her smirk. "You clearly had fun."

"The sex... I just let my hormones take over and then my dick did all the thinking. Kissing you, but seeing her face... I don't know, it's like a different type of intimacy. It felt weird."

"Harry," she laughed. "You surprise me sometimes. You are romantic and sappy in strange ways."

He just shrugged. He didn't really know what else to say. Until he remembered her outfit that was clearly torn but still partially clinging to her.

"Crap. I guess I'm definitely going to need to mend that now."

"I noticed how much you liked it last night, and it seemed like such an obvious fun way to play while I looked like Fleur."

"You kept the accent up. While we had sex, I mean. That was impressive."

"Thanks," she giggled. "Oh, I meant to ask- have you noticed anything different about me?"

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"I was wondering if any of the Veela allure carried over while I looked like her."

"I don't think so."

"That's disappointing," she huffed. "I guess I'll just have to seduce you with my more physical assets."

"I'm sure that will work too."

She stood and stripped off her costume, all the while maintaining as much eye contact as possible. She raised her leg to him and tapped his thigh as she motioned to her stockings.

"Take them off."

Harry did as she asked and a moment later she pulled him to his feet and dragged him to the bedroom.

"I'm not done with you yet, 'arry. I'm going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts." She pushed him down onto the side of the bed as she noticed him growing erect again. She sank to her knees and pressed her breasts around his cock with a smirk. "I don't think I'm big enough to do this normally."

"I think you are," he argued, his brain still slightly working although she was quickly trying to put an end to that, especially when she leaned down and gave him a lick.

"Wouldn't you prefer to titty fuck me, 'arry? Instead of wasting your time with zat little girl of yours?"

"No." He pushed her back and stood up before throwing her onto the bed, face down before spanking her harder than he ever had before, several hard swats in a row. He could see her enjoying it, writhing a bit each time he hit her, so he turned her over and looked down defiantly at her in this naked costume she wore. If she wanted to roleplay, then he was going to give her the performance that he wanted. He grabbed her face and glared at her.

"You're nothing more than some French slut. Don't you ever say anything about Pansy. Do you understand me, slut?"

"Yes, master," she moaned. "I'm sorry."

"What are you?"

"Just a stupid French slut. Forgive me, master. Please, let me make it up to you."

"How will you do that?"

"The only way I can," she purred as she pulled him onto the bed and climbed atop him. She speared herself on him and began to ride Harry, her breasts bouncing. As she looked down at him, she grabbed his hands and guided them up. "Squeeze my titties, 'arry."

"Like this?" He was firm with her, as she was clearly enjoying the harder physical side of things today.

"Oui. You can pinch my nipples too, 'arry."

He took the hint and she cried out happily.

"Yes!" As she continued riding him, Harry could tell when she was heading for another climax, so he waited and pinched just as she peaked. "Oh fuck!"

He sat up and took one of her breasts in his mouth as she slowed her grinding and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight to her bosom. He could tell that she could be pushed further, so he grazed her nipple with his teeth.

"Oh that's nice," she breathed out. Harry switched to her other breast, his left hand continuing to cradle and occasionally squeeze the one his mouth left behind. He slid his right hand between them, in search of her clit. He could tell from her reaction when he found it as her fingernails dug into his back and she crushed him to her. She bucked against him, and Harry felt himself following her to another peak.

He bit down on her nipple and she screamed out, clenching around him as they both came.

* * *

They were both lying flat on their backs, and Harry wondered how much longer before Pansy would be herself again.

"I think I learned something important, today," she said, causing him to turn to her. "If I want things to get rough, I'll have to remember this."

"Huh?"

"Your instinct is to be gentle with me."

"Oh. Yeah, of course it is."

"I think that's part of why I like doggy style so much too," she added. "You're more likely to let loose and just fuck me silly that way."

Harry chuckled but closed his eyes and played some of their more rough moments over in his head. She was definitely right. He thought in particular of that night in Paris after her mother's funeral. Was that really only a year ago?

He would gladly be more dominant with her at times, but Harry was very thankful that she had never wanted to do something as emotionally draining as shagging her while she cried again.

Pansy rolled over and cuddled into his side, and he smiled when he felt her start to shift. Harry opened his eyes as Fleur's face turned back into Pansy's. He rolled them both over, him now on top, and began kissing her. He felt hungry and needy.

After a couple of minutes, she pulled him back so she could look at him and smile.

"So very sappy, Harry."

"You love that I'm sappy."

"I guess I do," she giggled.

"Do you want to get up?"

"Why?"

"To watch a movie."

"No. I think I'd rather put on some music." Pansy climbed out of the bed and Harry watched with both lust and contentment as her perfect little arse practically skipped out of the room. He could feel himself smiling. But he had to roll his eyes when she turned Portishead on again. When she returned to the bedroom with a pleased little grin, Pansy slid into bed next to him.

"You really like this album," he smirked.

"I won't make fun of your love of Thom Yorke anymore if you leave me and Beth Gibbons in peace."

"Fair enough."

"Besides, you know I'm right that this album is perfect for sex."

"Okay."

Pansy grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her, drawing him in for a kiss. "That was a hint, Harry."

"Really? I thought you might be done for the night."

"I am done shagging," she replied as she sucked at his throat. "Now, it's time to make love."

* * *

The next afternoon, they came back upstairs after having tea and chatting with the Brightwells for awhile. Harry and Pansy were both very glad that the protections over their flat also helped to deaden sound among their many qualities; otherwise, their neighbors probably wouldn't look at them quite the same way. They sometimes got rather loud when they were carried away, and that had been very true of the last two nights.

It also helped to not bother the Brightwells when they were playing loud music, which was quite often.

Also thankfully, when the polyjuice potion had ended, the marks left over from when Pansy had asked to be choked had greatly faded. That would not have been fun trying to explain to the neighbors. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Well, maybe Luna. Harry had an inkling of what she and Pansy talked about in private.

"A message arrived for you," Dobby said, appearing once they shut the door.

"It must be from Luna," Pansy added, as she picked it up and began to read. Noticing the pink paper with green script, Harry could only agree. He also wondered where she came across pink paper like that.

"She's been eating a lot of watermelon," Pansy giggled. "Thus, the pink and green letter, her tribute to her favorite new fruit."

"That definitely sounds like Luna," Harry snorted as he sat down and waited for Pansy to finish.

"Okay, so the plan is for us to go to her place a week from Thursday. Xeno wants to have us over for dinner that evening before he's off to..."

"To where?"

"Jan Mayen."

"Is that supposed to be a place, or a friend of his?"

"I don't know. Anyway, he's going off on this little trip and letting Luna stay over with us for a long weekend. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Where's that list of things I wanted to do with her that I had you writing?"

"Last time I saw it, it was on your nightstand in the bedroom."

"Great," Pansy said with a grin, hopping up from the couch. "Be right back."

Harry nodded as she left, but frowned at realizing that this meant Pansy was almost assuredly going to make sure they got at least most of their summer school work done before Luna came to visit. Well, at least Slughorn had only assigned them a book to read about the properties of more advanced potion ingredients. The years of suffering under Snape would have probably meant two dozen essays.

And as much as he grumbled about Herbology at times, professor Sprout's summer assignment was also better than in years past. They were growing two small dittany shrubs out on their balcony. With a bit of dragon dung for fertilizer, they were both very lush and healthy. Pansy liked to tease that hers was doing better than Harry's, but he found it hard to differentiate between them without the small metal rods that labeled them with a P and H.

The best part was that if they succeeded, they should be able to cultivate the mature plants for their powerful healing abilities. From what Sirius had told him, essence of dittany was one of the best ways to treat a variety of wounds- from cuts to burns and even many less potent venomous bites and stings.

Harry planned to make good use of it, and in fact, he already had several vials charmed to be unbreakable that he was planning on keeping handy for the future. Danger was too likely with Riddle and his minions out doing who knows what.

Knowing that Neville was the best of his friends in the class, Harry had asked him to grow as much extra dittany as he could over the summer and that Harry would pay him for whatever he made. While Neville still wasn't very good at Potions, Pansy had the recipe for distilling the raw plant down to the healing liquid. After seeing her recent success with the polyjuice potion, Harry didn't have any worries about her skills.

And if they had enough that they needed a second person to work on it, he imagined that Hermione would be plenty of help.

He stepped out onto the balcony to look over both plants and they seemed to be doing fine. Since it had been a few days without rain, he went over to the sink and got a pitcher to water them before stopping himself. Pansy would have to water hers- she had made it very clear that she was surely going to do even something as simple as that better than him and 'kick his arse' at this.

It made him laugh when she got competitive about little things like that. To be fair, she might be right. Pansy was the one who had yet again Exceeded Expectations in Herbology. Harry was just glad that he was excused from the exams last year; he had put even less effort in than usual and would have likely struggled to pass the class without some serious last minute cramming.

That was at least one thing he had to thank the Triwizard Tournament for.

All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by Pansy coming back out with her list.

"We probably should water the dittany," she said as she noticed the pitcher still in Harry's hand.

"Ladies first."

He grinned while he watched how she meticulously poured the apparently precisely correct amount onto her plant. Harry just dumped the water on until it looked about right. It had worked well enough for all those years slaving away over Petunia's garden. That made him chuckle to himself briefly when he remembered that pansies were one of the types of flowers he had to care for back then.

When they came back inside, Dobby appeared with a loud pop that stopped them from looking over the things they wanted to do when Luna came to visit.

"Master Harry! Your miss Granger, she is at the safe house!"

"What?"

"Dobby was called like how master said she could call in an emergency."

"Hold on," Pansy said as she grabbed her favorite purse and stuffed the list into it. Harry knew that she kept her wand in there as well, just in case she might need it. Since they had charmed it to have more space, his father's invisibility cloak also now resided there while they were away from school.

"Take us there, Dobby," Harry said after he had grabbed his own wand.

* * *

A moment later, they appeared in the living room of the cottage Harry had inherited from his father's late cousin and found Hermione and her parents huddled together on the couch.

"Harry!" she shouted as she got up and ran over to hug him.

"Hermione, what's going on?"

"Dementors!"


	67. The Case Against Hermione Granger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I am ignoring what we learn of the Trace from Deathly Hallows since it contradicts what we see in Chamber of Secrets when Harry gets warned because of Dobby's magic. If the Trace is on Harry himself (or his wand as in many fanfictions) then he shouldn't have gotten in trouble. Unless you assume that Dobby is more powerful than the ministry itself- therefore I'm using the idea that the Ministry monitors by area.

* * *

"Dementors?"

"We were coming home, and everything started getting cold- it was hot and humid today, I knew something was wrong, and then I just felt so miserable, and I remembered... well, I knew it had to be those things. Then my dad fell over and mum wasn't much better, but I remembered to use the locket you gave me, so I grabbed their hands and we came here. Oh no! Crookshanks! We left him at home. Oh, Harry do those monsters go after animals? We need to go get him."

"Hermione, try to calm down," Harry said as he patted her back. She was still shivering even as she hugged him. "Did you see them or just get the feeling that they were close?"

"I didn't see them, but nothing else feels like that."

"Okay." Harry took a deep breath and ran through several things in his head. He didn't think Dementors would attack Hermione's cat, but he knew how badly Hedwig's death would affect him, so he was going to have to check anyway. "Dobby, I'm going to need you to take me to Hermione's house in a minute."

He let go of Hermione and walked over to Pansy who was already pulling his invisibility cloak out of her purse. "You need to stay here."

"I know." She handed him the cloak and pulled him to her for a kiss. "I don't like it, but I'm still underage. Just be careful."

"I will."

"Dobby, I need you to take care of Harry. His safety comes first, alright?"

"Of course, miss Pansy."

Harry had his wand ready and Dobby grabbed hold of his leg as he swept the cloak over the two of them.

"Be back soon."

There was a pop and they were gone.

* * *

They landed in the Granger family's yard and Harry immediately noticed the open front door. He pointed towards it and Dobby nodded. They crept inside.

Harry couldn't feel the aura of the dementors yet, which made him wonder if they had already left. Once he closed the door behind him, he pulled off his cloak and folded it up best he could before setting it on a little table that stood just inside the home's entryway. There was a bit of mail sitting on it, so Harry left one of the letters on top of the cloak so he would be able to find it again as easily as possible.

"Do you sense anything Dobby?"

"It gets colder towards the rear of the house."

"Shit. Let's be ready then. Can you go find Hermione's cat?"

"Dobby has to stay with master Harry. Miss Pansy said to take care of you first."

"Of course," Harry replied. Sometimes he forgot that she was every bit as protective of him as he was of her. "Let's try upstairs in Hermione's room first."

As they made it to the stairs, Harry could feel the dementors were nearby, but there was still no other sign of them. Hermione's bedroom door was open, and sure enough, Crookshanks was curled up asleep on her bed. "I know she's got something to carry him in around here somewhere."

Dobby found it in her closet and Harry set the grumpy but still tired cat inside. He then noticed the fog on her bedroom window.

"They've got to be somewhere nearby." Harry saw Dobby looking worried. "Dobby, I know I need you to watch my back, but I want you to take Crookshanks to Hermione."

"But master Harry!"

"It will only take you a couple of seconds, and I'll be right here waiting for you."

"If Dobby must. But be careful sir, or miss Pansy will never let either of us hear the end of this."

"I know," Harry nodded, and turned towards the door, listening for any intruders. It was too bad the dementors could glide, as without footsteps it made them better able to sneak up on someone, but Harry still only felt mild discomfort from the depressing aura so he had to assume they weren't too close.

There was a pop and within just a few seconds, Dobby reappeared.

"Dobby left before miss Pansy could finish yelling, sir."

"I'll make it up to her later," Harry said with a grimace. "Let's check the rest of the house."

Moving through the rest of the upstairs, they still found no trace of the dementors, other than more fog on the windows. When they went back to the ground floor, Dobby tugged on Harry's hand.

"Master, look."

The french doors leading to the backyard were open. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up and a shiver went down his spine. "Watch my back, Dobby. Someone might have brought them here."

"Dobby will."

Harry led the way as they headed outside. He saw the cold mist that covered the ground and heard the rattling breath before he saw them. Two dementors circling the pool and... was that growling? It was somewhere between a dog's snarl and the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

There was no time to waste.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

White light blasted forth and his dragon slammed into the nearest of the two dementors, which retreated as quickly as he had ever seen one of those hideous monsters move. Its partner also fled, heading around the side of the home. Harry followed them and watched as they streaked down the road heading north.

The strangest part was seeing one of them glide out of the way of an oncoming car. He knew that muggles couldn't see them, but he also realized just how much of a physical presence they had as well.

It brought a funny thought to mind. What would happen if a car ran over one of those awful things?

He chuckled for a moment before putting his wand away and heading back inside. As he closed the door behind him, he saw an owl swooping in through the still open back door. It deposited a letter onto the table, and Harry saw that it was addressed to Hermione.

"This can't be a coincidence."

* * *

"I think there's some chocolate in one of the cupboards," Pansy said a moment after Harry and Dobby had gone. Granger nodded at her and the two of them started searching together, finding some chocolate biscuits after a few minutes.

"Better than nothing, I guess," Granger said and she went over to her parents. Pansy noticed Mr. Granger had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths trying to calm himself, his hands still shaking.

"Hermione, you know we don't eat that sort of thing," her mother argued but Hermione pressed forward.

"Chocolate is the best thing to treat the after effects of dementors, mum. We all need it, unless you want to feel horrible for the rest of the night."

Her father reached out and tore open the box, popping one in his mouth. He let out a breath a moment later and opened his eyes. "She's right, dear. It does help."

"Fine." Mrs. Granger's mood perked up almost immediately too.

Pansy went to sit down in a chair and waited, trying not to worry about whatever Harry might find. She knew, logically, that he should be fine- after all, he had dealt with a stadium full of those monsters nearly two years ago. But that did little to help her nerves.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the list of ideas for things to do with Luna, but even as she tried to read it, she found herself merely scanning over words without really thinking about it.

"I hope he's alright," Hermione said, and Pansy looked up at the girl who was pacing around the open room. "I wish Harry wasn't always rushing into danger, dealing with all these terrible things."

"So do I, but you should be glad he is," Pansy replied. "Would you prefer to have to deal with this all on your own? You never finished learning the Patronus charm, did you?"

"No. I can manage a shield, but I never tried it under the stress of actually facing a dementor." Hermione shook her head, frowning. "I hope you realize how much I appreciate all he's done for me. The portkey saved all of us."

"Portkey?" Mrs. Granger asked. "Is that what that awful feeling was called?"

"It's a magical way of traveling," Hermione explained. "Almost instantaneous, even over great distances. Harry created an emergency one that he enchanted into my locket. He said it would take me some place safe in case of... well, in case of something like today happening."

"Where are we anyway?" Mr. Granger asked after he finished another biscuit. His hands were still slightly shaky.

"It's probably better if none of you know," Pansy replied. "Let's just say it's a safe house, and leave it at that."

"Why?"

"Because, Granger, if none of you know where it is, then you can't reveal it to anyone. The more people know about it, the more chance of a leak happening."

"I guess we shouldn't open the curtains then."

"I would prefer if you didn't."

Hermione nodded.

"Why are you so paranoid?" her mother asked.

"You still haven't told them?" Pansy turned to Hermione who looked sheepish.

"I didn't want them to worry."

"Worry over what, Hermione?"

"Mum, it's-"

"Terrorists," Pansy answered, cutting her off. "Probably war. Your parents were endangered today, Granger. Hiding things from them now could get them killed."

Hermione grimaced but nodded and Pansy continued.

"The very short version is that most of the Death Eaters that killed so many people two decades ago escaped justice. Their leader returned recently, and they are almost certain to start attacking people again. That is unless we get very lucky and someone kills them all first. Hopefully, it won't have to be Harry."

"Why would it have to be Harry?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Because almost everyone else in the magical world is completely useless," Pansy spat in disgust. "I just wish Mad-Eye still had both his legs. He's one of the only ones who is willing to do what's necessary."

"At least we've got professor Dumbledore on our side," Hermione suggested. "He was supposedly the only one that Riddle ever feared."

"Hmph," Pansy grunted in annoyance. "He's worse than useless if you ask me."

"How can you say that?"

"Because if he were even half the wizard people think he is, then he would have been on the front lines, killing Death Eaters. But no, the almighty Dumbledore had to keep his sense of moral superiority by not getting his hands dirty."

"Do you really think that's necessary?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Do you have any idea what they would do to your family? Because I do. They would magically bind the two of you while they took turns raping your daughter right in front of you. If there were enough of them, they would probably do the same to your wife. They'd probably throw in a bit of torture too, just for extra fun. The Cruciatus curse is the worst feeling in the world, believe me. If you were lucky, they would kill you all once they got bored.

"But if you weren't, then they would probably use the Imperius curse to force one of you to kill the others. Likely your daughter- as a muggleborn they would take special delight in breaking her spirit. And after the two of you were dead, your daughter would spend whatever time was left wishing that she had died too. Better that than ending up in a dungeon for the Death Eaters to play with whenever they felt like it."

"Dear Lord," Mrs. Granger gasped.

"My father was proud to be one of those sick fucks, so yes, I am very sure that it is necessary to kill men like that." Pansy turned to Hermione, who flinched at the anger in her eyes. "And as for your precious headmaster, he didn't even have the decency to make sure they faced justice for their crimes. Just bribe the right people, and walk free like my father or Malfoy did. Or have Dumbledore hand out second chances to scum like Snape.

"The hell with that! Every single Death Eater needs to die."

There was little anyone could say as Pansy sat back and tried to take a deep breath after her rant. The silence was broken when Dobby popped with Hermione's cat stuffed into a carrier and hissing.

"Here miss Hermione," the elf said as he handed the angry beast over.

"Dobby, you were supposed to protect Harry," Pansy growled.

"Dobby knows miss!"

With that, the elf disappeared.

* * *

"What should we do now, Dobby?"

"Dobby isn't sure, sir."

"I wish we had someone else here to help. Or at least some way to... communicate." Harry realized what he needed but then started to go through several different scenarios. It was too bad he hadn't created any more sets of the mirrors yet. Sirius had one, but Harry's was in Pansy's purse. He could have Dobby go get that one, or...

"I need you to go get Sirius, Dobby. Make sure he has his mirror and bring him here."

"Are you sure, master Harry?"

"The dementors have gone, Dobby. I have a feeling that it's going to be a battle of politics now. As fast as the letter arrived for Hermione, this smells like a set up to me."

"Dobby will be as fast as he can."

Harry nodded with a smile as his friend left with another pop. He noticed how the sound tended to be louder when he was stressed or worried. When things were calm, Dobby was practically silent. Harry couldn't really blame him for being tense today though.

Thankfully, it was only a few minutes later before Dobby returned with Sirius in tow.

"Harry, what's going on?"

"Do you have your mirror?"

"Right here," Sirius said as he pulled it out of a pocket.

"Let me borrow it please." As his godfather handed it over, Harry looked into it and called out Pansy's name. He heard some muffled sounds as he guessed that she was digging the matching mirror out of her purse.

"Harry?" she answered after a moment. Once she saw his face, he could see her relief. "Is everything alright?"

"I think so, for the most part. Can Hermione hear me too?"

"I'm here, Harry," she replied as she peeked in the mirror over Pansy's shoulder.

"Cool, okay. Let me see where to start. There were two dementors here. I found them in your backyard. I was able to drive them off easily enough. However..."

"However what?" Pansy prodded as Harry's face disappeared briefly.

"An owl dropped off a letter shortly after they were gone. It has Hermione's name on it and it appears to be from the ministry."

"That's fishy," Sirius added.

"I know. That's one of the reasons I wanted you here. Is there any way you can get in touch with Tonks?"

"She's an auror, good thinking. Give me a minute, I'll be right back." Sirius apparated away.

"Where are your glasses, Harry?" Hermione asked while they waited for his godfather to return with the pink-haired cavalry.

"I'm wearing my contacts. That night at the graveyard was proof enough of how big a handicap losing them could be."

"You weren't wearing them at your birthday party."

"No, but that's one of the only times I've worn my glasses this summer. Besides, they wouldn't have worked with Pansy's outfit the other day." Harry smirked as his girlfriend blushed. "So I just happened to have my contacts in today. I guess this supposedly quiet boring summer afternoon is more evidence that I need to be prepared at all times."

There was a crack as Sirius returned with his cousin.

"Have no fear, Tonks is here!" she cheerfully proclaimed.

"Your poetry is magnificent, but we need you as an auror," Harry replied with a smirk while Tonks stuck out her tongue at him.

"Fine, ruin my fun. What's going on?"

Harry started to explain the situation to her as she looked over at the envelope. Before he was finished, she raised her hand for him to stop.

"You've got that lawyer, right Harry?"

"Yes."

"You should get him here."

"Good idea. Dobby?"

"Dobby can get mister Sam."

"I'll go with him," Sirius suggested as he stood. "We don't want a receptionist holding Dobby up just because he's a house-elf."

"Mister Sirius is smarter than he looks," Dobby said with a smile which made Tonks nearly fall out of her chair laughing.

"Even your house-elf is a smart-ass, huh Harry?"

"He could have said you were dumber than you look, if you'd prefer." Harry grinned until Sirius reached over to ruffle his hair with enough vigor to actually make it look worse than usual.

"Come on then, Dobby. Let's go find Sam."

* * *

The next couple of hours would prove to be some of the longest of Harry's life. Hermione wasn't having a very fun time either, as her twelve year old self's worst fear came to pass: expulsion from Hogwarts. Only, that verdict was quickly set aside as Sam McKenzie was once again worth his weight in gold. The lawyer got that ridiculous penalty overthrown almost immediately, although not before Hermione nearly had a panic attack.

With Tonks there, she was able to act in her official capacity, testing both Hermione and Harry's wands for recent spells cast- which of course meant that Harry's was the one that showed a Patronus charm used.

That was the good news. The bad news was that there would still be an official hearing in a week, and that it looked like something strange was going on in the ministry of magic. With Fudge covering up the truth, it was hard to tell who in the government might be involved.

Tonks delivered her report to Madam Bones though, and that should hopefully be a good start in getting the whole mess cleaned up.

That left the problem about what to do with Hermione and the Grangers in the meantime. Sirius suggested they stay with him at Grimmauld Place until they could get some magical protections set up for their home. It would be a lot less of a hassle than living in the middle of nowhere in Harry's safehouse.

Dobby volunteered to take them to and from work in the meantime as well. Harry just chuckled at that, and even more so a couple of days later when Hermione's dad asked why portkey travel couldn't be as pleasant as when Dobby transported them. His response was that Dobby was just better than wizards.

Considering the fact that Dobby had stood between Harry and Lucius Malfoy, blasting him down a hallway, Harry meant it too. No other wizard had ever done something quite like that for him, at least not since his parents had died trying to protect him from Voldemort.

Needless to say, Dobby was in a very good mood for the rest of the summer.

* * *

That weekend, Sirius asked Harry to come over as there was going to be a gathering of the Order of the Phoenix. While he hadn't been invited to the meeting itself, Sirius said that a few people wanted to speak with him. And he might have mentioned that Hermione was driving him insane while she worried over her upcoming trial.

When Harry and Pansy arrived that evening, they quickly entered and saw Sirius waiting in the hall with a finger to his lips and his other hand pointing to the covered portrait of his mother. His latest letter mentioned having to remove an umbrella stand made from a troll's leg that Tonks kept tripping over every time she came by the house. It would always wake up the _delightful_ Walburga Black and the shrieking could last for hours. Harry had suggested using some sort of paint stripper and Sirius was planning on asking the Grangers for help in finding the most caustic one possible to threaten her into silence.

There were a few people who were already in the kitchen behind Sirius, including Mad-Eye and Lupin that Harry recognized, but he and Pansy headed up the stairs. The drawing room was open and inside there were several teens waiting for them.

Ron sat on the far side of the room, scowling at Flora and Hestia who were playing chess together. Pansy went over to join them. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ginny were chatting away on a couch. Fred and George came over as soon as they saw Harry.

"Did you see how many people were here yet Harry?"

"Several, but I didn't recognize everyone. Why?"

"We're hoping to try out a new invention tonight. George, get the door will you?" Once it was closed, Fred pulled a long flesh-colored piece of string out of his pocket. "We call them extendable ears. We're hoping to hear what's going on in the meeting. You interested, Harry?"

"That's okay, guys. Sirius will tell me anything really important that I need to know."

"Wish our parents would," George muttered. "Dad probably wouldn't be too hard to get something out of, but mum has been a nightmare this summer. We're of age, she can't keep us out of the fighting forever."

"Death Eaters won't care if you're of age anyway," Harry replied.

"Exactly."

"Well, I saw Mad-Eye here, so he'll probably have a bunch of protections up but you might as well try them out."

"Checkmate." Harry turned and noticed Flora grinning at her sister.

"Finally," Pansy said as Flora got up and pulled Hestia to her feet.

"Come on, Hes, let's go somewhere more private."

"Have fun, Harry," Pansy said as she stopped before leaving the room. She grabbed him for a very unchaste kiss and winked before following the Carrow twins upstairs. Harry smiled as he watched the extra bit of sway to her hips as she left.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Harry," George began, "but sometimes I envy your choice in girlfriend."

"Or at least how aggressive she can be," Fred added. "I wish Angelina had a little more of that."

"Are you two still dating then?" Harry asked while trying not to look at Ginny, who was clearly bothered by Pansy's antics.

"Yes. I haven't been able to see her too much this summer, unfortunately." He sighed but then turned to Harry with a smirk. "She's been made the quidditch captain for our team. Only about three months till our next match. Hopefully we can find a good keeper for this year."

"Ron's keen to try out," George said. Their little brother perked up at that mention and was obviously listening to their conversation, but he stayed in his seat. Harry hadn't really talked to him in almost a year and things were clearly still awkward between them.

"Is he any good?"

"He's not bad when we play at home," Fred replied. "Not as good as Ollie was, but then who is?"

"He was the best keeper in all my time at Hogwarts," Harry agreed. "I heard he's been playing some for Puddlemere lately."

"Yeah, their starting keeper got injured, so he had his first start back in May. They've won all three games he's played, so I guess he's doing well."

"He's let in more goals than he did when he was playing with us," George said with a smirk. "Obviously, it's because he doesn't have such dashing beaters playing with him."

Harry just chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure it's that and not the fact that he's playing against actual professionals now."

* * *

Over the next hour or so, Harry kept Hermione's mind occupied by talking to her about what protections she would like to put up around her home. He knew a fair amount about runic enchantments that could be used, and Sirius had suggested several things already, including three that Harry hadn't heard of before.

The Weasleys had meanwhile headed to the landing, trying out the extendable ears. It turned out that Harry was right though, as Moody or someone else had charmed the door to the kitchen to be imperturbable, so they were out of luck on their eavesdropping.

They knew the meeting was over when the four Weasleys hurried back into the room and sat down, acting as nonchalantly as possible. Their parents came in shortly thereafter and they bade Harry and Hermione farewell as they headed back home.

Following them up, Harry was surprised to see professor McGonagall with Sirius, Moody, and Dumbledore. He hadn't known any of the other teachers were in the Order.

"Miss Granger, mister Potter, I would like to speak with the both of you briefly this evening," she said as she sat down at a desk and pulled several items out of her pockets. He noticed that there were two shiny metal badges as well as a couple of pieces of parchment. "Officially, I can't give both of these out until this nonsense is dealt with at the ministry. However, miss Granger, I am sure that this set of rules for prefects will give you something to read over and think about in the meanwhile.

"Mister Potter, I trust you can handle this responsibility for the coming year. You have already taken on the burdens of leadership when the situation has called for it, and people will naturally be looking at you for guidance in the future. If either of you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to speak with me. We will all need to do our part to keep the peace this year at Hogwarts.

"Miss Granger, I am also leaving your letter about what supplies will be needed for the next year. Officially, it couldn't be sent out while the hearing is still hanging over your head, but I believe that is only a matter of time. Mr. McKenzie is a very skilled solicitor. Try not to worry yourself too much."

"Thank you, professor."

"You're very welcome, Hermione," McGonagall replied with a hint of a smile. "There is really no other choice, you know. Can you imagine either miss Brown or miss Patil as a prefect?"

Harry wasn't sure which was odder about the occasion- McGonagall joking or Hermione giggling in response. Plus, he thought Parvati wouldn't make a bad prefect. She certainly couldn't do worse than some of the bastards Snape had given the badge to over the years. Harry still remembered one of them taking off points from him in his first year for getting lost in the halls on his third day at Hogwarts.

Stupid school should come with a map for new students. Or some sort of orientation- that's what the muggle world would do, especially for people completely foreign to the world of magic. But no, why do something logical like that when instead you can give jerks the authority to bully younger students just for kicks?

Hell, if either of them were still alive, scumbag Snape would have probably made a proudly-bigoted piece of filth like Malfoy one of the prefects.

Harry had to swallow his rage before looking at the headmaster, who he just knew would have let both of them get away with it too.

'Focus on the war,' he thought to himself. 'Let's find out what they've been doing this summer.'

"Now then, mister Potter, miss Granger, there will be a meeting of the prefects on the train that you will both need to attend, as well as leading the new first year students to Gryffindor tower after the welcoming feast. I wish you both well until we see each other again at Hogwarts."

"Thank you professor."

"Miss Granger, will you please escort Minerva out? We have something to discuss with Harry," Dumbledore said, and the two of them left the room. Moody immediately sealed the room and threw up at least half a dozen privacy charms.

"We're secure, Albus."

"Thank you, Alastor. Why don't we all have a seat?"

Sirius settled in on the couch next to Harry while the headmaster sat opposite them in an antique high-back chair. Mad-Eye merely slowed his pacing around the room. Harry had to grin as the semi-unretired auror kept his wand in hand, just in case. You never know when Death Eaters could attack a small meeting in a sealed room in a house under the Fidelius after all.

"Alastor and Sirius have been arguing against something that I have prioritized for the Order to do this summer, and they both insisted that I speak with you about it, Harry. You know that Voldemort heard only part of a prophecy about the two of you all those years ago. With yet another miraculous escape from his clutches recently, I believe he may try to steal the recording of it that is held at the Department of Mysteries, which lies deep in the ministry. I have asked our members to keep watch, in case of any attempt to break in."

"Why don't we take it out instead?"

"That is precisely what I've been saying," Sirius agreed.

"There is a wisdom to that idea," Dumbledore added. "However, if we are to do so, it will require your assistance, Harry."

"Okay. Why me?"

"Only those who are subject to the prophecy may remove it without harm."

"Alright," Harry said as he thought for a moment. "Should we try to do this quietly, I assume?"

"That would be for the best. I have a contact in the department that we could possibly meet with and then, hopefully, he could escort us to the prophecy."

"Maybe we should try to do that after Hermione's hearing," Harry suggested. "It could be a distraction that we could use."

"True, however, the media could be there and looking for a quote from you afterwards. It will be expected that you will be with miss Granger due to the nature of your patronage of her."

"Hmm."

The room grew quiet for a moment until Sirius nearly shouted out.

"Tonks! We could have her take Harry's place on the way out. Meanwhile, he slips on his cloak and follows Dumbledore down to get the prophecy."

"That could work," Moody grunted. "I could be there as well, to act as security and help push them out of the building to keep any reporters from asking too many questions. We don't want Nymphadora to have to do too much acting, or say anything that could screw up this plan."

'I believe that could work," Dumbledore replied. "It might be for the best if you meet with Nymphadora before hand. A bit of practice at mimicking your speech, as well as coming up with what you might want to say would be wise."

"I believe she's still here," Sirius added. "I'll go check if this discussion is over."

"Very well," Dumbledore said as he stood up. "Alastor, if you would, please remain behind so that everything can be explained to her about this plan."

"Of course."

"Harry, I'll see you in a few days."

"Headmaster," he nodded.

"It's too bad he was kicked out of the wizengamot," Moody said after Dumbledore had left. "Seems mighty fishy that an attack happens on your girl within days of getting Albus tossed out. Fudge doesn't have a case here. I don't know what the idiot thinks he's doing."

"Are we sure it's him? Maybe someone else has a grudge against me. Or someone who just hates muggleborns."

"Aye, both are possible."

"Are we sure there aren't any rogue dementors?"

"I went to Amelia with that concern immediately," Moody replied. "They were checked the next day at Azkaban, and all were accounted for. But that was enough time for a couple of them to return from a failed hit job."

"Damn. We need the government to try to assassinate the right people if they're going to pull something like that." That made Moody chuckle.

"Officially, I didn't hear any of that. Unofficially, I'm not sure who would be the best target anyway. Getting Fudge out of the way wouldn't help if we didn't have someone better to replace him."

"With my luck, we probably would get someone ever worse next," Harry muttered.

"Hah! That's the spirit, Potter. We need more cynical bastards like us to keep idealists like Albus from floating off in the clouds. Black tells me you're already thinking about teaching others next year some of what I taught you."

"It seems necessary," Harry shrugged. "Riddle and his minions aren't going to spare anyone just because they happen to still be teenagers."

"Damn right, laddie. I'll be interested to see how that goes."

* * *

A few nights later, Harry was snuggling in behind Pansy, who had claimed his hand for the evening and was resting it below her navel. He had gotten used to the ritual now, but she was extra tense that week and her cramps had started a day early. Not only was the nonsense with the ministry still hanging over them, but they also had Luna's upcoming visit and Pansy wanted to make sure they were very good hosts for their friend.

"Harry?" Apparently she wasn't quite ready to sleep yet.

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking of growing my hair out."

"Okay."

"You wouldn't mind?" Pansy turned over and looked at him. He had to smile as she once again took hold of his hand and placed it where she could get the most comfort.

"No. I'll probably always like you with a bob style because that's what you looked like when I fell in love with you, but it's fine with me if you want to change it."

"You're very sweet, Harry. I didn't think you would care, but I wanted to check first before I do anything drastic."

"Drastic?"

"I'm going to let it grow until I get sick of it. I haven't ever had really long hair. Most of the girls I spend time with have very long hair."

"Like Luna."

"Or Parvati. Even Lavender and Granger have it well down past their shoulders. And..."

"And?"

"I was thinking it might be more fun to have you pull my hair if it's longer," she said with a grin. Harry chuckled in response. "Don't act like that isn't fun for you too."

"I'm not arguing. I guess I should check with you in the future if I ever want to change my look. Like growing a beard or something- you know, when that becomes an option."

"I would appreciate it." She giggled after a moment of thought. "I don't know that you could pull off facial hair."

"I'm Harry Potter, I can pull off anything," he teased.

"Just don't pull your hand off tonight."

"Of course not."

Pansy nodded and rolled back over. "Do you think there will be any problems tomorrow?"

"I hope not. Sam says everything should be a lock. We've got witnesses. We've got auror testimony. They really don't have anything to stand on. I still don't know what the fuck Fudge is thinking."

"You assume that he can think," Pansy snorted. "I was worrying more about this whole prophecy business afterwards. I just hope you won't be gone too long."

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"No. I've got the mirrors that you finished. I was planning on talking to Luna and getting everything ready. I'll have the one that matches yours if you need to contact me about anything."

"Oh, that reminds me. I was talking to Sam earlier and he suggested that we all go out to eat for lunch after the hearing, just to be seen after the charges are dismissed. It would be good for morale or something. I think he might be planning on letting the press know too."

"Okay, then you'll have to contact me when it's over anyway. Is he planning on it being somewhere like the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Probably something like that," he agreed.

"Alright. I guess I should let you get your beauty sleep then, before you have to appear in public."

"How kind of you, sweetheart."

"Good night, Harry."

* * *

Hermione looked like she hadn't slept well, if at all, the next morning. Sirius and Tonks had brought her to the ministry, and they were waiting with Sam when Harry arrived.

"We've already got some extra idiocy, Harry," Sam said. "They tried to change the time of the hearing three hours before it was supposed to begin."

"On the very day?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "I shut down the moron that tried to pass it off immediately, but Fudge has somehow forced a trial to be before the wizengamot instead of just the small hearing in front of Madam Bones, where it should be by all rights."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that it is even more important that you all keep your heads and let me do my job. That goes double for you, Harry."

"Alright, Sam. This is what I pay you for."

"Just try to keep miss Granger calm and everything should be alright. The two of you will be sitting with me. Let's go."

Tonks led the way as they pushed through to an elevator that would fit the entire group. Hermione still looked nervous, so Harry pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Just stay on my arm and everything will be okay."

She nodded, still looking wary but he reached over with his other hand to squeeze hers in support.

The tension did not abate as they made their way down a long hall and Tonks opened a door which led them to the courtroom. There was only a single chair on the floor, apparently meant for the defendant, but Sam ignored that as he conjured a table and three chairs so that he and his clients would all be together.

"Now see here, Mr. McKenzie," Fudge began to protest before being cut off.

"No, _you_ see here, minister. This supposed hearing is already full of irregularities and has no place even being before the wizengamot in the first place. But it is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who runs criminal proceedings, not the minister. Unless you want to admit that this is nothing more than a political attack on House Potter, in which case I already have a statement ready to be released to all members of the press as well as the WWN reporter who is expecting me this afternoon."

"Hem, hem," a fake cough came out of a hideous little toad of a woman dressed in a sickeningly pink cardigan. "Are you suggesting that the ministry has something to gain by attacking a random muggleborn witch? That is preposterous, Mr. McKenzie."

"What is preposterous, Delores, is everything about this situation."

Amelia Bones stood up and headed for the podium as murmurs made their way through the crowd. Hermione tightened her grip on Harry's arm and he patted her in sympathy. He was going to have to remember to give Sam a bonus of some sort for today.

"Mr. McKenzie does have a point that it is not in the minister's purview to run today's proceedings," Bones said as Fudge glowered as he was shunted off to the side. "There are two charges against miss Granger that we are here to discuss. First, a count of underage sorcery, and second, a charge of breaking the statute of secrecy. How does your client plead, Mr McKenzie?"

"Not guilty on both counts. And unlike the ministry, I have actual evidence- evidence that proves miss Granger's innocence."

"Very well, please proceed." Bones looked like she wanted to get this travesty over with as soon as possible, and Harry thought it was probably due to the fact that Tonks had reported to her after her investigation.

"On the first count, I call on auror Nymphadora Tonks."

Tonks tried to keep the frown from her face as she came down to testify. The next few minutes went slowly, as both Fudge and his toady in pink tried to interrupt and lead the questions away from the facts, but Sam and Tonks kept pushing on as it was clear that the ministry's sensors merely flagged Hermione as the one muggleborn witch who lived in the area of the magic cast, similar to how Harry had been blamed for Dobby's magic three years prior when he was still stuck at the Dursleys.

Regardless, Tonks' eyewitness account as an auror trumped that. The spells used by their wands were much better proof, unless the ministry wanted to try to argue that Hermione could not only cast the Patronus but wandlessly to boot. There were a few chuckles at that.

Harry, on the other hand, was famous for being able to cast the spell, so it was yet another strike in their favor.

On the second count, Sam brought up a point that Harry hadn't thought of.

_If the statute of secrecy had been broken, with muggles witnessing magic, then why were the Obliviators never called?_

That was the entire point of the Oliviator department. The government could hardly claim such a breech against secrecy if they themselves did nothing about it.

Not to mention the fact that the muggles supposedly witness to magic were Hermione's parents, who would not be covered by the statute in the first place.

Like Sam had said, the entire 'trial' was completely preposterous.

Harry was called to testify and it was similar to what Tonks had gone through. Fudge and Delores Umbridge tried to argue, interrupt, and generally cause chaos, while Sam either refuted or ignored them. Harry found it much harder not to lash out and yell at the idiots, but he tried to focus on Hermione sitting next to him, as she was clearly still a ball of nerves.

The facts were clear though. Harry had cast the spell, not Hermione, and the only muggles aware of the dementors were the Grangers.

For closing remarks, Sam once again suggested that this appeared to be a political strike against House Potter since he did not for one moment believe that this was a random attack on the one witch in the country known to be under Harry's protection. He also mentioned the fact that with Harry's address no longer being in the public record (as all his mail went through Sam's office) it gave him an amount of protection- but this could have left Hermione a much more attractive target, especially since there was a long standing societal bias against muggleborn witches and wizards.

There were several scowls that answered Sam's words, and Harry had a feeling that meant he could pick out the blood supremacists quite easily. He was slightly relieved that there weren't more than a handful of them.

In the end, even Fudge looked like he realized the case was falling apart by the time Bones called for a vote. The vast majority voted innocent of all charges. Umbridge was one of the few that was in favor of Hermione's guilt- the minister himself refrained from voting, apparently worried about how this could look to the public.

Regardless, Hermione slumped against Harry's side in relief once the case was dismissed. He hugged her and helped her to her feet as they both then shook hands with Sam and started to make their way out of the courtroom.

Sirius was waiting for them and he congratulated Hermione as they began to head back towards the elevators leading up. A tap on the shoulder from his godfather got Harry's attention and he asked the group to wait as he stopped to use a restroom.

Thankfully, they were in luck as there was only a single man inside- and seeing Harry enter, the man shifted into his favorite pink haired cousin.

"All's well that ends well, eh Harry?"

"We're not quite done yet. Are you ready for the last bit?"

"Don't worry. I know my line. Mad-Eye is waiting in the lobby. We'll get Hermione back to headquarters, safe and sound. Just don't let the headmaster keep the rest of us waiting too long- I think we all want to know what happens next. Now, hurry up. It can't take you too long to piss."

"I guess it's a good thing I don't actually have to go," Harry chuckled as he covered himself with his cloak and watched as Tonks took his place. It was rather odd seeing her shift into him but he shook that off and followed her out the door.

Harry slid right up next to the wall and waited for the hallway to empty as much as possible. He headed towards the stairs that lead to the ninth floor and then went towards a door at the far end, where two wizards were waiting for him. One of them was unmistakable, but the man Dumbledore was talking to in hushed tones was not someone that he had ever seen before, a rather unassuming and slight, sallow faced man who Harry guessed could have been anywhere from forty to sixty.

Making sure that they were alone, Harry removed his cloak as he approached them.

"Ah, Harry, good timing. Allow me to introduce Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable acquaintance of mine who will be leading us today."

"Mr. Potter," Bode said with a nod as he opened the door behind him and beckoned them to enter.

"Thank you, Mr. Bode."

"Don't thank me yet," he replied somberly.

Harry found himself in a large circular room with a number of identical unmarked doors. Bode led them on through one in particular, although Harry had no idea how he picked out the correct one. They were led down a dark and spartan hallway that turned twice before three nearby doors, one of which Bode stopped at.

"Wait a moment."

Dumbledore nodded as the unspeakable went inside. Harry wanted to ask several different questions, but before he could decide on which one to start with, the door opened and Bode rejoined them carrying a very worn looking leather bound ledger of some sort.

"This way." With that, Bode led them even further onward toward the end of the hall where the was one last door.

When it opened, Harry saw an enormous low-lit room full of shelves, all of which contained hundreds of dusty glass orbs. Many of them were dark, probably the majority of them Harry guessed, but there were others that held a soft glow that somehow felt wrong to Harry. Bode strode off to the left and Dumbledore drew Harry's attention to follow after him. They walked on in silence for a few moments and he could only marvel at the enormous amount of prophecies recorded. He wondered for a moment if these were just those from Britain or if they covered the whole world, not to mention how far back into the past they might have gone.

The entire situation felt off and a bit sickening to Harry, who still didn't like the idea of whatever unknown force somehow brought forth these things.

Finally, Bode led them to a stop on row ninety-seven and motioned to a shelf.

"But this cannot be," Dumbledore whispered, a pale look of shock overcoming him.

"It is."

"What?" Harry asked. Bode responded by pointing to a label beneath one of the dark orbs. There was a date from 1980 and the initials _S.P.T._ to _A.P.W.B.D._ above the phrase that had set everything in motion: _Dark Lord and ? (Harry Potter)_.

"I don't understand," he said as he turned to the two other wizards. Dumbledore had a tear rolling down his face, while Bode was still serene as he turned to answer Harry.

"The prophecy has been nullified."

Harry didn't really know what to say to that.

And it looked like the headmaster was at an even greater loss for words.

"In fact, Albus, your girl is now naught for two," Bode continued as he pointed to another dark orb on the same shelf. This one was from the spring of 1994 and was labeled _S.P.T._ to _R.B.W._ above the name _Peter Pettigrew_. Professor Dumbledore wiped at his face and took a breath as he regained control over his emotions.

"Can you tell me anything else Broderick?"

"I thought you might ask," the unspeakable replied as he opened up the ledger he had brought with him. "The second prophecy went dark within hours of its appearance. As for the first...

"Give me just a moment." He flipped through the pages back and forth a couple of times. "Ah yes, here we are: the thirteenth of June, 1993."

"So, what does this mean?" Harry asked as Dumbledore frowned. "Should we just leave it here, since it is no longer in play?"

"I am not sure. It may still be best to remove it, but on the other hand, it could leave Tom even more confused. How that confusion could lead him to act is an even bigger question."

"You are missing one piece of information, Albus," Bode remarked. "Even if Mr. Potter were to take the orb now, there is no longer a viable record for him to hear. Once it was nullified, the words themselves were lost as well as the light within."

"So, then we should just leave it?" Harry asked.

"I suppose so," Dumbledore replied.

"What do we do now?"

"I have no idea."

"I believe it is time for me to escort you out," Bode suggested.

"Yes, of course." The headmaster nodded and put a hand on Harry's shoulder as they followed the unspeakable back out of the hall of prophecies. "Please tell no one of what has occurred today, Harry. I need time to try to discern what our next move should be."

"I guess guard duty is canceled."

"Indeed. That will go over well with several people." Harry slipped on his cloak as Dumbledore seemed to become lost in his thoughts.

The walk out of the department of mysteries was much quicker for Harry. Part of that was certainly due to no longer feeling like a weight was riding on his shoulders. The idea of fate or destiny demanding that he face Riddle was odious to him. He knew that the insane snake-faced monster would be coming after him anyway, but at least now mysterious cosmic forces weren't trying to control his future as well.

Harry just had to survive the war and keep his loved ones safe. Maybe Pansy's wish could come true and Mad-Eye could catch a Death Eater meeting place and burn them all down with Fiendfyre? Man, wouldn't that be nice? Then he and Pansy could retire somewhere with a beach.

Preferably, a private beach.

He smiled at that thought as he headed for the floo and called out 'the Three Broomsticks' where he was going to meet Hermione and company for the celebratory lunch. As soon as that was done, he was going home to snog Pansy senseless at the day's good news. Dumbledore would probably be very disappointed in him, but there was no way he was going to keep this secret from his girlfriend.

Neither of them were fans of Divination anyway.


	68. Defier of Fate and Luna's Sleep Over

* * *

"Table for five, Rosie!" Sam McKenzie led the way into the Three Broomsticks, while Harry held the door for Hermione and her parents. The Grangers' heads had been on a swivel as they tried to take in all the sights of the only purely magical settlement in the United Kingdom.

"Sam, you old scamp, how long has it been? Two years?"

"Closer to three, I think." Harry grinned as Madam Rosmerta came out from behind the bar to hug the lawyer before leading them to a large table off to one side. Mr. Granger was trying not to stare at the very curvy witch. "A round of butterbeers to start, if you please. We are celebrating, after all."

"Another winning case?"

"You wouldn't expect anything less of me, would you Rosie?"

"I'll be back in a minute. Look over the menu, dearies." Once she was out of ear shot, Hermione's mum elbowed her husband in the side.

"What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that was for."

"Sorry, dear."

Harry chuckled while Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Your reaction wasn't nearly as bad as some I've seen, Mr. Granger. The first time we came here, our friend Ron's eyes almost bulged out like a cartoon character."

"Rosie's been turning heads for almost as long as I can remember," Sam added with a smile. "I went to school with her older brother, Donald, and she was a handful from the first time I met her. She was one of those girls who sprouted young. I remember him threatening a sixth year who tried to ask her out when she was not yet thirteen. Sad thing was, I don't think that boy could have handled her even then."

"Huh," Harry muttered. "She's older than I thought."

"That's one of the benefits of being magical," Sam shrugged.

"The headmaster is well over one hundred," Hermione replied. "Professor Slughorn is nearing it too, and both of them are still fairly spritely."

"Yes, but both of them actually look like old men at least," Harry argued. He looked over at the tavern keeper who was making a drink for someone at the bar. "Madam Rosmerta must be in her sixties."

"No way!" Mr. Granger said, looking stunned.

"Old enough to be your mum," his wife teased, now looking less likely to force her husband to sleep on the couch. Taking the piss out of him would be plenty of fun for her- Harry knew that feeling quite well.

The conversation died off as the afore-mentioned sixty-something hottie brought out the drinks and then took their orders.

"I bet professor McGonagall would be pretty nice looking if she'd ever take her hair down and smile for once," Harry offered. Sam nodded in agreement.

"She turned a lot of heads when she first started out at Hogwarts."

"I think professor McGonagall is perfectly lovely as she is," Hermione replied, clearly annoyed.

"She was hotter as a redhead," Sam said, making her stammer in response. "Oh, don't be like that, miss Granger. I've known Minerva since before she was a teacher. She had more than a few wizards interested in courting her when she was young. The problem was that some of the older students were also attracted to her- she was still in her early twenties when she first taught, you know. I think she gave herself such a severe makeover to try to discourage that sort of thing.

"Rumors say she had some sort of heartbreak when she was young and poured herself into her career." Sam had a wistful look for a moment. "I can certainly relate. But enough of that now. We're here to celebrate your exoneration."

"Yeah, Hermione, now you can start preparing to terrorize everyone as a prefect," Harry needled her gently. "Just imagine how many rules you can catch Ron breaking this upcoming term."

"I think I'll probably need to keep a close eye on at least one of my fellow prefects. Probably more than anyone else."

"Anyone I know?" Harry asked with a grin.

"One of my best friends who just can't seem to keep himself from getting in trouble."

"I'll have you know that I had three perfectly calm months last year. September, March, and April. That's three times as many as our third year."

"Your standards aren't very high for a good year, Harry."

"At least this way you know I'll keep you in business, Sam." Harry was getting pretty hungry as he waited for the food to arrive. "Speaking of keeping busy, have you decided on the protections we're going to put up at your home, Hermione?"

"I've made a list, organized from most to least necessary. I just don't know how many we'll be able to inscribe. From what Sirius told me, the size of the keystone can vary, and the larger ones are fairly expensive. Not to mention the cost of having someone do the enchanting itself."

"Don't worry about that part," Harry answered. "Since we're going to have Tonks meet us there anyway to keep any more ridiculous ministry harassment to a minimum, Sirius and I can probably handle the runes."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Granger asked and Harry nodded. "We'll be able to purchase a fairly large stone then. We were worried from what your godfather was telling us about hiring someone to do that sort of work for us."

"That's what friends are for. Besides, it will be good practice for the future. One of these days, I'll have to do something like that for my own home."

"Will we see you on Monday then?"

"Whenever Tonks can get off work," Harry replied.

"You'll have to stay for dinner, then."

"It would be my pleasure."

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!"

Pansy came out of their bedroom wearing only pants and a bra while holding up two different shirts. "Which looks less dignified?"

"Umm..." That was not the type of greeting he expected. "The purple one, I guess. It's a bit more, uh, flirty?"

"You mean sexy?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect," Pansy purred as she put it on and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

"Why are you trying on clothes?"

"As much as I like the looks of you when you're all dressed up, Harry, tonight we're dining with the Lovegoods. I don't think formal robes would ever be appropriate in their house."

"Okay."

"Which is why there's a change of clothes for you on the bed," Pansy added. "Jeans and your Bends shirt. Simple, but I can't wait for you to try to explain Radiohead to Xeno."

"That should be fun," Harry chuckled. "We're going to be playing a lot of music for Luna this weekend, aren't we?"

"Of course. I'm considering trying to get her to go out dancing with us."

"Luna at a club. That should be fun."

"We need to show her some movies too. I was thinking Dracula would be a good starter. Luna will love it."

"Because of the vampires?" Harry asked. "I guess they are sort of like the magical race."

"No, I meant because of the sex and violence," Pansy replied with a smirk. "Stop trying to convince yourself that our girl's innocent, Harry."

"Fine."

"Don't pout, either."

"Just for that, maybe I shouldn't tell you about what happened with the prophecy." Harry waited as Pansy came close to him and began to run her hands down his chest.

"I'm sure I can make it worth your while," she grinned. Harry took her hand and pulled her towards the bed where they began to snog. Pansy kept him from unbuttoning her jeans though.

"I wish I could talk you out of those clothes," he said.

"Not today, Harry. If you had painful cramps, you wouldn't want to be having sex tonight either."

"Yeah, I know."

"Besides, it will only be a couple more days. The timing is actually good in a way. We couldn't shag relentlessly with Luna coming over for the weekend anyway."

"I don't know, I think we could. Luna's never been bothered by that sort of thing."

"Maybe not, but I don't always feel like putting on a show."

"Fair enough."

"So, tell me the good news about the prophecy then."

"How do you know it's good news?" Harry asked.

"I can read you like a book, Potter."

"Alright. For starters, let me take you back to April, 1994. Specifically, the night when we first met Sirius. You and Hermione talked me out of letting him just kill Pettigrew, remember?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"I don't know if you also remember the next morning, but Ron told us that Trelawney had apparently given a real prophecy about how the Dark Lord's servant would break free and rejoin his master just before all that happened."

"Right."

"Except, Pettigrew didn't break free. He was arrested and carted off to Azkaban. The prophecy was broken. Thanks to you. Well, and Hermione helped too."

"But it was mostly because you listened to me," Pansy added.

"Exactly."

"So, what about the other prophecy? The one Snape overheard?"

"That one is even more interesting. First of all, apparently it was also made by Trelawney. As the unspeakable we met, Bode I think his name was, said she has two failed prophecies now. The original one, which Dumbledore said was about how I would defeat Riddle because of love and some other nonsense, was nullified on the thirteenth of June, 1993."

"Why is that date familiar?" Pansy asked.

"Let me fill in the final piece for you. Dumbledore decided to tell me the whole thing since now everything is in flux. He seemed almost lost with the idea that things had changed. Anyway, here's the whole prophecy:

" _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...'_ That was the part Snape had heard."

"And because of your birthday, Riddle went after you and your parents," Pansy added.

"Yep. Anyway, now for the rest:

" _'and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.'_ "

"Right, so your scar is the marking you bit and Dumbledore thought love would be the power Riddle knows not. Which is retarded, but moving on. The last bit seems to suggest that only you can kill him."

"And that last bit is also why you nullified the prophecy. You're like Trelawney's nemesis, " Harry giggled. "I think we should start calling you Pansy, Defier of Fate. Or maybe, the Destroyer of Destiny."

"What?" she asked, stunned by Harry's giddy declaration.

"Neither can live while the other survives. Get it? Riddle was still surviving, sort of, as that wraith thing while I was stuck with the Dursleys. I didn't get a chance to live, at least not any decent sort of life." Harry had a brilliant smile as he continued.

"Then, shortly after I survived the basilisk and Riddle's magical diary, I met this amazing girl. A girl who saved me from those evil fucking monsters and gave me a chance to start living a real life. Not just surviving, but actually living. Neither could live while the other survived, but that all changed because of you. Riddle was still clinging onto survival, but I was finally alive.

"I often think of everything before I met you as this awful dream that I woke up from. If I had to go back to those bastards one more summer, a year after they had locked me up in my room and tried to starve me, I think I would have killed them. But instead, you saved me and freed me. And not just from the Dursleys, it turns out, but also from this stupid notion of a destiny as the chosen defeater of the Dark Lord.

"You changed everything, Pansy. I loved you then, and I love you even more now."

"June thirteenth, that was the night before we left for the summer." She realized and shared Harry's smile. "That was the night we first kissed."

"Exactly. I was alive. _Really alive_. Because of you." Harry chuckled to himself. "I guess Dumbledore was close- love was actually the power that vanquished the prophecy instead of Riddle."

"This means someone else can kill him. It's not all on your shoulders." Pansy threw her arms around him and snuggled in close. "Oh, thank fucking Christ, or Morgana, or Kali, or anyone else."

"Kali?"

"One of the Hindu goddesses that Parvati told me about. She's apparently this wicked blue chick who cuts people's heads off."

"That sounds like a much more interesting religion than what little I learned from the Dursleys."

"There was probably some boring stuff too, but I focused on the bloodthirsty bits."

"That's probably why Parvati told you about her."

"Probably," Pansy snorted. "I think she'll be someone who will want to join in with your fighting club. Probably a lot of Gryffindors, I would guess."

"And considering it's some Slytherin girls who first asked me to teach them how to defend themselves-"

"I think there will be several more, not just the Carrows," Pansy added.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If the group is largely Slytherins and Gryffindors, that could be a mess just waiting to implode. I'll have to think of some ways to keep everybody in line."

"Let's not think any more, Harry. We've got more than an hour, let's relax before it's time to go see Luna."

"That sounds wonderful."

* * *

As much as she loved Luna, Pansy didn't think she would ever be able to get used to dinner with the Lovegoods. For one thing, no topic was taboo, not even some that probably shouldn't be discussed while eating. It figured that Luna would have a strong stomach, but who knew it was something that ran in her family.

Xenophilius was thrilled to have a supposedly strong lead on the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia. It was said to have the ability to grant good luck to those who were able to find and speak with it- despite not speaking a language itself, it could apparently read good intentions and would bestow a kiss on those who found its favor.

Luna immediately started wondering about where exactly the monkey might kiss someone, and her father suggested several highly inappropriate places that made his daughter roar with laughter. Pansy could only imagine what the typical stuffy purebloods she had been raised around would have thought of the scene.

And apparently, it was mandatory that you had to use the entire tongue-twisting phrase for the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia. To do otherwise would be to not grant it the respect it deserved.

Even for something that likely didn't exist, Harry was still happy to follow Xeno's cue on the matter. He was gracious and kind like that- and it seemed to be rubbing off on her, as Pansy found herself doing the same.

The fact that it was for Luna's sake was a factor too. Pansy wouldn't bother with most other people she knew.

But now, thankfully, they were back at the flat and she could kick off her shoes and settle in on the couch to relax for awhile before bed. Harry had led Luna to Hedwig's room, which once had been his mother's bedroom many, many years ago. Harry was playing the role of the good host as Pansy wasn't feeling up to it. Sometimes, the stress of her life could make her cycle much worse, and the nonsense about dementors and a trial and a prophecy had all combined to do a number on her this month.

Dobby was a lifesaver as usual, already making a pot of tea. Something with mint in it probably, as that often soothed her, and he knew just how to take care of his family.

"Now, what shall we do for the rest of the night?" Luna asked as she led Harry back into the living room. "Oh, tea, goody. That should hit the spot. I hope I won't be keeping you up too late, but I am pretty excited about the next few days."

"Don't worry about it, Luna. I don't know if I could get mad at you if I tried," Pansy moaned, but with a grin. "Look what you've turned me into- someone actually _pleasant_ who cares about other people."

"I won't tell a soul. Besides, I think Harry should share in the blame."

"Of course we start things off with the two of you picking on me."

"I don't think it would be polite to pick on Pansy right now," Luna suggested.

"She's right. Be a good boyfriend and get over it. Also, help me think of what we should do to entertain Luna tonight."

"Maybe watch a movie?"

"Ooh, could we have popcorn?" Luna asked.

"Dobby can make some after the tea is finished, miss Luna."

"Thank you, Dobby, that would be lovely."

"I was suggesting we watch Dracula with you," Pansy said as she scooted over into the middle of the couch, patting the cushion to her left as Luna came over to sit. "I am sure you will love it."

"Based on the historical figure or the novel?"

"Mostly on the book, I think," Harry replied. "I don't know much about the historical figure."

"I know some," Pansy added while Harry looked at her questioningly. "It really shouldn't surprise you that I'm more well read than you. A large library was one of the only good things about growing up with my parents."

"Fair enough." Harry sat down on her other side and she leaned into his side as he wrapped his left arm around her. "I got the tape ready last night since I knew you had it in mind.

"Oh, and this means we can introduce Luna to the wonders of the remote control."

"Harry, that's such a guy thing to say," Pansy said as she rolled her eyes.

"It is?"

"According to Vanessa, it is. Something about how Steven hogs the remote and can get obsessed with certain shows and whatnot. Honestly, some of it flew over my head. But she was clear that it was very much a guy thing."

"Well, I guess Dudley and Vernon did tend to control the telly, so I guess that fits with what I know. But, anyway, the point was that if we need to pause the movie or rewind it or anything, we can do so. That makes things much more convenient." Harry said the last bit to Luna, who nodded.

"Like using a bookmark, when you have to take a break from reading."

"Sort of. You'll see."

"We'll turn the lights down once Dobby is finished with everything. That will help set the mood." Pansy thanked the elf as he floated a tray with cups of tea over for all of them. "It is a rather dark movie too, and in color palette, not just its mood."

"This is going to be a lot of fun," Luna giggled. "I'm so glad you invited me over. I've really missed you this summer."

"We've missed you too. Harry should have something that will help with that in the future though." Pansy squeezed his hand before he could start to get up. She was comfy. "I'll make sure he gives it to you later. Sirius told him all about these magical mirrors that he and Harry's father used when they were teenagers to talk to each other."

"He taught me how to make them, so I've got a pair enchanted that we can use to talk to you any time," Harry added.

"That sounds like something we will make great use of in the future."

"I thought so too. I've been practicing the charm work on them. I think I've got it down so that I could make more in the future if we need more of them."

"And chances are, we will need them," Pansy finished. "That's the sort of thing Sirius should teach that group about. You would think it would be of great help to let the members of Dumbledore's Order keep in touch like that, especially if some of them were on some sort of important mission."

"True. I'll mention it to him the next time I see him."

"Good," Pansy said as she snuggled back into his side. She had her feet curled up on the couch beside her and Luna had tucked them under her thigh, seemingly not caring about how cold they were. "That's enough serious business for now. On with the movie!"

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning feeling incredibly comfortable and relaxed despite the usual morning wood that would have to go unheeded again. Hopefully it would only be one more day before Pansy was feeling up to some fun. She had his hand clasped over her lower abdomen in the ritual they had developed almost two years prior every time her cramps were bothering her. If it helped, and she insisted that it did, then he wasn't going to argue.

Pansy being in a better mood tended to mean that she would reward him with fun times in bed.

However, as his grogginess fell away, Harry noticed something that was very much out of the ordinary. Namely, what could only be a pair of breasts pressed up against his back and a lot of extra hair tickling the back of his neck.

His erection reacted before his mind was aware of what was causing it all, and as it pushed at Pansy's rear, she let out a chuckle which revealed that he wasn't the only one awake.

"I, uh..." Harry was his normally verbose self early in the morning, but Pansy just gave his hand a soft squeeze and that helped him to focus. _Luna_. That's who had caused him such a confusing start to the morning. He was just glad that extra hand wrapped around his chest hadn't slipped down any lower.

"Are you aware that Luna decided to come sleep with us?"

"Of course I am. She said she had a nightmare. I told her that as long as she didn't wake you up that she could climb in with us. Why?"

"Are you aware that she apparently sleeps in the nude?"

"So do we a lot of the time."

"You're messing with me," Harry stated and Pansy's snort gave it away. "It's too early in the morning for this."

"But Harry, you said we could go to the zoo today." Luna's perky tone of voice alerted him that she had been awake longer than he had realized.

"Was your nightmare bad, Luna?"

"Oh, it was just awful. You know that part in Dracula where he was all furry and bestial and he was ravishing Lucy out in the garden?"

"Yes?" He didn't like where this was going.

"Well, he came to me in my dreams, and I thought for sure he was going to shag me senseless."

Harry tried and failed to come up with a response to that before Luna could continue.

"But he just wanted to sit down and talk about nargles over tea with me. It was so frustrating!" Pansy started to giggle madly, which didn't help Harry's arousal as her bum wiggled up against him. "I tried telling him that I wasn't wearing any panties, and I even let my skirt ride all the way up to show him proof, but he just wouldn't take the hint. Not even when I flat out told him that I was going to hex him into next week if he didn't immediately bend me over and get to work. He was so offended, though, that I did pull my wand on him and started cursing him. That's when I woke up, thoroughly frustrated."

"It's always better when the guy doesn't have to be told to use his wand on you," Pansy agreed. Harry just buried his head, half in his pillow and half in her hair. "That's one of the best things about Harry. I have him properly trained."

"You have had a couple of years to get him molded just right."

"I'm going back to sleep," Harry insisted. "It's not fair to have both of you fucking with me first thing when I wake up."

"I am sure that we are not fucking with you," Luna argued. "We'd all be a lot sweatier if that was the case."

Pansy's laughter rang out. "I've really missed you this summer, Luna. You should probably get up though if we are going to do anything today other than tease Harry."

"I do want to go see all the animals." Luna rolled over and hopped out of bed. Harry would have seen her pout in disappointment when he didn't roll over to peek at her. "I guess I'll go get dressed. Do you think Dobby could make us french toast for breakfast?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Pansy replied. Harry groaned once he heard the door shut. "Something wrong Harry?"

"I... just, why?"

"Two reasons. First, and most importantly, is that it was funny. Secondly, Luna wants you to relax this fixation you have of being her overly-protective big brother. Our girl is all grown up."

"You don't have to tell me that," Harry snorted.

"I suppose you did get a feel of things, huh?" Pansy patted his hand even as he burrowed his head deeper into his pillow. "She is interested in learning to fight maybe as much as Flora and Hestia are. Luna wants to be able to help protect us too. Did I tell you that she's already planning on being our future childrens' godmother?"

Harry chuckled. "I have a feeling they will love their Aunty Luna. I can just imagine her bringing them way too many sweets and spoiling them rotten."

"If she follows in her father's footsteps, it could be sweets from all over the world too. Do you ever wonder what type of candy they might have in Tajikistan?"

"I've never even heard of Tajikistan."

"Neither had I until Luna asked me that very same question. I suppose someday she'll find out and we'll hear all about it."

"Well, that's something to look forward to." Harry sighed and rolled over. "I guess we do need to get up."

"Yes, we do. Luna's not the only one excited to go to the zoo. There are a lot of animals I've never seen in the flesh before."

"Your parents never took you to one, huh?"

"Zoos are run by muggles, Harry. What do you think?"

"Right." His stomach rumbled as Pansy stretched and sat up. "I guess french toast does sound pretty good."

* * *

Harry could be forgiven if he didn't want to go back to the zoo in Surrey, the only one he was familiar with, due to what had happened years ago. It was also no surprise that he really didn't want to go near any sort of reptile house either. Snakes weren't usually all that interesting to talk to anyway.

After doing a bit of research, they ended up heading to Colchester, a zoo said to house many rare and endangered species. Harry thought that would be something that Luna would appreciate.

That also meant he had to explain what he knew about endangered species and how one of the things zoos did was help keep many animals from going extinct. He could see that it was a thought that bothered Pansy as well as Luna. While his girlfriend had a tendency to dislike most of the people she met, she held a secret soft spot for animals. It was one of the reasons that she enjoyed their Care of Magical Creatures class despite how she sometimes criticized Hagrid's teaching style.

He was really grateful that he was emancipated that day, as the weather was very warm even in the morning when they first arrived. Harry had to discreetly cast cooling charms on the three of them as soon as they could find a place without any witnesses.

Shortly after they ate lunch, their exploration ground to a halt as Pansy stopped and stared at the elephants.

"They're so beautiful," she whispered in awe. "Did you know they bury their own dead? They're supposed to be one of the only animals other than humans that do that."

"Elephants are also the largest non-magical mammals in the world. They can weigh up to something like six or seven tons. That's almost as much as the... um," Luna paused as she pulled Harry and Pansy in close so no one else would hear her, "almost as much as the Chinese Fireball from last year. I got a chance to see them several years ago with my parents. It was the summer before my mum died, and we went to India. We were never able to get this close though.

"The ones in India don't grow quite as large as these though. They had smaller ears too."

"Their families are matriarchal, which just shows how sophisticated they are," Pansy added while Harry grinned at her enthusiasm. "They like to play with water- they'll use their trunks to spray water over each other, like they are at a fountain."

"You know a lot about them," a middle aged woman said off to their side. Turning, they realized one of the zookeepers had noticed them. "It's nice to see young people who care that much about animals."

"I've always wanted to see elephants," Pansy admitted. "My family had journals written by some of my ancestors that had gone to Africa centuries ago and wrote of seeing them in the wild."

"They are magnificent," the zookeeper agreed. She pointed at one of the elephants. "Do you see the one off to the right there? Her name is Celeste. She's almost six months pregnant."

"She doesn't look any bigger," Harry said.

"Celeste still has more than a year to go before she gives birth."

"That's one thing in our favor then," Luna replied.

"They're still better than most of the people I've met," Pansy insisted. The zookeeper chuckled at her response.

"If you want to come back in about half an hour, that's when we're going to feed them."

"Thank you, but I think I'll just stick around and watch them for awhile," Pansy answered as the older woman nodded and walked off back towards a section of the zoo not open to the public. "You two don't have to stay with me."

"I've got my mirror," Luna whispered, pointing down to the purse she was borrowing from Pansy for the day.

"Then Harry can escort you around the rest of the park for awhile."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'll be fine. You can always have Dobby keep an eye on me," she said quietly. "Besides, I don't need you distracting me from watching the elephants."

"Alright. We'll swing back by here in awhile."

"Have fun."

* * *

Luna and Harry explored on their own for more than an hour, and they saw all sorts of things. From lions and tigers and bears to flamingos, spider monkeys, and giant tortoises. The last of which was maybe the most hilarious of all because they happened to get there as a couple were mating.

If you haven't seen it before, there is nothing quite like watching turtles fuck. Especially if you are there with your best friend who had slept in the nude behind you and made you very uncomfortable only a few hours previously.

Luna didn't make things too awkward for Harry though, as she found it hilarious and tried to cheer the slow, old reptiles on. Three different mothers pulled their young children away, clearly horrified at the idea of having to try to explain what they had just seen.

Once everyone else had left the area, the humor did wear off as neither of them could think of that many strange or awful things to say about what they were watching.

"Do you think humans could have sex that slowly?" Luna asked.

"You mean without losing interest or getting bored?"

"Among other things. I would assume both men and women would lose arousal if they weren't being stimulated enough. Sex is supposed to be sweaty and fun."

"They might speed up if we weren't watching them," Harry suggested. "Maybe they aren't into exhibitionism."

"I hope the poor creatures wouldn't have a hang up like that." Luna took his hand and turned the two of them around so the tortoises could have a bit more privacy. "That might help them. I wonder if turtles even can sweat."

"It is pretty hot out, but I don't know what it would take to make them work up a sweat."

"Maybe they need some turtle erotica." Harry laughed at Luna's suggestion, even though she said it completely straight faced. "What time is it, Harry?"

"Almost four."

"We should go check on Pansy. I had no idea she liked elephants so much."

"She mentioned something once about going to Africa when we've talked about going on vacation. She wasn't interested until we were both of age though, as it gets even hotter there in the summer. If we were to try to go on a safari, we'd definitely want to keep our wands at the ready."

"I suppose some animals could be quite dangerous."

"Not just the animals. There are poachers too and other people who could cause trouble."

"That is the sad thing about traveling," Luna agreed. "My father and I wanted to go to Bosnia the summer after my first year, but the muggles in the country were fighting a war over something or other. There are always violent people causing problems for others. I suppose we have that in common regardless of magic."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I just hope to not have to be a part of it someday. I'd like to have a nice, quiet, boring life."

"I don't think things will ever be boring for you, Harry. I would take you on one of the Lovegood family quests to find something remarkable before I'd let you get bored."

"Well, maybe not boring but at least peaceful."

"Peaceful would be nice," Luna replied. "We'll have to keep that in mind as something to look forward to. Besides, there are still all those countries you and Pansy haven't shagged in yet."

Harry could only chuckle. "She told you that, huh?"

"It was one of the things that made me want to go to a beach this summer. I still haven't had a chance yet though."

"Pansy and I haven't either."

"Then that's something we should rectify," Luna suggested. "Do you have anything in particular planned for tomorrow?"

"I guess we do now."

"Oh, goodie!" Luna squealed and hugged Harry. "I was hoping I hadn't packed my swimsuit in vain."

"I'm not sure what beach we should go to. I've really only ever been to the ones in Nice."

"Why not go back there then?"

"Sure," Harry shrugged.

"This means we'll need to go to a store tonight. You need to have plenty of sunscreen." Harry blushed as Luna smiled at him. "Yes, Pansy told me all about that too."

"I need to spend more time around Sirius, I think."

"Why?"

"So I'll have someone to gossip with about things like that." Luna nodded in agreement as Harry had a grin. "Sometimes it's more like bragging really. I do have a way of _cheating_ according to him."

"The thing with parseltongue?"

"Pansy really does tell you everything, doesn't she?"

"She likes to brag too, Harry. You should take it as a compliment. I would think it would be much worse if she wasn't interested in talking about your sex life."

"I guess so."

* * *

Pansy was still happily enthralled watching the elephants when Harry and Luna came back around to find her. The three of them spent the last half hour there before the zoo closed for the day. The rumble of her stomach finally reminded Pansy that there was more to life than huge pachyderms.

They decided to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Not only would it be delicious and filling, but Luna would get to have tiramisu again. That made her day almost as much as seeing so many different types of animals.

Since she wasn't interested in going out for the evening, and Pansy was a little too tired and sore for a club anyway, the trio stopped at the local video store to rent some movies for the weekend. One of the clerks there recognized them, and knowing they had enjoyed David Lynch's Blue Velvet, he recommended they try out his first movie, Eraserhead. He told them it was a pretty weird movie, but he called it essential viewing for any serious movie fan.

Luna was sold when he said weird, so they grabbed it as well as the first couple of Hellraiser movies. Harry had originally grabbed all three, but Gary (the clerk) told him that the third wasn't really on par with the first two, so it was put back on the shelf.

He really should have known better than to grab a bunch of horror movies, but Pansy saved the day by telling Luna that she would have to cuddle on her side of the bed so as to not break Harry if she had a nightmare.

Harry was pretty sure that she was going to, or at least claim to, so this way he wasn't worried about anything inappropriate happening with his favorite Ravenclaw. Pansy still wasn't ready for sex anyway. But this was a bit closer for having a friend sleep over than what he had expected.

Then again, it was Luna, so he really should have known better.

It was well past midnight by the time they went to bed, and Harry hadn't yet fallen asleep when the door opened.

"Nightmare?" Pansy asked quietly and Luna murmured in agreement.

Harry snorted in her ear, which earned him a growl. He was curled up behind Pansy, and she got the new experience of being the bigger spoon as Luna squeezed in front of her. It was a tight fit for the three of them in the bed together.

They slept in the next day, but Harry still ended up feeling a bit odd when he woke up. Not only was he aroused, as usual, but his hand was squished at the very bottom of Pansy's abdomen (but kept out of her panties for at least one more day), and pressing against it was Luna's bum, which he really, _really_ tried to not think about.

And he definitely kept his eyes closed when she got out of bed to go get dressed.

Pansy took it all in stride, other than giggling slightly at his discomfort.

Sadly, the beaches of Nice were not an option for the day, as Dobby said he wouldn't be able to take all of them there, at least not without making several stops and potentially exhausting himself. Instead, they decided to find a pool closer to home. The weather was still plenty hot in England.

They ran into a slight complication in that the best pool available (and nothing but the best would do for Pansy) was at the most expensive hotel around. That pool was only for paying customers, of course.

One little Confundus charm took care of the issue. Harry justified himself by saying that they would be spending money eating lunch at the attached bar and grill. A late lunch, though.

It was almost noon by the time they arrived, having made sure to stop for sunscreen on the way. The girls wore sundresses, Pansy in dark green and Luna in light blue, over their swimsuits, while Harry's trunks were close enough to shorts to not stand out.

They had a large beach bag with them for things like towels that Harry held out when Pansy and Luna both took off their dresses. He was certainly not alone in gawking at the two bikini clad girls, and Luna smiled when she caught him noticing her curves as they were much more defined than he had expected. Even as he looked away almost immediately, staring at Pansy certainly wasn't going to do anything to keep him from growing erect. He did his best to adjust himself behind the bag.

Not that anyone was paying any attention to him comparatively.

Pansy and Luna were a contrast, his girlfriend's black bikini matching her ebony hair while the blonde Luna wore white. They both were fairly pale though, which wasn't too surprising due to all the time spent up north in Scotland.

"Sunscreen time," he happily suggested and Pansy smiled as she sat down on a lounge chair with plenty of room behind her for Harry to start with her back and shoulders.

"Will you do me next?" Luna asked, and Pansy giggled as Harry's hands slipped nervously.

"Sit down in front of me, Luna. I'll get your back while Harry does mine."

"Okay."

The next few minutes were very fun for Harry even as his mind and his hormones disagreed about whether it was alright to ogle one of his best friends. He was focused enough on Pansy while his hands were busy, but Luna was still _very slowly_ rubbing down her own legs when he was finished.

Being a Gryffindor, he of course did the brave thing- he ran off and jumped into the pool.

"Why does Harry think it would bother me if I caught him looking at my legs?"

"I've tried to warn him against his whole big brother idea," Pansy sighed. "It really isn't necessary. You're tougher than Harry gives you credit."

"Thank you," Luna smiled. "I think it's a compliment actually for him to find me attractive. I hope that doesn't bother you."

"I'm not nearly as jealous as I used to be," Pansy shrugged.

"I've noticed. Ever since you started being open about dating him, you've been a lot more confident."

"The night of the Yule Ball was very satisfying. In more ways than one. Not just because of how fun everything was, but Harry seriously didn't even glance at Fleur Delacour the entire night. Not any other girl, either- he was focused entirely on me and how much he wanted to show me off as his girlfriend. It did wonders for my ego."

"He is very devoted to you," Luna agreed. "I would think it would be obvious that I wouldn't try to cause any problems for the two of you. You're my best friends. That doesn't mean I would be in denial about thinking that you're an attractive couple though. I just don't see why he has to have a hang up about these things."

"I think part of it is that he's still worried about making me angry or jealous. Harry does enough that I know how much I mean to him. Don't tell him I said that though- I don't want him to stop spoiling me."

"I can't blame you for that. I sort of thought that if he got a glimpse of my breasts or butt that things might have been less awkward for Harry today. That's part of the reason I wanted to sleep with you both."

"And the nightmares, of course," Pansy laughed.

"Oh yes, they were quite terrible." Luna had that inscrutable deadpan delivery once again. "Speaking of which, I hope neither of you were bothered too much about Eraserhead."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems obvious to me that whoever made the movie was horrified by the idea of becoming a parent. That can't happen for you and Harry. I have already claimed the right to be Aunty Luna someday."

"Don't worry, we're both still looking forward to that. We were actually talking about the idea the other day of you spoiling our future children with sweets from around the world."

"Ooh, that is a good idea. Daddy is in Mongolia, and I remember that the last time we went there they had these yummy little fried bread treats. They're called boortsog, and they were so good with honey drizzled over them. I hope he brings some back when he comes home."

"Honey, huh?"

"Yes. Why, what's with that look?" Luna had seen her brief blush, of course, so there was no getting out of this, but Pansy lowered her voice anyway. Thankfully none of the guys that were staring at them had come over to bother them yet.

"We tried something like that once in bed. Harry really liked the idea of drizzling honey all over me and licking me clean."

"Maybe you should tell me the rest later," Luna replied, coming over even more flush. "I think I'll need a decent amount of alone time to process this."

"There isn't really too much to tell."

"I'm sure I could coax a more detailed version out of you. Purely for research purposes, naturally."

"Naturally," Pansy grinned. "It was fun, but really, really sticky. As you can probably imagine. We had to take a shower right afterwards, and I was very, very thankful for Dobby, because he had changed all of the bedding by the time we were cleaned up."

"That does sound like fun. I guess it's a good thing you don't believe in having pubic hair." Luna wasn't paying too much attention, but Pansy saw the teenage guy that was obviously coming over to try to chat them up, and watching him stumble and spill his drink all over himself was just another reason why she enjoyed spending so much time with Luna. Once he turned around in his embarrassment, Pansy responded.

"I don't believe in having any body hair. That's one of the things I pity about muggles. If not for depilatory charms, I would be very grumpy. Even Harry has learned not to tease me about this."

"I guess he hasn't had any complaints about shaving you, huh?"

"You mean during the summer? No. He certainly enjoys the results. He did try to poke fun at me about doing my arms once, but I just threatened to make him sleep on the couch and he shut right up. Do you want to know one of the best things about how powerful his magic usually is?"

"What?"

"His depilatory charms last a long, long time. I tend to have to refresh them about twice a month, but Harry did them at the beginning of summer and they haven't worn off yet."

"He's almost like your own personal spa service," Luna teased with a smile.

"His massages are pretty nice," Pansy sighed. "They usually lead to sex because Harry only believes in sensual massages, but then, that's true of a lot of things with him. I wouldn't trust him to do a pedicure though. He tried painting my toenails once, and _only once_. It was a disaster."

"You never can trust boys with the details."

"Exactly."

"Speaking of details, did you know that I saw Harry cast a charm on himself before we left to protect against sunburn?"

"Don't tell him then. Harry likes to pretend that such a thing doesn't exist so that he can rub his hands all over me."

"And it feels too good for you to make him stop, right?"

"He does have his uses. His hands-"

"And a few other parts, I imagine," Luna teased. "Have you noticed how many people have been staring at us?"

"We're teenage girls in bikinis, sweetie. It kind of goes with the territory. I just don't like the ones who leer a little too much. Or the really gross guys; I don't like to think about people like that finding me attractive."

"I can understand that. If someone like Hagrid was to gawk at me, it would be very upsetting. Not only because it would ruin one of my favorite classes, but I think that he might be able to kill me via sex." Pansy snorted while Luna looked ponderous before shaking her head.

"You know that Harry told me his father was human. Can you imagine just what he must have done to be able to have sex with a giant? Or is it giantess?"

"Giantess. I would think he must have been quite skilled with the Engorgement charm. He still would have needed either a ladder or an enormous bed. Speaking of which, you two should think about getting a bigger bed."

"Before the next time you come for a sleep over?" Pansy grinned. "I'll talk to Harry about it. I seem to be stuck at this size, but Harry has grown a couple of inches over the last year. I wonder how tall he'll eventually end up."

"I don't understand why you're bothered about being short. You fit so well with Harry, the two of you just look perfect together."

"It's not about that. I can still be insecure or envious of other people no matter what he does. I have to say that how he acted when I did my little polyjuice experiment was enlightening. But you have several advantages over me, Luna. You're roughly, what five foot five or so?"

"Five foot six now."

"Exactly. You're becoming a leggy blonde. All guys like leggy blondes. And your breasts are bigger than mine. If I didn't love you so much, I would have wanted to hex you when I found out you were up to a C-cup at your last birthday."

"I guess I'm just different that way. I don't see the need to compete with other people about things like that. Or, well, much of anything really. Competition in general is never as interesting as cooperation as far as I'm concerned. Besides, doesn't Harry adore your breasts?"

"Only every time he sees them," Pansy chuckled. "He gets the silliest look on his face."

"Right, and I know that Harry loves your legs. Did you know what he told me? He said that his absolute favorite thing in the world is having your legs wrapped around him, either his head or his waist. I don't think any leggy blonde is competition for you in that regard."

"Maybe not." Pansy looked over with a smile as Harry got out of the pool and water dripped off his body as he walked over towards them. He looked so yummy, still lean but with a bit more definition and... apparently he wasn't the only one who had missed out on sex the last few days. Pansy tried to clear those thoughts away as he was saying something. "What was that?"

"I asked what you two were talking about."

"Sex," Luna answered with a grin. "Did you really need to ask?"

"I guess not," Harry snorted. "One might think that you both have filthy minds."

"One would be correct," Luna replied cheerily. She turned to Pansy and asked, "Is it time to get in the pool, now?"

"You go on. I want to enjoy sunbathing for awhile longer. Harry, go play with Luna."

"As you wish."

"Yay!" Luna squealed as she squeezed Harry's hand briefly before running for the water.

"I never should have watched that Princess Bride movie with you," Pansy muttered.

"Should I stop quoting that?"

"No," she gasped. "It just does something when you say that to me, and we aren't in private where I can take advantage of it."

"I'll have to remember that for tonight," he smirked.

"Harry!" Luna drew his attention with a yell.

"Go on. Be sure to keep any of the riff raff away from our girl."

"As you wish."

Pansy groaned as he walked off. She was going to fuck that smirk right off his face tonight. Luna was going to have to sleep in her own room. Pansy had plans that involved seeing if she could destroy Harry's ability to function. She would have to keep him from doing that parseltongue trick though.

Sirius was right, it really was cheating.

And she thought that Luna, for all she loved her, was wrong. Sometimes there was even more fun in competition than cooperation. She was going to do whatever it took to triumph over Harry tonight.

Then she could spend all of Sunday looking smug and bragging to Luna while he blushed. It sounded like the perfect end to their long weekend.

* * *

The first part of Pansy's plans ending up working better than she had expected. Harry and Luna leaving her to swim for a while eventually led to a gross, swarthy looking guy trying to hit on her. Right on cue, Harry came over and told him to fuck off and Pansy proceeded to show just how taken she was by snogging him halfway to sex before the obnoxious jerk took the hint and left.

They had to have a quickie in a bathroom (and thank Kali for Harry's proficiency with the notice-me-not charm) before dinner, and Luna understood that they were going to need privacy when it was time for bed. She just asked that they not come out to the living room, as she wanted to watch Dracula again. She was going to use masturbation to prove to her subconscious that she was more than woman enough to handle something as primal and lascivious as the bestial form of the monster that ravished Lucy in the film.

Pansy left her to it as she made a start at shagging Harry into a coma.

By the time they were done, he woke up without his standard morning wood. He had a dopey look all throughout breakfast. Luna was in a pleasant mood too as she told them that she only had to watch that certain scene three times before being able to get to sleep.

However, Winky soon popped in with an urgent message that she needed to come home to see her father.

Harry and Pansy grabbed hold of Dobby as they followed Luna back to the Lovegood residence.

"I have good news and bad news, dumpling," Xeno said as they all raced inside.

"You're alright?" Luna asked.

"Of course."

"We thought something serious had happened."

"Oh, it was something very serious," her father answered. "I found the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia!"

"That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you."

"Oh, but then I have to get to the good news and bad news. The bad news is that I couldn't get him to kiss me for good luck. The good news is that he did speak to me, though. He told me that he would consent to give my daughter good fortune if I could bring her to visit him. Isn't this exciting?"

"That sounds wonderful," Luna agreed with a smile. "Winky, could you gather my things from Harry and Pansy's home? We left there in a hurry."

"Of course, miss Luna."

"Thank you. Do you still have the international portkey?"

"Ready and waiting."

"I guess this means our weekend is at an end," Harry said.

"I'm sorry to pull you away from your friends sweetheart, but this sort of thing doesn't happen every day."

"It's alright, daddy. We understand."

"We are still going to go to Diagon Alley for shopping together on Thursday, right?" Pansy asked.

"Yes- aren't we?"

"I have the day off," Xeno confirmed. "In fact, I'm hoping to have a new issue ready to print so I can have some to pass out while we're there. I just have to finish off the headline story now, which means we need to head back to Mongolia."

"Of course." Luna pulled Harry and Pansy both into a hug. "I'll see you both later this week."

"Write to us about what happens," Pansy replied.

"Here's some good luck from me," Harry added, as he kissed Luna's forehead. "Have fun with your dad."

"Thanks, Harry. I'm sure we will."

"My turn," Pansy said, as she kissed Luna's cheek. "Now you'll have three times as much good luck by the time the day is through."

"I love you two. I had a lot of fun this weekend. We'll have to do it again some time."

Harry and Pansy stepped back and Dobby took hold of their hands.

"See you Thursday, Luna."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Just for the record, Harry's thoughts about the prophecy aren't necessarily true, they're just what he has deduced from what he knows. Cosmic forces may or may not be done with him.
> 
> The bit about Pansy loving elephants is a tribute/homage to mjimeyg's story Ah, Screw It!
> 
> Also, the thing with the giant tortoises is based off something that happened to me roughly twenty years ago at my local zoo.
> 
> Finally, I am the obsessive type of horror buff that sat down & watched the entire Hellraiser series a few years ago right before Halloween. The third movie isn't bad per se, but it is a step down from the first two which are great. The sequels beyond that tend to be pretty bad although I did enjoy the sixth largely because it starred Dean Winters. The 9th one doesn't count as it was made in less than a month just so the studio could keep the rights to the series. I haven't seen the one that came out last year, but I've heard it was decent.
> 
> But for the holiday itself, I'd like to highly recommend Trick 'r Treat as the perfect Halloween movie.


	69. Return to School Means Paranoia

* * *

For the first time since they had been taking the train together, Harry and Pansy were running not just late, but very late. Hermione was sitting across from Luna, looking slightly uncomfortable when the door finally slid open. Harry had his arm around Pansy and guided her to one bench seat, as Luna scooted down and Pansy laid her head in the blonde's lap. Harry then helped her stretch out and put her feet up.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked.

"I can't feel my legs." Harry rolled his eyes at Pansy but removed her shoes and socks and began to rub her feet.

"Do I want to know?" Hermione doubted she did, but felt like she should be polite.

"You probably don't, but I would guess Luna would be very interested," Harry replied. Luna started to smile. "Why don't you two save it until when we go to the Prefects' meeting, okay?"

"I suppose I can wait that long."

"Thank you, Luna. I appreciate it," Hermione added. "Speaking of which, we do need to head that way in a couple of minutes."

"You'll just have to finish when you get back," Pansy sighed. Harry squeezed her feet as she reluctantly lifted them off his lap and he stood, ready to follow Hermione out of the compartment.

"Don't have too much fun without me," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"So?'

"You know that tongue thing he does that I told you about?"

"Oh yes," Luna answered, even dreamier than usual.

"Harry wasn't quite ready for the summer to end, so it was hard to get him out of bed today."

"He held you down and forced you to have mind-blowing orgasms? The cad!"

"I know," Pansy snorted. "Do you mind if I stay in your lap till he gets back?"

"Not at all."

"Good. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get for one of Harry's foot rubs."

"He seems to be a man of many talents," Luna grinned.

"I only care about the important ones."

* * *

Harry was bored when he finally returned half an hour later, but he tried to cheer up as he heard giggles when he headed back to the girls. He hid a grin as Pansy clearly was trying to school her features when he opened the door. It was funny to think that she was manipulating him into pampering her- they had played that game a thousand times by now, so they both clearly knew what they were doing. Oh well, he would just have to make sure she repaid his efforts later that night.

He didn't hide the second grin that came out to play at those thoughts. Her hormones were almost keeping up with his own lately. Was it any wonder that he loved her?

"Did you have fun at the meeting?" Luna asked as Harry sat down and Pansy plopped her feet back in his lap. He took the oh-so-subtle hint.

"I'm sure Hermione enjoyed it more than I did."

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Hermione answered. "Most of the other prefects seemed perfectly fine to me. We didn't have any problems at the meeting. Can you imagine if Malfoy were still around?"

"Now look who's speaking ill of the dead for a change," Harry joked. "Yeah, he definitely would have been a nightmare. It probably just would have been a question of which of us punched him first."

"Tut, tut- resorting to muggle violence, Harry?" Pansy said with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be better than that?"

"Magical violence is more potent, but sometimes I think a nice visceral thrill from doing things with my bare hands might be even more satisfying. I'd love to just strangle Riddle to death in his sleep."

"If you could travel through time, you could go back and smother him in his crib as a baby," Luna suggested. "You could save countless lives that way."

"That is similar to a typical ethical question from the muggle world," Hermione said. "Would it be moral to kill Hitler as a child? Would it be evil to kill an innocent child if you could stop the holocaust and World War II? It would save tens of millions of lives. I don't know that even then I could smother a baby in a crib."

"Not even Hitler?" Harry gaped. "I'd do that easy. I'd do it to Riddle too."

"You sound so callous, Harry," Hermione chided. "There is a huge difference between killing a Death Eater in self-defense in the middle of a fight and murdering an unarmed, helpless child."

Harry just shrugged before Luna piped up.

"I'm with Harry. The lives lost to the Death Eaters are worth far more than any guilt I might feel about murdering Riddle, regardless of how old he might have been."

"I suppose you agree with them too?" Hermione suggested to Pansy, who smirked and nodded.

"Was there any doubt? I've got a list of people I'd like to have drowned at birth."

"I hope I'm not on it."

"Not today, Granger." Pansy turned to Harry. "So, who are the other Slytherins? I'm not worried about Daphne or Zabini."

"How did you know they would be chosen as the prefects?" Hermione asked.

"Use your brain. Who is the head of Slytherin? Who are members of the Slug Club? It was incredibly simple deduction."

"You're right, of course," Harry interjected before Pansy and Hermione could do more than narrow their eyes at each other. "The problems could be the sixth and seventh years. Montague and Warrington."

"Ugh," Pansy replied. "What about the girls?"

"The sixth year is Gemma Boyle. I don't know the seventh year's name."

"Chloe Abbot," Hermione added. "I believe she's one of Hannah's cousins."

"The magical world is a small place," Pansy said.

"Got a moment?" Hestia asked, as the Carrow girls appeared at the doorway.

"Of course," Harry grinned. "What can we do for you two lovely ladies?"

"Just don't make me sit up," Pansy said with a wave. "You could actually help us out. Do you remember how closely Hannah and Chloe Abbot are related?"

"Second cousins," Hestia answered.

"Regardless of Hes's hobby, we came by for a couple of other reasons," Flora said as she sat next to Hermione. "First of all, any thoughts about when we might try to start meeting?"

"You're in a hurry," Harry chuckled. "We haven't even made it to the castle yet."

"You don't have to worry about the people up in your tower doing anything more than annoying you, Harry."

"Yeah, right. Sorry." He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "We've only got the one day of classes before the weekend, so let's plan on mentioning the idea to anyone who might want in and then maybe..."

"Meet us in the library Saturday afternoon," Pansy finished. "But be discreet about who you talk to about this . We might want to try to get a staff sponsor before we start any sort of organized group, and we definitely don't want the wrong sort showing up."

"I don't know about that," Harry said as he gave a rather wicked grin. "I had thought of a warning for anyone who might not be trustworthy before we get started. I don't know if we want a staff sponsor, either. I have a feeling most of the teachers wouldn't approve of some of my ideas."

"Who would?" Hestia asked.

"Moody," Harry and Pansy answered in tandem.

"You'll just have to see what this year's Defense professor is like," Flora suggested. "And think of a back up or two as well."

"I'm torn on asking Slughorn," Harry sighed. "On the one hand, with half his Slug Club involved, that could make him either more or less likely. He could see it as competition, or he could see it as a way to reward some of his favorites. I'm not sure which is more likely."

"On the other hand, he might not want to be involved with something like that," Hestia stated. "Teachers don't usually do a lot of fighting against terrorists."

"No, that's another reason why I've been trying to think of others I could ask instead. If I was closer with Flitwick, he'd probably be the best choice."

"He was a dueling champion," Hermione nodded. "He's a brilliant teacher as well and could probably suggest things for us all to work on."

"You might want to try Babbling," Pansy said. "You are one of her favorite students. Didn't you even beat Granger on the final exam? For the second year in a row, I believe."

"That just means that I'll have to work harder to beat him on the OWLs this year," Hermione replied.

"Anyway, there was something else I wanted to mention," Flora interrupted. "We also saw a group that we're going to have to keep an eye on in a compartment as we headed this way. Warrington, Montague, Crabbe and Goyle along with Bletchley and a couple of others I didn't recognize."

"Crabbe and Goyle do seem the type to be beaters, but I don't see why Harry needs to start worrying about quidditch already," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You didn't tell her?" Flora asked.

"Not yet." Harry shrugged. "She's not Moody, so it wasn't something for any of us to worry about during the summer."

"What am I missing? Is this about the Death Eaters? I know Crabbe and Goyle-"

"Warrington's father and Montague's uncle," Flora replied before her sister corrected her.

"Other way around."

"Whatever. Either way, both of the little bastards are primed to be on the other side of things once the attacks start, and we have to worry about them trying to cause problems in our house too. You can see why we're wanting to start learning, Harry."

"I know," he sighed. "No quiet years at Hogwarts for me. I'll figure out what to do about whether or not to ask a teacher for sponsorship. Then we'll have to find a place to meet too."

"Meet about what?" asked one of the Weasley twins as they stuck their heads in the door.

"Georgie, that clearly isn't the most important question." Fred shoved his brother aside and stepped into the compartment. "What's your secret?"

"My secret?"

"You're constantly surrounded by pretty girls. I like to think some of it is our good influence rubbing off."

"He's a man of many talents," Luna smiled dreamily.

"Uh, sure, thanks Luna. Aren't you still dating Angelina?"

"Yes. And speaking of the old ball and chain-"

"I'll tell her you said that."

"You wouldn't," Fred feigned horror. "Besides, who's she going to believe? Her amazing boyfriend or the boy wonder?"

"Boy wonder," George interjected. "Harry doesn't have any reason to lie to her. Besides, he is quite dashing, isn't he ladies?"

"Yes," Hestia answered before blushing at her response.

"Thank you, miss Carrow, for proving my point. Anyway, Harry, before Fred started trying to dig a hole for himself, he was going to let you know that Angie is our captain this year and she's already talking about holding try outs for a keeper this weekend. Ron's been driving us all mental as he's hoping to make the team. I hope that won't be any problem for you."

"No. I've survived having you two for teammates, after all."

"I am wounded," George groaned. "As if either of us at our worst is as bad as our baby brother. We just wanted to make sure things weren't going to be too tense between the two of you. I know you've had a couple of shouting matches before."

"Not on my part, at least," Harry shrugged. "It's not like I hate Ron or anything. We just grew apart, and his insecurity and jealousy wasn't something I had time to deal with when someone was apparently out to kill me.

"Which is more often than not, sadly."

* * *

The rest of the train ride passed by quickly despite visits by a few people. Once the Carrow and Weasley twins had left, Harry had received a swat when Parvati showed up but with Lavender in tow instead of Padma.

There was no hat trick, but at least Hermione was on better terms with her roommates than she had been a couple of years back. From what he had heard, they had all bonded a bit during the Yule Ball preparation, not to mention that Harry had slowly gotten through to her about not being such a show off in class all the time. Lavender and Parvati both asked about the dementors and the trial and Hermione told them what she knew as well as what Sam had suspected about it being a political attack against Harry.

She didn't have any known enemies out there, other than due to being in his inner circle of friends.

Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and Ernie Macmillan all came by as well, and it seemed like Susan had been talking to her aunt because she was very interested in picking Harry's brain about the extra Defense lessons he had received from Mad-Eye Moody. Over her parents' objections, she was still planning on following in her aunt's footsteps by becoming an auror.

Ernie was already thinking ahead to the OWLs and assumed that Harry would be of great help for that class, which led to him talking with Hermione about all the studying the two of them were looking forward to. Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry when he pointed out to Pansy and Luna that they had been correct in labeling her as the bigger Hufflepuff.

Hannah, on the other hand, was just following along with her friends, but she couldn't help but gawk a bit at Harry. It was similar to how Parvati had looked at him, although minus the out right flirting. It seemed that going to contacts full time was going to lead to more female attention that he didn't particularly want. Harry was only concerned about not losing his glasses again the next time someone tried to kill him.

The gallows humor of that thought didn't even register.

But Harry did notice Pansy's grumbling once the three Hufflepuffs had left. Susan having more reason to talk to Harry was not something she was in favor of- despite their relationship being public now, Harry hadn't officially declined any of the betrothal offers yet. Oh, he had offered to- but Pansy insisted that the smarter, more political move would be to leave them open until they were finished with school.

Her brain wasn't necessarily in agreement with the rest of her though, and even as Harry had decided to follow her logic, he had secretly told Sam to have letters declining them all prepared for as soon as they were in the clear. And he had the process for canceling the marriage contract with Susan memorized, with plans to do that as the first thing when he was done at Hogwarts.

All of that though paled with what they had to deal with once they arrived at the Great Hall for the welcoming feast to Harry's fifth year. Staring down at them from the staff table was the odious Delores Umbridge.

Fifth year was already starting off on the wrong foot, and Harry had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

* * *

The first day of classes was a Friday, and he was never more thankful that the weekend was coming after noticing the continued glares being sent his way by Umbridge, who had been introduced as the ministry's special investigator into the declining standards at Hogwarts.

She had already made the professors disgusted by that little comment, but Harry had to grudgingly admit that they weren't really held to much in the way of regulations from what he had seen. Not only because of bastards like Snape and Lockhart, though. Harry still had no idea how Hagrid wasn't allowed to legally own a wand but was able to become a teacher. And that was only a few months after being wrongfully sent to Azkaban, without a trial no less.

The magical world was fucking insane.

However, there was also some good news. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was once again a retired auror, this one named Gordon Watts, and Harry was going to be in his second class. Sirius had let him know that Moody had helped Dumbledore recruit Watts who apparently had great respect for Alastor due to something that had happened back during the first war with Voldemort.

Professor Watts seemed to be a rather timid man though, and he did nothing more than lecture over what he had planned for that year and how he would teach them the sorts of things they would be expected to know for their OWL exams at the end of the year.

It was definitely not what Harry was hoping for, but maybe he was still finding his feet. Not everyone was a natural teacher- and there was no way possible he could be any worse than Quirrell or Lockhart any way.

Of course, it could have had to do with Umbridge, who was there observing the class and taking copious notes. Harry had a feeling that she was going to be a huge problem, and knowing his luck, probably sooner than later.

Harry had hoped to speak with Watts after the class, but in the scramble to get to lunch, he was thwarted as Watts left the room too quickly. He wondered if he was fleeing Umbridge, the students, or possibly just hungry.

Harry's disappointment didn't last too long though as the mid day meal brought Luna over to visit and that afternoon he had Charms, which was always fun and usually interesting as well. But Harry was no closer to solving his riddle about a potential staff sponsor for what he imagined was going to be a rather large club once word got out that he would be running it.

Pansy was happy to help him de-stress that Friday night.

* * *

Harry still had a lot to deal with that weekend. First up, Angelina called the veterans over at breakfast and told them that they had the pitch from nine till noon. They were going to do some drills after the keeper tryouts. She already seemed to be channeling some of Wood's mania.

At least the weather was nice.

The girls were in front, then Fred and George were joking about something together, while Harry brought up the rear of the formation as they all headed for the quidditch pitch. There was a surprising amount of cheering coming from the stands. It looked like most of Gryffindor had turned up to watch the try outs and practice.

"Our adoring crowd," George said as he threw an arm over Harry's shoulder. "I don't think Freddie realizes how many good looking birds there are eager for a catch like me. He's going to be missing out."

"Maybe he really likes Angelina," Harry suggested.

"You would say that, you little romantic. I'll just have to sow his oats for him then. I met a couple of foxy muggle girls this summer and Fred wasn't there to play wingman. Isn't that the point of having a twin brother?"

"You're asking the wrong guy, George."

"Will you two knock it off and get over here?" Angelina yelled. "Now, Harry, I trust your girls up there won't be repeating anything to Ravenclaw or Slytherin?"

"Huh?" He looked up at the stands where she was pointing. "No, that shouldn't be any worry. Luna doesn't care about quidditch, and she would choose Pansy and I over her housemates any day. And you definitely don't have to worry about my girlfriend."

"I better not. Alright. First up, we've only got three people auditioning for the role of keeper. We're going to start off simple, just seeing how they are at stopping shots. Boys, I want you all to be watching their forms while us girls put them through their paces."

Angelina led them over to the potential keepers. Along with Ron, there was a sixth year boy named Hooper, who was fairly tall and chubby heading towards fat, and a fourth year girl named Vicky Frobisher, a short blonde that Harry knew was one of Ginny's friends.

"We're going to do this by age. That means you're up first, Hooper. Weasley, you're next, then Frobisher. Five shots each to start. Everybody in the air!"

Harry shot up, relishing the chance to ride his Firebolt for the first time in months. He'd have to remember and properly thank Sirius one of these days for the gift- it had been anonymous for the first several months he had owned it. He'd need to get the mirror out tonight. His godfather would probably be good for bouncing ideas off about the group that he was already starting to plan for in his mind.

A cry of frustration brought Harry's attention back to the quidditch. Hooper had missed the first shot. The next hour passed slowly. Angelina was putting all three keeper candidates through their paces, and Katie and Alicia both looked pretty well spent too. Fred and George seemed to be enjoying things, although Angelina had yelled at them already twice when they were spotted joking around instead of watching the keepers for their form.

Harry wondered just what the hell he was supposed to know about keeper form. His eyes naturally drifted over towards the stands where the girls were chatting and occasionally cheering. Lavender in particular seemed to be rooting for Ron. Hermione was as well, which made Harry wonder if they were still friendlier than he thought.

Sitting a little further away, Ginny and a couple of other girls were clearly not rooting for her brother, but instead their yearmate Vicky. From his count, she was doing better than either of the guys.

It was somewhat odd once Harry realized it, but this team's make up had to be something of a record. Angelina and the twins had all been starters since they were second years. Alicia was only a reserve, but she joined the line up along with Katie in Harry's first year. Other than having to replace Oliver Wood, it was the same team as four years ago.

He groaned to himself when he realized what this would mean for his sixth year- only Katie would be back with him. He really, really didn't want to be the captain if they were going to have to overhaul the entire team.

Finally, Angelina called for time and asked each of the keepers for a few minutes to chat. Harry took the chance and flew over to the stands.

"Miss me already?" Pansy asked with a smirk. He flew down lower and leaned over to kiss her.

"You have no idea. This has been so boring." Luna and Parvati both giggled. "What time is it anyway?"

"Twenty after ten," Hermione answered and Harry muttered to himself. "What's wrong Harry? I thought you'd enjoy the chance to get out on your broom again."

"That would be nice if I was doing some actual flying. I can already tell that Angelina is going to be a taskmaster. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Katie and Alicia will make her cut today short. Those two have been working up a sweat while I've basically just been twiddling my thumbs."

"You could always go offer to help," Parvati suggested. "I bet you'd make a decent chaser. Isn't that the position your dad played when he was here?"

"From what I've been told, yeah. I suppose Sirius is always saying that I've inherited my flying ability from my dad, so I might give it a shot. It couldn't be any worse than being bored out of my mind."

"You may be tempting fate, Harry," Luna warned.

"Fate can't always be on my back about everything." Harry looked worried for a second. "I hope."

"Potter, get down here!"

Harry did a loop de loop and flew off with a flourish.

"Yes boss?"

"Don't get cute with me, Harry. What did you think of the three keepers?"

"I think Vicky was the best. I couldn't tell much difference between Ron and Hooper."

"You're right, but sadly, I don't think Frobisher is going to work out."

"Why not?" Katie asked with a frown. "She stopped three more shots than either of the guys."

"I know," Angelina grumbled. "But she has a busy schedule and when I talked to her about practices, she admitted she didn't think she'd be up to even twice weekly."

Harry had to stifle a groan. Twice weekly was more than twice as often as he would have preferred.

"Then is it going to be Ron or Hooper?" Fred asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I think I might have them both come out again in a few days. I was thinking we could have a simulated match. Split us in half and let the result be the decider. That means you'll be playing chaser, Harry. Don't worry though, I'll put you with me."

"Sounds fun."

"Good, then I'll call it a day before these two fall over on me," Angelina said as she pointed over at Alicia and Katie. "I'll see about booking the pitch again for... say Tuesday?"

The team agreed and Harry led the charge as they flew towards the locker rooms to get changed.

* * *

"Let's look over the list again," Pansy suggested once Harry bid Sirius goodnight. His godfather had been busy lately charming a dozen sets of mirrors for members of the Order of the Phoenix. So far, the Death Eaters were still keeping quiet, but no one knew how long that would last.

"Okay."

"Starting with you reckless Gryffindors, always ready to jump in a fight." Pansy poked Harry in the side when he snorted at her. "The entire quidditch team is interested, and who knows how many friends they'll bring. We believe all of your yearmates will also want to come. Little Ginny Weasley and some of her friends too. That's probably twenty or more people just from Gryffindor. Not to mention some of the younger students, many of whom clearly look up to you."

"I've been thinking about that too. I'm probably going to have to turn down anyone in second year or lower."

"Why?"

"I just don't think they'll be able to keep up with some of the magic," Harry shrugged. "Disarming and dodging spells is something that pretty much anyone should be able to do, but that's going to be the very first lesson. When we get to shield charms, or hex deflection? Let alone some of the other things Moody suggested in his notebook that he left me. I'm not going to slow down teaching the upper years, which would mean the younger kids would either struggle to keep up or just flat out fail. That would probably do more harm than good."

"If the younger years want to learn more, you could always suggest they have a secondary study group. Get someone who wants extra practice at some of the basics to help teach the first two years. Granger might be likely. They could do that by house too, to keep the groups smaller. Maybe have a prefect lead? That is sort of what they're supposed to do."

"Which is funny to me," Harry snorted. "I've barely ever interacted with prefects in any of my first four years. I'm glad this whole patrolling the halls nonsense is only once every couple of weeks. What a stupid waste of time."

"You do have the map."

"Yeah. I just have to get Hermione to agree to use it instead of wandering around randomly. I have a feeling that will be the hard part."

"She does tend to be a stickler for rules."

"Usually. When it suits her, she'll break them left and right, but she has to be convinced it's for a good cause."

"Regardless, at least this way you officially have access to that bathroom again. Did I tell you that I brought my bikini?"

"God, I love you."

"Don't forget it, Harry," Pansy grinned as he leaned in and nibbled on her ear. "I would like it if next time we didn't have Moaning Myrtle watching though."

"Did you know she was a Ravenclaw?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm just wondering if it's something having to do with that house that the witches all seem to be pervy little voyeurs."

"Two examples is hardly all of them." Pansy frowned and thought for a moment. "I did hear about another though. You know that ginger witch that's always hanging around Cho Chang?"

"Marietta something or other?"

"That's the one. Supposedly she was caught spying on a couple of seventh years last term with her hand up her skirt."

"Poor girl. I'd hate to get busted for something like that."

"Why would you need to be wanking while watching other people? For that matter, when would you have the time?"

"I'm just being sympathetic." Harry rolled his eyes. "Not everything has to have a deeper meaning or secondary motive. This is why I wasn't meant for Slytherin. I'm not suspicious about every little thing."

"You're one of the most paranoid people I know, you goofus."

"With good reason, and only about the people that might be out to kill me or the people I care about. My track record is proof enough that it isn't paranoia if they really are out to get me. Like that toad-faced bitch from the ministry."

"She has been glaring at you a lot. You'd almost think she was channeling Snape." Pansy forced Harry to sit up. "Did you hear that she audited Potions the other day?"

"I can imagine how that went. Professor Slughorn is a well-connected pureblood who has raised the standards of the class by a large amount. He must have received a glowing review."

"Indeed," Pansy grinned. Harry being perceptive to things like that always made her proud. And a little bit horny too. "But I've watched dear old Sluggy at meal times and he hasn't looked too interested in being friendly with her."

"Really? That's strange. You would think she'd be right up his alley, being a high ranking figure in the ministry."

"I know. We'll have to see how things develop. I do like Slughorn though, so I've got a good feeling about it. But, we need to get back on topic. What did Bones have to say?"

"Around a dozen from Hufflepuff will probably come out to start. Once I get to the more aggressive lessons though? I doubt many will stick around. Susan maybe, but Hannah was already flinching just at the idea of fighting. If her best friends weren't interested, I doubt she would come at all."

"Well, while you were busy with that cow Bones, I spoke to Flora and Hestia. I'm pretty sure we'll have nine or ten Slytherin girls coming."

"Just girls?"

"Would you want any of the Slytherin guys?"

"None that I'm aware of," Harry replied. "I didn't want to assume they were all evil without getting more information from people that would know better though."

"From our year, every guy was the son of either a Death Eater or a serial killer. Doesn't that tell you enough?"

"Okay. I'm hardly one to argue considering how all the quidditch players have been a bunch of thugs too. I didn't want to automatically tar everyone with the same brush."

"Moving on, Luna had been approached by only a few Ravenclaws, but I know Parvati was talking to her sister about it, so I believe we'll see roughly ten again. That puts us up to maybe fifty people. We're going to need a big room."

"The real question is how many stick around once I get past the introductory stuff. I'm not going to pull any punches, so if people think this is just going to be some fun little club, I'll have to show them otherwise."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I have an idea. I'll need to talk to McGonagall after class Tuesday. Good thing we have lunch right after that."

"Why?"

"I need to ask her about a spell."

"And?"

"Come on, let me have my surprise. You'll love it, trust me. Besides, I won't have to do it for a couple of weeks or more. Now as for needing a big enough room-"

"Dobby knows, master Harry!"

"You do?"

"Oh, yes sir. Hogwartsies house-elves don't keep secrets from Dobby. They know Dobby is part of the Great Harry Potter's family. They remember master Harry driving away the demons and protecting the school."

"Okay, well I'm glad they're still fond of me. What do you suggest?"

"The come and go room! Miss Pansy already found it almost three years ago."

"On the seventh floor?" she clarified.

"That's the one, miss. The room is magical and can be used for whatever needs master Harry might have."

"Hmm," Harry scratched his neck. "It would probably work from what we've seen the few times we've been there. But do we want everyone to know about it?"

"Not at first," Pansy answered. "It's too valuable to let anyone in on the secret without knowing for a fact that they won't screw us over."

"Yeah. I can't argue with that."

Pansy leaned back and tapped her foot on the table in front of them. Harry closed his eyes and rolled his neck around. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes as both considered the other elements about this planned group. How many teenagers would really want to learn to fight and how many would just treat it like a game? Neither she nor Harry had faith that even half of them would really be up for anything serious.

And if most of those were Slytherins? Pansy could already imagine the fickle little community losing their damn minds about that. Especially with them all being girls- rumors of Harry having a harem might start up again.

"What about a teacher?" she asked.

"I'm not going to bother with that unless it becomes necessary. If it does, I'll probably go to Babbling first. You were right in suggesting her. She does favor me and she's just the right age to remember growing up during Riddle's reign of terror. I think she'd be by far the best bet."

"Okay. We still need to figure out where to start though."

"Hmm," Harry muttered. "We won't have time during the week. Not with classes starting back up and everyone getting used to the schedule. Plus Angelina wanting to start up with quidditch immediately. So..."

Harry trailed off, but he had a small grin when Pansy looked over at him.

"So? Come on, I know that look. What is it?"

"Outside," he replied. "The weather's still nice, so we do it outside. Either out on the front lawn or in one of the courtyards. The first lesson will be simple. People will need to get back in practice at using magic anyway, and it's not like I'm going to be showing anything serious off."

"Therefore, no reason to hide at the start."

"Right. It will just be a bunch of students practicing spells."

"I have a feeling that Umbridge will be watching us. We know she's been keeping her eye on you every chance she's had."

"Yeah, I know. But what can she do about something simple like that? The point of the school is to learn magic- it's not like she can ban students from practicing their spells. I can't imagine Dumbledore, McGonagall, or anyone else would put up with that. And the parents would definitely come down hard on her for interfering with the education of their children."

"Fair enough. But we need to be cautious. I don't trust that bitch at all. You did say she was pushing the hardest against Hermione during her trial, and she was one of the few that voted guilty despite what a farce it was. That might as well have been waving a sign that she was a supporter of the Dark Lord, if not an outright Death Eater."

"Agreed," Harry nodded. "Hey, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Harry?"

"Can you help keep an eye on Umbridge for us? Especially next weekend, if that's when we do this."

"Of course Dobby will. Nasty witch will not be allowed to harm Dobby's family."

"That's what I like to hear," Harry said with a smile as he squeezed the house-elf's shoulder. "We really appreciate all you do for us, but I'm glad the most for helping to keep us all safe."

As Dobby blushed, Luna's voice called out from the mirror sitting on the table.

"Pansy?"

"Hi Luna. We were just talking about everyone wanting to learn how to protect themselves from Harry."

"Oh, I definitely don't want to be protected from Harry. He's too cuddly and I wouldn't want to miss out on that."

"You know what she means, Luna," Harry interjected. "Do I need to give you two some privacy? I could go take a shower."

"Hold on a second," Pansy said to Luna as she looked over at her boyfriend. "How many sets of mirrors did you get working?"

"I had a couple that worked alright before the set I charmed for Luna."

"And how many do we still have that you could do?"

"At least four I think. Why?"

"We might want to have one half of a pair with someone in each house, once we really get this started. If we're going to be meeting more discreetly, it could be useful to have a way to contact people with more secrecy."

"You've already got me in Ravenclaw," Luna suggested. "That would just leave a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff."

"It might be a good idea to have another in Gryffindor too," Harry added. "Hermione, probably. Then one for Flora and Hestia in Slytherin? And I guess Susan would make the most sense for the Hufflepuffs."

"Hmmph," Pansy grunted.

"Oh, don't be like that," Luna cheerfully scolded. "You know Harry loves your boobies more than hers."

"Yeah, I do. I can prove it, if you like," Harry offered.

"That will have to wait," Luna replied. "Let us talk, then you can end the night with a proper bed time shag."

"Why don't you go take that shower?" Pansy proposed. "Afterwards, you can show me a suitable amount of appreciation in the bedroom."

"Remind her that she's a lucky girl, Harry!"

"I will Luna. Goodnight sweetie."

* * *

Monday's afternoon classes ended with Harry finally getting to speak, if only briefly, with the new Defense professor. Gordon Watts agreed to schedule a meeting with him but it would have to wait until another week had gone by. Supposedly he had too much work to do getting used to the schedule of being a teacher.

It was a start at least, and they had actually used their wands in class that day. Practicing the shield charm, which was old hat to Harry, but he couldn't deny it's usefulness. Nor the fact that it was probably a good way to shake off rust for much of the class.

He had just entered the Gryffindor tower when he heard Parvati and Lavender practically yelling.

"That awful toad is a vile bitch!"

"What are you going to do about it? She's from the ministry, Parvati. We can't stop her, and if we tried, she would probably have us in Azkaban. That's what she tried to do to Hermione Granger of all people. I'm going to keep quiet and hope she leaves me alone."

Parvati's angry growl was not something he had heard before.

"What's going on?" Harry asked to the guys in his year who had been watching. No comment necessary on the reason why- upset girls meant heaving bosoms- but Harry couldn't really blame them. He was happily taken, but he wasn't blind.

"It was that witch from the ministry," Dean responded. "She was in Divination this afternoon, and she was very rude and dismissive of professor Trelawney."

"Oh. That's not much of a surprise, I guess. I'm glad I'm not in that class. Umbridge already glares at me during meals. It's sort of been putting me off food. I might have to start eating in the kitchens."

"Harry!" Parvati came striding over as she spotted him. "You've got to do something about her."

"Me? Why me?"

"Who else is going to? She's a nightmare."

"No argument there. I'm just not sure what you expect from me."

"Can't you like... sick your lawyer on her?" Parvati suggested.

"I don't have any cause to yet, but it's not a bad idea. The only problem is that her supposed reason for being here is potentially valid."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "You can't say you want the ministry to interfere with Hogwarts!"

"I'm not saying I trust them to do anything right," Harry assured her. "I was right beside you at the trial. I know the government, at least the current one under that idiot Fudge, doesn't work at all. But the idea that Hogwarts hasn't been run very well does have merit."

"I trust professor Dumbledore so much more than the ministry, Harry. I would think you would too."

"I'm not trying to make this personal Hermione, but let's look at facts. Our first Defense teacher was a possessed follower of the Dark Lord who died at the end of the year, and he let the troll in that nearly killed you, remember? Not to mention that he was killing unicorns and tried to kill me a couple of times. All of that, and no official investigation.

"Our second year featured a fraud and confidence artist who was practically useless with a wand who ended the year accidentally erasing all his memories when, once again, the Defense professor nearly got me killed. Meanwhile, several students get attacked and petrified. One has to wonder if the fact that all of the victims were muggleborns like you was the reason for the lack of concern. Regardless, a basilisk was unleashed on a school full of children and once again, no official investigation.

"Third year, the ministry is so fucking retarded that they nearly killed us all by stationing those fucking soul-devouring monsters around a school. Then, a Death Eater gets out of prison and heads straight here where he challenges me to a duel. Meanwhile, a second Death Eater has been hiding right under the headmaster's nose as a rat and he nearly escapes. A third Death Eater was ruining Potions education for more than a decade before I called in the life debt he betrayed.

"Fourth year, we had a _prestigious event_ here at Hogwarts that was infiltrated and screwed up by agents of Tom Riddle all in yet another plot to get me killed. A ministry department head died, a foreign wizard was placed under the Imperius curse and performed the murder (both happening here at the castle yet again), and the year ended up bookended with violence involving terrorists that has been officially disregarded as mere 'rogue Death Eaters.' As if we should all feel better that murderers escaped justice and are out and about in society but at least they claim that the Dark Lord hasn't returned.

"Thankfully, we didn't have any problems with any teachers last year. I think it's clear that this is just some nonsense meant to be a smokescreen, to keep people from focusing on the more important problems that Fudge and his cronies don't want to deal with. But there have been serious problems at Hogwarts every year that I've been here, so I can't say that they don't have an excuse that a lot of people would accept."

"Then what do you expect us to do, Harry?" Hermione replied. "Let her ruin our education during our OWL year? Let her continually harass people and disturb all our classes? If you're paying so much attention, then you must have realized that Umbridge has already just so happened to audit three of our fifth year classes and that's only in the first two days. She's got it out for you, me, or both of us. With the way she's been glaring at me, I keep feeling like she's going to hex me in the back."

"I understand," Harry answered as he pulled Hermione in for a hug. She was slightly trembling, and he couldn't blame her for being upset. "We all should be careful around her. Don't be surprised if she tries to bait us into something. Other than that, I don't know what to do yet."

"I don't trust her, Harry," Hermione griped after she was finished with the hug. "You'll need to be careful too."

"Don't worry. My paranoia is still going strong, so I've got my eyes wide open."

* * *

When they got back into their quarters that night, Pansy didn't bother wasting time before mentioning the elephant in the room.

"I hope this retarded nonsense with that ugly toad doesn't distract us too much from other things. Are you still thinking of a meeting next weekend?"

"Yes. I was going to suggest Saturday after lunch. Who knows how long the good weather will last."

"And Umbridge?"

"She's Fudge's undersecretary. Getting rid of her could be challenging. Especially if we try to do it politically."

"I know. Do you have a backup plan?"

"Not yet."

"What if she goes after me, Harry?" Pansy asked.

"Do you think she would try that?"

"I've heard that she was in Slytherin, so there's bound to be some cunning hidden under that gross flabby body."

"Ugh, don't-"

"She was one of the ones leading the charge against the girl under your patronage. I don't think that was a coincidence," Pansy stated.

"I don't believe in coincidence," Harry muttered. "If she is stupid enough to go after you, then she'll learn one last lesson here at Hogwarts. Fitting really, to do it at a school."

"What lesson is that?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

"That trying to harm the woman I love is a death sentence."

"Good answer, Harry." Pansy climbed onto his lap and began sucking on his neck. "What would you do to her?"

"Let's just say there wouldn't be enough left to bury." Harry groaned as she started to unbutton his shirt. "Bedroom?"

"Definitely."


	70. Plans Start to Come Together

* * *

"I think Angelina must be a Death Eater."

Pansy snorted as Harry moaned, but she still used her wand to levitate the table out of the way and motioned in front of her. He plopped down on the floor with a grunt, but as she began to rub his right shoulder, Harry groaned with pleasure.

"Have I- ah- told you how much I love you today?"

"I'm not sure," she responded as she worked at his sore muscles. "Maybe you should remind me."

'You are a goddess and I will worship you for the rest of my life. Especially," he paused to groan again as she got to a particularly tight spot, "... especially if you keep taking such good care of me."

"Someone has to," she grinned. "Dobby can't do certain things for you that I can."

"I'm a very lucky man then."

"That you are." She continued to rub for a moment before asking Harry to try moving his arm again to see if it felt better. He nodded mutely and leaned over to kiss her fingers. "I take it you aren't interested in playing chaser again?"

"It would have been one thing if I were used to it. Or if Angelina wasn't turning into such a maniac. She's going to put Wood to shame at this rate."

"I was starting to wonder if she was going to break curfew."

"Damn near did. Crazy woman," Harry muttered. "It was just supposed to be the first team to ten goals. Then that became twenty. Then thirty."

"Oh, my poor baby."

"I'm too tired and sore to care about you making fun of me." Harry shook his head wearily. "And tomorrow's our longest day. I'm going to need a nap tomorrow night. Plus, she cut into our time together. I'm just about ready to quit the team."

"Quit the team later. Go take a shower and I'll help you feel better before we go to sleep."

"That is why I love you."

"Remember that in a couple of days when I get all cranky. I hope I feel up to your planned spell practice meeting this weekend."

"It wouldn't be the worst thing if you weren't," Harry replied as he stood up. "You've had a lot more practice than most people."

"True. But I want to be seen standing by your side. In this, and all things, Harry."

"I like the sound of that." He bent down to kiss her and smiled before he turned to head for the bathroom. "Come check on me if I soak in there for more than half an hour."

Pansy chuckled and went back to work, trying to finish her Transfiguration assignment. McGonagall had started the term with a stern lecture about their OWL year and then proceeded to demand two feet on the basics of Conjuration. It was already looking like it was going to be a long term, and they hadn't even been back for a full week yet.

* * *

On Wednesday, Harry trudged through the day, still tired and slightly sore from the marathon Gryffindor scrimmage the evening before. Even with a nap before Astronomy, he was too beat for more than a goodnight kiss and settling in while Pansy's cramps started acting up.

They were both grumpy on Thursday, but they had the morning basically off between a free period and a history 'lesson' with Binns droning on about Goblins again.

Friday wasn't too bad, but Harry was somewhat bored in the Defense lesson. A two part quiz to see what they had remembered from the previous two years was probably a good idea as far as preparing for their OWLs. But his mind was still on preparing for the fight that he would inevitably be dragged into yet again one of these days.

His old friend Ron, on the other hand, had been strutting around with a smile on his face after winning the keeper slot. Harry wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. Ron had done slightly better than Hooper, so on merit it was probably a good thing. The question would be how the rest of the year would turn out- and if Ron's temper would cause any problems. Harry resolved to give him space so that any of their old arguments could stay buried.

* * *

Saturday brought the first meeting of those who were supposedly interested in learning more about Defense from Harry. Once lunch was finished, Flora and Hestia were waiting for Harry and his usual accompaniment of girls in the entrance hallway and they followed him out to the courtyard. He could hear many others gathering as they headed outside.

When he turned around to see everyone filing in around him, Harry knew that it was a lot more people than he had originally imagined. In fact, it seemed like at least half of the school had come- and he took particular notice of a few older Slytherin boys standing off to the side. How big of a problem was that going to turn into?

Not to mention the staff watching from near the doors. Umbridge was there, of course, glaring away as usual. The new Defense professor had come along as well as Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout. He was a little surprised that Dumbledore wasn't there too, but he hadn't otherwise given much thought to the headmaster since that day in the ministry. Who knew what he might have been doing to try to prepare for Riddle's next move?

"Alright, welcome everyone," Harry said, speaking loudly instead of using a Sonorous charm. Most people quieted down so he continued. "It's been suggested that we might want to get some extra spell casting practice this year. It's no secret that professor Moody gave me some extra instruction last year, and a few of you wanted me to try to pass along some of what I've learned. So, today, I'm going to have you all start with some basics."

He looked around the courtyard, knowing that there wasn't enough room for this many people. He waved Hermione over to stand by him.

"Since I see that we have some first and second years here, I'd like all of you to step over to my left. My protege-"

"Harry!"

Her disgruntled growl got a few chuckles, which Harry grinned about as he continued.

"...and fellow prefect, the lovely miss Hermione Granger will work on teaching you the disarming charm. If any of the rest of you feel like you might need a refresher on this spell, please join them and feel free to help each other out. We are all here to learn, are we not?"

He waited a moment for the mostly younger group to step off to the side.

"As for the rest of you, please split into groups by year." This didn't take too long as most people gravitated socially towards those of the same age. The largest bunch was the fifth years, which didn't really surprise Harry.

"Right, since we've got pretty much everyone from my year, why don't we split you all into two groups." He scratched his chin for a moment. "How about Hufflepuffs and Slytherins together while the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws join up."

Harry nodded and watched as everyone moved into formation.

"Okay, here's where I'd like to start. We'll have each group form a circle. Two step into the circle and try to disarm each other. Those of you not dueling might want to keep your wands put away until it's your turn.

"If you can manage it, a shield charm would be a good defense. If not, you'll likely have to dodge, or come up with something else. Regardless, all of you will get some practice at aiming if nothing else. And while it may seem simple, in any fight, a wizard without a wand is clearly less of a threat than one still armed."

"Pansy, Luna," Harry pulled them both in close. "Go watch each of your years and keep an eye on things for me. I'm going to start with the third years."

Cries of _Expelliarmus_ rang out as the impromptu pseudo-dueling club began.

It wasn't long before he had to start helping the third years summon their wands, which were being thrown all over the place. Now that he thought about it, the summoning spell was probably the second thing that all of the younger years should learn. It was incredibly useful, and Harry thought it was a shame that it wasn't officially taught until fourth year.

Harry quickly started to revise his estimate for the worse. He doubted more than a couple of the third years would be able to keep up with what he had planned to teach the people that really needed to learn to protect themselves, even if they were willing to work as hard as he had. The horrifying truth of what the Death Eaters had done in the past just wasn't real enough for kids who hadn't even been born when Riddle fell the first time.

Could Harry really blame them for that?

He looked over to the fifth years instead and saw Daphne Greengrass thoroughly embarrass Wayne Hopkins, and he couldn't help but compare her little sister who had happily giggled when she tried to dodge only to stumble and lose her wand within twenty seconds.

It also made Harry really worry about how much of the turnout was just for a lark and what he was going to have to do in order to trim the group down to something manageable. For one thing, there was likely some maximum to how big what he had learned was called the Room of Requirement could grow. From what little he knew of space-expansion charms, there were limits even for someone as powerful as say Dumbledore or Riddle. Unless it could rival the Great Hall, there was no way he could try to teach fifty or sixty people.

As he walked past the sixth years, he doubted many of them were taking this seriously either. He saw Katie Bell go saunter off to chat with a friend after she had been soundly beaten by a girl in Slytherin that he didn't recognize.

That was something else that he noticed- it was mostly the Slytherin girls who were really as focused as what Harry had hoped to see. Luna whispered to him that Flora had defeated four different challengers while barely breaking a sweat.

"Hey Harry!" Fred called him over while people were cheering for Angelina to beat George in the circle of seventh years.

"Yeah?"

"How about we move up to stunners?"

The Gryffindor quidditch captain decided that was a good idea as she summarily knocked her boyfriend's brother unconscious. Harry waited as people laughed after the thud of George landing in the grass.

"How many of you know _Rennervate_?" Seven hands shot up while a voice called out.

"What's Rennervate?"

"The reviving charm," Harry answered. "Looks like enough of you know it. I'd recommend everyone not in the duel keep shields up if they don't want to become collateral damage during a duel if you're moving up to stunners."

As he moved over to the sixth year group, they were discussing the same thing, and since half a dozen people knew the charm there, they agreed to move up to stunners as well. However, two thuds told Harry that someone hadn't kept their shield up because one of the watching crowd fell to a spell that missed its target.

He walked over to the fifth years next. Pansy was watching the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, so he went to the circle of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws just as Dean managed to disarm Seamus. Parvati winked at Harry as she challenged her sister to go next.

"Don't think this is time to show off, sis!" Padma called out.

"You're the one that's going down!" Parvati answered as her sister fired a disarming charm that she nimbly dodged, spinning to her left before returning fire. Padma wasn't as quick on the defense and her wand went sailing.

Harry reached out and snagged it. Padma blushed as he handed it back to her.

"I'll beat you next time," she claimed as Parvati grinned at her.

"Could we try stunning spells too, Harry?" Susan Bones asked from the nearby group.

"How many of you know the shield charm?" With more hands up that not, Harry nodded. "What about the reviving charm?" This time only Susan, Daphne, and, oddly enough, Neville raised their hands.

"Alright, but let's not have you three going at the same time. Who wants to go first?"

"Can I try against you?" Ernie asked.

"Sure."

Harry stepped into the clearing in the middle while people clapped and Hannah encouraged her fellow prefect. None of the Slytherin guys were there, although Harry thought he had seen Zabini off in the crowd that was just watching.

Ernie was flexing his fingers while Harry took his position and nodded at him.

" _Stupefy!_ "

Ernie's spell flew straight at him, but Harry had literally years of experience at dodging and he took only a half step to his right as his own stunner was flying back at the Hufflepuff. He tried to counter with a shield charm but wasn't fast enough, so Ernie hit the ground.

Harry stepped forward as the crowd cheered and revived Ernie, helping him back to his feet. When he turned around, he saw Pansy smirking while three other Slytherins- Daphne, Tracy Davis, and Millicent Bulstrode- were gathered whispering together.

"Hey Potter!" Bulstrode yelled. "Think you can take the three of us at the same time?"

"I suppose we'll find out."

Harry noticed that no other spells were being cast and turned to see the other groups had all stopped to come over and watch. "Alright, we might need a bit more space for the four of us."

The crowd backed up a bit and Harry chuckled as he saw Fred and George each with a little firstie sitting on their shoulders in order to be able to see the match.

"Ready when you are, Potter."

Harry rolled his neck as he turned back to look at the three girls. Davis was in the center, Daphne to his left, and Bulstrode off to his right. Daphne was spread a few feet further apart from the other two.

"Someone want to count us off?" he asked and the Weasley twins answered together.

"Three...

"Two...

"One...

"Go!"

By the time they finished Harry and Daphne had already sent _Stupefies_ at each other. Both spells were on target, but Harry was able to dodge to the side just in time. Daphne almost did as well, but his stunner clipped her left arm and she went down.

He was already casting as he now faced Davis.

" _Stupefy!_ " Her stunner was also flying true, but his shield was up in time to reflect it- and since she was facing him head on, it went right back at her. Harry saw her eyebrows shoot up just before she was knocked unconscious.

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

Bulstrode had gone for something different, and Harry's wand flew from his hand as he turned to look at his last challenger, who was barreling down on him. She caught him with a left hook.

It was one of the few times that he had something to thank Dudley for- take enough punches and you learn to sort of roll with them. His jaw was sore, but he stepped aside as she spun around for another blow.

" _Stupefy!_ " Bulstrode's aim was hindered by her movement and it went wide. Her second punch was on its way...

But this was pretty much the exact reason that Harry had spent so much time mastering the summoning charm. His wand was already flying back to his hand, and he caught it just before her fist came swinging around again.

" _Stupefy!_ "

Being at point blank range, Harry couldn't possibly miss. That didn't mean that he wasn't knocked to the ground as his opponent tumbled into his legs. The shouts and cheers around him were almost deafening as he struggled back to his feet..

" _Rennervate!_ "

Millicent looked up at him as he revived her and gave him a grin as he offered her a hand up. "Nice punch," he added, rubbing his jaw once she was back on her feet.

"You're not bad, Potter."

"You too, Bulstrode."

* * *

It was hard to top that, and soon enough people started to drift off. Professor Flitwick had come over to applaud Harry on his excellent reflexes, telling him that he would make an excellent duelist if he kept at it.

The Carrow twins stuck around, as did Susan and a few of her friends, so Harry suggested they all go inside to talk.

Hestia led the way to an empty classroom, while her sister had to perform a little crowd control to get rid of a few people that were still congratulating Harry on the meeting. Once they were all in the room, Flora and Susan both started putting up privacy charms while Harry and the others found places to sit.

"So, there's good news and there's bad news," he began. "Good news is that today worked pretty well and we certainly had a lot of interest. Bad news is that there's no way I could possibly teach a group that large."

"I think it was a lot of fun though," Hannah said. "I learned the reviving charm today, and I know a lot of other people did too. That's another plus."

"I'm glad you did, but the point of this wasn't for people to have fun. The point is to learn how to defend yourself in order to stay alive. And there just weren't that many people really taking it seriously."

"You can't expect most people to really understand that," Hestia answered. "Not everyone has ever had the killing curse thrown at them like you. Or much of anything else even close to that."

"Too true," Susan agreed. "According to my aunt, the quality of people joining the aurors has really gone downhill in the last several years. Too many of them just think it sounds like a cool job. She's says there's no comparison to when people knew just what was on the line, that twenty years ago, it was a calling to protect the people you loved. Without the obvious threats, it hasn't been the same."

"A few more 'rogue Death Eater attacks' will start to change their minds," Pansy suggested.

"Maybe," Hermione countered. "But there haven't been any of those attacks in months. People get complacent when they don't have to see those things on the cover of the paper everyday."

"Which brings me back to some of the problems I saw out there," Harry replied. "On top of not being able to run things for what looked like a hundred people today, there's the issue that there were very inconsistent levels of focus. I can't really teach to vastly different levels of skills very easily, and that's not mentioning the fact that while there are clearly a few people who would work as hard as I would, the majority might, at best, treat it like a fun little club. I'm not going to run one of those."

"I saw less than half a dozen in my year that were taking things very seriously," Luna interjected.

"Less than ten in ours," Pansy added. "I doubt it was much better in the other years."

"It wasn't," Harry stated. "Worse probably. The third years might have had a couple that could be capable of keeping up with the older crowd. And that brings me to an idea I had about how we could deal with the overwhelming turn out to some extent- run smaller groups for the younger years all in houses."

"How?" Ernie asked. "I can't imagine you would have time for all that, especially not on top of our OWL year and quidditch."

"No, I wouldn't. But you would."

"Me?"

"You, Hannah, Susan- two prefects and the girl who's aunt is the head of the DMLE. That's a fair amount of authority. If I teach things to you three, and maybe give you a list of spells and whatnot that I've found most useful, then you could turn around and run a club for the younger Hufflepuffs maybe once a week or so. It would keep you all in better practice too.

"Personally, that's the one thing I would really like to see changed about the curriculum here. Way too much time spent on reading and writing stupidly long essays, and not nearly enough focused on actually casting spells."

"Okay, while that could work for Hufflepuff, what about the rest of us?" Luna asked. "I doubt many people would accept me in a position of authority."

"Yeah, well, then they're a bunch of retards and bastards, Luna. I wouldn't teach any of those little bitches in your year a damn thing anyway-"

"Don't get started on a rant, Harry," Luna interrupted him. "Stay focused and answer the question."

"Right. Sorry. While I don't know either of them really well, I think I'm on good enough terms with Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein to convince them to do something similar. The suggestion that their studies would be helped by the extra practice should work. And if not, I can probably ask Parvati to lean on her sister too."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble with that," Pansy smirked.

"Yeah. So... for Gryffindor, we've got Hermione and me. If we're both too busy, maybe Angelina? I'll probably have to come up with some back up ideas there."

"I don't think she would work," Hermione disagreed. "Not only is she obsessed with quidditch, but it's her NEWT year, remember? Sixth year prefects would be better options, in general."

"Maybe so. Unfortunately, I don't really know any of them so it's hard for me to evaluate which ones might be right for the job."

"Neither of the sixth year Slytherins are possibilities," Flora responded with a scowl. "Warrington's a fucking piece of shit and Boyle is the type of bitch who would be more likely to help the little wannabe Death Eater scum rather than fight against them."

"Damn. If the younger years wouldn't follow you two, then Daphne's probably our best bet."

"Greengrass has a certain amount of cachet," Hestia nodded. "Unless Hannah's cousin was interested, she's definitely the best choice for a leadership role in Slytherin. It's not my strong suit and, no offense sis, but Flora probably wouldn't be the best teacher either. She doesn't have the patience."

"She's right, Harry," Flora agreed. "We need to get either Greengrass or Chloe Abbot on board for Slytherin."

"I could probably help run a group for them, at least at first," Harry suggested. "The beginning of the year is bound to be the easiest part. Hopefully, that could help ease things in this fall and then maybe get one of them in position to handle the rest of the year. I'll likely be a lot busier next term."

"Chloe and I aren't particularly close, but I could talk to her about it," Hannah offered. "If you like."

"I'd appreciate it."

"I'll mention things to Daphne later too," Hestia added.

"Sounds good. I guess that means that I should talk to the Ravenclaws."

"Leave that to me, Harry," Hermione piped up. "I know both Padma and Anthony better than you. We've studied together on occasion. This is called delegating, Harry. Why don't you focus on what you think should be taught to the younger years? Put together a lesson plan, or at least a list of ideas and spells."

"Okay, I can do that. Maybe by next weekend we could have something ready."

* * *

"Hermione, come on."

"Stop whining, Harry. We've got a route to walk." She hurried on in front of him towards the stairs leading down from Gryffindor tower.

"For the love of," he huffed. "Hermione, just look at the damn map with me. There's no point in walking all over the school if we can tell where everyone might be in seconds. Then we can go deal with anyone out after curfew and call it a night."

"That's not what we're supposed to do."

"Well, I'm trying to be more efficient. I would think you would like that."

"We are supposed to be setting good examples as prefects, Harry. Blowing off our responsibilities is hardly doing that. Now come on."

"You know, if you would just listen to me on this, you would have a lot more time to study."

Harry smirked as he saw her hesitate. He knew he had hit her weakness, now he just had to drive the point home.

"Don't you need to read the next chapter for Runes? I know I do. And it sounded so fascinating too, contrasting how the Vikings and Phoenicians used runes to strengthen their boats for long sea voyages. Imagine how much of the ancient world we can understand better thanks to things like this. I would think history buffs would go crazy to have the chance to learn things like-"

"Alright!" Hermione threw up her hands in defeat. "I don't have my book with me though, and I am not willing to sit in the tower while we're supposed to be out on patrol."

"Never fear, Harry is here," he answered with a grin, pulling two books out of his bag and passing one of them over to her. "I grabbed yours too."

"Thanks."

"Now, let me take a look at the map." He unfolded the parchment, used the pass phrase, and scanned for anyone not in their common rooms. "We've got three people headed back to the Ravenclaw room, and they'll beat us there, so no point in trying to chase them down. Filch is down on the ground floor. Let's see...

"Ah, here we go. Third floor."

"What about it?"

"A couple in a broom closet."

"They should know better," Hermione asserted.

"Oh, don't be all fussy like that. We should encourage young love."

" _Hormones_ are not the same thing as _love_."

"They can be related. Really, they should be I think."

"Yes, yes, you're such a romantic, Harry. We all know."

"Yeah? I don't need to take out an advertisement to proclaim to the world-"

"Please, stop. I've already got my work cut out in getting your future bride to like me enough so that I can be sure to get an invite to the wedding. I don't want to hear anymore about romance any time soon."

"Fine," Harry agreed as he walked beside her. "Pansy doesn't really hate you, you know."

"You could have fooled me."

"She just doesn't like you very much. You've got that in common with most people, though. Now, Ron on the other hand- you should have heard some of her complaints about him. Remember when he and I had our shouting match because I befriended Luna, and he insulted her?"

"It would be hard to forget."

"Well, she rewarded me for 'finally getting rid of the weasel.' The rest of that week was very fun for me. It was even better when he threw his fit during the tournament last year."

"Now that you mention it, I do recall you walking around with a smile on your face for several days. I don't think I want to know any more than that."

"Alright."

They headed down another flight of stairs before reaching the third floor. Harry took another look at the map to make sure the duo was still in the same spot. He put it away and grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Hold up for a second. Do you mind if I handle this?"

"Go ahead, Harry," Hermione rolled her eyes as he nodded and took the last few steps to the broom closet alone.

"Knock, knock," he said while also rapping against the door at the same time. He heard the shuffle of the two people inside and could guess that clothes were probably being straightened. "I'll give you a minute, but otherwise, I'm going to have to open this up whether you're ready or not."

It didn't take the full minute. Tim Stebbins and Saskia Fawcett came stumbling out together, holding hands.

"Hello," Harry greeted them with cheer. "I've got good news and bad news, I'm afraid.

"The bad news is that the two of you are out after curfew and therefore must receive a punishment of some sort."

"What's the good news?" Fawcett asked.

"I'm the one who found you, and I've been told I'm a big softie. A romantic even. Therefore, two points from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. If you can make it back to your common rooms without being caught, that's all you'll lose."

"You're alright, Potter," Stebbins grinned.

"Thanks." He could hear Hermione huffing behind him, clearly not impressed with his leniency, as he watched the couple jog down the corridor. "Oh, and watch out for Filch. He was on the ground floor last I looked."

The two turned and waved before disappearing around a corner.

"You are a big softie," Hermione snorted. "Regulations say a minimum of five points should have been taken, and a detention would have also been appropriate."

"I'd rather be a softie than a stick in the mud who stomps all over young love."

"I'm going to have to smack you, aren't I?" Hermione glared at him. "What makes you so convinced that everyone is in love the way you are?"

"Now, don't make me sound so naive," Harry rebuked her while waving a finger in Hermione's direction. "Do you know who that was?"

"I recognized the girl... something Fawcett I think. Why?"

"Because the two of them went to the Yule Ball together last year, so my diagnosis of it being more than just a passing fancy holds weight."

"How do you know that?"

"Ah, well you see, Pansy and I got a bit of fresh air briefly and saw Moody yelling at them for trying to get some privacy in the rose garden. He only threatened to take points though- I think the noise just startled him. Don't tell anybody, but Alastor sometimes needed a little pick me up to offset having to deal with teenagers all day long for months at a time."

"Alastor? On first name terms now, are we?"

"He suggested it," Harry replied with a shrug. "He was proud of the way I was able to escape from being surrounded by all the Death Eaters at the graveyard."

"He was also your mentor," Hermione nodded. "Only you, Harry, would think someone as paranoid as Mad-Eye Moody was a role model. I guess I can't blame you based on how things have gone over the last couple of years, though. 'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.' In this case, we know that they definitely _are_ after you."

"Yeah. I shouldn't be surprised that you've read Catch-22 also, huh?"

"I'm surprised that you have."

"Believe it or not, I had gone to a library before coming to Hogwarts."

"It _is_ sort of hard to believe."

"Well, Dudley hated reading or studying even more than Ron at his worst, so it was a place where I could get some peace."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Harry."

"Don't worry about it. It was a lifetime ago."

"It's only been a few years. Are you sure you're doing alright after having to deal with those people?"

Hermione's concern was appreciated, so Harry hugged her. "I'm fine, actually. Since Pansy came into my life, all that bad stuff that came before is like a bad dream that gets a little more hazy every day."

"No wonder you're such a romantic," Hermione teased. "I guess I hadn't really looked at it that way, but it makes sense why you're so devoted to each other."

"Yeah. Now, if I can just get the creeps like Riddle and his minions to bugger off, then the rest of my life can really begin."

"That's something I hope for you too," she agreed. Hermione held up her book for Runes. "Check the map so that we can hopefully start reading."

"Okay. I guess I should leave it out too so we can keep watch."

"Let's find somewhere comfy to sit first."

"Good idea."

* * *

It was the next weekend and Pansy was feeling thoroughly disgruntled as she stepped into the Gryffindor common room. She nodded as Parvati waved to her, but she saw her target already on the move, empty book bag slung over her shoulder as she came down the stairs from her dormitory.

Pansy controlled her instinct to sneer and instead moved to intercept Hermione Granger before she could head off to the library. It was a favor for Harry, so she was going to try to be as pleasant as possible. Or, at least not too mean.

The things she did for love.

"Granger, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, I guess. What do you need?"

"A little privacy might be for the best." Hermione looked askance at her, so Pansy motioned to the door behind her. "Would you like to come in?"

"Of course. Thank you."

The door shut behind Pansy and Granger began to examine the private quarters. "You two spend a lot of time alone in here. I suppose that's a good thing; I would hate to have to give my best friend detention for public shagging. Speaking of whom, where is Harry?"

"He's busy being amazing and wonderful, so I've been stuck with keeping you busy in the meantime."

"What?"

"You noticed the weather, yes? With the downpour going on, there's no way Harry could run another group outside. Since he knows you so well, he was certain you would likely spend the entire weekend in the library. Judging by the empty book bag you're carrying, I would say he was right."

"Well, yes, I suppose I would spend a lot of time there with the rainy weather. If the rest of the house wasn't so rambunctious, I would probably check out a few volumes and curl up in front of the fire to read. But there are always people yelling and laughing, and it sometimes makes it hard to concentrate."

"I'm sure."

"So, why do you need to keep me busy?"

"It's going to be a surprise, so you'll just have to wait for him to return."

"No hints?"

"Not from me."

"Oh well. What should we talk about then?" Hermione sat down in the chair as Pansy took the couch. "I'd rather not just sit here and stare at you for however long Harry might take doing whatever he's doing."

"Do you really want to try girl talk with me? I thought you usually ran for the hills whenever my sex life came up."

"Surely we could try another subject. I can't imagine that's all you ever talk about."

"Maybe not all the time," Pansy allowed with a smirk. "Fine then, how about your sex life, or lack thereof. Are there any guys that have drawn your fancy? I've got money riding on this, so please enlighten me."

"You've bet on me dating?"

"Don't dodge the question. And for the love of all that's holy, please tell me you aren't still brain damaged enough to think that Weasley would be someone worth considering. Harry isn't convinced you're over that little crush and I find that idea horrifying. Harry's best friend or not, I will slap you if I have to deal with that ginger slob ever again."

"No, I think I've finally gotten over that, thankfully." Hermione made no comment on Pansy's muttered Hallelujah. "Sadly, I think that Ron's actually doing better over the last few months since his friendship with Harry ended. That jealous streak of his would have been a problem, and I can already imagine that any guy I might date could have issues with how close Harry and I are. I'm going to have to find someone more mature, hopefully."

"Is that why you tried Krum last year? Thinking an older guy would be more mature?"

"Something like that," Hermione admitted before starting to blush. "It was a nice ego boost too- the idea that this famous quidditch player would pick me of all people over so many of the other girls around here. But we know how that turned out."

She got a sour look on her face and twisted around to stare into the fire. "I guess I really should be thankful for Harry always watching out for me. At the time, I thought he was being ridiculous, but once Viktor got me into that broom closet, I just...

"I don't think I want to go into another one any time soon. Certainly not without making sure it was a guy that I wouldn't have to knee in the bits if he thought of pushing things too far."

"I suppose I am very lucky on that account," Pansy confided. "Harry and I are pretty well matched, all things considered. If either of us were to 'push things too far' it would more likely be me. I suppose I already have a couple of times."

"Do I want to know?" Hermione groaned.

"I'll spare you the details." Pansy looked at the other girl with a smirk as she could tell that she was somewhat interested despite all protestations to the contrary. "The truth is that I've found that the secret to our intimacy is being able to really trust each other. Harry knows things about me that I doubt I would ever tell anyone else. Maybe not even Luna. Neither of us had pleasant childhoods, but our issues dealing with them have been very different. He has been very patient with me. More than I deserve probably. If it weren't for Harry, I imagine I would be the most awful bitch in the school."

"As it is, you're only in the top ten," Hermione teased.

"Believe me, I could be much, much worse. You remember Nott last year? Just imagine if one of the little bitches around here tried to dose Harry with one of those potions, and then you can probably picture me covered head to toe in their blood."

"I can't really blame you for that." Hermione shook her head. "The way the magical world treats love potions as some sort of joke is horrifying."

"Agreed."

There was a pop as Harry and Dobby appeared, turning both girls' heads.

"Oh good, you caught her," he said to Pansy before looking over at Hermione. "Give me one second to get something from the bedroom for you."

"For me?"

"Hold on," Harry called as he hurried off, returning with a small wrapped package in his hands. "I know that your birthday isn't until Monday, but I didn't want to wait that long. And with the rainy weather, you should be able to make good use of it this weekend. Go on, open it up."

"Thank you, Harry, that's very sweet of you."

"You might want to make sure you like it before telling me that," he answered with a grin.

"I'm sure I'll-" Hermione stopped as she looked down at the hand mirror. "Um, Harry? Why did you get me a mirror?"

"Dobby, if you would?" The elf disappeared with a pop and Harry looked back at Hermione, still grinning.

"What's going on?"

"Wait for it."

"Wait for what?"

"Hermione?" She nearly dropped the mirror as she looked down at her mum's face. "Happy early birthday sweetheart!"

"Mum!"

"Isn't it wonderful? Harry told me that we can talk to each other through these no matter how far away you are. Hermione?"

Mrs. Granger's voice became muffled as Hermione threw her arms around Harry and choked back a sob. She got herself under control and kissed him on the cheek.

"You are the best friend I've ever had, Harry. Thank you so much for this."

"You're very welcome."

"Sorry about that, mum. I was just a little overwhelmed."

"I understand. So, Harry tells me it's raining cats and dogs up there. It's been surprisingly pleasant here since it finally started to cool off earlier this week. I think your father is disappointed that he might not have much time to use that grill of his though."

"Well give you some privacy." Pansy took Harry's hand and led him off to the bedroom, throwing up a silencing charm just after closing the door.

"Thanks for the help with distracting her."

"Even when it's for Granger, I still enjoy seeing you be such a sweet guy, Harry. You know that I'll expect a much better birthday present this year, though. You set the bar pretty high with her."

"I was thinking of doing the same thing for Luna. I'm sure she misses her dad."

"Ahem," Pansy growled. "Wrong girl, Harry. We were talking about how you were going to spoil _me_ , remember?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of something for you too."

She pushed him onto the bed and growled again.

"I'm going to fuck that silly grin off your face."

* * *

With the nasty weather, the weekend passed by quickly. Hermione spent hours tucked up in her dorm, talking to her parents instead of with her nose in a book. She got back on track by reading through her meals on Monday.

Harry and Pansy spent their time doing the usual things- teasing each other, spoiling each other, shagging, and goofing around with Luna. If not for having to do several assignments for the coming week's classes, it would have been the perfect weekend.

But Monday rolled around and they went back to work with a full day of lessons. The last of which was Defense, and yet again Umbridge was there, clipboard in hand as she 'audited' the class.

Harry had noticed that she had been in every single one of his Defense lessons so far, and he did not for one moment believe that it was a coincidence.

He was in his usual seat that day. Pansy on his right, Hermione to his left. Professor Watts had asked everyone to once again demonstrate their shield charms, giving points to those who had it down pat, and then working with the few others that still had issues with the spell.

Parvati spent much of the class chatting with his girlfriend. She was one of those who had mastered the spell, and since Lavender still needed work, her usual partner for gossip was busy.

This year they had the class with the Hufflepuffs, and Harry noticed that Susan, Ernie, and Hannah all had practiced enough to be proficient with the spell. That was a good sign if he was going to try to get them to take care of the younger Hufflepuffs for him.

The last couple still working were Seamus and Roger Malone, a Hufflepuff that Harry didn't think he had ever spoken to before. Now that he thought about it, there were probably several people in his year that he didn't know at all.

Once those last two boys were finished, Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, miss Granger?"

"Professor, I was wondering if there was anything you could suggest for us to work on in our spare time that might help us to excel on our OWL exam?"

"Ah, extra credit or something similar?"

"Yes, sir. Professor Moody, for example, sometimes worked with people after hours, if they were driven enough."

"You mean like your friend, Mr. Potter," Watts replied with a grin. "Unfortunately, I am no Mad-Eye Moody. Then again, no one is. Dueling is not one of my specialties, I'm afraid to say."

"Hem, hem," Umbridge interrupted with the most fake sounding cough Harry could imagine, and when he turned to look at her, he noticed that her glare bounced back and forth between him and the retired auror. That was interesting. "I do believe that no dueling clubs have been authorized in the last three years. I strongly doubt that the ministry would want anyone unqualified to run such an endeavor."

That last bit was definitely aimed at Harry and he did his best to keep his expression neutral despite her hideous scowling jowls.

"If only Hogwarts were home to a former dueling champion," Watts replied, turning Umbridge's ire back towards him. "Oh, I just remembered, we do have the illustrious Professor Filius Flitwick, who was indeed a master duelist. I'm sure the ministry couldn't possibly deny his qualifications, now could they Delores?"

Harry's estimation of Gordon Watts skyrocketed at that moment, as the toad was momentarily silenced.

"However, that was not really the question that miss Granger asked. While dueling is not my forte, I do have a particular strong suit that I share with Mr. Potter. Care to guess, miss Granger?"

"The Patronus charm?"

"Indeed." Watts drew his wand with minimal flourish. " _Expecto Patronum!_ "

A huge dog shape burst forth and jogged around the room.

"A mastiff!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You know your dog breeds," Watts answered with a chuckle. "Take three points for Gryffindor. I know it's not quite as large as Mr. Potter's dragon, but size isn't everything. For those of you interested, I could probably try to schedule a lesson or two on how to cast the Patronus. However, let me warn you that it is a very difficult spell for even fully qualified witches and wizards, so I don't want anyone to get disappointed if they aren't able to manage it.

"That being said, it probably isn't a bad idea to at least learn the basics. Even an incorporeal charm can be useful to keep a Dementor away from you for a short time. And after the events of this summer, I'm sure you can see why that would be a good idea- right, miss Granger?"

"Yes sir."

"Hem, hem," Umbridge again interrupted. "I think you'll find that the supposed attack on miss Granger was never proven to be anything other than the ramblings of a couple of delusional children."

"I think _you'll_ find that I don't believe that for one second, Delores. And the vast majority of the Wizengamot didn't either."

"Teaching nonmandated spells to the underage could be seen as trying to cause problems. You wouldn't want that on your record, now would you, Gordon?"

"I think you'll find _my record_ to be spotless in over thirty years as an auror. I would have thought you would have already looked it up, but maybe you didn't do your homework? I would have to take points from you for that, if I could.

"Beyond that, I think you should remember that I am the one with a mastery in Defense, not you. While you were pursuing more clerical work, I was using the skills that this class teaches in the real world. So, while I will grant you that paperwork and evaluations are more of your talent, Defense Against the Dark Arts is mine. So, please try to keep your interruptions to a minimum. After all, we wouldn't any complaints about _you_ trying to cause problems here at dear old Hogwarts, would we?"

Oh yes, Harry Potter really liked Gordon Watts now.

Umbridge was scribbling away furiously, while he turned back to the class with a surprisingly calm smile.

"Unfortunately, we are almost out of time for today. But I will see if I can squeeze a lesson on the Patronus in. It probably won't be till next term though, so don't get your hopes too high. We've got a lot to cover this year."

Harry watched Umbridge slip out of the classroom and Watts sighed once she was gone and the door had closed behind her.

"Bureaucracy," the teacher snorted. "One of the problems with any form of government is that the vast majority is always made up of pencil pushers. Horrible little people grasping for their own little bits of power and wealth. Few if any of them ever truly care about the people they are supposed to serve. It makes me very thankful to have reached retirement when I did.

"But enough of that for today. Before your next lesson, I'd like everyone to read over chapter four. Class dismissed."

The scramble to leave created the usual cacophony, so Harry sat and waited with a pleased smile. Pansy noticed it and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"A new favorite teacher?"

"Maybe."

Hermione had gathered her things and turned back to the two of them. "Aren't you coming?"

Harry and Pansy stood up at that point as the rush for the door had died down. Hermione couldn't help but notice the grin on his face.

"Basking in the clobbering the professor gave to that awful woman?"

"I can't help it," Harry shrugged. "That was the best lesson so far this year."

"I hardly think that was what you enjoyed," Hermione snorted as they headed for the door. "Almost half of us were done minutes into the lesson. Professor Watts rebuttal of that awful toad from the ministry, on the other hand, now that was beautiful."

"Hem, hem." Just outside the door, a squat little witch shimmered into view as she canceled her Disillusionment charm. "I think that will be ten points from Gryffindor, and a detention in my office tonight, miss Granger."


	71. Unhappy Birthday

* * *

_Last time on We're In This Together..._

"Hem, hem." Just outside the door, a squat little witch shimmered into view as she canceled her Disillusionment charm. "I think that will be ten points from Gryffindor, and a detention in my office tonight, miss Granger."

...

Pansy grabbed onto both of their arms and dragged them down the hall with as much force as she could muster. Thankfully, it was surprising enough that both turned to her and kept their mouths shut before they could make things worse.

They had reached a stairway leading up when Harry started to talk.

"She can't do that, can she?"

"Actually, she can," Hermione answered then groaned. "I can't believe how stupid that was. I should have known better than to assume she wasn't waiting to-"

"That's enough," Pansy cut her off with a hiss. "Not another word until we are in private."

Granger at least had the sense to nod and hurry up the stairs with her. Harry rubbed his face and followed along.

They made good time as they headed for Gryffindor tower and then cut through the crowd and into their quarters. Hermione took the chair as Harry started to pace. Pansy sat on the couch and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

"Alright, we're alone," Harry began. "Now, how can that bitch take points and assign you a detention? She isn't a teacher. Since when do ministry stooges have the authority-"

"To interfere at Hogwarts?" Hermione finished. "That's the purpose she's had all along. We just didn't realize that she would take it in this direction. I should have expected something though."

"Why?"

"Harry, why do you even bother getting the paper if you never read it?" Granger sighed. "There was an article today about a new educational decree granting her the same rights as a member of the staff, supposedly 'due to the lax and irregular standards of discipline' that have plagued Hogwarts in recent years."

"You mean like how Snape constantly ruined things? Someone should have killed that bastard years ago," Harry growled. "Alright, that means that you will have to go. Now it's time for us to plan our response."

"What can we do?" Hermione shivered. "I really don't want to be alone with her. I don't know what she might try to do."

"You won't be," Harry replied. "I'm coming with you."

"I don't think she'll allow that."

"I don't think she has a fucking choice."

"Harry-"

"Hermione, you do remember that you are under my protection, right? I know I have mostly played the whole patronage thing for laughs, as an excuse to allow me to tease you about being my protege. But there is a legal precedent as well. Sam was deadly serious about the attack on you really being a political attack against me, or House Potter, if you will. An attack that bitch was chomping at the bit to lead during that farce of a trial. Do you remember how few votes there were for guilty?"

"Yes. Only nine."

"Exactly. Even Fudge was smart enough to realize that it had failed, so he bowed out of the vote. There's no way in hell I'm going to leave you alone with that woman."

"I guess you do have your invisibility cloak," Hermione suggested. "I just don't want us both getting in trouble."

"Just let me worry about things like that," he countered. "Try to relax as much as you can. I've got your back, Hermione."

"I'll try."

"Good. We should head down to dinner soon. We don't want her to suspect anything out of the ordinary. Let me grab my cloak first."

Pansy had been silent throughout the conversation and now in the peace, she had a chance to really start working on precautions and backup plans. She loved Harry, she really did, but times like this reminded her that the Sorting Hat had been wrong when it considered putting him in Slytherin- he was far too prone to impetuous behavior.

But that's why he had her to take care of him.

And Dobby...

She smirked as the idea started to form.

"This is not how I was hoping my birthday would go."

"Don't worry too much. Harry will have you back safe and sound in your dorm with plenty of time to talk to your parents before bed."

"I hope you're right."

"Alright, I'm ready," Harry said as he returned from the bedroom. Granger got up with him and she started for the door.

"Hermione, would you give me a couple of moments alone with Harry?"

"Of course."

"You should wait for him though," Pansy added. "Going down to dinner together wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Okay."

She waited for the other girl to make her exit before turning back to Harry. "We need to talk for a minute."

"Alright, what is it?"

"I'm not going to dinner."

"What? Why not?"

"I've got work to do," she replied. "You follow Granger and keep an eye on her. That's fine, and it's not necessarily a bad idea. But I have other things I'm planning."

"Like?"

"Like writing a letter to Sam about Umbridge's harassment of House Potter, and legal steps we can take to fight her. You're Hermione's patron, and after the trial this summer, it should come as no surprise to Sam that Umbridge is still attacking House Potter via your friend. It is no coincidence that the very first day she has this authority, she uses it to single out Hermione for punishment."

"Okay, that is pretty smart. Thank God I have you, right?"

"Indeed. I'll have you sign it once I've got it finished."

"Eat something too, please."

"I'll have Dobby bring me a sandwich or something," Pansy waved off his concern. "Just try not to do anything too rash without me there to stop you, alright?"

"Yes dear." Harry grinned and leaned down to kiss her. "What would I do without you?"

"Make a mess of your life, probably," she snorted.

"Probably," he agreed with a smile. "I love you."

"I know." Pansy shooed him towards the door. "Go on, I'll see you later."

"Okay." Harry turned back just before he left. "Thanks for this- I know you and Hermione aren't exactly friends, but I appreciate you helping her anyway."

Pansy nodded and waited for him to leave. She took a deep breath.

"Dobby?"

"Yes, miss?"

"It's very good that _I_ remembered how helpful you can be. Harry gets all excited and rushes off to do everything by himself."

"Master Harry grew up not having anyone he could count on. Dobby knows that's why he forgets sometimes."

"How right you are my friend. Well, it's time for you and I to take care of things for tonight. First things first, I need you to go check on Umbridge's office. See if there are any portraits in there..."

* * *

Harry usually had a grace under fire when dealing with threats against his own life, but he felt incredibly anxious as he followed Hermione under the invisibility cloak towards her detention with Umbridge. Looking back, he would realize that it was because someone else was in danger for once, and acting as a guardian rather than just swashbuckling his way through an adventure would not work when his focus had to be on Hermione's welfare instead of his own.

Hermione pushed the door wide open and stepped aside, allowing him plenty of room to enter, before turning to close the door.

"At least you are punctual, miss Granger. Do come in."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. There was something slimy and foul about the phony smile on the ministry's head pencil pusher. Harry reflexively squeezed his wand, already in hand, knowing intuitively that this would not be going well. He quietly took a deep breath as he slipped further into the room, noticing a student's desk that had obviously been confiscated from some classroom a few feet in front of Umbridge's much larger and fancier one.

"Yes, Madam Umbridge," Hermione replied, and Harry wondered how many people knew her well enough to detect the hint of apprehension in her tone.

"Please, take a seat." The fat little witch motioned to the desk in front of her, and Harry noticed a peculiar looking black quill along with the parchment waiting there. "Tonight, you will be writing lines, perhaps a little commonplace, but I think it is a fitting punishment for a common witch such as yourself."

Harry could see the rancor in Hermione's eyes, and he had a feeling that she knew exactly how insulting that supposedly innocent comment was meant to be. He well remembered the nasty tone in Umbridge's voice every time she uttered the word _muggle_ during the farce of a trial. Blood supremacist fanatics in the wizarding world were almost always so incredibly obvious with their bigotry.

"Yes, Madam Umbridge." Hermione sat down with no other comments and picked up the quill.

"You will write ' _I will not insult my superiors._ ' Perhaps that will teach you better manners, something that your _parents_ clearly failed to do." The nasty inflection was once again blatant. As if this hideous bitch was in any way superior to Hermione, let alone used manners as anything more than a facade to be as rude and obnoxious as possible.

He wondered for a moment just how prevalent hatred of muggles and muggleborns was in pureblood society. Pansy and Luna certainly didn't seem to have any sort of prejudices like that. Of course, in Pansy's case it was likely partially inspired by her resentment and need to rebel against her father, while Luna was about as open-minded as any person could be. Maybe they weren't the best examples?

"How many times, Madam Umbridge?"

"Let's just say, until the message sinks in."

"Yes, ma'am."

Hermione winced and let out a little gasp, bringing Harry's attention back to the present. He looked over her shoulder and couldn't help but notice that the ink on the parchment was red.

_Blood red._

And the back of Hermione's hand showed exactly where that 'ink' was coming from.

"Is there a problem miss Granger? I believe I told you to write lines."

Harry felt a haze of fury over take him and didn't even hear the word come from his mouth as he raised his wand.

" _Crucio!_ "

The fat bitch fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in front of him, and all he felt was a profound sense of satisfaction.

"Harry! What are you doing? Stop!" Hermione was shouting behind him, but he ignored her to focus on the thrill of watching the little toad squirm. He saw his friend step into his peripheral vision, but it took her slapping him to make him stop holding the torture spell on his victim.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hermione screeched.

" _Petrificus Totalis!_ " rang out, again and again, as all three of them stiffened, unable to move. Pansy stepped around in front of them, looking weary and disgusted. "Dobby, _please_ tell me that you have the room taken care of."

"Of course, miss Pansy." The elf popped into view as well, standing on Umbridge's desk. "Dobby made sure that nasty toad witch's room was sealed and that no one would see anything that might happen. No hearing either. And there are no paintings on the walls."

"Excellent work," she praised him before turning to Harry. "For the love of Kali, don't start casting any more spells for a moment, alright?"

She lifted the spell from Harry first and he nodded.

"Sorry. I guess I sort of lost my cool."

"You think?" Pansy smirked. "Look at the mess we're going to have to clean up now."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. Harry saw the pain in Umbridge's eyes, and he swallowed down something that might have been a hint of guilt. Not for torturing her- the bitch had set this supposed detention up to torture his best friend after all- but because of his realization that he didn't feel anything other than pleasure at watching her suffer.

If that was how the Dark Arts worked, he had a much greater appreciation for how addictive they could be.

He turned back to Pansy and took her free hand in his own, kissing the back of it.

"I think I underestimated how much I depend on you. But Kali?"

"Wicked blue chick who cuts off people's heads, remember? Much better than Merlin or Christ. Seemed fitting too considering how you were radiating vengeance against this wretched thing." Pansy kicked at Umbridge's leg and Harry didn't contain his snort of amusement. "I might not like Granger very much, but not even she deserves to have to deal with someone this loathsome."

"I really love you."

"Yes, yes, we know. I'm amazing," Pansy drawled with a smirk. "But let's concentrate on the moment and figure out what the hell we're going to do about all this. You should probably obliviate both of them."

"I know, but first things first." Harry turned back to Umbridge with a smirk of his own. "We have her at our mercy, so I might as well do a little bit of investigation while we can. Let's see what all we can find out before we do anything else."

"Alright."

Pansy stepped aside while Harry squatted down to look into the beady little eyes of Delores Umbridge. If the ministry stooge knew what he was about to do, she would have been even more terrified.

" _Legilimens!_ "

Harry barged into her mind and tore through her memories, looking for anything pertaining to Hermione, Pansy, himself, or anyone else he could think of.

The next few moments sealed her fate, and if Pansy had been able to see the look on Harry's face, she would have been prepared to stop him from acting rashly again. But she wasn't, so once he stood back up, she wasn't ready with her wand or quick enough.

" _Crucio!_ "

"Dammit Harry," Pansy muttered, shaking her head impatiently. "Stop it, you idiot! Get ahold of yourself."

But he didn't stop, so she followed Hermione's example and slapped him.

"Ow."

"Ow?"

"You slapped me."

"Look, I find this bitch to be annoying too, but what the fuck are you doing?"

"I-" Harry gritted his teeth and forced himself to set his wand aside, on the desk next to Dobby. "This fat little fucking bitch is a monster. And considering I've dreamed of having Voldemort in my head, believe me, I know what a monster is. Not only did she come here with a perverse desire to torture children, specifically looking for anyone that might have 'stepped out of line' especially if they were 'mudbloods' but she also is responsible for pretty much everything this summer."

"You mean the trial?"

"Yes. Not only was it her idea, but she is the one who set the dementors after Hermione and her parents."

"Fuck. This is going to be an even bigger mess to clean up than I thought." Pansy glanced over at Hermione. "If I remove the spell from you, I expect you to sit there and not try to cast anything. Blink twice to show you agree and understand, alright Hermione?"

Once she had complied, Pansy lifted the curse and Hermione sat back down in shock.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"No," she answered woodenly. "I don't even know where to begin. You cast an Unforgivable curse- twice, Harry. How could you do that?"

"It was a lot easier than you might think," he shrugged. "You did hear what she came here to do. Do you think a quill that makes you write in your own blood is anything other than a torture device? Do you think anyone would own such a thing if they weren't an evil monster? This bitch is lucky she's still breathing."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Hermione looked at him in horror. "Harry, you can't respond to torture with more torture. How will that fix anything? How has it made anything that's happened here better?"

"It made me feel better."

"That's awful," Hermione gasped. "Don't you know how wrong that is?"

Harry stared back at her, not knowing what to say.

Was it wrong?

...

He thought back to his childhood, at the lessons he had learned from being beaten up constantly. If he were normal, maybe he would have learned that it was wrong to hurt others.

But he grew up in a cupboard, living with child abusers. So instead, he learned that vengeance was sweet.

Harry had never loved Pansy more than when she got the Dursleys arrested, framed for his murder. It wasn't 'right' necessarily, especially since they didn't actually commit that crime, but after everything else they _had_ done to him, it felt like justice.

Long, long overdue justice.

But he also saw that Hermione clearly had very different ideas about that than he did.

"Remember this summer? She wanted those things to devour your _soul_ , Hermione. Your parents hardly even mattered to her. 'Muggles are no more than beasts' is how she put it. Do you see how wrong _that_ is? Do you think I should let her get away with it?"

"No. She should be arrested," Hermione insisted. Harry laughed at her.

"Oh yes, I'm sure Fudge will have his nasty little minion brought to justice for her crimes. Just like how he's done so much for justice in dealing with the 'rogue Death Eaters' or how he began your trial by leading the charge in trying to get your wand snapped. I'm sure the ministry of magic, which we have ample proof has had unrepentant Death Eaters and their sympathizers working there for years, I'm sure that _august institution_ will do everything in its power to put things right.

"There is no justice in this world, Hermione. Not unless we make it for ourselves."

"Just because there is corruption doesn't mean that justice always fails."

"It's always failed me."

"So now you're going to be judge, jury, and executioner?"

"Yes."

Hermione gasped. "You can't-"

"Why not?" Harry challenged her with a glare. "Lucius Malfoy set a basilisk loose on a school full of children. It nearly killed you and I. He got away with it, until I took up the task of making him pay for his crimes. Justice didn't occur for him until _I_ left him bleeding out on the floor."

Hermione started to lift her wand, but Pansy was ready for her.

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

Hermione's wand went flying and she turned to the other girl in betrayal. "You can't let him do this. Please, you have to talk sense into him."

"Harry is doing this for _you._ To protect you. How dare you suggest that he is wrong? You should be groveling before him, thanking him for doing what needs to be done. Or would you rather have you and your parents left to the 'mercy' of a ministry filled with people like this vile little worm?"

"I can't believe this." She turned back to Harry. "Please, Harry. Take her memory if you must, but don't become a murderer. Not for her. Not for me."

"I've already killed before, Hermione. You've seen me do it."

"There is a difference between killing a Death Eater in a battle and murdering someone in cold blood."

"Even an enemy? Do you think I would be righteous for killing the Dark Lord in a duel, but evil if I were to sneak into his home and slit his throat in the night? According to you, one of those things would be 'killing' while the other would be 'murder.' Is one worse than the other?"

"Of course it is. Even if he might deserve it. But Umbridge isn't the same as Voldemort."

"Tom Riddle murdered a teenage girl- Moaning Myrtle. Delores Umbridge tried to murder a teenage girl- you. Seems like they're pretty close to me."

"I can't believe you're saying this. You can't really mean to kill her, Harry. My best friend wouldn't do something like that."

Harry saw the conviction in her eyes, and everything fell into place. He knew now better than ever before just what this would cost him.

And all the other costs he might be forced to pay as well.

Everything it might take for him to survive all this shit that the magical world kept throwing his way. Voldemort, Quirrell, Malfoy, Parkinson, Snape, Pettigrew, Karkaroff... and now Umbridge. Every time a new enemy came his way, and no one ever stood up to stop them.

No one but Harry.

He saw in her eyes when she realized that, yes, her best friend would kill someone to protect her. Even if she didn't want him to. Even if she told him it was wrong and pleaded with him to change his mind.

Even if it ended their friendship.

Harry stepped forward, not even pausing as she flinched, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're my best friend, Hermione. You have been for four years now. In fact, you were something like the fourth friend I'd ever had. I suppose it's a question of whether Hedwig counts, but..."

He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling her shaking against him.

"Don't do this, Harry," she whispered.

"I have to." He kissed her forehead and leaned back to look in her eyes. She was every bit as aghast as he thought. "I care about you, and a part of me probably always will. So I hope you believe me when I say I'm sorry."

He didn't remember when he had picked his wand back up, but it had never before felt as heavy in his hand.

" _Obliviate!"_

He took a deep breath and focused himself.

" _Confundo!_ Umbridge lectured you and forced you to write lines. She was very nasty and mean but nothing too surprising came of it and soon enough you were dismissed. You should grab your things and head back to the Gryffindor tower."

Pansy placed Hermione's wand in her bag and handed it to her, watching silently as she left the room.

When she turned to Harry, there was a tear running down his right cheek, but he wiped it away without saying anything and turned back to the still prone form of Umbridge.

"Time to get to work," he muttered as he glanced down at his prey.

He was subdued but calm.

Pansy was proud but also worried at the change that had come over him. She stepped closer and took hold of his left hand, squeezing it briefly.

"What do we do first?"

"Release her from your spell and I'll take care of the next step. Then we'll need Dobby's help before the night is through."

"Alright." Pansy lifted the full body bind from Umbridge and before she could get out a word of protest, Harry was already casting his own spell.

" _Imperio!_ "

* * *

It was more than an hour later before they made it back to their quarters. Harry had been far too quiet the entire time, and she was worried.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said as he took off his shoes.

"Want me to scrub your back?"

"No, I... I just need some time to think. And try to relax, I guess."

"Okay."

Pansy watched him walk into the bathroom, throwing his shirt aside carelessly. It was really, really not like Harry to turn down fun shower times, even when he was in a bad mood or stressed out.

Not having anything else she could do at the moment, Pansy went out and started to make some tea. It usually helped to clear her head, so maybe it would help him too. Dobby had work to do, so she couldn't call for him, but it was a simple enough thing to keep her hands busy and maybe let her figure out something that could come next.

The little elf's company would have been nice too. He was one of the few people that knew Harry well enough to be able to figure out what could help to bring him out of this mood.

She could only hope that it would be something as simple as sex.

Any more serious issues the two of them had stumbled through blindly over the last couple of years were always so damn frustrating. Pansy didn't have Harry's patience either, and she knew that Granger meant a lot to him.

She just didn't have any experience at losing a friend, especially not a good one. Before Harry, and now Luna, Pansy wasn't really sure that she'd had any real friendships, now that she thought of it. Acquaintances she tolerated better than most- Bulstrode and Greengrass were maybe the closest she'd come. Considering she and Millicent had no real shared interests, and that she was always irritated by how perfect Daphne seemed, it was hard to think that either of them had been friends.

Having an acquaintance become more distant wasn't something she'd ever been bothered by. But she could think of how awful she would feel if she lost Luna's friendship.

Her mind completely skipped past the idea of losing Harry- that would be akin to dying at this point.

But losing Luna just didn't seem possible. She wouldn't argue about the necessity of killing the Death Eaters, whether it was 'self-defense in battle' or just slitting their throats in their sleep. Honestly, Luna would be more likely to be there, knife in hand, ready to help.

There was no such thing as an innocent Death Eater.

And putting down rabid beasts was necessary. Certainly not some 'sin' to be bothered about. Why couldn't Granger see that?

Then again, she had freaked out about the other deaths she had seen, so Pansy should have expected it. Harry should have too. Not that that thought helped anything.

At least tonight, Granger wouldn't be witness to anything.

But Harry must have seen something that would be a problem in the future. Even after taking her memories of the toad, he was still in that sullen mood.

Pansy had to admit that she found Hermione almost bearable at times. A rift between her and Harry was no longer something that Pansy looked forward to. Most of that was just due to loving him, but even so, it wouldn't be the same without having Granger around to horrify.

The tea was steeping now.

For some reason, she decided that she should check on Harry. Pansy hurried to the bathroom, tearing off her clothes along the way, and as she pushed open the door, she heard him choking back a sob.

She finished undressing in record time and stepped into the shower with him. He was standing with his arms pressed against the wall, his head bent down under the water spraying out of the shower head. She crushed herself against his back, arms going around his chest.

For a second, she thought of how he was slowly becoming more solid, getting muscles that he hadn't had two years ago, and she felt a very pleasant warmth spreading through her...

But Harry's pain was too real at the moment, no matter how excited she had unexpectedly become. She kissed between his shoulder blades, as much to feel him and to try to focus herself on his pain instead of her desire as to have a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Harry," she called to him. "It's going to be alright."

"No, it isn't." He shook his head, but he also brought his left hand up to squeeze her own. "She's gone."

"Huh?"

It felt very strange to be the inelegant one for once, stumbling through a conversation, and it brought to mind all the wonderful times Harry had drooled over her boobs. No matter how she might tease him, the delight of her self-esteem rising whenever he did that always felt wonderful.

"I saw it. Hermione will never forgive me for this."

"Harry, she won't even remember it."

"That's not it."

He took a deep breath that she could feel through his skin, pressed up against her, and Pansy shuddered. As wrong as the timing was, for some reason all she could focus on was the idea of turning him around and having him inside of her. In fact, she had to stop her free hand from roaming too far down because she was almost ready to just grab his cock, determined to make him forget this painful night, one way or another.

"I understand now. Hermione's never been okay with death. She was really bothered by what happened with the Malfoys and with Snape. She wouldn't have a place in the war that's coming. The idea that we would have to kill our enemies or watch them kill our friends- it just isn't something that she really understands.

"And I don't want to make her understand. I could, but... I'd rather just do it on my own. Or with the help of people like you... Sirius, Moody, even Luna probably. We won't be trying to 'arrest' the Death Eaters the next time we face them. I think that's what Hermione thinks would happen. That we would stun them and have them get carted off to Azkaban, and that everything would be fine. That no one would have to get their hands bloody. I don't want to take her illusions away from her."

Harry sighed and Pansy was again struck mute for a second.

"Why not?"

"Because I love her. If I'm willing to kill to protect her, then I have to be just as willing to let her go. Don't I?"

"This is why Luna is the better friend. We'll never have to get rid of her," Pansy replied.

"God, I hope not."

"Have faith in our girl, Harry."

"I'm a little low on faith, tonight."

"Well, you can't get rid of me, even if you wanted to. Not that you ever would, of course. Your life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful without me."

"I know." He took a small step forward and slowly turned around to face her. "Believe me, I know. I had an... epiphany earlier. About just how much it's going to take to deal with all this crap. Riddle and his fucking minions. The idiots in the government. As long as you and I make it out of here together, I can take anything else. It will hurt, but I can take it."

Pansy reached up and pulled him down, their wet lips sliding together messily. For several wonderful moments, she tried to let him know just how right he was, that they would make it through this- and anything else- together.

"I'll be sure to soothe all your pain away," she said with a smile.

"Now _that_ I do have faith in," Harry chuckled. He closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the water wash over his face again, and if he had any idea how turned on she was watching him at that moment, Harry would have felt infinitely better. "I love you."

"Good. Let's get dried off so I can get to work on soothing you."

"How could I say no to that?"

Pansy glanced down and saw his body at least was reacting to her physical presence despite the mood he had been in. Harry turned slightly to shut the water off and as he turned back around, she was already running her hands down his stomach and carefully going down to her knees.

"Pansy-"

"Quiet now, Harry. I'm hungry," she growled and quickly had half of him in her mouth.

"Oh fuck-"

* * *

_But in another part of the castle..._

Delores Umbridge snapped awake, feeling the cold water dousing her face once again. She immediately began to struggle even as her breathing was still painful, but soon remembered where she was and that her hands were bound behind her.

The huge green eyes in front of her held even more malice than she had seen from that awful brat Potter.

"Dobby has not given nasty toad witch permission to die yet."

"You'll never get away with this," she croaked out, her voice still sore, and she saw that he was once again playing with a noose. "I'll have you and Potter and all his whores begging for death by the time I'm done with you."

"Dobby has heard better threats from the old bad master."

She started to panic as she worried if she really could get out of this. Delores called out for Oggy once again, the house-elf that was supposed to serve her while she was at Hogwarts.

"No Hogwartsies house-elves will ever come to help nasty toad witch. Nasty toad witch smells of the demons that the great master Harry Potter sir drove away, protecting the school. House-elves know that the great Harry Potter protects Hogwarts from demons, and now they know that nasty toad witch is like a demon too.

"And demons do not belong around children."

"You're mad!"

"Dobby is very mad," he nodded in agreement. "Dobby is mad that even now master Harry worries over what he will have to do and worries over how his friends will see him. Dobby is mad that nasty toad witch has upset master Harry and tried to hurt master Harry's Grangey witch. Grangey witch is under protection of Dobby's Potter family.

"No one hurts Dobby's family."

He snapped his fingers and she saw the rope float up to the ceiling again, the noose then floating down towards her neck. Umbridge tried to thrash free, but another snap of his fingers held her immobile. She let out a sob as it slipped over her head and tightened around her neck.

"Dobby tries not to remember the bad years serving under the bad master. So many bad things Dobby had to see and had to do." He shook his head, not looking at her for a moment. "Master Harry saved Dobby from all that. Miss Pansy saved master Harry in the same way. And master Harry saved miss Pansy from her bad family too. Dobby knows this is why master Harry and miss Pansy are so perfect together.

"Someday, Dobby will have even more Potters to care for. Dobby thinks they will have a very big family. Master and miss surely get enough practice at making baby witches and wizards. It can be embarrassing for Dobby sometimes, especially if they forget Dobby is in the room."

The demented house-elf had a smile on his face, but it disappeared when he turned back to her.

"But Dobby still remembers all the things Dobby learned from the bad master. Dobby remembers that a muggle will pass out after being hanged for only a short time. But it takes several minutes for one to die.

"Dobby sees now that nasty toad witch is the same as a muggle. Only eleven seconds before passing out last time. But Dobby can't let nasty toad witch die just yet. Dobby has all night to make nasty toad witch pay for trying to hurt Dobby's family."

He snapped his fingers once more, and Delores Umbridge fell, kicking and choking as she dangled from the rope.

She had lost count how many times this had happened already. But dawn was still several long hours away, and Dobby was always incredibly thorough with his work.


	72. Getting Back to Work with Luna's Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Nietzsche said, "Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you."

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how late it was. It had been hours now, and lots and lots of sex, but he still couldn't relax from what had happened that night.

"We're not going to get any sleep, are we?" Pansy asked as she rolled over to look at him.

"You can. I'm not trying to keep you up."

"I can't sleep with you like this."

"I'm sorry."

"I know, Harry." She shifted closer to him and he rearranged his arm to make them both more comfortable. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We could try. I'm just not sure what..."

"Well, I've got all night."

Harry snorted at her. "We're going to be so miserable in classes tomorrow. Or later today, I guess."

"Busy schedule, too. Almost a full week still to go. Great timing for a crisis, huh?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Things used to be so much simpler."

"Really? Haven't you been facing one mess or another every single year?"

"I guess so. But I just... A few years ago, I wasn't wondering how many friendships I was going to lose. I would have been shocked to think that I wouldn't have either Ron or Hermione by my side. Hagrid's still missing too, but he never has looked at me quite the same ever since I killed the dragon. I wasn't even meaning to, but does that matter to the great big lunatic? No! Harry Potter killed one of the most 'interesting creatures' possible, so Hagrid thinks I'm evil. As if it was my fault that the fucking maniacs in the ministry thought it was a good idea to send teenagers up against nesting mother dragons, for fuck's sake!"

"Let it all out, Harry," Pansy snorted. He glanced down at her grin. "What? I still hate them for making me watch that monster try to kill you."

"I know. I-" he stopped and rubbed his weary face. "Looking back, it isn't a huge surprise that Ron and I grew apart. But Hermione- I don't know, I thought it would be different with her. I certainly never thought I would be obliviating her on her birthday. I'm a great friend, huh?"

"You could have forced her to keep your secret. She does still owe you a life debt."

"That wouldn't have been any better," he argued. "It would have just made it harder on her. I'm the bastard who tortured someone in front of her. That isn't her fault. It's probably better this way."

"You know that I don't blame you for what you did, right?"

"You should," he insisted.

"Why? Umbridge was a vile bitch. Please don't tell me you're sorry she's dead."

"I don't think she is. Not yet, I mean. But no, it isn't that." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I meant that you should blame me for casting the Cruciatus on her. Especially since you and I both know how awful it is."

"She deserved it."

"Maybe, but..."

"But what?"

"I now see just how easy it could be to become addicted to the Dark Arts. You have no idea how good it felt to cause her pain like that. It was... satisfying. Amazingly so. I think that's part of the lure. Part of the way they draw you in. The Imperius works the same, you know? It feels good to let go and be controlled by another person's will, but it feels even better to dominate someone."

"Then, you should keep that in mind when I want you to dominate me," Pansy teased. Harry shook his head and frowned. "It's a bad joke, I know, Harry. I was just trying to help you relax. You're still too tense. It's no wonder we can't get to sleep."

"The Cruciatus was so much worse than that, though. I don't ever want to cast it again. Not even against the Dark Lord."

"Really? Don't you think he deserves it? After he did that to you?"

"I know he deserves it. I just don't want to cast it again because of how it made _me_ feel."

"You said it felt good, though."

"Not just good. It was-" he struggled for a moment with the right words. "It was deeply, deeply satisfying. Like it made me feel smug about the power I held over another person. To make them bend and twist however I wanted. It was... just too much, I guess."

"I think I understand. I still might use it against the Dark Lord if I could, though." Pansy looked at him, and he saw the anger in her eyes. "He hurt you, Harry. He tried to kill you. That makes it personal, and that makes him fair game."

"I get it. I'd probably feel the same if I saw him use it against you or Luna or something."

"Speaking of our girl, we should probably try to spend more time with her the next few days. She'll help you feel better. She always does."

"That's a good idea," Harry agreed. He yawned and noticed that Pansy did as well. "Maybe this means we'll finally get a bit of rest."

"That would be nice."

"We could try counting sheep."

"Sheep are boring, Harry."

"Boring means sleepy though. Doesn't it?"

"Count something more fun. Count Lunas."

"There's only one Luna."

"Count all the hugs she gives us then. That's got to be like a million or something." Pansy yawned again.

They both drifted off thinking of the same strange but sweet blonde Ravenclaw.

* * *

"I brought you both tea," a familiar voice said shortly after they collapsed into their seats at breakfast the next morning.

Pansy took a drink and blinked open her eyes. "This is why I love you, Luna."

"Rough night?"

"Yeah, it's a long story."

Harry couldn't even answer. He gulped down his tea and reached for another cup. The house-elves were amazing. Luna was too, of course. When he finally felt well enough to look around, he saw Hermione sitting a few seats down, happily chatting with Neville.

It seemed as if nothing was wrong. He wondered how long that would last.

Harry turned to the staff table and observed the empty seat towards the end where Umbridge would have sat. He didn't stare too long (he hoped) and then he noticed once again that Hagrid was still absent. The substitute, Grubbly-Plank, was a very competent teacher, and if he were being honest with himself, she was better than Hagrid. Harry still had some loyalty to his friend though, so he hoped he made it back from wherever he was.

Sirius had said only that it was some sort of overseas mission for the Order.

Harry hadn't asked more than that. He thought he remembered Dumbledore saying something about trying to get the giants on their side at the end of the previous year, so the half-giant teacher would have been a likely candidate for just such a task.

"At least we've got Charms first thing," Pansy sighed after taking another sip of her tea. "It could be a lot worse. Nodding off in Potions could be a nightmare. Something would probably bubble up and melt the table."

"It could be better though," Harry countered. "We could have Binns. That's why I love Thursdays. It's only fair since we have Astronomy the night before, but it's still my favorite day of classes."

"I have History this morning, you know," Luna added. "I could take a nap on your behalf if it would make you feel better."

"If only that would help, sweetie. Harry owes me a very long nap, but we've got McGonagall second and we're outside all afternoon between Magical Creatures and Herbology. We might just have to rest before dinner time."

"You can," Harry muttered. "I've got quidditch practice this afternoon."

"Poor Harry," Luna said with a smile. "I could come help."

"How?"

"I could climb on behind you on your broom and keep you from falling off when you get sleepy. I suppose the broom would go a bit slower, but better that than tumbling down and hurting yourself."

"I'd say I would take you up on that, but I'm pretty sure Angelina would yell at both us."

"Then I guess you two should both eat plenty of energy food."

"Luna, sweetie, I don't care how good you say it is," Pansy shook her head, too fond of her to be more than slightly exasperated. "I am not eating apple slices dipped in maple syrup and covered in whipped cream."

"What about a banana then?"

"Well, that might help wake Harry up, at least."

"Oh goodie, I'll get you one!"

"But no maple syrup!"

"Oh poo, you're no fun," Luna replied, still grinning all the while as she removed the peel and put a little dab of whipped cream on one end of the fruit. "Here you go!"

"Fine."

Harry's eyes bulged as Pansy took an enormous bite of the banana, including all of the whipped cream. "You were right," he nodded. "I'm wide awake now."

Parvati and Lavender giggled at his remark. Hermione, on the other hand, snorted in disapproval.

"Do you want a banana too?" Luna asked him.

"No thanks."

"I think Harry might prefer a different type of fruit," Parvati suggested. She handed him a small bowl. "Here's some juicy, delicious peaches. I think that's more your style, right Harry?"

"Uh huh," he said as he reached for his spoon. He was too tired to care about the way Parvati smiled at him.

"Ooh, are there any more?" Luna wondered. "Peaches are yummy. I haven't had any since summer."

"I see some down at the other end," Pansy offered as she finished her bite. After Luna got up, Pansy turned to Parvati. "I was too hungry to make a crack about how you should keep your peaches to yourself."

"It's not my fault they're so delicious," Parvati teased back. "Besides, Harry's still a growing boy, and he needed _something_ to eat."

"Utterly shameless, Patil."

"That's me."

Luna hurried back over and sat down next to Harry with an enormous bowl of peaches.

"Are you going to eat all that?" he asked.

"I probably shouldn't." She furrowed her brow and looked at him. "Oh, did you mean that you wanted some too? That would be fine. I'd love to share my peaches with you, Harry."

"Et tu, Luna?" Pansy smirked.

"I'll share my peaches with you too, of course."

"Never mind."

"I'm surrounded by perverts," Hermione sighed. She got up and walked by Harry, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't take too long, breakfast is almost over."

"I'll come with you, Hermione," a blushing Neville.

"Well, now that the prudes are gone, can I have some of your peaches, Luna?" Dean asked with a grin.

"Get your own," she frowned. "I don't share my peaches with just anyone. What type of girl do you think I am?"

"My mistake."

"You're forgiven." She fed Harry a bite, then leaned forward past him to look at Pansy with a spoonful and a smile. "Want some?"

* * *

Breakfast had been the best part of the day. It was a struggle to stay awake through Charms, but when McGonagall started to lecture, Harry was doomed. He lost five points when she caught him nodding off.

Thankfully, it only happened the one time.

By the time he was heading for the quidditch pitch, he was very glad that Luna had decided to come along. She had an arm around him, which wasn't surprising, but Harry was actually leaning on her a bit for once. He was absolutely exhausted and he still had two hours till dinner would be served.

He was strongly considering taking Luna up on her offer to ride tandem with him.

Just before they got to the locker room, she pulled him to a stop.

"Do you still need help staying awake?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Just remember this is for your own good." Luna reached up and pulled her wand from behind her ear.

"What?"

" _Aguamenti!_ "

He sputtered as the conjured water hit him right in the face. He wiped some of it out of his eyes as he saw Luna tucking her wand away again.

"You're welcome."

"Thanks." He briefly thought of giving her a very wet hug but decided not to. Knowing Luna, she might like it anyway.

"I'll be rooting for you to do well. Feel free to fly over if you start to feel drowsy and need me to do that again."

"I will."

"Harry, hurry up," Angelina yelled as she came out, fully decked out in her uniform. "You're the last one here."

"Aye aye, captain." He ran into the locker room to change as quickly as he could.

Flying usually was too exciting for him to be anything other than focused on it.

But by the time they were done and he could go to dinner, he did ask Luna for a refresher. His hair was still wet and occasionally dripping on him when they got to the entrance hall and met up with Pansy, who immediately snogged him right in front of everyone.

What could she say?

Dripping wet Harry really turned her on. Besides, he wasn't going to turn her down. And Luna cheered them on, too.

* * *

"May you live in interesting times." Samuel McKenzie once again thought of the supposed ancient Chinese curse and knew that it had effectively described most of his life. He grew up just as Grindelwald started his reign of terror and World War II devastated Europe. He was a young man by the time it was over and felt an enormous amount of relief that he had survived, especially as he had escaped without having to fight.

But that was only the beginning of his interesting times. His chosen profession tended to keep him on his toes, but that was only a small part of it. Being a half-blood who kept one foot in each world, he was witness to the corruption and idiocy in both worlds.

Many thought that things would get better in the post war days.

A couple of decades later, those people would be proven absolutely wrong.

In the normal world, the Cold War raged, first giving way to things like fear of the bomb that could end everything. How Sam had marveled at the purebloods who completely ignored most of the world. There was no magic that could possibly protect against nuclear fallout.

And if there ever would be, it would require a rare muggleborn with a startling intellect and drive for research because the magical world was happy with everything old and unchanging. Innovation was so foreign that he doubted if most British wizards even knew what the word meant.

The East and West also went to war, but thankfully they never did break out any of those bombs again after the devastation they wrought in Japan. That was little comfort to places like Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and probably so many others that he had forgotten.

But the magical world wasn't any better. Great Britain's old prejudices and stupidity stayed strong for decades until Tom Riddle led a band of terrorists who nearly succeeded in taking over the country. There had been no great reforms or improvements, instead much of the old guard tried to crush everyone under their boots yet again.

And when the Potter miracle happened, everyone buried their heads in the sand and did the exact same thing. The Imperius defense and untold amounts of gold changing hands made sure that the country remained in the same quagmire of incompetence and corruption.

It was good for business, but bad for his sanity and blood pressure.

Then he became the solicitor for Harry Potter, the boy who lived himself. He was a good lad, not a bad head on his shoulders, but even better, he knew how to listen to advice from those smarter than him. His girlfriend for one- Pansy was quite devious. Sam as well; he had been hired for his knowledge as much as purely for his services.

But it was those services that brought him back to Hogwarts for the first time in a couple of years that September. The fact that his client was such a big name and the target of his ire was the minister's undersecretary both contributed to the woman walking along beside him towards the castle.

He had known Amelia Bones for more than twenty years. Ever since she had been a rookie auror back during the worst of things in the seventies. He'd had to defend her after one 'upstanding citizen' with pureblood, bigoted beliefs, and enough gold to cause problems claimed she had harassed him.

The supposed harassment involved stopping an attack against muggles.

The fact that bullshit like that was allowed to actually play out in front of the Wizengamot told him exactly why the ministry nearly fell to a few dozen violent idiots. Oh, Riddle was certainly dangerous enough on his own, but he was the exception to the rule. Most of the Death Eaters were nothing more than brutes who had learned the Unforgivables and then used them every chance they could get.

However, it was the underlying failing society that let them go unchecked for too long that was the biggest factor.

At least Amelia was the head of the DMLE now. She was an old ally, even though she was buried in the bureaucracy with all the fools in the ministry. Things could have been worse if there weren't at least a few people like her still fighting the government from within.

"If we can get this over with quickly, it would be nice to visit with my niece for awhile," she said as they approached the main doors to the castle.

"With any luck, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you really think that will be the case?"

"Unfortunately not," Sam admitted with a sigh. "Harry's luck tends towards the outrageous, one extreme or the other. The fact that both of us are on the way to try to reign Umbridge in suggests to me that this will more likely be a huge mess."

"I wish I knew what she had on Fudge so I could throw her useless arse in Azkaban. Delores is a nightmare." Amelia frowned and continued on. "For all his faults, Cornelius is more of a fool than an actual monster. The same cannot be said for her."

"After the trial for miss Granger, I have to agree. That's also why I have a bad feeling about this." The doors swung open, with Filch waiting to take them inside. "After you, my dear."

"Going to use me for cover, Sam? I'll remember that," Amelia teased.

"I merely thought it would be more appropriate, since you are in charge after all."

"Sure," she droned in response. "Let's get this over with."

The volume of the students eating and chatting over their evening meal was impressive as they entered the Great Hall. It made the sudden drop even more noticeable as much of the crowd turned to stare at the two intruding adults. More than a few of them likely recognized Amelia, and at least a handful likely knew who he was as well.

Dumbledore stood as they approached the head table. "Amelia, Mr. McKenzie, to what do we owe this visit?"

"Official business, Dumbledore. I see Delores Umbridge is not here. Did she leave dinner early?"

"I admit I have not seen her yet this evening." Dumbledore stroked his beard as he thought. "In fact, I don't believe I have seen her at all today. Minerva, do you recall Delores joining us today?"

"No, Albus." McGonagall let just the hint of a smile show. "I think we were all just appreciating the break from her and that awful clipboard. You may wish to check with professor Watts though. She has had an unseemly obsession with his class in particular."

"Why am I not surprised?" Amelia frowned. Sam followed her as she headed to one end of the table where her former colleague sat next to a younger female professor that she did not recognize. "Gordon, I trust you are enjoying your time here?"

"Amelia, good to see you again," he replied as he wiped his hands and reached across the table to shake hands with his former boss. "It hasn't been nearly as much trouble as Alastor led me to believe it would be, actually. Then again, I might just have more patience with teenagers than he did."

"That wouldn't surprise me. By any chance have you seen Delores today?"

"No, and let me tell you what a pleasure that has been. Fudge's minion has been hounding me in at least a third of my classes."

"I see. Can you tell me where her office is then?"

"I'll do better- I'll walk you there."

"I don't want to interrupt."

"Don't worry about it, Amelia. I was almost done anyway, and I must admit to being curious about what brings you here."

"I'd rather not say anything at the moment," she replied.

Gordon Watts nodded and stood, striding around the table. "Shall we be on our way then?"

They were out of the Great Hall before Amelia introduced Sam to Watts, although he had heard of the former auror through the letter that Pansy had sent. Officially, it had been Harry's case, but the handwriting was hers, and the idea almost certainly came from the girl as well.

Amelia mentioned Umbridge's harassment of the Potter family, specifically the muggleborn under Harry's protection, and the teacher concurred that she had been paying close attention to Harry and his associates from what he had seen. Watts snorted when he said he was not at all surprised that Umbridge was picking on a muggleborn. He knew exactly the type of witch she was.

Sam nodded, knowing far too well where Umbridge's sympathies lay. When your own mother was a muggle, you paid a lot of attention to those who sneered at everything from the non-magical world. You also had to remember every face that had ever muttered about mudbloods.

And Sam had a long memory.

He paid no care to the rest of the conversation as the two former aurors chatted along the way to Umbridge's office. He was torn between hoping the woman wouldn't cause too much more of a headache for his client and a smaller part of him that hoped to be drawn into battle with the nasty witch. She was the type that he would have been thrilled to bring to court.

They reached her office on the second floor a few minutes later. Amelia knocked twice, but with no response, she announced herself and opened the door, finding it locked with only a simple charm.

Sam should have known better than to disclose his suspicion to Amelia earlier. Delores Umbridge had hanged herself.

Interesting times, indeed.

* * *

The next day was the busiest of the week for Harry and Pansy, so they missed any gossip about the missing witch from the ministry. By the time Astronomy was done, they were both so tired that they barely were able to change and climb into bed before falling fast asleep.

Thursday morning they slept in and had a late breakfast prepared by Dobby since they had a free period first thing to help make up for the previous late night.

By the time they got to lunch, they were aware of the rumors. That morning's paper had announced the suicide of Delores Umbridge, apparently driven to it by stress from being around teenagers, as the witch's note was said to have mentioned how much she hated children.

Harry had to stifle a grin when Hermione showed him the story. He wondered who had leaked that to the Daily Prophet. It wasn't the only thing she had admitted, but it was a nice touch from whoever wrote it as it pointed to questions about why she, of all people, had been sent to evaluate Hogwarts. Harry didn't recognize the name of the reporter, but it was obvious that Rita Skeeter hadn't been the only muckraker on the payroll.

It was just the sort of thing to get the readers' attention, especially those with children. This was another lapse on the ministry's part, and after the near tragedy of the dementors swarming a quidditch match, there were a lot of people that were ready to see heads roll.

Fudge, of course, doubled down on the idiocy. He claimed to have no idea why Umbridge had gone off the deep end (which admittedly was true), and he certainly had no knowledge of her dislike of children.

If the buffoon didn't know what the wicked witch was really like, with her bigotry so very apparent, then he was a fool.

Hermione was more than slightly put off by Harry's callous disregard of her death. He didn't try to say or do anything more though. It was all still too fresh of a wound.

A letter from Sam informed him that Umbridge's time of death was revealed to be Tuesday morning around dawn and that their charges of harassment against her were set aside due to the fact that she was already dead by the time he had gone to the ministry later that day.

Once the week's classes were over, Harry was ready for a nice, relaxing weekend.

* * *

Instead, he was once again meeting with several students after dinner, planning a smaller group that he could work on with spells that Saturday afternoon. He hoped that Angelina wouldn't run him too ragged at practice in the morning. Becoming captain of the team had made her much more intense.

Sadly, it sort of made him nostalgic for the lack of quidditch the year before.

His arms and shoulders were getting plenty of work outs though, as he had been pushed into helping out as a chaser more often than not lately. Ron was inconsistent as their keeper, which meant the team was usually focused on helping him improve, one way or the other.

Harry felt a little sorry for his old friend.

But that was a worry for the next day. That evening, he laid out his ideas for the people he was hoping would work with him on teaching the younger years that had been interested. He started with a list of spells that he thought should be taught as soon as possible instead of waiting for whenever they might be covered in official lessons. The shield charm was an obvious one, and not something that he expected anyone to know before fourth year- not unless they were paranoid bastards like he had been.

But he and Moody were obvious exceptions to the rule as far as that sort of thing went.

The fact that there were multiple people from all four houses was not something of note to Harry, but a few of them cast knowing glances at each other. He just got to the point though.

Hannah's cousin Chloe, Slytherin's seventh year prefect, had come along with Hestia, Flora, and Daphne. Susan, Hannah, and Ernie had all come together from Hufflepuff, and he had to assume that Parvati had talked to her sister, since both Patils and Anthony Goldstein were there as well.

Hermione was the only other Gryffindor in attendance.

The general plan seemed sound enough. Harry would join each group for the first lesson or two, just to make sure the house leaders would have a bit more authority, but he made it clear that he was only going to be there to observe and possibly help with demonstrations.

This would likely keep him busy every night for the next week.

Unfortunately, it was Gryffindor that he worried about the most. He knew the younger students would expect him to be their teacher, but he just didn't have the time. His only other option being Hermione made things even more nerve wracking. Who knew how long that would last- and then who would he turn to?

* * *

"Dobby!"

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"I need you to turn that desk into a bean bag couch again, like when we were on the train last year. Remember?"

"Dobby remembers."

A wave of the elf's fingers left a very large squishy place for Harry to collapse, which he did immediately. Three hours of quidditch, a brief respite for lunch, and then another three and a half hours casting spells, with a bit of impromptu dueling thrown in- Harry was utterly spent.

They had waited until almost everyone had left the room though. It was just Pansy and Luna with him.

Hermione had a lot of studying to do, so she was actually one of the first to leave. She had mentioned it to him earlier, so he knew that she was likely already gathering books in the library. It made things easier, sort of, but it still gave him a little twinge inside.

"Are you going to be alright, Harry?"

"I just need to rest, Luna."

"That's not what I meant." He reluctantly rolled over to look at her and he couldn't help but notice the concern in her eyes. "Something has been bothering you for several days. I just want to know if there's anything I can do to help."

"I... I don't think we can talk about it here."

"We'd need more privacy to get into everything, sweetie," Pansy added.

"Ah, I see. Well, why don't we just do that? Pop up to your quarters and you can tell Aunty Luna all about it."

"You won't be Aunty Luna for a few years yet," Pansy replied with a grin.

"Maybe not, but I can always start practicing now. Besides, you both look like you could use a chance to relax."

"You're right," Harry admitted. "Dobby, we'll need your help getting Luna into our quarters without people gossiping."

"You know that I don't actually mind any of that gossip, right Harry?"

"Better safe than sorry."

"That's fine with me then. Oh, but Dobby, can you also bring this?" she asked, pointing down to his transfigured bean bag couch. "I love laying on squishy things."

"Of course, miss Luna."

"Wonderful."

Harry got up and one pop later, both Luna and her squishy thing disappeared. Dobby returned and took Pansy before taking Harry last.

When he arrived, he saw that Luna was arranging herself, with a pillow propping her head up but otherwise leaving plenty of room on both sides. She patted her lap and waved them over.

"Now you both can come lay down and tell Aunty Luna all your problems."

Harry fell face first into her lap, which made both girls giggle at him. He figured that if they were going to tease him anyway, he might as well give them a good reason to. Plus, he was still wiped out from everything he'd done that day.

"My, my, someone was anxious," Luna chided him. Pansy snorted and settled down much more gracefully, curled up beside her best friend, and the two of them started to run their fingers through Harry's hair.

"You're lucky you have nice hair."

"Thanks Luna."

"That's why we like to play with it. I think I need you to do me next though."

"Huh?"

"Pansy says you'll play with her hair too and that it feels wonderful. So, once you feel better, all relaxed and reinvigorated, then you can do mine. It's been years since I had my mum around to do my hair, you know?"

"I'll have Dobby grab my brush," Pansy said. "We'll have him brush it for you too."

"Even when I'm exhausted, you two are still planning things to keep me busy."

"Oh, poor Harry," Luna teased. "Now then, what has been bothering you this week?"

"It's a long story. And not a very fun one either. I just-" Harry closed his eyes and moaned as the girls hands were turning him into mush through the top of his head. "I don't even want to talk about it right now. Why don't you tell me a story instead?"

"That would be good practice for future Aunty Luna time," Pansy suggested.

"Okay. Let me think of a good one." She hummed for a moment and Harry had to force himself to stay awake. Luna's lap was soft and he could really go for a nap right about then. "I've got it.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Allavalleyasarastiae-"

"Alla what?" Pansy asked.

"Allavalleyasarastiae. Her mum picked it based on a dream she had. Her father could never remember how to spell it though, so he just called her princess. And he was a push over for his little princess- he doted on her and spoiled her, so it was fitting.

"Anyway, when she was young, she began to learn magic from her grandmother, who was part fey. Her gran's magic was strong, but it was largely based in types of trickery. She could do all sorts of glamours, she could turn people invisible, and she could charm the pants off a nun. She could enchant all manner of beasts and even the most strong willed men were putty in her hands.

"Unfortunately, the girl wasn't nearly as inclined to the ways of a trickster, so she didn't particularly enjoy the magic she learned. She wanted to learn how to fight, so that she could have adventures. The reason for this was the son of her neighbors, a young man who had been learning the ways of combat so that he could someday become a knight. He had worked hard, and his family had helped to save up enough money to buy him a fine set of armor and weaponry.

"Allavalleyasarastiae would watch him as he rode his horse or swung his sword, always practicing. Eventually, the day came when he was called away to fight. There was a nearby village that was under attack from a band of orcs.

"She had no horse to ride, and no weapons to use, but she wanted to follow the young man she fancied, so she called a griffin from the sky and charmed it into flying after him. She turned them invisible, and it was lucky that she did because otherwise an archer would have likely shot at her trusty mount, for most men feared griffins. There were several men with bows trying to keep the orcs at bay, and she saw where her young man had fought into the middle of the brigands, slashing several of them down.

"But as she drew closer, she saw something terrible occur- the one she fancied was felled by a blow to the back of the head, and the orcs dragged him away with several other captives."

"I'm not sure I like this story, Luna," Pansy muttered.

"Hold on, I haven't gotten to the good part yet," Luna insisted. "Right, so, Allavalleyasarastiae flew after the monsters, hoping and praying that the young man was still alive. She followed them to a cave where they made their lair. The captives were placed into cages and the orcs began to sort the treasures they had gathered. She crept into the cave and saw that one of the beasts looked more human than the others, just as strong, but with less monstrous features. The leader of the group had him sent over to speak with their captives, and as she watched, she learned that this one was gathering information so that he could go back to the village and demand a ransom if the folk wanted their friends and family returned to them.

"Once he had finished his task, this single orc slung a pack over his shoulder, picked up his sword, and set out back towards the village. She followed after him, and since it was already after night fall, she hoped to catch him unaware. But then she saw a curious thing. As he stopped halfway to the village, he took a kitten out of his pack, and the orc sat down and played with the kitten for several minutes.

"Allavalleyasarastiae was confused."

"So am I," Harry interjected.

"Hush you," Pansy rejoined him.

"Sorry."

"So she watched and watched and decided that this time was as good as any. She sneaked up behind him and cast a spell over the orc. Then she demanded that he obey her. When he turned to face Allavalleyasarastiae, the orc was overcome by her beauty and majesty.

"Part of that was due to the charm she had used against him, obviously, but part of it was also due to the fact that she was a total hottie. Long slender legs, nice round boobies, and a tight little arse you could bounce a galleon off of. The orc man fell instantaneously head over heels in love with her.

"And he was an orc man, for his mother had been a human woman enslaved by his orc tribe many years ago. Hence his less bestial features. He introduced himself to his brand new goddess as Vokk, the most hardy and cunning member of the tribe of Nagruda. He swore to serve her and worship her for the rest of his life."

"It's definitely getting more interesting," Pansy said.

"Yeah, I didn't see that coming," Harry agreed.

"The tale will take longer if you two keep interrupting me."

"Yeah, but this is more like the real Aunty Luna experience. You've got to imagine our kids will ask all sorts of questions at some point, breaking up the flow of the story. This way is better practice," Pansy insisted.

"That makes sense. Alright, so where was I? Oh yes, Vokk had just introduced himself. Allavalleyasarastiae looked him over and wondered what she should do with her new henchman. She asked him about the kitten, and Vokk told her that he had found it in a recent raid and that he wanted to keep it safe from the rest of the orcs because they would almost definitely try to eat it. He thought it was cute though, and he had always wanted a pet ever since his mum had told him about the cat that she'd had when she was a girl.

"By this point, she had decided what to do. She had Vokk lead the way back to the cave. It was now late, late at night, and only a half moon overhead gave them any light. Allavalleyasarastiae told Vokk that she wanted him to sneak inside and kill all the other orcs so that they could free the humans. He said he would try, but he warned his goddess that he might not succeed in getting them all before one awoke and alarmed the others. That gave her pause, but she saw his sincerity, so she cloaked him in invisibility and told him that she would be most pleased if he were triumphant.

"His voice whispered that he would not fail her, and so she hid nearby and waited. Several long minutes passed before Vokk returned. He had numerous splashes of blood on his face, arms, and clothes, and his sword was still dripping, covered in red. She stepped forward and he knelt down before her, proclaiming that he was finished.

"At first, she thought to have him lead the way to the hostages, but freeing them when he was so covered in the obvious signs of battle would likely startle them. Thankfully, there was a stream very close by- in fact, it's proximity was largely why the orcs had chosen that cave. Allavalleyasarastiae was also intrigued by the fact that Vokk knew the word proximity, as most of the orcs she had seen were brutes with very limited intellects. The most cunning of his tribe, indeed.

"They walked to the stream, and she had him bathe there. He happily obeyed his goddess, stripping down and cleansing himself as well as wiping down his blade and then trying to soak the blood from his studded leather tunic. Vokk had no sense of embarrassment, and Allavalleyasarastiae soon saw exactly why he had nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, he was blessed with a very large bulge in his trousers, and when he was fully revealed, she had to stop herself from drooling."

"I think we're getting to the good part," Pansy snorted.

"Pretty close," Luna confirmed. "She took this as a sign that maybe this was why she had been drawn there. Not to find adventure, but to find this hunky minion that would do her bidding and then share her bedding. True, he had an under-bite with two jutting teeth that were more like tusks than canines, and his orange eyes were unusual, but he had arms rippling with muscles that she could imagine carrying her... and did I mention the great big-"

"Uh, yeah, you did, Luna," Harry cut her off. His pillow was starting to squirm a bit, so he hoped Luna wouldn't turn this into something X rated while he was trying to rest. He should have known her story would take a bizarre turn or two before she was done.

"Right, so she told Vokk that she was pleased, but they were both quite tired, so they gathered his wet things and returned to the cave. As much as she might have wanted to see just how willing to please her he would be in bed, they both needed to sleep, so they found their way through the darkness to the place where he usually slept. It wasn't so much a bed as a pile of straw with some scattered cloth and leather to make the ground soft enough for slumber.

"Her father would have been shocked to see his princess lay down in such a place, but Vokk stretched out and she used him as a pillow. She dozed off and had several hours of surprisingly nice rest. As well as a couple of very lurid dreams."

"Of course she did," Pansy snorted.

"However, dawn came and eventually the captive villagers awoke and started screaming. She got up and Vokk put his now dry studded leather back on and they strode through the cave towards the other humans. Allavalleyasarastiae saw why they were so startled- Vokk had slaughtered at least twenty orcs and there were pools of blood and corpses everywhere. But that just made her more proud. That her magic was strong and she had chosen a minion with the willpower and the skills necessary to really get the job done.

"She used her powers to calm the villagers and eventually lead them back home safely. The young man that she had been so obsessed with had survived, but likely due to the head wound, he was never quite the same- more prone to violence and rash behavior, and within six months he rode off into the sunset when the kingdom went to war over a petty border squabble.

"Allavalleyasarastiae was disappointed in him, but she had found a new purpose.

"Her parents were horrified when she returned home with a half-orc barbarian follower. Her father, of course, wanted someone much better for his little princess. Her mother just thought he was a vile beast. Her gran understood, though. She confided that she'd had a burly dwarf as a lover for a few years in her youth, and even though she learned to love his beard, he came to her one night too drunk to get it up. And that was a deal breaker.

"So Allavalleyasarastiae and Vokk took to roaming the land. Between his skill with violence and her skill with enchantments, illusions, and the like, they solved many problems, saved many lives, and were rewarded with great treasures.

"But in the end, what was more important to her were the nights when she rode him till dawn, or alternatively, when he bent her over and called her his filthy little bitch in heat. You see, Allavalleyasarastiae loved dirty talk almost as much as she loved his great big fat cock."

Harry muttered and closed his eyes. He was trying to let up on his protectiveness of Luna, but hearing her talk about sex was still uncomfortable.

"Luna, sweetie, does your middle name happen to be Allavalleya... whatever?" Pansy wondered. "And also, how do you keep that straight? It's got to be like thirty letters long and nine syllables or something."

"It's Allavalleyasarastiae. Only twenty letters but you were right about it being nine syllables," she replied with a grin. "Oh, and no, my middle name is actually Phoebe."

"Phoebe? That doesn't seem... I don't know, Luna-enough-ish to me," Harry said.

"Phoebe was one of the Titans of Greece. She was Zeus' aunt. She had two daughters, although her grandchildren were more famous- Apollo, Artemis, and Hecate. My family has long had a preference for names from the Ancient Greeks and Romans."

"Okay, that does sound more like you then. I didn't know that Phoebe was a Greek name."

"You never know when you might learn something new. Maybe Hogwarts is rubbing off on us in a good way. She might be mad at me for not doing my Potions homework yet though. I'll have to get on that tonight before bed."

"Hogwarts is a girl?"

"Of course she is, Harry. You don't think this magnificent castle could be a boy, do you?"

"I don't know. I mean, I know sailors tend to think of ships as feminine, but I've never really imagined a castle that way."

"It does have all those towers," Pansy offered. "You'd think with all those phallic symbols, the castle would be male."

"I still say she's a lovely lady," Luna pouted. While Pansy snorted at her, Harry just lay there and tried to relax. He did wonder about why that particular strange tale had come to mind though.

"Luna, what was the point of that story?"

"Harry, not everything has to have a point."

"Oh."

"It had magic, and sex, and violence. What more do you need?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"And it got your mind off of things, right?"

"That's definitely true. Thanks, Luna."

"You're welcome." She wiggled a little bit, obviously trying to get more comfy and sighing when it didn't work. "Now, why don't the two of you go blow each other's minds while I take a little nap? From what I've heard (and dreamt about), oral sex makes everything much, much better. Wake me up when it's time for dinner."

"If you insist," Pansy drawled, pulling Harry to his feet. "Come on Vokk, this princess needs her every whim and desire catered to by her faithful worshipper."

"And I do love worshipping you."

As they hurried for their bedroom, Luna yawned, rolled over and smiled to herself. "Those two are so cute."

She drifted off to sleep to the sounds of Pansy moaning.

* * *

More than an hour later, Harry and Pansy emerged from their room, one type of hunger satiated, but another ready for food. They were cleaned up and dressed again, and they found Luna still asleep on the bean bag couch, sucking on her thumb. It was adorable. Harry wished he had a camera.

Pansy leaned down over her and gently shook her. "Luna, sweetie, time to wake up."

When she saw them glancing at the thumb in her mouth, Luna gave them her sternest glare. That too was adorable in Harry's opinion.

"Well, I didn't have anything else I could suck on, now did I?"

That broke the dam and they all cracked up.

Several minutes later, Luna borrowed Harry's cloak so she could sneak out of their quarters. Pansy stopped at a restroom along the way to the Great Hall so that Luna could come out and it was several minutes later when their giggles made Harry bang on the door.

"Girl talk can wait, I'm hungry!"

* * *

Sunday morning the Slytherin quidditch team had practice. Since that was most of the likely candidates for awful male behavior, or at least, the most worrisome ones, Chloe Abbot and Daphne Greengrass took that opportunity to lead the younger Slytherin girls down a hall into a classroom where Harry and Pansy were waiting, having moved the empty desks aside.

"I didn't know this many would come."

"I made it mandatory for every girl from first to third year," Chloe responded. "They're too young to remember how bad things were at times when Snape was running things, letting the little bastards run wild, but I do. Listen up, girls! Boys are not to be trusted. Especially the ones related to Death Eaters. Too many of those old families look down on witches and think we're only good for being their play things and giving them heirs. That's why we're here today."

"Is Harry going to teach us how to fight?" Astoria Greengrass asked, turning around and fluttering her eyelashes at him. Pansy contained her growl, but Harry knew she didn't like the girl. She was blonde for one thing, and despite not yet turning fourteen, she had at least an inch of height on his girlfriend.

"No, he's not," Daphne replied, glaring at her sister. "This isn't a game. Chloe and I are going to teach you."

"Then why's he here?"

"Just to support my friends and colleagues," Harry answered. "I will teach them what I can, give them suggestions about what I've seen work, and they, in turn, will teach you." When a few disappointed groans came out, he added. "Sorry ladies, but I just don't have the time to teach everyone that wants to learn this sort of thing."

"Right, now if all of you have had enough time staring at Harry-"

"We haven't," Astoria cut her sister off with glee.

"Too damn bad. Line up and pay attention. We're going to start with disarming spells, making sure every one of you has that perfect. Most wizards are a lot less dangerous without their wands."

"Some of them are useless even then," Pansy muttered to him, and Harry had to nod in agreement.

"Once Chloe and I are sure that you've got that down, it will be time to work on your shield spells. I know that none of you have learned that in class yet, but it's simply too useful to wait for you all to reach fourth year. Especially since some people tend to start disagreements in the hallways. You never know when some wanker from Gryffindor will be trying to hex someone."

"It's even worse when it's an older Slytherin boy that starts throwing all sorts of nasty curses back at them," Chloe added. "When I was a second year, I was accidentally hit by a curse that gave me boils all over my left arm. I was glad that it didn't hit my face, but I still spent the next day under the tender care of Madam Pomfrey. If you don't want to wind up like that, the shield charm can be incredibly useful.

"Now, let's get to work."

Harry smiled as he watched. If every house worked this well, these classes for the younger years would be a rousing success.

* * *

That final Sunday afternoon in September, Harry led the older students out into the grounds, right to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He was thankful that he knew the Weasley brothers that day, as Fred and George had helped set things up for him.

He wondered how many people realized that there were a couple dozen more bushes, large rocks and whatnot along the path they took.

It was still a large group, but closer to fifty people instead of the hundred plus that had turned out a couple of weeks before. Once they had settled in front of him, Harry began his little speech. He hadn't planned it out, but he knew the point he wanted to get across.

"Welcome everybody. Last time, we had a little refresher course about a few common spells. This time, I've got a different exercise planned." He grinned and wondered how many of them would be cursing his name in a few minutes. He only had Pansy and Luna by his side, but he figured that would be more than enough with surprise on his side.

"Now, first off, if you ever come face to face with one of these so called 'rogue Death Eaters' your goal should be to make sure that you and anyone you're with can escape."

"But what if we want to fight?"

Harry didn't recognize the voice, but he knew someone was bound to ask that question. He had asked Flitwick for help tracking down a spell just for today's little lesson. He noticed Angelina standing in front of a tree and knew that she would be a good target. Plus, it would be a tiny bit of pay back for the hellishly long practices.

"If you _want_ to fight, then you have no idea what a fight is really like."

A line of green light shot out of his wand, right over his quidditch captain's head.

"Harry, what the hell was that?" She asked after ducking the spell.

"I don't think anyone would be dumb enough to question your bravery, Angie. Did you like having that spell flying at you? Was that fun?"

"Of course not."

"And if it had actually been the killing curse, it would have been even less fun." Harry paused to let that sink in. At least half of the faces looking at him were more thoughtful now; it was a start that he could work with. "Raise your hand if you've ever had someone cast the killing curse at you."

He would have been really worried if any hands had joined his. It did seem to get his point across though.

"Trying to survive something like that shouldn't be fun. It should be terrifying. But, when something terrifying happens, you need to be able to keep your head and avoid running into danger. I know some of my fellow Gryffindors might not like that thought." Several chuckles answered that statement. "But, we are all teenagers. Fighting Death Eaters is not our job. If any of you get killed by a Death Eater, then I will have failed in what I was trying to teach you.

"With that said, the one thing I would really like to teach you, I can't."

"What's that, Harry?" Fred asked.

"Apparition. The best way to avoid a fight is to not be there. Otherwise, a portkey could come in handy."

"So, you're going to teach us how to run away?" Dean asked, looking confused and annoyed. "That's not what I expected, Harry."

"Dean, you've got younger sisters, right?"

"Yeah."

"And they're muggles, right?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"So, if Death Eaters decided to attack your family, would you rather get your little sisters to safety or try to fight your way out? Keep in mind that Death Eaters almost always attack when they've got you outnumbered and they won't care a thing about collateral damage."

"I'd protect my sisters."

"I know you would," Harry agreed. "I'm not saying there won't ever be a time when some of you might be forced to fight. But against enemies like that, it's more important to keep the people on your side safe. You win the fight by not having to go to any funerals afterwards. That's one of the lessons Alastor taught me."

"But you said you had to fight at the graveyard," Ron argued. "When are you going to teach us about that?"

"I'm not sure. However, the reason I won that fight was because I had a portkey that let me escape. Not because of any fancy spells or being able to out duel a Death Eater. That was how I survived. That was the important point." Harry looked at a few people nodding. "And that's what we're going to work on today."

He looked over at Pansy and Luna, who spread out at least twenty feet on either side of him.

Only a few of the others seemed to have an idea of what was coming next. He saw Fred and George sliding off to one side, trying to act as nonchalantly as possible. He noticed that one of them had pulled Ginny along with them. At least someone was paying attention.

"Your goal is to make it back to the castle."

He was sad that no one had yet started running. That's what he would have done. Or maybe thrown a spell or two and then started running. Harry raised his wand.

" _Stupefy!_ " rang out from both sides of him, his girls beginning the bombardment. Harry waited for that signal before starting to flick stunners at every target he could as fast as possible. He didn't want to make it too hard on them, but after casting it hundreds of times the year before, he could easily cast it without a sound, merely pointing his wand and watching the other students fall.

There were a few more shouts of _Stupefy_ from some of the others, returning fire on them. Pansy and Luna had already moved towards cover though, so Harry threw up a shield and didn't worry about them. Three spells bounced off of it before he let if fall and started throwing more stunners into the thinning crowd.

Only a couple of people had tried to revive their friends, and Harry wasn't surprised that one of them was Hannah Abbot, getting Ernie back on his feet while Susan shielded them, and then that trio of Hufflepuffs ducked his spells and ran for cover behind a large bush off to his left.

Within another minute or two, there was only the sound of cheering voices from those who had escaped off towards the castle. Harry looked over to his flanks and saw Pansy hurrying over to check on Luna, who was also on the ground.

"Is she alright?"

" _Rennervate!_ She should be. I saw Parvati clip her with a stunner as she helped cover her sister while she ran from one bush to another."

"I'm fine," Luna said as she sat up before getting a big grin on her face. "Actually, I fell kind of hard onto my bum. I might need you to kiss it all better, Harry."

"Maybe Pansy could help you with that instead."

"Even better."

Pansy just snorted and helped Luna to her feet.

"Right. Well, I guess we'd better wake the rest up and have them ready for round two."

"Will there be a round three?" Luna asked.

"There better not be. They won't have the excuse of a surprise this time."

"I could bow out if there aren't too many people left."

"No, Luna. This isn't supposed to be easy. Anyone who needs a round three is someone who would be dead. They'll have to be better prepared next time."

"This was fun," she smiled as they looked over at the fifteen or so students who hadn't passed the first test. "I never thought I'd be playing the role of a Death Eater on the attack. I'm glad I didn't have to wear the uniform though."

"I think that would have been taking things a step too far. Plus, it might have spooked someone into throwing something more lethal at you."

"And Pansy looks better in black than I do."

"She does look outstanding in black," Harry nodded. He took a moment to look over his girlfriend, her hair a bit of a mess, her skin gleaming with sweat. Sweaty Pansy always made him think of fun times in the bedroom- and other places too.

"Harry, focus! I know what you're thinking, but we'll have time enough for that later." Pansy shook her head as Harry continued to leer at her and turned to Luna, who fired a stinging hex at him.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Harry," Luna said, her dreamy smile at odds with her apologetic words. "You have to finish round two before you can go ravish Pansy in the shower."

"We will have more than an hour before dinner time," his girlfriend added with a wink.

"That might not be enough."

"Then you'd better hurry and get these others up so we can be done with today's lesson."

"Right, good idea."

They went to work waking all the downed students and helping them back to their feet. Katie Bell blushed, being the only one of his teammates that hadn't managed to get away. Neville was near her, one of the first people that had gone down in the opening flurry. The only other person Harry knew very well was Colin Creevey, the starry eyed fanboy. It wasn't too surprising that Colin had been caught off guard.

Harry was pleased to see that every single girl from Slytherin had made it back to the castle. Only three Hufflepuffs were left. There were about half a dozen each from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw that hadn't escaped.

"That wasn't very fair, Harry," Colin said as they stood in front of him.

"I know. But you shouldn't expect for someone who is attacking you to fight fair. Death Eaters won't wait for you to tell them that you're ready. That was kind of the point. Now, who's ready for round two?"

He was pleased as the group spread out, already rushing for cover. Harry smiled at Pansy and Luna, and the trio raised their wands in unison.

" _Stupefy!_ "


	73. Preparing for the Worst Still to Come

* * *

October began with a trip to Hogsmeade on a warm, sunny day. The mood around the castle had been seemingly just as pleasant as the weather, although Harry was still concerned that he had felt distant from Hermione ever since things with Umbridge came to a head. From what he could tell, she hadn't noticed anything off- but remembering that he'd had to obliviate her of what had actually happened was like a thorn that just wouldn't come out. And every time she talked to him, it was picking at that wound.

Pansy and Luna were doing their best to keep him distracted from his angst though.

They'd dropped Hermione off at the bookstore and were currently browsing through the aisles of Honeydukes.

"Luna, sweetie, I am not lending you any money just to watch you try to make yourself sick while eating a dozen different types of chocolate," Pansy insisted. "That would be a waste of good chocolate."

"What about Bertie Botts' Beans then? I could get a whole bunch of them and melt them down in a cauldron, then let it all cool into one giant ball of mush and see if all the flavors would still be discernible."

"What would be the point of that?"

"For science!"

"Harry, help me out here," Pansy requested. "Harry?"

"Huh?"

"What were you looking at?" She came around to where he was watching out the window.

"I think I saw Warrington and a couple of others following Flora and Hestia. I've got a bad feeling about it."

"Fuck," she muttered. "Luna, let's go."

Harry was already heading for the door.

* * *

"What are two pretty girls like you doing heading for the Shrieking Shack? Maybe you'd like someone to help you do a little shrieking of your own?" Cassius Warrington thought he was being clever, and his gang laughed while they leered at the Carrow twins.

"Just trying to make sure there wouldn't be any innocent bystanders," Flora remarked before she and her sister both raised their wands. "We wouldn't want anyone to get accidentally cursed while we have to deal with scum like you."

"We've got you outnumbered five to two. You think you're precious Potter can save you by teaching simple things like how to disarm or stun? Your parents would be ashamed by how weak that boy is- and disgusted by the way the two of you cozy up to him."

"Our parents were stupid, evil bastards, just like you," Flora sneered. "And better Harry than that inhuman freak you can't wait to grovel before."

"Big words, little girl. But Potter isn't here to save you now."

Warrington clearly was paying more attention to the hostile twin, as he didn't notice the look of relief that came over Hestia's face.

Three cries of _Stupefy_ led to three thuds as the Carrows were no longer outnumbered.

"It looks like you're the one who's outnumbered now, scumbag." Pansy's wand was pointed right at his face when he turned around. "Open your mouth again and give me a reason to take your head off."

"Cassius, let's go," Montague said, keeping his hands up as at least one of them was not spoiling for a fight.

"Good idea." Harry had his wand trained on the more belligerent one as he flanked towards the right, Luna and Pansy sliding in the other direction.

"Come on," Montague pulled on his friend, trying to drag him away.

"This isn't over ladies."

They were finally moving off, and Harry snorted at the fact that they left their three supposed friends behind, stunned and helpless.

"Some people just have to get the last word in." Luna shook her head. "They must be so insecure."

"Are you alright?" Pansy asked.

"Yes. Much better now," Hestia replied. Her skin was flushed, and when Harry turned to her, he recognized the adrenaline leaving her as the wand in her hand shook.

"I hate that fucking bastard," Flora growled.

"He was right though," Harry sighed. "This isn't over."

"Not by a long shot," Flora agreed.

"We've been avoiding the common room lately," Hestia added. "Their group is always there, glaring at everyone, trying to intimidate the younger years."

"And leering at all the girls."

"I'm not surprised," Pansy said. "What are we going to do?"

"Meeting tonight," Harry answered. "After dinner. Tell the other Slytherin girls that are interested."

"What about everyone else?" Luna asked.

"We'll have to make them realize exactly what learning to fight really means."

"How?"

"I'll figure something out."

"Alright." Flora aimed her wand at the three still stunned and on the ground. She cast a spell at each of them. "Let's go."

"Do I want to know?" Harry asked.

"Incontinence hex," Flora smirked. "We don't want to stick around for the smell."

* * *

They were finishing up lunch at the Three Broomsticks when a shadow loomed over Harry's shoulder.

"Pansy."

"Millie, darling. How are you?"

"We need to talk. Outside. Bring your boy toy if you want."

Millicent Bulstrode headed for the door without saying anything more, and Pansy started to get up.

"Come on, boy toy."

"I never thought I would be called that."

"Are you saying it isn't true?" Pansy winked at Luna, who laughed at the two of them.

"Don't take too long. I'll get us a round of butterbeers."

Pansy grabbed his hand and they hurried outside. Bulstrode was waiting at the entrance to an alleyway nearby, which she motioned to with a nod of her head. They followed her into the shade.

"Privacy?" she asked Pansy, who pulled out her wand and began casting. "You always were better at those than me."

"Subtlety is important."

"Yeah, but sometimes a more blunt way to go gets better results. I take it you're doing well with him?"

"Of course. He's wrapped around my little finger."

"If you say so." She turned to look at Harry, clearly sizing him up. "I talked to the Carrows. You really think you can prepare them?"

"I think I can try, which is more than most people will do."

"Fair enough."

"Are you coming?" Pansy asked.

"If there's one girl in Slytherin who doesn't need help learning to fight, it's me. You should know that."

"Yeah, I just-"

"Not even Crabbe is hard up enough to go after me anyway."

"Millie-"

"Save it, Pansy. We aren't here to catch up. Besides, someone needs to stick around to keep an eye on the younger girls, right?"

"That would be a good idea," Harry interjected. He noticed the tension between the two girls, and though he didn't particularly understand it, he didn't want anything else to go wrong today. "If you're not interested in joining us, then what did you want to talk about?"

"Some advice for you, Potter."

"Okay."

"Not everyone has the same skills. Don't try to teach everyone the same way. Flora's fast with her wand and skilled at hexes. Hestia, much less so. They'll need to play to their strengths. Take me for example. I know a bunch of spells designed to put people down in a fight, and if I lose my wand, I'm still bigger and stronger than all the girls- and a fair amount of the boys too. If you weren't so fast, I would have had you in that little display a few weeks ago."

"I know," Harry admitted. "You've got the instincts for a fighter too."

"A lot of people won't, even if they think they want to learn."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too."

"Good. Then I guess you'll do alright." She nodded at him and turned to leave.

"Hey, um..."

"What?" Bulstrode asked.

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

Once they were alone, Pansy sighed.

"You okay?" Harry asked.

"I guess so. I didn't realize how much Millie might have missed me."

"She missed you?"

"I think so," Pansy shrugged. "We weren't exactly friends, but we used to spend a fair amount of time together."

"The two of you don't really seem like-"

"Like I said, we weren't really friends. But when you're a bitch and one of the smallest girls around, it's good to have someone like Millie on your side. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it." Harry chuckled. "I never really thought I would be talking to her of all people about teaching others how to protect themselves. A few years ago, I would have figured that she would be the type that I would be worried about attacking me."

The two walked back towards the tavern where they ran into Hermione by the door.

"Did I see the two of you talking to Millicent Bulstrode?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Please don't tell me she's going to be part of this group."

"What do you have against Millie, Granger?" Pansy sneered.

"The last time the two of us were in something like that, the dueling club meeting in second year, she put me in a head lock."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Pansy laughed.

"It's not funny," Hermione argued.

"You were a horrible know it all and suck up, Granger." Pansy chuckled again. "It was hilarious to a lot of the rest of us."

"Anyway, Hermione, we're going to have a meeting tonight after dinner. You can spread the word to those who think they want to learn how to fight. But tell them that it won't be all fun and games. That's not why I'm doing this."

"What's the matter?" Hermione wondered. "Did I miss something today?"

"It's a long story, and I don't have the time to get into it right now." Harry looked at her feeling a bit miffed at him, and despite wanting to still be around her, he felt wrong in doing so. However, giving her the cold shoulder wouldn't be right either, and it would only raise more questions for his eternally nosy friend. He was stuck. "Look, could you do me a favor and tell Susan? I know she's been one of the more keen for that sort of thing. I've got some planning I need to do."

"Alright. Do you need any help?"

"If you can pass the word, that should be enough. Thanks, Hermione."

"You're welcome."

Pansy waited for Granger to enter the tavern and pulled Harry to the side for a moment.

"So, now what?"

"Now, we have our butterbeers with Luna then slip out and get somewhere private."

"With Luna?"

"Yes. I'll need her help."

"Why?"

"Yours too, but not here," Harry muttered. Pansy looked at him questioningly but nodded and took his hand, leading the way back inside.

"I have our drinks," Luna said as they returned to the table they'd been sharing with her. "Is something wrong?"

"We've got something to do tonight," Pansy responded. "Harry's going to need your help, and we both should probably help him plan so that he doesn't overlook anything. He has been known for being rather impulsive at times."

"Don't worry, Harry." Luna patted his hand as she slid the mug of butterbeer over to him. "You've got three smart, beautiful girls looking after you. Everything will be alright."

"Three?" Pansy asked.

"You aren't forgetting Hedwig, are you?" Luna smiled. "I won't say a word, but you might want to give her some extra something at breakfast. Just in case. You know what they say- the wind has ears, and the owls are not what they seem."

* * *

That night after dinner, Harry led a group up to a classroom that he had last been in during his third year. Lupin had used one of the larger rooms for his practical lessons about some magical creatures, and that extra space would likely be necessary. It seemed that almost everyone from the last meeting was still interested.

He knew that they would have a variety of reasons for being here, but he was mostly concerned about the group of girls in green who were off to one side standing together. There were about a dozen of them, and while he only knew half their names, he trusted Hestia and Flora to have brought those who needed his help.

By the time everyone had filed in and the door was closed, it looked like there were still roughly fifty people interested. He had hoped for a smaller group. Maybe tonight would help thin them out a bit. He was worried about the large amount of Gryffindors. Despite it being his own house, he was still worried that too many would be excited by the thought of rushing blindly into danger.

It was one of his greatest flaws, as Pansy had drilled into his head over the years.

He didn't want to see any of his friends and classmates going looking for trouble. That's why he had things planned for tonight. One part he had thought of more than a week ago, but his demonstration idea had just come to him that afternoon- and it was why he specifically needed Luna's help.

Hopefully, the healing spells Pansy had been going over would be enough.

Dobby, of course, was also an enormous help. As always.

The elf was invisible at the back of the room, watching over the hemmed in pen full of pigs. Despite his occasional issues with McGonagall, she definitely knew her magic, and she had taught him the spell he had required.

He chuckled at thinking about how much the elves would enjoy having to clean up by the time they were done tonight.

"Alright, everyone," Harry said, waiting a moment for the din to die down. "Welcome. I know many of you are interested in learning how to fight. Not just how to escape, but how to properly defend yourselves and others if it should be necessary for you to do so.

"And I want to stress that while this is something useful to know if you need it, but I don't want to hear any of the things that I might teach being used by foolish people running off to fight Death Eaters and getting themselves killed. As a Gryffindor, that's the type of thing that some of us might be inclined to do." Harry paused for the laughs. "I don't know these things because I _want to_ but because I've needed to with all the dangerous crap that keeps happening in my life. Death Eaters are not something that any of us should actively seek out. We are teenagers- and teenagers should not be trying to fight people like that.

"Remember professor Moody last year? Do any of you want to know what it feels like to lose an eye or a limb? Because I could always ask if he could come give a lecture about the type of pain required for a curse to actually do enough damage that magic couldn't heal an injury." He noticed the looks that told him some of them were becoming slightly less keen, which made him somewhat relieved. It was time to press that a bit more. "I think we'll start with a little demonstration.

"Luna, step forward please."

She came out several feet in front of the rest of the students. Harry stood in front of a couple of desks on one side of the room. He realized, not for the first time, that he probably was a little crazy.

This was going to hurt.

"Ready when you are."

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

Harry had barely raised his wand; it went flying behind him.

" _Diffindo!_ "

The impact from the first spell helped to spin him a bit, and he used that moment to throw his left arm up. The gash that opened up along his forearm stung like hell.

" _Depulso!_ "

Being thrown back into those desks was jarring enough that the cut on his arm was instantly forgotten. He could already feel the bruises starting to form on his back and one of his thighs. That actually wasn't so bad, but he'd also hit his funny bone on his wand arm and that would have been enough to make him drop his wand if he hadn't previously been disarmed.

He heard a few gasps, and he knew one of them was Pansy's, despite the fact that she had been warned of this very thing. Harry gritted his teeth and climbed back to his feet. His right ankle was also very tender- he'd felt it roll under him when he'd crashed into the desks.

Once he was standing back up, he saw the group looking at him worried.

"I want to make this crystal clear. This shouldn't look like fun. What Luna just did is minor compared to some of the things that can happen if you ever actually have to face a Death Eater. All of you were here a couple of years ago when Lucius Malfoy challenged me to a duel. Remember that? What was the very first spell he cast at me?"

"The killing curse," Luna answered calmly.

"Exactly. If he hadn't been so weakened and deranged from his time in Azkaban, that fight could have ended very differently. I was lucky to have faced him at his worst. If any of you ever have to deal with something like that, it would be wrong to expect to have such an advantage.

"As for learning to fight, you can expect to have things like this happen to you." There were many people muttering now, and Harry would have smiled if it wouldn't have been counter to his point. Also the pain he was in- that helped in keeping a smirk from forming when just standing up hurt like hell.

"Don't say I didn't warn you if you have to spend a night or two under Madam Pomfrey's care after a lesson like this."

Finally, standing there bleeding in front of them and leaning against a desk, it was enough of a breaking point that several people headed for the door.

He nodded over to his girlfriend, and only then, did Pansy rush over to start sealing the cut. It was a good thing that the weather had been warm- being in short sleeves had saved having to mend the shirt.

Knowing Dobby, he would probably be pleased at the thought of having to get the bloodstains out of his clothes. Poor little guy was kinda crazy too- that was why he and Harry made such a good team.

A moment or two later, as the crowd was down at least a dozen people, Harry limped over towards the pigs, leaning on Pansy the entire way.

"Alright, first I wanted to go over a warning." The other teens had followed him closer to the far side of the room. "Just as a reminder for anyone who might have forgotten. All of you were here two years ago at the quidditch match when the dementors attacked the school. I saved your lives that day.

"Those of you who paid attention to the news would have later heard about how my parents had been betrayed- not by Sirius Black as was commonly thought, but by another of their school age friends, Peter Pettigrew. He divulged the secret of where we were living which led to Tom Riddle murdering my parents.

"The Potter family cannot tolerate any possible further betrayals, so let me make this perfectly clear. If any of you betray me... if any of you use the things I will teach you to hurt the people that I love, then I will hunt you down and kill you."

It was not lost on anyone that Harry had pulled Pansy even closer, and it almost made him chuckle to himself about how right Dumbledore was the year before- they would all be in danger if anyone ever hurt her.

The night with Umbridge had taught him as much. He was walking a thin line already.

"Now, with that unpleasant bit of business out of the way, let's get to the first lesson." Harry snapped his fingers and grinned as he knew Dobby was standing next to him. His invisibility cloak was pulled off by the disillusioned elf and a table was revealed with a tray full of obviously sharp daggers.

"Lesson number one: if you get in a real fight, you will likely get blood on your hands. Whether or not that means someone dies is not crucial, but being prepared for the reality of violence is of the utmost importance." He leaned on the table as he lifted one of the daggers and handed it over to Pansy. "Kill one of the pigs."

She opened the gate of the pen and crouched down in front of the nearest victim. There was no delay as she sliced into its throat. Pansy's flinch as the blood splashed onto her face was miniscule.

While she walked back through the gate and set the dagger down, Harry snapped his fingers and the still invisible Dobby placed a wet bit of cloth in his hands. He cleaned the blood from Pansy's face and turned back to the stunned crowd.

"Who's next?"

There were plenty of whispers and muttering that broke out. Harry knew that Luna would wait for this section- he wanted to make sure it wasn't one of his closest friends who took the next step.

He was surprised when Parvati moved first. She walked up to him and held out her hand, a fierce look in her eyes.

"I am."

Harry nodded, more than a little impressed, and passed her an unused dagger.

She took a deep breath and walked into the pig pen. Harry noticed her pause before she stepped aside from the pool of blood, but Parvati didn't stop. She took another breath to steady herself and then slashed out with the dagger.

Parvati's shoulders tensed as the spray of blood got on her neck and blouse, but when she turned to look at Harry he could tell she was a little relieved that at least it didn't get her right in the face. She walked back to him and he handed her the wet cloth.

"I hope this will come out of our clothes," Parvati said as she looked down.

"Don't worry, the house-elves have been warned, and they're very good at their jobs," Harry replied.

"I guess I'm next," Hermione said as she strode forward, reaching down for a blade.

Harry missed the interplay behind him as Pansy and Parvati whispered to each other.

It took Hermione a moment to psych herself up, but she followed through and killed one of the pigs. Harry had to take one of her arms as she came back out of the pen. She looked nauseous and, in fact, she leaned over and took several deep breaths as she tried to keep from throwing up.

"Why did we have to do this after dinner, Harry?" she finally asked when she stood back up.

"It isn't meant to be easy," he answered.

"Gryffindors charge ahead, right?" Seamus said as he stepped up and took a dagger. "Here goes."

He slashed down with the knife, and it was only a moment after the blood splash that he bent over and vomited. The group stepped back, and Harry paid minimal attention to the muttering behind him about the awful smell.

"Oh, Merlin," Seamus moaned.

Harry vanished the mess, and his year mate struggled out of the pen.

"I think ya might be crazy, Harry," Seamus said as he dropped the knife. "I'm out."

"You may be right, Seamus. I don't blame you one bit."

"I... I don't think I can do it, Harry," Neville said, drawing Harry's attention back to the front row of people looking at him. "I want to learn to protect myself, but I- I, er, I just don't think I can do that."

"That's alright, Neville. I don't want any of you to feel like this is something you should want to learn."

It was once again a moment for him to wait and see how the crowd responded. Several people shook their heads and left. Harry really didn't blame them. He noticed that not a single girl from Slytherin had departed, and he wasn't surprised by that either.

He did notice that Daphne had brought her younger sister Astoria along, even though he'd asked that it only be fourth years and up. He'd have to speak with Daphne about that- unless she was a true prodigy, he doubted that Astoria would be able to keep up with much of the magic.

He looked around the rest of the room and saw that even among some of the closest little cliques there were divisions among those who weren't ready to go this far. Despite her friend's boldness, Lavender Brown apologized to Parvati and was one of the first to leave. From the Hufflepuffs in his year, he saw Hannah and Justin decide to pass even though Susan and Ernie got in line right in front of Harry, just behind Fred and George.

He definitely wasn't surprised that the Weasley twins were staying- he remembered the fact that they'd been nearly attacked twice at the Quidditch World Cup the year before, and despite their reputations as goof offs, they did have two younger siblings they'd protected there. They had never said it outright to him, but he was pretty sure that they also still felt guilty about not doing more to look after Ginny in her first year, when she'd been under the spell of Riddle's diary.

"Alright, if everyone else is ready to try this, then let's get on with it."

One of the Weasley twins picked up a blade and took only a second before following through with the task.

"I know this isn't the most pleasant lesson, but if you ever get into a really bad situation, something like this could happen. Maybe it would be you, maybe someone in your family, or, if you're lucky instead, it could be whoever might have attacked you. The point is that if the sight of blood makes you freeze up, you could be in even more danger then. You could be an easier target for someone that means you harm if you get a nasty shock in the middle of an emergency. Much better to get over those feelings here, while you're safe, rather than when it could cost you your life."

Harry watched and gave encouragement as the rest of the line came forward, took a weapon and dealt with the nasty business that he'd put in front of them. He tried to make a note of every person that had stayed, but there were several whose names he didn't know, and a couple of the Slytherin girls that he didn't ever remember even seeing before. He'd need to try to remember and have Pansy help him draw up a roster, but that was a rather minor concern at the moment.

He noted that Luna didn't wince at all when her turn came, and he put that at the top of his list of things to deal with. Harry was worried about her being as hardened as she'd behaved that evening. The dreamy little wallflower was missing, and if he wanted to protect anyone the most, other than Pansy, it was his kind-hearted best friend. The sweet girl had always managed to cheer him up, and the idea of her of all people getting used to violence sickened him.

Harry noticed that Daphne let her sister step out of the line and just watch when her turn came. Afterwards Daphne whispered to him that she just wanted Astoria to know what the reality might look like, and that she would not be bringing her back next time.

He had a strong feeling that the younger Slytherin girls would be getting more tenacious lessons than any of the others. Chloe Abbot was there as well, and her face held plenty of determination when her turn came to face the bloodshed.

Harry hadn't done a specific count, but it looked like there were maybe twenty five to thirty people that had remained, and once they'd all finished, he stepped over to the mess and pulled his wand and began reversing the Transfiguration he'd used to turn dozens of desks into pigs.

"So, we didn't actually kill anything?" Susan asked.

"It depends on how you look at it, I guess," Harry shrugged. "The killing wasn't the point- not panicking about blood was. Much better and safer than if I had you all start sending cutting curses at each other, right? I think Madam Pomfrey and the teachers would frown on that sort of thing, anyway.

"Besides, now we can start on the next lesson. That is, assuming none of you have something more important to do."

"There isn't anything more important than this," Flora answered resolutely. "You know why I'm here. What's next?"

"Okay then. Time for lesson number two. You all saw how Luna smashed me into the desks earlier. Let me tell you, that hurt like hell. It was a simple spell too- the banishing charm, which most of you should already know. But, we're going to focus on both it and it's opposite, the summoning charm. Both of these are learned in fourth year, so I expect all of you to manage them without any problems, but I will teach anyone that doesn't know the spells already.

"In both cases, these spells have a wide variety of uses. To those of you with muggle roots, we're basically talking about a form of telekinesis- and moving things about can always be handy in a fight. One note as we begin: summoning something generally requires more finesse than banishing something away from you. That's why Luna was able to throw so much force at me earlier. _Depulso_ can be amazing if you can think of how to use it, and that is another thing of note. Keeping your head in a fight is very important. For instance, if I hadn't been standing in front of those desks, I wouldn't have been as badly hurt earlier. Seeing and understanding the terrain around you can always be helpful."

The lesson was on, and for the next couple of hours, Harry made sure that everyone in the group learned how incredibly useful two such utilitarian spells could be when push came to shove.

* * *

"Is Luna alright?" Harry asked that night when they were back in bed.

"I think so. Why do you ask?"

"That little exercise with the pigs. I watched everyone as they did it; I wanted to pay attention to how they reacted and anyone who might have had a real problem with it. Almost everyone flinched to some extent."

"Even me," Pansy admitted. "I don't think I've ever actually killed something before. I did have some experience of being under pressure, what with dueling Rita Skeeter last year, but that wasn't too dangerous really. Still, I'm glad you made me do it too. It was good to really learn what that sort of thing could feel like. Not that I hope I ever have to get in a fight, mind you. I'm still rooting for Moody to find a Death Eater meeting and burn their hideout down with Fiendfyre."

"That would be for the best," Harry agreed with a chuckle. "Your reaction was really small compared to almost everyone. Only three people did... well, better, I guess? Flora was one of them, but she's seemed ready for a fight for awhile."

"I think I know why."

"Her parents?" Harry guessed and Pansy nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. We all respond differently to that sort of thing, and I think she's the type to want to lash out in anger. I can understand that. I'm going to have to keep an eye on her too because it isn't only us foolish Gryffindors that might rush off into danger.

"That being said, I think she might be one of the people I end up having help me run this little club or whatever it is. She was excellent with the banishing charm, especially using it to send those daggers at her target."

"That's what you did in the graveyard," Pansy remembered. "Maybe that's why she thought of it."

"Maybe so, but she's still got good instincts." Harry shrugged. "Good instincts have helped me more often than not whenever danger has come calling. But anyway, there were two others who also didn't flinch. One was an older Slytherin girl- at least, I'm pretty sure she's older, but I honestly didn't know her name."

"A fairly tall girl with short brown hair?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Her name is Diane Carter. She's a year ahead of us."

"Right, well, Luna was the final one, and that has me worried. I really don't like the idea of getting our girl involved with violence and bloodshed. Luna is the source of so much sweetness in our lives and I don't want that marred by anything horrible."

"She isn't as innocent as you seem to keep thinking she is, Harry."

"I know, but..." He sighed. Sometimes it was hard to explain himself, even to Pansy who knew him so well. "It's like you've said. She makes us feel better when we're down or we're stressed, you know? Any time you and she start talking about sex, I'm sort of forced to face how uh... mature she's getting, but that's not it. It's the way she... I guess that she makes _me_ feel more innocent, if that makes sense. That when Luna's around, I'm not worrying about Riddle or having enemies that need to be killed or anything else; I'm just feeling like everything is somehow going to be okay."

"I get that, Harry. But when you were in that graveyard, Luna is the one who kept me together. She gave a very rousing speech about how it was time to learn to fight and that she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that you and I get the happy ending we deserve." Pansy giggled for a moment and Harry looked down at her smiling face. "I think that was the night when she first claimed dibs on being godmother to our future children."

"That sounds like Luna." Harry breathed deeply and started to relax, burrowing his face down into Pansy's hair. Whatever that shampoo she used was, something vaguely floral, he loved that scent and the way it always seemed to calm him.

"Do you ever think about how different we are from other people our age?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I just don't think a lot of fifteen year olds talk about having kids someday without it being a joke. We're pretty damn serious about a lot of things like that, you know?"

"We've gone through a lot of things that most people haven't," Pansy replied. "We had to grow up fast- too fast I guess- because we didn't have anything else we could do. And most people our age aren't living together already either. But I think you're sort of wrong too, in a way. For most of history, people our age were already getting married, working, going off to war, and all sorts of things like that. Having kids too. Not that I'm in a hurry or anything.

"Besides, we're serious about things like that because we're serious about each other. At least, I think we are. You aren't thinking of getting rid of me, are you Harry?"

"Never. Like you said, I'd probably make a mess of my life without you."

"And?"

"And I love you more than everything else in the world combined?"

"That's more like it." Pansy sat up and looked down at him with a smirk when his eyes inevitably dropped down to her breasts. "We don't have to get up early for any reason tomorrow. So I think we should celebrate."

"What are we celebrating?"

"How about the fact that you are a surprisingly good teacher?"

"You think so?"

"I do," Pansy insisted, grinning as he leaned up and kissed the side of her neck. "Oh, wait a second."

"What?"

"I just remembered something." She climbed over to the side of the bed and opened up the drawer on the night table. "Last year, you said that we were going to skip Halloween, no matter what. That we would just hide all day in the muggle world to keep from any disasters happening to us. Like that stupid tournament. Do you still want to do that?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Two reasons." Pansy smiled as she hid something behind her back. "First of all, I talked to Vanessa before we came back to school and she mentioned throwing a Halloween party the weekend before. Saturday will be on the twenty ninth and we could go to it. I think it would be a nice break that we could enjoy. We could go visit your parents' graves again, if you like, and then just not come back until Halloween is over. It would mean we'd miss a day of classes, but I think that's a price you're willing to pay. Right?"

"Sounds great. Only four weeks to go. I definitely like this plan so far."

"Well, you're about to like it even more. Would you like an early Christmas present?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It turns out that a certain band is playing a concert on the night of Halloween. Right here in Scotland, in fact. I may have had Dobby's help in getting us two tickets." She revealed her hand and passed them over to Harry.

"Radiohead..." Harry gasped and then smiled up at her. "Do you know what this means?"

"That I am the greatest girlfriend in the world?"

"Yes. Yes, you absolutely are. I'll have to spend the rest of the month properly worshipping you now."

"Well, we don't have anything specific to do tomorrow, so..."

"So?"

"So, if I'm unable to walk, it won't matter."

"And I still haven't succeeded in making you pass out from having too many orgasms yet."

"But we've got all night long for you to try again."

" _Yessss_ ," he hissed. "Yes we do."

Pansy giggled as he rolled her over and slid down beneath the sheets.

* * *

The next weekend Harry led another meeting as he had everyone practice the summoning and banishing charms, specifically focusing on aim at first. That was followed by having people duel him while focusing on those two spells and their own creativity about what they could find in the unused classroom. After a few rounds, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to last through the entire group without collapsing.

That left him with the question of who he would ask to help take a few turns playing the defender.

Pansy was out. Not only was he too overly-protective of her to be able to handle seeing people injure her, but it was the time of the month that left her feeling cranky and sore. Since she was sitting out the physical stuff that day, he had asked her to take notes about how everyone did as well as writing up a roster of those who were now in this little club. He needed to be able to put names with faces of a few upper years from other houses that he wasn't too familiar with.

He briefly considered Hermione. She was good with the shield charm, but he didn't feel too good about watching her get hit by anything either.

In the end, he turned to Flora Carrow. She had the instincts for a fighter, she had learned the shield charm two years earlier than most, and she was singularly driven about the purpose of this group.

His decision worked out well. Harry had been right to assume that she would be a good assistant for this type of thing. He would just have to remember to have her stay behind for a few minutes afterwards so that Dobby could bring out the bruise paste and make sure she wasn't going to be too sore. If necessary, he could always help her to the infirmary, but in the end she ended up with only minor bumps and bruises.

* * *

The third weekend of October Harry had to take off from running the group. It would have been a nice chance to rest and catch up on schoolwork, but he had two other appointments he had to keep. Sunday afternoon, Angelina had scheduled yet another quidditch practice- it was only three weeks until their first match, as she kept reminding him- and the Saturday afternoon was taken up by a meeting of the Slug Club.

It wasn't too surprising that half of the club was from Slytherin, but it was sort of interesting to note that there was only a single Ravenclaw. He would have thought that the house known for intellect would have drawn more of Slughorn's favor.

For the most part, it was the same group of people from the year before. No one had graduated, and the only new addition was a second year boy from Slytherin named Pritchard. His mother was apparently an up and coming solicitor. Harry wondered if Slughorn had evaluated the boy during his first year, as perhaps he didn't want to have any embarrassing situations like what had happened with Neville. Despite coming from a prestigious old family, Neville clearly wasn't the sort for Old Sluggy.

At times Harry wished that he wasn't either, as schmoozing was still not something he was all that comfortable with.

However, this year it was more satisfying than he would have thought when he first joined. For one thing, half of them were people he was teaching to fight- and that reminded him that he probably should come up with a name for that group at some point. The 'fighting club' wasn't very catchy.

More importantly though, Pansy liked to take the time to dress up for Slughorn's get togethers and that was always something that he enjoyed seeing. That day, she was only wearing a simple 'little black dress' as she called it, but she had paired it with some rather scandalous high heels and Harry was having to keep himself from staring. He'd always loved her legs, and it was hard for him to think about anything other than wanting to leave the party early.

Judging by the smirk he saw on her face, Pansy knew exactly what he was thinking about too.

"So, nothing till next week then?"

"Huh?"

Hestia giggled and patted his shoulder.

"I was trying to ask you about when we would meet up again. You seem to have something else on your mind though."

"Oh, right." Harry absent-mindedly ran his hands through his hair and tried to focus on looking at anything other than his girlfriend. She was such a minx.

If he was paying more attention, he would have noticed Hestia's sigh.

"Yes, um, I've got quidditch practice tomorrow, and knowing Angelina, I'm going to be too worn out to do anything else. Sadly, that's probably going to be the case a lot for the next few weeks. Once we get past our match, she'll hopefully calm down about booking so much time on the pitch."

"You know Harry, for a quidditch star, you're rather disinterested in it."

"Well, chasing down the snitch in a match is a lot of fun, but practice is often just... not."

"I'm going to be such a traitor in a few weeks. At least I'll be in good company though," Hestia said with a grin. "I think at least a third of Slytherin will be cheering for Gryffindor instead this year."

"Really?"

"The group of people that Flora and I are always wary of is almost entirely made up of the quidditch team."

"Oh. I guess with Warrington being captain, he would recruit people just like him."

"Exactly," she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. "Evil bastards, as my sister would say. I try to be more refined, usually, but the term is fitting."

"There haven't been any other problems, have there?"

"Nothing since that day in Hogsmeade. A lot of glaring and leering, but that's normal enough, sadly. Are you still going to join Daphne and Chloe when they run the younger group on Thursday night?"

"Probably," Harry nodded.

"Do you mind if Flora and I come along too?"

"No. Why?"

"I think she just wants to get in as much practice as possible. I'm a little worried about her. She seems like she's just waiting for the chance to start cursing people. It's already a really stressful year."

"Sorry about that," Harry sighed. "I'd help if I knew how."

"I'm trying to stay as calm as I can, but I have this bad feeling that one of these days there's going to be some real trouble. I guess this must be how you felt last year, huh?"

"Sort of," Harry admitted. "At least I knew the dates when the events for the tournament would be happening, so it probably wasn't as bad. Plus, I was kind of used to it by then."

"That's not a good thing either, Harry. Why can't we just have a nice quiet year at school? Is that too much to ask?"

"Maybe so. I'm happy when I get a month without any major trouble. There have only been so many of those that I've been keeping count the last few years."

"Really?"

"Yep. I only had one clean month in my third year. May, 1994," he grinned and shook his head. "Last year, I had September, March, and April clear of anything too nerve-wracking. We're not off to a good start for my fifth year. Umbridge was a nightmare, thankfully a short-lived one, but I've pretty much given up on October."

"What do you mean?"

"Something terrible happens every year on Halloween. The day is cursed for me."

"Really? I understand about your parents, and last year it was when you were entered into the Triwizard Tournament, but what else happened on Halloween?"

"Well, you weren't here for my first year, but the Defense professor, who just so happened to be possessed by the Dark Lord, let a troll in during the feast, and it nearly killed Hermione and I. Your first year, right after the Halloween feast was when we discovered that the Chamber of Secrets was opened."

"Oh, that's right," Hestia nodded. "I'd forgotten that it was Halloween that night."

"Right. The next year was when Pansy and I had left the school to visit the graves of my parents for the first time. We missed out on Sirius' first break in."

"I'd forgotten that too. But that wasn't so bad really."

"I would have had to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag in the middle of the Great Hall instead of cozying up with my girlfriend in bed. I'd call that a nightmare."

"Pansy's right about you being incorrigible. I'm not sure if I should call you romantic or perverted."

"I can be both," he grinned.

"I'm sure you can," Hestia responded. "Alright, so that covers all your school years. Was it so bad when you were a kid in the muggle world?"

"Let's just say that I never had a good one there either." Harry didn't even bother to reminisce as he had pretty clearly divided his life in half at this point, and all of the years before Pansy were kept locked away, hopefully never to be thought of again. "I'm looking forward to this year though."

"How come?"

"I, uh, probably shouldn't say."

"Now you're making me more curious. Come on, Harry. I can keep a secret."

"Alright. I doubt you would turn me in," Harry muttered and pulled Hestia a little deeper into the corner of the room they'd been chatting in, further away from prying ears. "That weekend we've got a Hogsmeade visit again, right? So Pansy and I are going to take the opportunity to leave in order to visit my parents' graves. We've got a couple of fun things planned in the muggle world."

"What's so bad about that?" Hestia whispered.

"Halloween isn't until Monday."

"So?"

"So, we're not going to come back to school until Tuesday."

"Oh! You naughty boy, Harry," Hestia laughed out, and he instantly noticed several sets of eyes turning to them.

"They probably think we're talking about something else," he muttered.

"Oops," she giggled. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Harry, my boy. Could you stay behind for a moment?"

"Sure professor."

"Oh, and Pansy, you can stay as well, of course. I doubt there's too many secrets kept between you two."

Horace Slughorn took his time to cast a few spells as he set things around the room back into order as the other students filed out. Pansy noticed that among them, he also weaved in a couple of privacy spells, and that made her much more alert.

Once the door closed behind Granger, he turned to look at Harry, and Pansy noticed just how anxious the old Potions Master seemed.

"Now then, Harry. I was hoping you could ease my mind about a couple of things."

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Has the headmaster spoken to you about anything this term?"

"No. I haven't talked to him since we've come back to school this fall. Why?"

"Nothing, nothing to worry about," he muttered, and Pansy watched as he turned away, clearly bothered about something despite his words to the contrary. "We had a discussion about you at the end of last year. What with all that had gone on, that's not too surprising, eh? I just hoped that he had discussed a couple of things with you already."

"I see. Um, should I ask to speak with him then?"

"Not yet, Harry. Let me try to remind him, and hopefully that will take care of everything." Slughorn wiped his brow. "I've heard good things about you helping to set up some extra-curricular defense study groups. Nothing against Gordon mind you, he was a fine auror, but I've heard that the class has been very uneven over the last several years. I'm sure those, like you, in their OWL year could use the extra practice to get ready for the exams. Giving the younger years a leg up as well, that's rather forward thinking. It seems you might have some talent as a teacher."

"That's what Pansy's been telling me too. I guess I've done alright so far."

"You're too modest, Harry," Pansy interjected. "He's been brilliant."

"As I said, I've heard only good things. That maybe something you should keep in mind for the future. We can never have enough skilled teachers. Passing along knowledge to the coming generations is such a pleasure. I think you might be the right sort for it, my dear boy."

He patted Harry on the shoulder. "I shouldn't keep the two of you any longer. Don't forget to review the process for the Strengthening Solution, which we'll be starting on Monday."

"Yes sir."

"Off you go then."

As soon as they were out the door, Harry wrapped an arm around Pansy's waist.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know, but something has him worried."

"Well, no sense in us worrying about it now, I guess," Harry shrugged. "I've got something else to do this evening anyway."

"What's that?"

"You know you drive me crazy when you dress like that."

"That is one of the reasons I do it," Pansy teased.

* * *

"Damn you Albus," Slughorn winced as he sat down behind his desk. "You swore you would tell him. That poor boy."

He held his face in his hands for a moment, trying to calm his emotions.

"I'm trying to do my part, Lily."

He opened the drawer and looked at the bottle of the draught of living death he'd spent much of the summer getting absolutely perfect. He wanted to make sure it was as potent as it could possibly be, just in case Tom's inhuman form required more than a normal wizard.

Horace Slughorn might not be the bravest man around, but by Merlin, he was going to help Harry Potter as long as he lived.

"Let's just hope it's enough."


	74. Avoidance Strategy

* * *

For once, they were eating at the Ravenclaw table for dinner. Luna was mostly left alone there, and they wanted a bit more privacy than they would get if she had joined them over in the land of Gryffindors as they usually did.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay this weekend?" Pansy asked.

"Of course. I think I'm going to skip Hogsmeade in fact. I have a few assignments to catch up on, and I might as well spend some time in the library too. I am one of those bookish Ravenclaws, you know. That means I have a reputation to uphold."

"Since when you have cared about your reputation?"

"Well, it sounded good," Luna shrugged. "Besides, being around you two makes it a lot more fun for people to gossip about me. There won't be much point with you not here."

"Sorry sweetie."

"It's alright. I understand, perfectly. I'd want to get away too if I were Harry. I try not to dwell on things when the anniversary of my mum's death comes around in the spring, but thankfully, it isn't on a holiday. And no one celebrates her death by giving me a title that annoys me."

"That's one way to look at it," Harry snorted. He leaned in close to whisper to her. "I was thinking of having Hedwig deliver a letter to you on Monday morning. Or maybe at lunch... Anyway, my idea was that if the staff starts wondering about us being missing, it would be a good way for you to let the headmaster, for example, know that we won't be back until after Halloween."

"I hope you two don't get into too much trouble."

"Other people have missed classes before and only sometimes have I seen them get detentions or any sort of punishment like that. When Hermione was burning the candle at both ends with that blasted time turner two years ago, she missed a lesson in Charms and all Flitwick made her do was write about the cheering charm and demonstrate her proficiency in it for him. That's no big deal."

"However, that was Flitwick," Pansy argued. "We're going to be missing History-"

"Which won't matter," Harry interjected.

"True, but also Potions, Arithmancy, and Defense. Now, Sluggy might love you, so I'm not too worried about that, but Vector and Watts are another story."

"I've already offered to cover any detentions they assign you," Harry pointed out.

"And I've already told you that we'll serve them together, if we get any. I'm just reminding you about the consequences. We should probably be really glad we don't have McGonagall that day. I have a feeling she'd be harder on us than just about anyone else."

"Yeah, she probably would."

"You would think she would go easier on people in her own house," Luna suggested.

"In my experience, she definitely does not do that. First year, I lost fifty points for being out late after curfew."

"That's completely ridiculous."

"Tell me about."

"So, Pansy's already told me about your plans for tomorrow and Monday. I assume that leaves Sunday for visiting your parents?"

"Yeah. Maybe go see a movie or something after."

"Date night?" Luna wondered.

"It's a good way to not let the mood of the entire day be ruined," Harry responded. "I think the fact that I don't really remember them at all makes things different for me, if that makes sense."

"Of course it does," Luna agreed. "I have plenty of memories of my mother, so I can understand why you wouldn't feel the same, without those thoughts to connect you to them. It's a cruel thing, Harry. I wish you'd had a few years with them like I did with my mother. I'll always miss her, but at least I have those memories to treasure. Pictures in a photo album can't really compare. Maybe that's why I'm so nice to you."

"You mean it's not my dashing good looks?" Harry grinned.

"No, those are probably no more than fourth place for the reasons why I love you."

"Now I'm curious," Pansy wondered. "What are the top three?"

"Acceptance, kinship, and sense of humor."

"You know, I've always heard that ladies like guys who can make them laugh," Harry said. "I suppose that's true then."

"I do laugh at you a lot," Pansy smirked. "Sometimes even when you mean for me to."

"I'm still counting it."

"Anyway, do you want to do something tonight Luna?" Pansy asked. "We've got a couple of hours or so until curfew."

"It's too bad it's been so cold these last few days. I wouldn't have minded a walk otherwise. Now it's too muddy also. I know!" She pulled Pansy in close. "I'm going to call it an early night and then you can have Dobby pop me over to your quarters. Then we can hang out in private, just the three of us. Maybe put on some music and make Harry blush about girl talk or something."

"That sounds like a plan."

* * *

With Luna's attention elsewhere, they only had to let Granger know that they would be leaving for the weekend, officially to visit the graves of Harry's parents. Their heads of house had been notified, but Harry's perpetually nosy friend would have annoyed them to no end if she hadn't been told as well.

For some reason, she still tried to act as Harry's minder at times. And yes, that made Pansy dislike her more than most things.

But Harry was also still feeling quite awkward around the girl due to the night he had obliviated her of what happened with Umbridge. It had been six weeks already, but it wasn't something he was getting over quickly enough for Pansy's taste. That being said, they'd had plenty of things to occupy their time, so the occasions for Harry to brood were few and far between.

She had insisted that they get up and out of the castle as early as possible that Saturday. There were several errands to run before they could get ready for the Halloween party their muggle friends were throwing.

Harry didn't argue either. Getting away from the castle to relax was something that they had both been looking forward to.

He hadn't even pouted too much when she mentioned going to several clothing stores in order to put together the perfect costumes. That might have been because she had hinted that she would probably be in a mood to celebrate privately after the party. He was pretty easy to please that way.

* * *

It had been a long day, but Harry had to admit that Pansy's idea had borne fruit.

Sometimes, it is best to go along with whatever your girlfriend wants. More often than not, he was pretty happy following her lead.

On that day, it had been all about putting together fairly elaborate matching costumes.

Harry was standing in the bedroom, admiring his outfit in the mirror over the large chest of drawers.

Truth be told, he did feel a little bit silly at the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. The jeans, boots, and even the mirrored sunglasses weren't a big deal, but wearing a black leather jacket open to expose his pale torso did make him feel somewhat... well, naked. Pansy seemed to like it though, and that was all that really mattered.

She had withdrawn to the bathroom a while ago, not only to change but to work on her makeup. She was going to have to finish his look with some hair gel, and at least he now knew why she had asked him to grow his hair a couple of inches longer than usual.

At first, he had kinda assumed she just wanted him to do so with her, since she was growing her own hair longer too. During the day's many trips to various stores, she admitted that she had been planning their looks since July. That was a lot more work than he would ever put into just about anything, but he knew that Pansy occasionally got these obsessive notions and would go all out. Even with all of that, she'd required a wig for the night as otherwise she would have needed a hair growth potion. But the big teased-out look of Patricia Morrison would have been murder on her hair (as she explained to him at least), so a wig ended up being easier in the long run.

He still had to do a bit of minor, magical alterations to make it just right. Pansy was big on details like that.

The rest of her costume was even more intricate than his. Between the black leather knee high boots, the fishnets (which was the one thing they hadn't needed to purchase), the black skirt that looked almost shredded, the elbow length opera gloves with the fingertips cut off, and the black leather bodice that was making him stare at her cleavage even more than usual, Pansy was a sexy gothic vision. It was certainly going to build a lot of anticipation for him while they were at the party.

He was idly humming to himself, failing to remember most of the lyrics when he pulled out his wand and cast a spell he'd been meaning to try out for awhile now. He missed hearing the door open as Pansy was coming over to check on him.

" _Hey now, hey now now, Sing this corrosion to me."_

"Harry, what-" Pansy stopped while he turned to look at her as she growled appreciatively. "Do that again."

"What?"

"Sing! How did you get your voice so deep?"

"Oh, right." He smiled as he noticed the hunger in her eyes. Definitely a good idea to learn that spell then. " _Hey now, hey now now, Sing this corrosion to me!"_

The fact that he didn't know most of the lyrics didn't matter anymore because Pansy had shoved him back against the bed and was already undoing his pants.

For just a second, his brain tried to remind him that they probably didn't have time if they were worried about running late.

Then the rest of him paid attention to the fact that his girlfriend was pulling his pants down and kneeling by the side of the bed, and being late to the party was the last thing he was thinking about.

* * *

In the end, they made it to Steven and Vanessa's front door a little after nine. With the party starting at eight, they were a bit more than fashionably late, but Pansy had needed to fix her makeup before they could leave.

Their hostess answered the doorbell dressed in a sexy, skintight catsuit.

"Oh my god, you guys look amazing!"

"Thanks," Pansy smiled. "So do you. I imagine Steven was pleased by your costume."

"Oh yes," Vanessa giggled. "I'll have to remember to tell you more later. Come in."

"Thanks," Harry added, following the ladies inside.

"Hey Harry," Steven said as he came over before pausing mid step. "Holy shit, was that Pansy?"

"Yep."

"Damn. You guys really went all out. Sisters of Mercy, huh? Nice."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to take credit, but this was pretty much all Pansy's doing."

"Now I really feel under dressed," Steven chuckled.

"I guess Vanessa likes you in a kilt?" Harry wondered.

"Yeah, you could say that. I'm Connor MacLeod, of the clan MacLeod. You know, the Highlander?"

"No, sorry."

"It's a pretty crazy movie. You should check it out sometime. These immortal swordsmen fight across centuries. Queen did the soundtrack too, which is pretty killer. Anyway, I had to put my sword away. Vanessa said it wouldn't be wise to have it out once everybody started drinking."

"That's probably for the best," Harry agreed.

"I guess I shouldn't offer to take your coat, huh?"

"That would mess up the costume," Harry admitted. "I might feel kinda silly walking around completely topless too."

"That's because we haven't gotten any alcohol into you yet." Steven pulled him through the room as Harry said hello to a couple of people he recognized before they made their way to the makeshift bar set up on a kitchen counter. "What will we start you on?"

"Nothing too strong," Harry said. "I need to be sober enough to enjoy the end of the night too."

"Girlfriend in a sexy costume. Right," Steven grinned.

"And you know the only thing better than a girlfriend in a sexy costume," Harry began as Steven passed him a cup. "Helping her take the sexy costume off."

"I'll drink to that!"

* * *

"So, why aren't you drinking tonight?" Pansy asked when she noticed that Vanessa was only having a ginger ale. Her voice was somewhat loud, but between the music and all the other people talking, she doubted anyone else heard her. Vanessa still looked a little nervous as she grabbed Pansy's hand and dragged her down the hall to a bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Okay, you can't say anything about this. Alright?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"I, um, well you know how I said that I dressed up all sexy because I might not get a chance to again."

"Yes."

"I'm pregnant," Vanessa said with a smile.

"Congratulations," Pansy answered while hugging her friend. "That explains not drinking too. But why don't you want me to tell anyone?"

"It's just that Steven and I haven't had time to really tell anyone yet, and we want to do it the right way. You know, with our families and everything. Just spilling it at a party wouldn't feel right, although Jenny already knows."

"Well, you did tell me that she's your oldest friend, so that makes sense."

"Yeah, she came over for brunch last weekend and caught me having some morning sickness. That wasn't any damn fun, let me tell you. The ginger ale helps for that too, although I've been okay for the last couple of days. I'm not taking any chances though."

"I can understand that."

"I did kind of want to tell you though, especially since you and Harry are going back to school for the rest of the term. That is what you said, right?"

"Yeah, we've got a train tomorrow heading back up north. We both needed a break though. It's been really stressful this year at school."

"You can tell Harry, but you might want to wait until after the party. I saw Steven dragging him off to the bar."

"Are you sure your hubby won't spill anything?"

"I don't think so. Steven's always been a lot better at keeping secrets than me. Plus, I think he's pretty nervous about the whole thing. Not that I'm not, but I'm mostly pretty happy about it. I mean, I know it's not going to be easy, but it just feels like I'm ready to start having a family. I would have been happy to get married a couple of years ago. I've known Steven was it for a long time, so this... I guess it feels like the next step, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that," Pansy replied. "I'm not ready for that yet with Harry, but I know he's it for me too. We're still a bit young for having kids."

Wasn't that an understatement? She kept her smirk down though, as she was supposedly twenty as far as Steven and Vanessa had been led to believe.

"So tell me all about it. Do you know when it happened?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. I had to travel over to Wales for work, to interview someone. Since it was going to be a bit of a trip, Steven took a couple of days off and went with me. We stayed at this really cool old place called the Skirrid Mountain Inn. It's supposedly haunted," Vanessa giggled. "We didn't see any ghosts, but we did stay up way too late. And there was definitely a lot of moaning going on that night."

Pansy giggled at her. Harry would have liked that line.

"Was it planned then?"

"Sort of," Vanessa shrugged. "I got off the pill awhile ago. Steven knew, but we weren't specifically trying for a pregnancy yet. I just wanted to see if it would happen on its own first."

"I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. I'm just hoping that I still feel good at the end of the night."

"I imagine you wore that outfit for a reason," Pansy grinned.

"Yeah. As long as I don't feel like puking, I've been really horny. I've heard it varies a lot with women, but my hormones have me wanting to drag Steven off somewhere private constantly."

"If you need a little help for a distraction tonight, let me know."

"I might just take you up on that," Vanessa agreed with a smile. "Come on, we should get back out there. It won't matter if that silly man of mine is drinking way too much."

* * *

"I can't believe you did that," Harry said as they landed in the living room of their flat with Dobby before Pansy tumbled into him with a giggle and they collapsed on the couch. "Thanks for the lift Dobby."

"Master Harry is always welcome," the elf replied while shaking his head at his silly humans. He disappeared before they could start doing anything in front of him.

"Don't be a prude, Harry," Pansy said, slightly slurring her words.

"I'm not a prude, it just kind of tickled." She giggled again at him while Harry contained his groan. "Besides, I had my back to you and all of a sudden someone was groping me and licking my chest."

"Vanessa needed a distraction."

"And my horny girlfriend decided to play the part?"

"Steven's horny wife needed the help."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I haven't told you yet." Pansy looked up at him with a dreamy Luna-esque smile. "Vanessa's pregnant."

"That's cool. Are they excited about it?"

"Yes, but my point was that she's all hormonal and was feeling extra horny."

"Thus the catsuit?"

"Exactly, Harry. Plus, she didn't think she'd be up to being all sexy again at Halloween once she's a mum chasing a little one around."

"Okay, yeah I get that."

"Right, so she wanted my help so she could have a quickie."

"In the middle of the party? Wow, lucky Steven."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, I mean, he's had sex more recently than me, so a little bit."

"We can fix that you know," Pansy leered at him.

"You really like my costume, huh?"

"Uh huh," she moaned. "Oh, wait, before you distract me again with your sexiness."

"Now I guess I know how you feel all the time," he chuckled.

"Don't be a prat, Harry. How did you sing like that earlier? Your voice isn't that deep."

"Oh, that." Now it was his turn to grin at her. "You liked that, didn't you?"

"Yes, now answer the question."

"I found a spell that lets you mimic the voices of other people. I thought it would be a neat party trick. Plus, now you won't be making fun of me singing in the shower so much."

"Harry, I make fun of you singing in the shower for other reasons too."

"Like what?"

"I, err..."

"Wow, have I struck you speechless? I don't know that that's ever happened before."

"It's, agh!" She took out her frustration on the wig she'd been wearing, throwing it aside.

Harry loved how mussed up her hair looked at that moment. Maybe that's why she liked his permanently messy hair he briefly thought.

"Look, the thing is... something about you with wet hair really turns me on lately. I'm not sure why, but I have to control myself otherwise-"

"Otherwise, we'd be late for breakfast every morning."

"Yeah, that." Pansy looked up sharply at him. "Wipe that grin off your face, or I'll... I'll tell Luna on you!"

"That won't work," Harry chuckled. "Luna would so take my side on this. In fact, she's more likely to start dowsing my hair whenever we hang out just to watch you lose control."

"Damn you, Harry."

"When I'm right, I'm right. And you know it."

"Fine," she huffed.

"Are you feeling any more sober now?"

"I didn't have too much to drink."

"Okay, just checking," Harry threw his hands up. "I don't want to miss the end of the night fun. That's why I made sure not to have too much at the party. I just was going to check if you wanted a sobering charm."

"You know a spell for that?"

"Yeah, Sirius taught it to me. He said it was one of the most important lessons a godfather could teach, although he wanted us to practice it by getting drunk and making sure I could still do it when I really needed it. That would be the advanced class, but I haven't had a chance to do so, and I really only drink socially. It's not like we've been at a party like tonight when Sirius was around, you know?"

"Right," Pansy nodded. "I'm feeling pretty good, actually, so I don't think I'll need it. I do need you to do something else for me, though."

"What?"

She crawled away from him and threw her legs up into his lap.

"Take these off of me and rub my feet."

Harry chuckled but started to follow her instructions anyway, reaching up by her knees to unzip them and then pulling the high-heeled boots off. "I was wondering if those could possibly be comfortable to wear."

"They're not bad really, but maybe not quite the perfect fit. Ohhhh," she moaned out as he squeezed a tight spot. "I love your hands."

"Thanks," he laughed. "They love you too. That's why I can't keep my hands off you."

"Ughhh."

"Not even going to give me any grief over a line that cheesy?"

"Only if you stop rubbing," Pansy answered with a grin, her eyes closed as she relaxed.

The next few minutes were silent other than Pansy groaning in appreciation of his work and Harry humming to himself. Once she opened her eyes and sat back up, Harry looked over at her with a smirk.

"Feeling better now?"

"Much. Thank you."

"Great." Harry stood up and pulled Pansy to her feet. "I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower."

"That does sound pretty good."

"It should also help us feel refreshed before bedtime." Harry grinned at her. "Plus, I now know not to hurry to dry my hair."

"You're unbelievable," she huffed.

"We both you know love that about me." He leaned in and kissed down the left side of her neck while his hands moved up to her breasts. "Do you know what this leather bodice thing and I have in common?"

"Hmm?"

"We both do wonderful things to your boobs."

"You're going to help me take it off, aren't you?"

"Fuck yes," Harry moaned as she slipped the jacket off of him. He spun her around and kissed the back of her neck.

"You'd better," she purred as he reached for the zipper. Pansy giggled when he paused to kiss the mole between her shoulder blades. "Weren't you complaining about me tickling you earlier?"

"I wasn't really complaining," he snorted as she pushed him down and motioned to his boots. He started tearing his own clothes off while she reached under her skirt and slid the fishnets off. "No fair, I wanted to do that."

"You're taking too long."

Harry stood back up, still with one sock on, and grabbed her hands before she could shed any more of her attire. She gave him an almost feral grin as she lunged for his mouth and their tongues and hands both began to battle for dominance. Pansy eventually reached up and grabbed onto his hair while he reached down and slid his hand up her thigh.

"Looks like I'm not the only one excited," he smirked as he felt how wet she was through her panties.

"I suppose I could let you finish undressing me."

"Then I win."

"I think we both win, Harry," she teased. Pansy kept smiling as he knelt down and stuck his head under her skirt. She lifted one leg and hooked it over his shoulder as she gasped out, "Oh fuck me."

"Soon enough," Harry paused to chuckle.

"Don't- ahhhh- don't stop. I'm already close."

Pansy's purrs turned to a shriek within another minute or two, and as soon as her quivers subsided, Harry was getting back to his feet and unbuckling his belt. She pulled him with her as she backed towards the hall and then down to the bathroom door, which she pushed open with one foot. Harry kissed her as he lifted her up and set her on the counter top next to the sink.

"You've got something on your face."

"What?"

"Me," she smirked but he pushed forward to kiss her anyway.

"You're delicious," he replied as his pants fell to the ground, and then he stepped closer and slid inside her in one fluid motion.

"Oh fuck," she moaned as her legs went up and wrapped tightly around him.

"Exactly," Harry grunted in return.

It was heated and fast as they kissed before he drifted down to suck at her delightfully sweaty neck. Pansy responded by grabbing the back of his head and starting to scratch his back with her other hand. Her moans were becoming perilously close to shouts as he reached up and stuck two fingers in her mouth. She sucked at them while his other hand reached around and began to squeeze her bum.

Harry could tell he was getting close.

He moved back up to her lips and she pulled him in even closer, drawing his tongue into her mouth. He slid his now free hand down between them in search of her clit. The appreciative moan that acknowledged his efforts made him grin as he leaned back away from her for a moment.

"Cum with me," he growled.

"Almost... ahh, almost there."

"Good girl," he moaned as his body took over, all instinctual now to reach the finish. He felt his own climax begin and was barely able to keep his fingers in motion to trigger Pansy's as well before his peak was over. Feeling her muscles squeezing him damn near made him howl.

Instead, he slowed but continued to press forward into her a few more times as she kept going and going. He grinned to himself, always both pleased and proud of giving her as much pleasure as he possibly could.

"Oh fucking shit," Pansy moaned a moment later as her orgasms finally ended. "That was awesome. We should get dressed up and go to more parties like that in the future."

Harry laughed. "That is something I will definitely agree to do."

She pulled him back to her lips and kissed him again. "Now I'm definitely going to need a shower. As soon as I'm capable of standing."

"Me too."

They leaned here for a moment, arms around each other's backs, skin all pressed together slick with sweat. Their breathing slowed and they murmured happily. Harry was as content as he could ever remember feeling.

There was a funny little squelching sound as he pulled away from her after a minute later that made them both giggle.

"Shower time?" he asked.

"Start the water, then help me down."

Harry stepped over to reach into the bath to get the water running, knowing it would take a little bit for it to get hot enough to enjoy. He yelped as Pansy swatted his arse as he was standing back up.

"What was that for?"

"Looking so yummy that I almost want another round before we clean up." She smirked as he stepped closer. "Don't act like it's so strange that I like your bum too."

"I think I like yours more," Harry replied as he kissed her once before helping her into the shower. "Go ahead and get started without me. I've got to do something real quick and then I'll be right in there with you."

"Alright, but don't take too long."

Pansy pulled the shower curtain closed and he hurried to their bedroom. It took him only a couple of minutes to prepare things- magic was always handy and Dobby had been a real pal in setting things out for him. Once everything looked right, Harry almost ran back to the bath.

"Miss me?" he asked with a grin as she climbed in behind her.

"You weren't gone that long. The water feels great, squeeze in here by me."

Harry did as she asked and felt himself start to smile when she pushed his head directly under the spray of water. Pansy's eyes were lidded as he stepped towards her, water running down his face.

"Very yummy, Harry." Pansy grabbed him and went straight for his lips. She forced herself to pull back after a moment, having more to say. "For future reference, ordering me to cum with you- very hot. Calling me a good girl, even hotter."

"I think I can remember that."

"Excellent. Luna always says that I do have you well trained."

"Yes, you do."

"Good. Let's just get rinsed off nicely and go to bed."

"No shower sex?" Harry pouted.

"If one of us were to slip, then we wouldn't be able to have any fun in bed. And I'm not done with you yet."

"I like the way you think, gorgeous."

They spent a couple of minutes cleaning up before shutting the water off and reaching for the towels. Harry made sure to leave his hair at least kind of damp and noticed as Pansy watched him in the mirror. He was going to be using this little admission of hers as much as possible for the foreseeable future.

Once they were done, Harry made sure not to let her get in front of him.

"Do me a favor?" he requested.

"What?"

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just trust me." She rolled her eyes at him but then did as he asked. Harry grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom, opening the door and stepping inside. He positioned her right at the foot of the bed. "Okay, now you can open them."

She gasped as she took in the state of the room. There were several candles lit and rose petals strewn all over the bed.

"Harry?"

"Do you know what tonight is?"

"A very good night is what it looks like."

"Exactly two years ago was the first time we made love." Harry grinned as she turned to him with unshed tears. "One of the best nights of my life. I would say the all time best, but you've outdone yourself many times since then. But the point is that I love you. Never doubt for even a second that you are by far the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I love you too, you wonderful romantic man." Pansy kissed him then molded into him for a very satisfied embrace. She sighed after a moment. "I would say that you're getting so lucky tonight, but then, you already have."

"I'm always ready for more."

"Just give me a moment to enjoy this, Harry."

"Take as long as you want."

As fast and ferocious as their first time had been after the party, the first time in bed that night was just as slow and tender. But it was not the last. Harry was up for a couple more rounds and by the end of the night, they were both completely satiated when they finally drifted off to sleep as the candles started to burn out.

* * *

It was early the next afternoon when they made it to the graveyard at Godric's Hollow. The silence hung heavy as Harry just didn't know what to say to his parents.

'Hey mum and dad. Since we last spoke, I killed several Death Eaters, got tortured by the Dark Lord, barely escaped dueling him with my life, and am now teaching a bunch of Slytherin girls how to fight so they don't get raped by any of the little junior league Death Eater wannabes at school.'

Probably not the sort of thing to talk about at a cemetery, but it was what the type of irreverent things his mind was thinking of, so Harry just sat there quietly for a moment while Pansy held his hand and leaned against him.

What else could he really talk about? Winning the Triwizard Tournament, driving off two dementors that tried to attack Hermione? But that brought to mind the fact that he'd stopped that fucking ministry bitch from torturing her, using the Cruciatus curse for the first time- and only time, as he once again swore to himself.

Oh yeah, and obliviating his best friend, who he now had trouble looking in the eye. That was one of his better moments.

Would his mum scold him for being such a sarcastic little shit? Because that's how he felt.

Thinking briefly of Sirius, Harry imagined that his dad would probably be proud of his trouble-making son for skipping out on an entire day of class on that black anniversary. Going to a muggle concert with his smoking hot girlfriend would likely have pleased him too.

The one thing he did truly want to brag about was how wonderful and amazing Pansy was, but that was just so obvious. If they were still out there _somewhere_ , as Luna believed, then they had to know that Pansy was the rock that he always clinged to through troubled times. And there had been more than enough of those lately.

That was the main reason they weren't heading back to Hogwarts that night.

Okay, the second reason, really.

But come on- Radiohead tickets! Did he mention that Pansy was amazing? Best girlfriend in the world.

In the end, he merely sat there and sighed, wrapping an arm around her while she placed their bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone. Maybe it wasn't enough, but it was the best he could do.

* * *

Afterwards, they did have a date night. They ate lots of delicious, filling pasta and breadsticks at an Italian restaurant before heading off to the movies. There were a couple of things that looked interesting to Harry, but he let Pansy choose, so they ended up watching Species.

When they got home to the flat that night, she decided to play out the movie acting as Sil and requiring him to be her human mate.

Harry was up to the challenge, and he even swore that he would help her and their hybrid children take over the world afterwards. Humans were overrated anyway.

It made her laugh, and the sex afterwards was a lot of fun.

Too bad they didn't have access to a hot tub though.

* * *

Breakfast in bed on Halloween, hundreds of miles away from Hogwarts. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Harry's face.

Pansy was still a bit concerned about how their teachers would respond, but it was quickly put out of her mind by how incredibly happy and carefree Harry acted all day long.

Hedwig was sent to Hogwarts at lunch, leaving Luna with a note to explain their absence just in case. Who knew if it would help smooth things over- probably not if McGonagall got off on a tear, but hopefully if Slughorn took charge- and then they put that aside as they got ready for the concert.

Harry played both Radiohead albums (the Bends twice) as well as their My Iron Lung EP while she picked their outfits and they spent the afternoon lounging around the flat.

His excitement was palpable by the time they were standing in front of the stage. Pansy could feel him practically vibrating. It was cute- not that Harry would think so- but after how tense he had been for most of their time at school, it was an enormous change.

Once the band came on and the guitars roared to life, Harry was in heaven.

_"You've got to feel it in your bones"_

Between the volume of the music, and the joy that Harry was practically radiating as he sang along with Thom Yorke, Pansy could feel it in her bones. It was definitely a step up from a year prior, when she had wanted to destroy that stupid goblet.

* * *

Hours later, Harry was quietly singing Nobody Does It Better to her as they lay in bed. He was still too amped up to go right to sleep. That was a cool song to finish the show with, even if he didn't know it from any of their albums. (A year or so later, he would find out it was a cover from a Bond movie, originally done by Carly Simon.)

Whatever the case, it seemed a fitting tribute to the woman he loved. No matter that she had already fallen asleep.

He briefly wondered why he had felt a twinge of a headache during the concert.

Probably just the loud music.

He grinned to himself about dodging the curse of Halloween. That happy thought eventually helped him to finally drift off to sleep.

* * *

Harry's good mood lasted even through his exhaustion the next morning. Truthfully, they could have had Dobby just pop them back into their quarters, but that was a secret advantage that Harry was keeping as quiet as possible. So instead, they had to get up extra early, get dressed, and travel to the road between Hogsmeade and the castle, not too far from the gates.

Pansy and he seemed to be having a yawning contest as they trudged up towards the entrance of Hogwarts. Hedwig surprised them by swooping out of the school and landing on Harry's shoulder.

"Umm, hey Hedwig? Good morning."

She barked at him and stared into his eyes but Harry was left feeling confused.

"I'm really tired today, Hed. If you expect me to read your mind, I'm probably going to disappoint you this morning."

She responded by closing her eyes and rubbing against his head fondly.

"Thanks for delivering that note to Luna yesterday," he told her as he reached up to scratch the feathers on the back of her head, just where she had taught him. His owl had probably been helpful in training him how to be better at responding to females. She and Pansy were both sort of similar. As long as he pampered them every now and then, everything else seemed to work out okay.

"I think she's worried about something, Harry."

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed. "Wait a minute. No. You and Hed are not allowed to team up against me. You already do that with Luna all the time. Leave my owl out of your... your teasing, tormenting female wiles."

"It's not my fault that your owl is a girl too."

Harry just pouted while Pansy smirked at him. Hedwig gave off what he just knew was her version of a laugh as she took wing and headed back towards the owlery.

"I need to remember to call Sirius tonight."

"Why?"

"Because I clearly need some sort of male influence in my life."

"Such a typical guy," Pansy snorted. "Surround yourself with beautiful ladies and then complain about it."

"Yeah, yeah."

Harry tried his best to ignore her teasing, and it became much easier as soon as they stepped into the Great Hall. Luna came racing over and threw her arms around them both.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Pansy asked.

"It's really begun."

"Huh?" Harry asked, feeling as eloquent as ever. Luna pulled them over to where she had been sitting.

"Hedwig brought me your copy of the paper today."

Looking down, it was obvious what the problem was. Now that he glanced around the room, he realized breakfast was much more quiet and somber than usual. There were a few guys over at the Slytherin table gathered together talking about it, and that one sleaze Warrington that Flora loathed so much actually smirked at him.

Harry's strategy at avoiding the cursed day hadn't seemed to matter this year. For once, the danger wasn't at Hogwarts. But it would be coming soon enough, that was clear. He sat down, determined to make it past the headline and see if there was anything more he could learn from the Daily Prophet. Really though, the headline was all it took to ruin the day.

_**Death Eaters Break Out of Azkaban!** _


	75. Troubles Keep Piling On

* * *

_**Death Eaters Break Out of Azkaban!** _

Luna was right. The war was underway.

As if things couldn't get any worse, McGonagall was striding down the aisle towards them. He had hoped to avoid too much punishment, but she looked to be in a particularly bad mood.

He would have sighed, but it wouldn't have mattered. Besides, getting to see Radiohead was worth it.

"With me you two," she said, not looking behind her as she led them out of the Great Hall.

"I'll save you some breakfast," Luna called. Pansy smirked at him as Harry just wrapped an arm around her and followed McGonagall. They stopped when she came to the nearest room and showed them inside.

"To keep this brief, I have spoken with the professors whose classes the two of you skipped yesterday. While you may have felt you had your reasons for not wanting to attend yesterday, it was still a violation of the rules. That being said, both of you should speak with everyone whose classes you missed at some point today. They will handle whatever punishments and makeup work you will be responsible for. Understood?"

"Yes professor."

"Good." She walked back over to the door. "Mr. Potter, while I understand your feelings about the day, I hope you will find a more responsible way to handle things next year. As a prefect, I really have to hold you to a higher standard."

"I understand, professor McGonagall."

"Very well. There's still some time if you wish to eat before the first lessons begin."

As they parted, Harry looked over to Pansy with a grin. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it might be."

"True. Let's hurry though before all that's left is whatever Luna has set aside for us."

"I take it you're hungry then? I guess we have been working up an appetite the past few days."

"Shut up, Harry."

"Fine, spoil my fun," he huffed. Pansy clearly wasn't buying his fake distress. "I figured it might help to keep from worrying too much about what's in the paper. I should probably talk to Sirius tonight. See if he can tell me any more."

"Yes, you should. Tell him to get Moody's arse in gear at hunting those bastards down."

"I think you might be scarier than Sirius. I doubt he'd be up to ordering Alastor around like that."

"But you think I could?"

"Your ferocity has always been something I've loved."

"Ferocity? I guess that's a nicer way to put it."

Harry leaned in closer and whispered, "I wouldn't want to call you a cold-hearted bitch in public. Most people wouldn't understand that it was a compliment."

"Moody would though, ironically enough."

"True," Harry snorted. "That should tell you why he was my favorite teacher."

"I think I still prefer dear old Sluggy myself."

"We'll have to see how good of a mood he's in later today."

"We won't have time until after all of our classes."

"Yeah, but stopping by Binns should be easy enough," Harry suggested. "He probably won't even know which Goblin Rebellion he was discussing yesterday."

"They all seem pretty samey the way he tells them. Who'd ever think that war could be so boring?"

* * *

They were correct in assuming that Binns wouldn't have even noticed they had been gone, and they also lucked out in professor Vector just giving them the assignment they would need to complete for the next Arithmancy lesson.

Slughorn and Watts both gave them extra work to catch up on as well. For Defense though, Watts also gave them a detention for that evening.

Good old Sluggy just asked that they come by his office some time that weekend. When he remembered that the first quidditch match was the coming Saturday, the Potions master decided to make it Sunday after lunch.

For some reason, he seemed even more anxious than the two students who were supposedly in trouble. Harry just chalked it up to nerves due to the news about the Death Eaters. Harry would never call the old man brave per se, but he certainly didn't seem to be a fan of the violence that Riddle and his followers had unleashed.

Classes were tense that day as well. Teachers and students alike were on edge.

At lunch, the Carrows came over asking for another meeting as soon as possible. Harry agreed to run one that very night, and when he mentioned this to the Defense professor, Watts said not to cancel it. He would prefer to come along and handle the detention he scheduled that night after observing what Harry was teaching his group.

Harry wasn't sure if that was ominous or not, but the retired auror generally seemed pleasant enough and he had approved of Harry's club so far. He decided just to keep his fingers crossed and see what would happen.

* * *

"Welcome everyone," Harry began as the others filed into the same large room they had been using for the last few meetings. The contingent of Slytherin girls was particularly tense but no one from the rest of the group appeared to be in the best of moods either.

"I know we've got more reason now than before to start worrying about things. I know this might sound silly, but try not to let that bog you down too much. Being alert and ready to deal with problems is one thing. Over stressing yourself while waiting for the other shoe to drop won't do you any good. Believe me when I say that keeping your calm can help even when you know that there is danger looming. Okay?"

There were a few murmurs and nods before Flora's voice rang out.

"What's the professor doing here today, Harry?"

"Professor Watts, would you care to answer that sir?"

"I don't mean to intrude," the older man smiled. "I have business with Harry later and wanted a chance to see how well this group was doing. Think of me as nothing more than an observer for this evening. Since most of my best students are gathered here, it is something I'd like to know more about."

"Fair enough," Harry nodded. "Any other questions?"

"Can we meet more often?" Ella Wilkins asked. She was one of the Slytherins that was a year ahead of him. Out of that little group that had banded together, it seemed like she had been assigned as their spokeswoman.

"I'll see what I can do," Harry answered. "I know that we all feel like we need it now more than ever. However, keep in mind, that several members are also working on teaching things to the younger years. While they might not be advanced enough magically to handle the work we've been doing here, I would like to make sure that everyone is protected as much as possible.

"On the other hand, thankfully, the big quidditch match is this weekend and hopefully Angelina won't be scheduling as many practices after that's taken care of."

"I can agree to that, Harry," his captain replied.

"Great. Now then, I guess we should get to work. This week I'd like to go over three similar curses, all of which can be useful if you get into a particularly dangerous situation. However, let me reiterate that these are not spells to use just for fun as all of them can cause some serious destruction.

"First off, we have the Reductor Curse. It is rather simple both in wand movement and incantation. The more power you put into it, the more damage it can put out. I'll demonstrate:

_"Reducto!"_

A blue light sped across the room and shattered an old unused desk into very small chunks of wood.

"One of the benefits of this spell is that if you don't over power it, you are left with shrapnel that can then be used to deal with any enemies that haven't been damaged yet. Assuming they weren't already wounded in the primary effects of the spell. Like so:

_"Depulso!"_

Harry threw the shredded pieces of the desk against the nearby wall.

"It's like a grenade," Dean said. Harry turned and saw a few nods from people like Hermione who grew up in the muggle world.

"That is definitely one way to look at it. Of course, at the same time, keep in mind that this spell can harm your friends or yourself if you aren't careful with it. And whatever environment you're in will also take a beating, naturally. Practicing this will likely lead to knowing the Mending Charm like the back of your hand."

He turned back and waved his wand as the fragments once again took shape as a desk.

"Now, this is something we'll need to be a bit more careful with, so let's split into..." Harry looked over the room and judged the space available. "I think we can manage four groups without too much problem. Everyone line up and I'll spread the desks out. Let's make sure to hit our targets and only our targets, alright? I'll go over the spell itself a couple of times and then we'll let you all try it out a few times. We can consider this practice for _Reparo_ too, which I assume everyone knows. It's a pretty basic spell, I know, but it can be useful in a lot of situations."

"Like what?"

Harry recognized Parvati's voice behind him and he had to contain his original snarky response. Sirius wasn't there to tease, sadly.

"Alright, let's imagine that you're at home and the Death Eaters decide to attack your family for one reason or another. They start throwing spells before they even come inside, and your house is coming apart while they're also trying to kill you. Obviously, not getting hit by their curses is a primary concern, but you might need to keep the roof from falling on you at the same time."

"He's got a point," Professor Watts piped up. "I've had to use the spell in a similar situation before, many years ago. The Death Eaters liked to set homes on fire when they went out on their raids. You should have all learned the Flame Freezing Charm in second or third year, I believe. It might be a good idea to brush up on it, just in case. Relatedly, the Bubblehead Charm can be a life saver if you're surrounded by smoke and flames. As I recall, that wasn't a spell that was taught until I was a fifth year though, so many of you might not have learned it yet."

"We'll put those on the list for next time," Harry agreed. "Now, here's a little secret that will make Madam Pomfrey very mad at me. _Reparo_ is meant to be used on things, not people. However, in a last resort, it can be used to close wounds."

Watts chuckled and Harry turned to him.

"Poppy will definitely be mad at you if she hears about that." The Defense professor looked around at the group and continued. "Potter is right, but it will leave behind a nasty scar, so actual healing spells are much better."

"Maybe you can help me convince her to start teaching us more of those actual healing spells then, professor," Harry replied with a smirk.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent. Well, let's get to work on the Reductor Curse then..."

The next half hour flew by as everyone learned how to blow things up. It was a fun lesson to be sure. Unfortunately, Harry saw that he would need to temper some of his friends if they wanted to be able to use everything they could about the spell. Several of them were putting so much into it that there was little to nothing left over after the original explosive effect of the curse.

Flora's _Reducto_ had barely even left dust behind.

That meant that Harry spent almost twice as much time coaching people into lowering the power they were throwing into the spell so that there were enough fragments left to be able to cause injuries.

That was one of the things Harry really liked about the spell. If you targeted something behind an enemy, they could be damaged from behind by flying debris. A shield spell was almost always used to protect one's front- attacks from the rear were much harder for anyone to deal with.

Of course, that also tied into the fact that he could theoretically use a summoner to draw things towards an enemy and strike them in back. However, that required an amount of finesse that could be even more dangerous depending on what you were using, and he didn't want to push his luck. There had already been a few scratches just from learning the first spell tonight.

He was going to have to push the rest of what he had wanted to teach that night to the next lesson. Still, it was good progress over all and definitely something that could be useful in a fight against the sorts of scum that were now loose. Ramping up to more dangerous spells could be done soon enough.

At least, he hoped it would be soon enough.

* * *

After the lesson, Harry and Pansy waited behind with the Defense professor.

"That was very good work tonight. You've obviously put a lot of thought into things like that, eh Potter?"

"Yes sir. It's been necessary in the past. And, it could obviously be useful in the future, what with all of these rogue Death Eaters on the loose," Harry replied. Watts snorted at that. "Besides, I'd rather teach them things like that if it could save lives some day. Better to know how to do it and not need it than vice versa."

"Indeed."

The teacher waved a chair over and took a seat.

"You know, I've actually enjoyed teaching more than I thought I would. Now I just have to hope that I don't get called back to active duty any time soon. Of course, if I don't, that could end up even worse in the long run." Watts shook his head regretfully. "It's such a damn mess we're in, and Fudge is just making things worse day by day. The longer he buries his head in the sand, the more danger we're all in. I don't envy Amelia her job."

"Yeah, it does seem like it would be a nightmare to be part of the DMLE right now."

"What do you think we should do, sir?" Pansy asked.

"I am not the right person to answer you. You need someone like Alastor. He's the one who got more done than anybody last time."

"But weren't you one of his colleagues?"

"Pansy, I was one of his colleagues in the same way that a first year is one of yours. True, we were in the same place at the same time, but we were never on the same level. You see, there aren't a lot of us that survived the war in the first place. I don't think anyone came out of it without some scars. Alastor has us all beat, but that's partially because he never knew when to quit.

"But I did."

"How so?" Harry wondered.

"When I first joined the aurors, things were quiet. I grew up in the shadow of Grindelwald and World War II. Afterwards, it was time to rebuild. A lot of us young fools thought that being aurors would be noble work. To help make sure that no more Dark Lords could rise, that our society would be stable. We were idealists. And for awhile, everything worked fine. The Sixties were nice and quiet in the magical world. Now we know that you-know-who and his followers were building their strength in the shadows, but at the time, we didn't have a clue that people could be so stupid as to want more carnage not even a generation removed from the previous Dark Lord. Then the Seventies rolled around and everything went to hell.

"We aurors were on the front lines, of course, as soon as the violence began. But very few of us really had any idea of what to expect. Oh sure, some of the veterans had an inkling, but the auror force has always been more of a younger wizard or witch's calling. Too long in the field can lead to too many accidents, too many curses, and if you live long enough, too many horrible things that no one should have to see.

"I lost my first partner in one of the earliest attacks. His name was Charlie... Charlie Pounds. We had worked together for almost a decade, and other than a murder case back in sixty-five, I don't think either of us had really been forced to dodge anything dangerous since our training. We happened to run into some of those Death Eater bastards trying to cause some havoc and we put a stop to it. This would have been in early seventy-one. I doubt it was anything serious, since they didn't put up much of a fight. They threw a few spells at us and left since they probably didn't want to have to go up against aurors. Alastor always thought it was a training exercise, and he was probably right.

"But Charlie managed to hit one of them with a spell that severed one of the bastards' arms. Left behind their wand and everything." Watts looked ill for a moment. "Sounds like a victory, right? No one was killed and one of the bad guys was severely wounded. Let me tell you, it wasn't worth it.

"Not after what they did to Charlie's family..."

Harry's memory kicked in as he saw the older man on the verge of tears. "He had two daughters, didn't he?"

"How did you know?"

"There was a lot of mail for me to go through a couple of years ago."

"Yes, I remember reading about that."

"One of the letters was from a Mrs. Pounds. It would have been Charlie's mum. She wrote about what happened."

"I'm sorry you had to read that, Potter. I'm even sorrier that anyone had to live it. I... I was one of the ones called into the scene to investigate. I had known those girls since they were little. And his wife-"

Watts stopped to wipe at his eyes and take a deep breath. "Partners tend to get close, and that means our families tend to get close too. Josephine was my Mary's best friend. She was like an aunt to those girls. I had to go home that night and tell her what had happened. That was the worst day of my life, Mr. Potter.

"And it was only the beginning of the war, but I'd already seen more than enough. About a year later, I got lucky. Alastor Moody saved my life. It was an attack out in rural Wales that several of us responded to. But those bastards were waiting for us. They had us outnumbered and we were being bombarded with spells as soon as we arrived. Three good witches and wizards lost their lives that day. I caught a bone breaker in the leg and went down right as a killing curse flew over my head.

"We all would have died if Alastor wasn't there, though. He was the best of us. I know that he took out at least two of theirs. There were a couple of others I saw that were in pretty bad shape too, but by then I was just praying for my own life. Alastor got a portkey into my hands that took me to St. Mungo's. I was there for several days and still limping by the time they let me go."

Watt paused again and looked straight at Harry. "I heard about that lesson you gave with the pigs. I'm very glad you did that, Potter. Hopefully, you scared a few people off from thinking that times like this are anything other than horrifying. That's a lesson I wish someone had taught me. Instead, I was a wounded auror whose nerves had been shattered. There were a couple of old timers that had been working at Azkaban that wanted to get back out there. Maniacs, if you ask me. But they saved my life too. I transferred out to prison duty."

"That's why you said the Patronus was a specialty of yours," Pansy concluded.

"Exactly. I knew it already, but I've had a lot of practice with it over the years. I could have gone back to active duty within a few months, physically at least. But I had three small children of my own. I would have done anything to keep them safe."

"I don't blame you for that," Harry said. "Keeping the people we love safe is what all of us want. That's sort of why I'm teaching people."

"I can see that," Watts agreed. He stood up and stretched. "I suppose that brings up your punishment. I want you to keep working with this group. You've put a lot of thought into it so far, and I don't want to see that end. That will be more important than any sort of detention I would ever set.

"Besides, it's not like I never skipped a class, either."

"Thank you, sir."

"I can see why Alastor likes you so much, Potter. He told me you were his protege over the summer. In my book, that's high praise indeed. It also suggests you might be a little too close to madness for my tastes, but better that than dead."

"Was there an assignment we needed to make up?" Pansy asked.

"Don't bother with it," Watts shrugged. "You're both ahead of most of the class by a long shot. I'll be shocked if either of you get less than an Outstanding on your OWLs. In fact, I have a feeling there will be several high scores in Defense this year. Hell, you might even help me get a bonus."

He started to chuckle as he headed for the door.

"That's a relief, then," Pansy said once he had left. "I wasn't sure about professor Watts before. Yes, he's been helpful so far, but I was still worried about how much we could trust him."

"It would be really nice if we could get Pomfrey convinced to teach us a lot more healing. At least basic first aid is the type of thing that everyone should know, not even counting the Death Eaters on the loose."

"True. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that he's as good as his word."

* * *

By the next evening, they found out that Gordon Watts succeeded in convincing the Matron to run several seminars on healing magic. Harry was impressed and very thankful. His only problem was that the first of them was going to be scheduled at the same time as one of his quidditch practices.

Pansy, Luna, and most of the others in the group decided to go to it. He'd just have to hope that he could learn some of it second hand.

Skipping practice would have likely made Angelina try to kill him. The match against Slytherin was just days away.

* * *

However, before the weekend could roll around, Harry had one more complication to deal with.

After dinner Wednesday evening, he was trying to head back to his quarters, supposedly for a nap before the late night Astronomy lesson. As long as the day had been, he might have even let Pansy get some sleep, although he was obviously thinking more of other activities in bed.

"Hey, Harry?"

With his path blocked by Neville, he stopped and let his friend come through the gateway of the Fat Lady's painting.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Neville." Harry's eyes watched his girlfriend's strut as she passed him.

"Don't take too long, Harry."

"Right," he turned to Neville. "What can I do for you?"

"In private," the shy boy responded. "Please?"

"Yeah, come this way." Harry led them down a corridor until they were alone and then threw up a couple of privacy charms.

"Thanks, Harry." Longbottom paced for a minute then took a deep breath and stuttered out, "I... I want you to teach me to f-fight. I shouldn't have given up on your group."

"Okay. Why though?"

"You saw the paper the other day. Those monsters are running loose."

"Oh." Harry stopped and leaned against a wall, realizing exactly what was bothering his friend. "This is about your parents, right?"

"I... yes," Neville admitted. "You told us last year that Crouch was really alive, that he was the one helping you-know-who. Now the Lestranges are all free too. I need to learn to fight. That's all of the... the ones who tortured my parents."

"I understand, but we've got a problem."

"What?"

"The reason I'm teaching that group is not so that teenagers will try to hunt down Death Eaters."

"But-"

"I'm not mad, Neville. I can understand wanting revenge. But would your parents be happy if you got yourself killed? They were both trained aurors, and they still were defeated by these psychos. It wouldn't be very nice of me to let their son get himself killed because he wanted vengeance."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Neville. If it were, you and I both would have grown up with our parents." Harry saw that his friend appeared ready to argue some more, so he tried to cut him off in a different way. "Look, I'm not saying no, okay? I just want you to make sure that you're doing this because you want to be able to protect yourself and others. Once you can look me in the eye and tell me that's what you want, then I'll let you in. Just take a few days to think it over. Alright?"

"Yeah, I guess," Neville grumbled. "I just want to make them proud."

"I think they'd be proud of you for a lot of other reasons, Nev. And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want you in danger."

* * *

Harry had left Neville to his thoughts, and he hadn't yet been approached by the time Saturday morning came. He was hoping that maybe after the weekend, Neville would have a better answer about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, the quidditch team was gathered together in the Great Hall. Harry had Fred and George to his left, with Ron further down, while the chasers all sat across from them. Nobody seemed too interested in breakfast; not even the twins were their usual buoyant selves.

Once they were headed out to the locker rooms that Saturday, the tension at the school was the worst it had been since the attacks from the basilisk. Harry knew it wasn't a good sign.

Stepping out onto the pitch, he could only look across at the waiting Slytherin team and hope things didn't get too brutal, too quickly. Madam Hooch had never really proven the ability to keep the matches from spiraling into violence, and based on the size of their opponents, he was pretty sure the fouls were going to be worse than ever.

He did try to take notice of their new seeker, a guy named Harper who was a year below him. He was probably the only one that didn't outweigh Harry by two or three stone, so hopefully that would be one less thing for him to worry about as he went for the snitch.

The opening whistle had them all blurring around the pitch, Harry trying to focus on his job. But within less than a minute, he'd already heard the boos starting as Crabbe had sent a deliberate bludger at Katie, his nearest Gryffindor target despite the fact that the quaffle was half the pitch away. It drew the first penalty shot, and Katie put them into the lead.

Unfortunately, Ron's nerves were worse than most, and even with three more penalties, one by Fred after Goyle nearly took Angelina's head off, the Slytherins had tied things up at thirty.

The snitch hadn't been spotted yet, and Harper wasn't in his vicinity, when a bludger smashed into Harry's side and the whistle blew yet again.

"Penalty, Slytherin!"

He'd been able to hold onto his broom, rolling with the hit, but he was nursing some very sore ribs now.

"You alright, Harry?" Angie called as she flew over by him.

"I'll live. Just put it past that idiot Bletchley for me."

"Will do."

His captain was as good as her word, and Gryffindor had retaken the lead. Harry started flying faster while trying to keep his head on a swivel. He had to make sure to keep moving so that he wouldn't be an easy target, as Crabbe and Goyle were clearly firing their bludgers at whoever they could try to injure, with not even a cursory attempt at staying within the rules.

"Come on, Ron!"

Lee Jordan's voice as he announced the game tended to fade away into the background for the most part when Harry was focused, but for some reason this time it caught his attention. Warrington had the quaffle and was past all the other players. Harry turned and saw Ron fall for a fake and the game was once again tied.

A moment later, a time out had been called and Harry flew down to join his team.

"Are you going to be alright, Alicia?" Angelina asked.

"I'll make it, but guys," she turned to Fred and George, "I need you to keep the bludgers away from them more."

"Agreed," Angelina added. "Don't worry so much about taking the Slytherins out, but try to keep those two ogres from having as many shots at us. It looks like Montague didn't even bother to teach them the rules about playing as beaters."

"We'll do all we can, but that will give the Slytherin chasers more of a chance to score."

"That's on you, Ron," Angie said, turning to their new keeper. "You need to get your head in the game. There wasn't much you could do on the last one, but I know you're better than what I've seen today. That first goal you let in was awful. Get focused.

"That leaves you, Harry."

"Yeah, boss?"

"Find that damn snitch before any of us get too banged up by these bastards."

"I'm on it."

"Good. Back in the air!"

They all lifted off, and play resumed with another foul called almost immediately. Katie scored on the penalty shot, and Gryffindor was back in the lead.

A couple of minutes later, there was a roar from the Gryffindor section of the stands as Ron had finally made a good save. Harry barely heard it though as the little golden snitch had come out for the first time he'd seen.

Unfortunately, Harper was close by too, so the duo began diving for it at the same time. It zigged and zagged, but Harry's Firebolt gave him an advantage.

A bludger flew by, nearly hitting each of them, and there was a distant sound of a whistle, but he paid it no mind as he reached out and grabbed the snitch.

Harry pulled up just as Harper tried one last time to smash into him, and the rest of the team flew in, screaming in celebration.

"Gryffindor wins, 210-40!"

* * *

The party back in the common room was delayed by half the team needing to stop in to see Madam Pomfrey. Harry also ran into Sirius, who had come to watch the day's match and congratulated him on the win. But he also noticed something was off with his godfather, who asked him to call him on the mirror later that night when he could.

Harry put that out of his mind for the moment. Soon enough, he was snogging Pansy, drinking butterbeer, and relaxing as for that afternoon, all thoughts of the war were put aside for a little while.

Even Ron had cheered up after the victory. Harry hoped that future matches would be a lot easier on his old friend, as his nerves calmed down with some more experience.

Otherwise, it would be a long season.

But Ron was smiling as much as anyone, talking with Seamus about one of his saves. Harry had even seen Hermione congratulate him with a hug. His massive blush made Harry wonder if Ron had finally noticed that she was a girl- hopefully, the ship had sailed on that potential relationship. The last year had been a lot nicer with the two of them no longer arguing constantly.

* * *

Hours later, Harry and Pansy has excused themselves back to their quarters. Dinner was coming up, and both of them wanted a chance to relax with a bit of quiet before heading to the Great Hall.

"I guess I should call Sirius now."

"Want me to give you some privacy?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know if that's necessary."

"I haven't had much of a chance to talk to Luna today. Why don't I go do that while you have some guy time with your godfather?"

"Alright. Tell Luna I'll see her at dinner."

She nodded as she got up and went to their bedroom. Harry reached over to the table and grabbed the mirror.

"Sirius?"

It took only a moment for a response to come.

"Hey, Harry. Nice catch today."

"Don't take this wrong, but you don't look so good."

"I might have had a little drink. Or five," Sirius sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"There was part of the Death Eater story left out of the papers."

"Oh?"

"One of them didn't escape."

"What happened?"

"Remus and I- look, I know you don't like him, but I needed an old friend beside me. We've spent most of the week hanging out together."

"Why?"

"We're the only two marauders left now."

"Oh..."

"Yeah," Sirius exhaled, and Harry saw him reach over for a glass, downing a shot of what was clearly firewhisky based on the steam that blew out of his ears a moment later. "Apparently, old Tom Riddle was none too pleased with Peter. His betrayal might have led him right to your parents' door, but it also led to Tom's downfall. That must not have set well with him."

"I imagine not."

"Right. Plus, beyond that, Peter had hidden away afterwards for all those years. I'm guessing that wasn't something that Riddle was too pleased by either. He was... he was hung up on the wall, with his stomach slashed open. Riddle left behind a message too. I'm assuming Dumbledore didn't say anything to you about it?"

"No. He hasn't said anything to me this term. Why? What did it say?"

"It said, 'Failures and cowards will be punished.' It was written in Peter's blood." Sirius shook his head sadly. "You know, I never thought avenging James and Lily would feel so completely hollow."

"Maybe because you didn't do it," Harry suggested. "There's a big difference with what happened here. It's not like you or I killed him for betraying us. It was just the Dark Lord being a crazy bastard, as usual."

"I know. It still doesn't make things feel any better." Sirius paused to take another drink. "It's made me wonder where we went wrong. I mean, Peter was like a brother to us, Harry. For almost a decade, I would have sworn that he would fight and bleed and die for us if need be. I just can't help thinking about how that boy that had been one of my best friends could have fallen so far. It sucks."

"Yeah, that does suck. I'm sorry, Sirius."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"But that wasn't all that I wanted to tell you. There was one more piece of the story that's been hushed up so far. The dementors have left the prison too. We think they've joined the Dark Lord."

"Shit. That is really, really not good."

"I know. I'm not sure how Fudge thinks he's going to keep that quiet. It's going to be hard to blame it all on rogue Death Eaters too. You might want to keep that in mind and try to teach your group the Patronus charm. They might need it in the coming months."

"Right. Thanks for letting me know. I might have some help with that, actually."

"How so?"

"Our Defense professor this year- Gordon Watts. He was an Azkaban guard for a long time and said that he would be open to running some extra lessons on the Patronus, although probably not till the spring term."

"That should help. You might mention this to him, though. He might want to move that lesson plan up on his schedule."

"Yeah, I will."

"So..."

"So..." Harry wondered if this conversation would lead to any more bad news. "Moody hasn't by any chance had some luck hunting down the Death Eaters?"

"No, no luck there either."

"Damn."

"Yeah, I know. You should keep your eyes peeled at Hogsmeade, though."

"Why?"

"It's a perfect target to inspire terror. Especially if the kids are out for the weekend. Plus, they've done it before. And with psychos like my cousin on the loose, things could get really bad. These aren't the types who could put on a mask of decency and hide in polite society. Not like Malfoy, for example. We're talking about the worst of the worst, who won't have any trouble slaughtering innocent civilians."

"Right. You should probably mention that in the next order meeting then."

"Believe me, we're all over it. Don't be surprised if you see me, Mad-Eye, Remus, or even little Nymmie on your visits from now on."

"How is little Nymmie? She hasn't hexed you too bad for calling her that yet?"

"I might have a slightly better sense of self-preservation than that," Sirius winked. "I've had the pleasure of dining with my cousin Andy and Ted a couple of times lately, and I've learned a few of their tricks about how to annoy Tonks in ways other than bringing up her hated name."

"You ever think about what will happen if she gets married? I mean, she wouldn't be Tonks anymore then."

"I wouldn't put it past her to try to legally change her first name at the same time. Like, if she were to marry you, instead of becoming Nymphadora Potter, she'd want to be called Tonks Potter."

"Yeah, I don't think that would work, on a number of levels. Other than the fact that Pansy and I are together, I don't think Tonks and I would be a good match. Plus, calling people by their last name always feels impersonal. I couldn't do that with someone I was dating."

"You could call her Dora," Sirius suggested.

"That's a little too normal a name for someone like her, I think. I'd probably go with Nym instead. It's short and cute, but also unique. That would fit better, probably."

"Okay, other than that, why wouldn't you want to be with my dear little cousin?"

"You know, if you're trying to tease me, this is hardly working," Harry replied with a grin. "Anyway, the hair would be a problem."

"You don't like pink?"

"No, the color isn't an issue. But she'd need to grow it longer. I've grown so used to Pansy that not being able to occasionally pull a woman's hair while in bed would just feel wrong."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Thanks Harry. I needed that."

* * *

"So, what did Sirius have to say?"

They were getting ready for bed, and sadly, they were unable to properly celebrate the quidditch victory. Pansy was far too crampy.

"Do you mind if you sleep on the other side of the bed tonight?"

"Why?"

"My ribs are still a little sore."

"Oh. Yeah, sure," she answered as she scooted over. Harry climbed in behind her, and this time it was his left arm that went around her. She arranged his hand to be in just the right spot for comforting her. "I thought Pomfrey would have fixed that."

"She did. It's still just a little tender. I imagine I'll be fine tomorrow."

"Good. So, Sirius?"

"Oh, yeah. Bad news and worse news. For one thing, the dementors have apparently rebelled."

"That's why it was so easy for the Dark Lord to break his Death Eaters out, I guess?"

"Yeah."

"That's fucking awful. We probably need to teach the group the Patronus then."

"Yeah, Sirius suggested that too. I'm going to talk to professor Watts after the next class, and see if he can help teach it too. He did mention doing it next term anyway, and on something like this, we'll want all the help we can get."

"Agreed. What's the worse news?"

"That was the worse part, actually. The other part was more personal... and not necessarily _bad_ , I guess. Just, I don't know... troubling maybe?"

"Well, spit it out then."

"It was Pettigrew."

"What about the little rat?"

"Apparently the Dark Lord wasn't pleased with him. He killed him and left behind a message about cowards and failures being punished."

"I don't really see what's bad about that. He might have been somewhat useless, but it's still one less Death Eater for us to worry about."

"I know, but it rattled Sirius pretty bad. This wasn't justice for James and Lily. It was really rather pathetic. But then again, this is the same man who lived for more than a decade as a rodent. So, I guess pathetic is a fitting way for him to meet his end too."

"No offense to Sirius, but I'm glad he's gone. As a rat, he was a prison escape just waiting to happen. I know the ministry put him in a special cell, but I pretty much expect nothing but incompetence and corruption from them. Call me jaded, if you will."

"You're jaded," Harry grinned. "Then again, so am I. But I don't think everyone at the ministry is useless. Moody, Watts, Bones- I trust them. Too bad they seem like the exceptions to the rule though."

"Yeah. I hope that retard Fudge gets what's coming to him. Fucking useless bastard. They should hang him in the middle of Diagon Alley."

"I don't think they'd want the kids shopping for school supplies to see that," Harry snorted.

"I'm serious, Harry. That fucking idiot is guilty of treason. I don't care if it's cowardice now instead of being owned by the Malfoys. People are going to die because of him. The penalty for treason, especially for the minister of magic, is still death. And that's how it should be."

"Yeah, fair enough. I wouldn't lose any sleep over him getting hanged."

"After everything that's happened today, I think we both need plenty of sleep."

"I can definitely-" Harry yawned before he could finish, "I could use a nice long night."

"Sounds wonderful," Pansy agreed before yawning as well. "Hopefully Dobby won't need to wake us for anything. Let's plan on a late breakfast in bed."

"Okay." Harry burrowed down into the pillow and smiled as he smelled Pansy's hair. He loved whatever that shampoo or conditioner was. He needed to remember to ask her about it someday, but sleep was calling.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry we didn't get to properly celebrate your win today."

"It's okay. I'm a little sore anyway."

"You're not disappointed?"

"Pansy, my love, our sex life could hardly be called disappointing. Between the sore ribs, the stress, and everything else, I am beat."

"Okay, I, I just-"

"What's the matter?" Harry yawned again.

"I don't like to think that what we have is becoming routine. I don't want you to get bored with me. I don't know, maybe... maybe I'm just feeling a little insecure."

"I have no idea why, but I promise you this, as soon as you're feeling up to it, I'll spend all night licking every inch of your body so you'll know exactly how much I still enjoy you. Sound good?"

"Every inch? Even my armpits?" she chuckled.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Harry, don't be ridiculous. That couldn't possibly turn you on."

"No, but you've challenged my libido and my overwhelming amount of lust for you. So I've got a point to make. Get those armpits ready for some licking." They both giggled before Harry yawned again. "Now, can we get some sleep? I'll be sure to worship you more tomorrow."

"Good night, Harry."

* * *

They did eventually drag themselves out of bed that Sunday. That afternoon, they had a meeting with good old Sluggy, supposedly about the class they had missed almost a week prior. Almost as soon as they walked into his office, Harry got a feeling that something else was on the Potions Master's mind.

"You wanted to see us, professor?"

"Ah yes, Harry, Pansy, do come in. Have a seat, please," he motioned to the chairs right in front of his desk.

"I assume this is about us missing class the other day?" Harry asked.

"What? Oh, yes, I suppose." Something was definitely bothering the professor. "No, I guess I shouldn't bother with that. You've both already got the assignments for you to catch up on. That's... that's not why I asked you here today."

"What is it, professor?" Pansy's prodding got him to look away for a moment and then a tea set was floating over onto his desk.

"This... isn't really going to be what I wanted to do with my Sunday afternoon, but I made a promise to myself. I take it the headmaster still hasn't spoken to you about anything Harry?"

"No, sir."

"That's what I was afraid of," Slughorn sighed as he waved his wand and the tea began to pour into cups for all of them. "What I'm going to tell the two of you about should be considered as one of the most dangerous secrets possible. I must stress how careful you should both be. That said, I know how close the two of you are, so I assumed there would be no point to only telling Harry when we both know he isn't likely to keep it from you, my dear Pansy. I want you to both understand just how important this is."

"We understand," Pansy answered as Harry nodded in agreement.

"Have either of you ever heard of a horcrux?"

Harry looked over at Pansy, who shook her head. "No, sir."

"I would have been shocked if either of you said yes. It is one of the darkest forms of magic the world has ever seen. A wizard must commit a terrible sin- the cold blooded murder of an innocent, often a child- and they are then able to tear a portion of their very soul apart, and place that portion into an object. As long as that object exists, the wizard cannot be killed. Or at least, they cannot be permanently killed.

"That's what Riddle did then?"

"Yes, Harry. However, even as a teenager, Tom was always one to strive to go beyond what others might. I'm afraid he did not only create one. It is likely that he created several. Probably seven."

"Why seven?" Harry asked.

"Arithmancy," Pansy replied. "Seven is supposed to be the most powerful magical number. Three and thirteen are also very powerful. Three for a number of reasons, like the three Deathly Hallows, and thirteen is usually tied to lunar calendars, but also in ancient pagan ways, it ties to a woman's cycle which usually have thirteen in a year. Arguably, thirteen would be even more powerful for a witch because of that. But seven is traditionally seen as the most powerful number. And I would guess the Dark Lord wouldn't settle for anything less."

"Correct my dear. Five points to Slytherin for paying attention in Arithmancy. Septima would be quite pleased."

"So, we need to destroy seven of these things before he can be killed?"

"Yes, Harry. But, not seven. Not anymore."

"Huh?"

"The diary, my dear boy. Tom's diary that you told me about."

"That's what that was?"

"I'm afraid so. I believe that his murder of poor Myrtle would have been what Tom used to create it. Such a pity," the old professor shook his head mournfully. "I had hoped to never see another murdered student after what happened to her. But Tom wasn't through trying to ruin things. Until Lily's miracle, we were all nearly plunged into darkness."

"So we need to destroy six more of them then?" Pansy asked. "Do you have any idea what else he might have used, sir?"

"Albus believes that Harry actually destroyed a second that day in the graveyard."

"The snake?"

"Correct, my dear boy. A very lucky blow that was, more so than you probably believed." Slughorn reached for his cup and took another sip of tea. "As for the rest, I am not sure what he might have used. Albus supposedly has a plan for dealing with them. But then, Albus always has a plan. Not that he's bothered to tell any of the rest of us what is going on. That is why I had hoped he had spoken to you, Harry. You are at the center of things, unfortunately. You've already done much more than we should ever ask of a teenager. I'm hoping that we won't have to ask too much more from you."

"Why do you say that?" Pansy asked.

"Because, while seven is the most powerful number, Tom would have wanted a seven part soul. Which means one piece would have resided within his body. So he would have only created six horcruxes."

"But you said he created seven."

"I believe- and I am only guessing here, Albus likely knows more- but I believe that he may have created a seventh horcrux on accident."

"How can you possibly create something that powerful on accident?" Pansy blurted out. "That goes against everything we've learned of ritual magic."

"True, but-"

"My scar," Harry sighed. "When else have we heard of something go against the rules of magic? My mother's miraculous sacrifice that somehow stopped the supposedly unstoppable killing curse. My strange connection to him. My parselmouth ability. It explains a lot."

"No!" Pansy yelled. "No way in hell am I letting that crazy old man get you killed. We'll leave the country. The Dark Lord can have it."

"Pansy-"

"No, Harry. You are mine. The Dark Lord can't have you. You've already sacrificed too much. Dumbledore can get off his lazy arse and start fighting this war for real. You and I can run."

"I don't know if that would work," Harry sighed.

"Harry-"

"Pansy, sweetheart, I agree. I have no interest in letting that crazy monster kill me. But it seems like he won't stop coming after me, no matter what."

"And that's why I told Albus that he needs to come up with a better plan," Slughorn interrupted. "However, since he hasn't told me any of his myriad potential schemes, I came up with my own. Give me just a moment."

He opened up a drawer of his desk and pulled out a vial filled with a clear liquid that he then carefully handed over to Harry.

"I don't believe that we should ask Harry to make any more sacrifices either. So, _that_ ," he pointed to the vial, "is what I've come up with."

"What is it?"

"The most perfectly brewed draught of living death I've ever created. And as a Potions Master with decades of experience, I can assure you that I've done my very best. We would still have to somehow get Tom subdued so that it could be administered, but then we could lock him away in the deepest darkest tomb possible-"

"And that would give us all the time we might need to track down the rest of horcruxes," Harry added.

"Among other things, yes. Personally, I believe that should be left in Albus' hands. He is much more knowledgeable about esoteric magic than anyone else I've ever met. But aside from that, it would also mean that you could live your life without having to worry about a death sentence hanging over your head. And you could look for other ways to purify that scar without getting killed."

"Is that possible?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Since Albus hasn't told me of any way, I don't believe he thinks so. But," Slughorn paused for a moment. "Even Albus Dumbledore, as brilliant as he is, would admit that he doesn't know _everything_. There is a very wide world out there. We can hardly expect to know everything about magic. Who knows what witches and wizards might have come up with in the far flung reaches of the world? I would recommend starting that search in either Egypt or Haiti, personally. The Egyptians have studied souls and death for eons, and while I don't have any personal experience, I have heard extraordinary things about the voodoo magic that is practiced in the Caribbean."

"I still don't understand though," Pansy said. "How can Harry have become a horcrux _on accident_? That's insane. For one thing, if his mother's sacrifice was strong enough to stop the killing curse- and that same protection was then powerful enough to burn Quirrel to dust when he was possessed by the Dark Lord- then logically that same protection wouldn't have let a piece of the Dark Lord somehow attach itself to your scar. And even if it did, we know basilisk venom is potent enough to destroy a horcrux because that's what Harry destroyed the diary with. Well, Harry had that same basilisk venom flowing through his veins. Wouldn't that have killed the horcrux too? Or would he have needed to have been stabbed directly in the scar? None of this makes sense."

"I must confess, I don't have any answers for you," Slughorn sighed. "I learned about these horrible things long ago, and at the time, even creating one was thought to be the limit. Creating several horcruxes on purpose, or any of them on accident, were not things I knew that could be done. Albus likely knows more, but-"

"But good luck in trying to get him to part with his secrets," Harry finished. "Yeah. I guess this is why he was so hung up on blood protection that he didn't care about any other consequences of abandoning me with the Dursleys. I don't really know what to do next."

"I suggest you keep doing what you would regularly do. Live your life, Harry. That is hardly the only vial I have- I made sure that Albus has some as well- but since you keep running into Tom, I wanted you to have a dose. The glass is charmed to be unbreakable, so I would recommend keeping it on your person from now on. Just in case."

"That's a good idea. Of course, trying to kill the Dark Lord might be easier than trying to subdue him somehow."

"I know, Harry. I'm sorry to have to tell you any of this, but Albus apparently wasn't going to, and I swore to myself that I wouldn't leave you in the dark. You deserve to know the truth."

"Thank you."

"Can I have a vial as well, professor?" Pansy asked.

"Certainly my dear." He got up and went over to a storage cabinet. Moments later, he removed a second dose and brought it over to her. "Having an extra in case of emergencies is a good idea."

"Are we sure it will work on him?"

"That potion has been known to work even on giants and trolls. While Tom may no longer be completely human, it should still be strong enough to knock out anything other than maybe a dragon."

"Sounds good to me," Harry replied. "It's much better than what we knew coming in today."

"Yes, well I suppose I won't have to keep badgering Albus about talking to you now. However, he really should tell someone about the horcruxes one of these days. We can't rely entirely on him. What would happen if he were killed? I would think he could at least trust Minerva, or that old warrior Moody. Neither of them would ever work for a Dark Lord. But, if not them, he really should talk to you about all this at some point. It's been your struggle against Tom as much as any of ours recently. Whether or not you want to try to get the headmaster to reveal more I will leave to your discretion, Harry."

* * *

Bedtime was tense that evening. Harry waited until Pansy had settled next to him (and wrapped his arm around her like usual) before trying to broach the subject of what they had learned that afternoon.

"Do you still think we should run?"

"I think that makes more sense than anything else," Pansy answered. "I'll kill the headmaster before letting him try to talk you into becoming some sort of martyr. Fuck that crazy old bastard."

"I'm not interested in dying for the cause, believe me. But, I don't think running would fix anything in the long run. Tom would still try to come after me at some point. And even if you and I just left- what about Luna? I know you wouldn't leave her behind either."

"No, I wouldn't. You're right. I suppose you would want to save Granger and Sirius and several others too."

"Yeah."

"So, what do we do?"

"Nothing, I guess."

"What do you mean nothing, Harry?"

"Nothing unusual. I think Sluggy was right. We just keep on living our lives for the moment. There's not much else we can do. Hope that Moody can track down some of the Death Eaters and start taking out some of the snake-faced bastard's forces."

"And we just pretend that there's nothing to do about your scar?"

"I don't think there's anything else we really can do," Harry shrugged. "Maybe plan on going to Egypt or Haiti next summer. And buy a lot of sunscreen. Summer in the desert sounds brutal. I guess we could go to Haiti first."

"I guess so. You're really not worried about all this?"

"I don't know that there's any point. There's going to be a lot more to the war than just trying to kill Riddle. Especially now that the dementors are on the loose. Besides, at least we now have a reason for why I get those strange dreams every now and then."

"I wish I could be as calm about all this. It seems like we can never get a break. I'm fucking tired of everything that keeps piling on us. I don't want to need to go to Haiti or Egypt; I want a summer vacation where you and I can just relax on the beach. Somewhere tropical. Probably with Luna too. I'm sure we could think of some mythical tropical beast for Xeno to search for while the rest of us relax."

"That does sound fun," Harry agreed as Pansy sighed and pulled his arm a little tighter around her. "We'll get there someday. I promise."

"I hope you're right."

"I hope I'm right too."


	76. The Battle for Slytherin

* * *

Sometimes it was frustrating being the girl loved by Harry Potter.

Not for the reason some might think- Pansy actually tended to enjoy the enmity from others who jealously wished they could take her place as his girlfriend. Channeling her inner bitch was pretty easy for her, although Harry might have teased that it was because the bitchiness was right on the surface at times.

And he was right. Not that she would necessarily admit that- not out loud to anyone other than Luna, and certainly not where Harry could overhear her. But the thing was, he truly seemed to love even that bitchy side of her. That was the problem.

At times it felt like Harry was infinitely giving, always willing to please her, always supportive no matter her moods. She knew that deep down there was a part of him still damaged from the years of being treated so horribly by those fucking muggles that Dumbledore gave him to, and she felt both rage and sorrow when she thought about that. Because she also worried that she wasn't giving enough to Harry. A successful relationship needed a balance of give and take, and in her more broody moments, Pansy tended to fret that she could never really do enough for him.

Waking early that Monday morning all bloated and hormonal was one such moment. Her bladder demanded that she get up, no matter how warm and comfy it was having Harry spooned up behind her, so Pansy grudgingly stepped into her slippers by the side of the bed and quietly crept into the bathroom.

She made sure and grabbed her wand on the way so that she could cast a silencing charm on the door before practically collapsing onto the toilet. She started weeping, and she just knew that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from sobbing before getting this all out.

How the hell could Harry have been so calm about learning that he had a piece of that monster attached to his forehead? Logically, she knew it was in part due to his typical grace under pressure, but she also realized that he still didn't understand just how important he was- there was a hole in his natural self-worth due to his atrocious upbringing. He would probably be panicking if there was such a burden on her shoulders. So, of course, falling apart in the bathroom first thing that morning was the beginning of yet another stressful week at Hogwarts.

Once the tears slowed, Pansy struggled to calm back down, deep breaths to put herself back together. Things wouldn't have been so bad if everything had happened either a week earlier or later. Then she could have buried her fears under a hilarious amount of sex, clinging to Harry physically so easily even when her emotions were a mess.

Plus, it was the first time that they hadn't been able to properly celebrate one of his quidditch wins and for some reason that felt like a bad omen.

She went through the motions of everything she needed to do to get ready for the day and eventually remembered to take down the silencing charm so that Harry wouldn't worry if it was still there when he woke up. Pansy was worried enough for both of them.

But it was hard not to want to just run away. Flee to another country and leave the mess with the Dark Lord for Dumbledore and all the other bastards who didn't clean up the things that they had allowed to happen in the first place. Every single one of those 'rogue Death Eaters' was an indictment of their society, and there had been at least twenty five of them at the World Cup only fifteen months prior. That was twenty five murderers who had walked free due to blatant corruption if not horrendous amounts of incompetence.

The stupid fuckers like Fudge deserved whatever the Dark Lord might do to them in the future.

The only problem was that Harry was right too. She would never leave Luna to a fate like that. And Harry wouldn't leave behind people like Granger or Sirius either. Hell, he probably wouldn't want to leave Moody to fight on his own, even if the crazy old man would never accept anything less than hunting dark wizards until his dying day.

After all, his 'peaceful retirement' had barely lasted a year when he was recruited to be their Defense professor and that was then replaced by going back to work in trying to track down the Death Eaters once again.

It was all a mess, and Pansy was dreading things getting even worse. November was hardly off to the best start. Harry's awful luck at Hogwarts was still in effect and she could only hope that it would get better one of these days.

* * *

The classes dragged by that day, which didn't do anything to help her mood. Harry let her lay her head down in his lap and sleep through History of Magic, which wasn't anything unusual. Potions though demanded her attention, and for a change her sample at the end of the day was clearly worse than her boyfriend's. Getting through Arithmancy and Defense after lunch wasn't any easier.

But after that last lesson, she found the Carrow girls waiting for her outside the classroom.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Hestia asked.

"Sure."

"Do you ladies require my presence?" Harry wondered.

"No, but we should probably meet back up once we're done," Flora replied. "Why?"

"Uh, Neville wanted to talk to me, probably about wanting to join our little club. He was interested the other day, but I... well, it's kind of a long story."

"Why don't we meet you by that old Defense room that we've been using for our group? Which, by the way, you still need to name, Harry," Hestia answered with a grin. "You're the leader, it's your job to come up with the name."

"Ugh. I can't come up with anything."

"Seriously?"

"Well, the fighting club seems kinda lame, and I don't think most people would find 'Surviving Death Eaters 101' very amusing."

"Why 101?" Flora asked.

Pansy was wondering that too. She didn't think Harry meant it as a Depeche Mode reference, but then again, she wouldn't put it past him to make a joke that only she would get. Since she didn't get it, she had to assume it wasn't that either, but it did sound kind of catchy actually.

"It's a muggle thing, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll head to that room once I'm done with Neville then."

"Okay, we'll see you there, Harry." Hestia waited until he wandered off and then she took Pansy's arm and they were on their way down the opposite corridor. "That room would be a good place for us to talk anyway."

"And it's not too long a walk," Pansy added. "I approve for that reason if no other."

"You do seem a little crankier than usual," Hestia teased.

"More than the usual amount of stress plus bad timing."

"Say no more," Flora said with a hint of a grin. "Saturday night after quidditch was pretty awful in the common room. The team, who are already a bunch of scumbags, were even more whiny and unpleasant after Harry beat them yet again." She stopped to chuckle for a moment. "I think it's because none of them have played a winning match against Gryffindor, largely due to your boyfriend. Unfortunately, that's part of what we need to talk to you about. But we should wait until we're alone to say anything else."

"Alright."

It did not escape her attention that Flora and Hestia both walked the entire way with their wands in hand. Pansy drew hers as well. She supposed it was better to be safe than sorry.

Thankfully, it was a short, unremarkable trip. Once they had the door locked and some privacy spells up, both Carrows relaxed as they all found places to sit.

"We wanted to warn you," Flora began. "Not that we aren't all on our guard anyway, but one of the idiots was overheard by... who was it, Hes?"

"Diane Carter."

"Right, Carter, she overheard Bletchley talking about how they should get you alone to send a message to Harry."

"That's not surprising, really," Pansy replied.

"True. I'm almost surprised they haven't tried something like that already."

"We just wanted you to know so you could be more cautious," Hestia added. "You don't deserve anything like that, and we all know that some of those... those-"

"Filthy scumbags?" her twin suggested.

"Right, some of those filthy scumbags would probably do terrible things to any girl unlucky enough to be one of their victims. But it might be even worse since you're Harry's girlfriend."

"And his response would be catastrophic," Flora said. "Hogwarts would become a war zone. I'd imagine a lot of blood would be spilled. If Harry were arrested, and with how incredibly stupid the ministry's been lately that is possible, everything could spiral out of control. We all need to be on guard."

"I'm not usually on my own, but I'll keep this in mind. Don't say anything to Harry though."

"Why not?"

"He has enough on his plate. Especially lately."

"Yeah, I can see that," Flora agreed. "Just make sure that nothing happens to you. Harry might tear the entire school apart. I'd like to survive the year, if possible."

"Wouldn't we all?" Pansy nodded. "It's a shame we have such low standards for our school years."

"You can say that again."

"So, are we going to have another meeting soon?" Hestia asked.

"Yeah, Harry's thinking of trying to do at least two a week for the rest of the term. Between that, the groups for the younger years, and now Madam Pomfrey's healing lessons, we're going to be really busy."

"That's not the worst thing in the world. It will keep us together, for one thing."

"True." Pansy thought back to the morning, and remembered seeing a package arrive for the Carrows at breakfast. "Any other news?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The owl this morning."

"Oh," Hestia blushed and looked away. "Lord Black sent us birthday presents."

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks. It wasn't really necessary. He's been amazingly kind to us."

"You can just call him Sirius, you know," Pansy smirked. "He really isn't big into any sort of formality. You should hear the way he and Harry talk to each other. Besides, I think he understands because of how awful his own mother was. Harry told me she was the sort of mad woman who was proud that one of her sons became a Death Eater, and even his death 'in service to the cause' didn't detract from that support."

"That's really fucking nuts," Flora snorted.

"I know, believe me. But that should help you imagine just how bad Sirius must have had it. I think that's why he and Harry get along so well."

"What do you mean?" Hestia wondered.

"Harry's... older than he looks," Pansy frowned. "Not physically mind you, but most of his life has been pretty hard. I mean, you both have heard some of the crap that's happened to him over the last few years. Sirius ran away from home at sixteen, got involved in the war against the Dark Lord as a teenager, saw two of his closest friends betrayed and murdered at twenty one, and then he spent more than a decade locked up in Azkaban. The two of them both have some pretty deep scars but they try to bring out a lighter side in each other. It's sort of like gallows humor, I suppose.

"I like to tease them that it's girl talk when they get together." Flora snorted at her description but Pansy continued. "I've only heard a bit of it, but imagine the two of them making fun of each other constantly and talking very frankly about sex. There's a bit of gossip every now and then too."

"Girl talk indeed," Hestia grinned. "Sirius has asked him to call us by his name. I just felt so grateful for everything he's done that it felt like I should call him by his title, you know?"

"I understand," Pansy nodded.

"He asked us to come home for Christmas, " Flora interjected. "At first, I didn't want to interfere in anything for him. It's not like we're even family, not really, but... maybe we should go."

"I'm sure he'd like that. There's a part of Sirius that's still a big kid... well, not so much underneath the surface, but... I think he just needs to be around the right people to let that out. I imagine Harry and I will probably visit him at some point over the holidays."

"That would be nice," Hestia replied with a smile. "I can't remember the last time we had a good Christmas. Or a visit with friends, for that matter."

"I can relate. When I still lived with my parents, things had been pretty awful for the last several years."

"Even your mum?" Hestia asked, clearly not sure how sensitive the topic might be.

"She... well, she wasn't a Death Eater, but being married to one didn't make her life a very happy one." Pansy sighed and tried to figure out her still somewhat confused feelings about her late mother. "I think things weren't too bad when I was young, but my father was a monster. Maybe he wasn't at first. I guess he must have been somewhat charming to win her over. But I have a lot of memories of him being abusive towards her. It's not commonly known, but I would have had a little brother when I was about six. He was still born."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It was probably for the best, in the long run. My father would have wanted to turn him into another little Death Eater in training. I wouldn't wish that sort of upbringing on anyone. But losing him made things a lot worse for my mother. I think my father took out his anger and frustration about it on her too. In the end, she just sort of... gave up. By the time she died, she was a shell of what I remembered from when I was small."

"I didn't mean to make you-" Hestia began.

"It's alright." Pansy shrugged. "You didn't know. Besides, we should probably talk about something more pleasant on your birthday."

"True. So, girl talk then?"

There was an unfortunate knock at the door that cut that topic off.

"It's probably Harry," Pansy said as she got up. Flora followed her, with her wand at the ready.

"Just in case."

"Yeah," Pansy nodded. "I doubt someone worse would have knocked though."

Removing the spells, they found Harry and Neville waiting outside.

"May we come in?"

"Yes."

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything."

"Only girl talk," Hestia pouted.

"We can always come back later."

"I was kidding, Harry," Hestia replied with a grin. "Come inside."

"Thanks. Neville, let me introduce you to Hestia and Flora Carrow."

"Uh, hi."

"We've been introduced before. So, Neville, are you going to be joining us then?"

"Um, yes. I hope that's not a problem."

"Not with me," Hestia grinned. "What has Harry told you?"

"That I'll likely need to catch up on some things."

"You should probably ask Hermione for help on that," Harry suggested. "She's been at all the meetings and knows all the spells I've taught. I'm sure she wouldn't mind going over everything with you. I'd offer myself, but I don't think I'll have a lot of time."

"Okay."

"Right. So, this is the room we've been meeting in. You'll remember that Lupin taught us here a couple of years ago. It's nice and big, which is why I chose it."

"I... er, I sort of thought it would be more... uh-"

"It's just a room, Neville," Hestia teased with a grin. "It's what we learn here that makes it important."

"Exactly. Speaking of which, there's a couple of spells that I'd like you to start working on in your free time. First, the flame freezing charm, which you should already know. But a refresher wouldn't be a bad idea. It's a really useful spell in general, but also, the Death Eaters have been known for setting houses on fire during their attacks. Secondly, the bubblehead charm, which will allow you to breathe. After all, where there's fire, there's smoke."

"Okay, I think I can do that. I don't know the bubblehead charm though."

"It's in the standard book of spells," Harry replied. "I'm almost positive that Flitwick will be teaching it to us in the spring. You'll just need to get a little bit of a head start. The good news is that I don't ask for any written assignments."

"I might do better with those," Neville admitted.

"Just work on the magic, Nev. I'm not going to test you on anything, so there's no pressure there."

"The pressure will only come if you get involved in an actual Death Eater attack," Pansy smirked. "Better to learn what you can now so that you'll have it in the future."

"Right, yeah." Neville paled at that thought. "I, um, I think I'll head back to the common room. I've got to finish some work for Transfiguration tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Neville," Hestia smiled as he turned for the door. "What?"

Her sister was looking at her askance, but she waited for the door to close before saying anything. "Longbottom? Really?"

"He's not bad looking. Besides, he's a total softie, and compared to all the jerks we're usually around, that's a really nice change of pace. I'm not saying I'm going to snog him or anything, but compare him to someone like that git Pike. Remember the look he gave you in Potions the other day when you were leaning over the cauldron?"

"Ugh, don't make me puke on my birthday," Flora said with a grimace.

"It's my birthday too, and it might make _me_ laugh."

"Alright, so Longbottom isn't as bad as some of the scum we're usually around. Just warn me if you're heading to any broom closets."

"I could tell you a funny story about him," Pansy smirked.

"Will you go easy on Neville? Please?" Harry asked.

"Why?"

"Well, you're always saying I need more male influences in my life, and he is one of my friends."

"Come on, Harry," Pansy whined. "It's not my fault most of the guys you know are idiots."

"You think everyone's an idiot," Harry snorted.

"And?"

"Fine. If it's the story I'm thinking of, it is pretty funny."

Pansy smirked but turned back to Hestia. "So, you know Romilda Vane? She's a third year Gryffindor."

"The really flirty one?" Hestia grinned. "This sounds good."

"Oh, it is. I paid her to teach Longbottom how to kiss a couple of years ago. She was just a firsty at the time. You should have seen the look on his face. He was terrified, but Vane was surprisingly assertive."

"Why?"

"It has to do with Granger, and trying to make her more bearable by getting rid of her moronic infatuation on Ron Weasley."

"Come on, be fair," Harry groaned.

"Fine, it was also about keeping her from giving herself or Harry an ulcer."

"That's true," he admitted with a laugh.

"Well, Hes, it sounds like he might not be completely clueless if you do get him in a broom closet," Flora frowned. "I still don't think he's good enough for you, though."

"You don't think anyone's good enough for me."

"That's true. But you could at least aim higher... for someone like Diggory."

"Ugh. Why do girls like him?" Harry asked, clearly annoyed.

"It's the hair," Hestia replied with a grin. "Besides, you shouldn't talk, mister 'I always look tousled and all the girls want to make my hair even wilder by snogging my face off.' You should be glad that Pansy's kind of terrifying so most girls leave you alone."

"She's right," Pansy smirked. "I haven't had to threaten Parvati despite the fact that you stopped wearing your glasses. She's doing a lot better than I thought, actually."

"Yeah. I am supposed to keep you from killing her, as I recall."

"I've often wondered," Hestia began. "You used to seem a lot more jealous. But, with Parvati in particular, I've noticed that you don't seem to care that she's constantly staring at your boyfriend."

"There's a lot of wistful sighing too," Flora added.

"It's because I think she's funny," Pansy admitted. "Plus, she's smarter than most people give her credit for. And instead of the usual, 'I want to steal Harry away from you' vibes that a lot of girls give me, she's flat out told me she just wants Harry to take her if he ever needs a second girl to take care of him. She almost has a point."

"Why?"

"You're insatiable, Harry."

Hestia giggled at that, and Harry could only shrug. "So, anything else going on then?"

"It's the girls' birthday."

"Oh, happy birthday then."

"Thanks, Harry. But if you really want to do something for us, you should let us have a little girl talk."

"Oh, um, okay. I guess dinner isn't too far off."

"We'll meet you there," Flora suggested.

"Right." Harry scratched his head and began to leave. He was pretty sure he heard a giggle as he closed the door behind him.

"Now then," Hestia turned to Pansy with a serious look on her face. "You can tell us all about how insatiable Harry is."

* * *

Happily, the rest of that week improved greatly for Pansy. In fact, the rest of the month flew by with no further emergencies. It was almost too calm, too quiet.

The group- and Pansy couldn't help but think of it as Surviving Death Eaters 101 from then on- kept meeting and working on ways to both win and flee combat scenarios. They went from Reducto to Expulso to Confringo, all spells designed to explode but becoming progressively more destructive. And dangerous. Harry spent a lot of time warning them about the blasting curse not being a good idea if you were worried about hitting friendly targets.

On the other hand, they also learned at least a dozen counter-curses. Having a few daughters of Death Eaters in the group certainly paid off then. Harry had to learn a few of them before he could teach them to the rest.

At the same time, Harry had continuing trouble trying to be available when Madam Pomfrey was able to schedule meetings where she could teach those interested in healing magic. The first had been because of a practice right before the previous quidditch match. The next one took place during a Slug Club get together. Pansy missed that one as well, but Parvati had gone and went over things with her afterwards.

The third time proved just how unlucky Harry could be. Angelina Johnson decided they needed one last quidditch practice so that no one got too rusty during one less than horribly cold Saturday afternoon at the beginning of December. In and of itself, that wouldn't have been a problem. They were supposed to head to the infirmary a couple of hours later.

However, Harry looked the wrong way and took a bludger in the side, spinning him around and nearly knocking him off his broom. It was enough to cause a huge bruise and allow Pomfrey to have him sedated while she applied bruise paste and cast a few healing charms. He tried to argue, but she clearly didn't trust him to look after himself.

In a way, it gave the several girls there a good hands on lesson. It might have also led to plenty of stares as Harry was shirtless at the time, but Pansy decided just to chuckle about it later. Especially when she heard Parvati moan to herself not quite softly enough.

Harry would have been disappointed that none of the guys from their group were involved. Pansy chalked that up to too many of them being Gryffindors, or as Harry put it, too macho and stupid. Several of them (like that strutting bozo Dean Thomas) seemed to think that rushing into danger was 'cool' but that making sure everyone was alright afterwards was 'woman's work.' Pansy didn't bother hiding her derision when she heard Harry get turned down as he tried to explain to several of the guys that healing would likely be every bit as important.

He was dismayed by that sexist notion and grumbled for at least an hour that night about how stupid it was.

'They'll rue that some day,' had been one of his lines. 'Who knows how bad it could be to not know any first aid?'

As Pansy recalled, she had responded with something like 'Too many of their mums were always there to fix up their scrapes, so now they expect that same treatment.'

'Shouldn't they have learned better by now?'

Of course not. Not ever having had anyone to take care of him, no mum to _kiss it all better_ just made Harry think they were being retarded.

Pansy agreed about the foolishness, but she'd had something close enough to a normal upbringing to at least see where they were coming from. She eventually tired of listening to his complaints and cheered Harry up by dragging him to the bedroom.

* * *

For the most part though, things with the group had been going very well. Even Longbottom's occasional struggles with learning the spells had a surprising benefit- Granger was busier now spending time helping him. In turn, that had helped hide the fact that she and Harry barely ever hung out together anymore.

And because of how busy he was with everything too, that meant no more brooding on Harry's part for several weeks.

With December moving right along, Pansy had both her birthday and Christmas to look forward to. The holiday break was going to be particularly nice this year. She was still waiting on Luna to confirm her plans though- a large barn owl swooping down one Sunday at breakfast brought the message they'd been waiting on.

"From your dad?" Pansy asked as Luna read.

"Yes." She bit her lip and rolled the letter back up. "Let's finish eating and go talk about it in private."

"Bad news?"

"No, nothing like that. I figured it was like how Mad-Eye Moody used to shout about constant vigilance. No need to let anyone overhear anything that they shouldn't."

"I'll admit, Granger is pretty shifty," Pansy replied, and she noticed the girl in question snort and roll her eyes.

"For the record, I am going to be out of the country with my parents for most of the break," Granger said. "I already told Harry, but I know how forgetful he can be, especially when he's distracted by other things."

"Huh?" he replied, before starting to grin.

"Precisely. I just wanted to let you know in case of any sort of plans you might be making."

"And anyone overhearing this will realize that attacking you and your parents will be much harder," Luna added.

"After what happened over the summer, it seems prudent," Hermione said with a frown. "I would prefer things weren't like that, but we're stuck with the world as it is."

"It will get better soon, I hope."

"I wish I had your optimism, Harry."

"Don't we all?" Pansy snorted, stabbing a piece of sausage.

"I'm done whenever you are," Luna said, setting down her glass after taking one last drink.

"Am I invited?"

"Of course, Harry."

"Oh, cool. I didn't want to intrude, you know, if-"

"If we're going to be talking about embarrassing things, I would invite you all the same," Luna said with a smile. "That would make things that much funnier."

"I'm always good for a laugh."

"That is one of the things I love about you," Luna agreed.

"Alright, I'm finished too," Pansy said as she pushed her plate away. "Let's go."

The trio quickly left the Great Hall and found an empty room. With a bit of help from Dobby, they were soon relaxing on the couch together in the privacy of their quarters as Luna kicked off her shoes.

"It's a bit of a good news bad news situation, I'm afraid," the blonde began, tossing her socks away and wriggling her toes in satisfaction. "Good news is that I'll get to see my grandparents over the break, but the bad side of that is that I doubt I'll be able to see much of you two."

"That's alright, Luna," Pansy said, throwing an arm around her. "I'm happy for you."

"I do hope to be able to get away to at least drop off some presents. I'll probably have some free time over the last week, after New Year. Also, I am going to try to see you, at least briefly, on your birthday. "

"Thanks, sweetie."

"So, has Harry said anything yet about that upcoming birthday?"

"Not to me. Why?"

"I was just curious about whatever he might be planning. He hasn't told me anything either."

"That's because I don't want you to give anything away to her," Harry answered. "You two tell each other _everything_. I don't want any surprises ruined. Besides, I don't know about you Luna, but we've got several exams this week before we can get away on the train. I hate that the professors do that. It makes trying to plan for the holidays even harder."

"That's true," Pansy agreed. "Flora and Hestia were talking to me about having some sort of gathering, probably at Sirius' place."

"That could be fun. Speaking of the old dog, he is supposed to be sending me something soon."

"What?"

"It's a surprise I've got planned for our group. Call it an early Christmas gift."

"Are we still going to meet twice this week?" Luna asked.

"I was thinking we'd cut the second one short since people will probably need to pack Friday night before the holidays begin. Plus, I'm not sure what spells to work on next, other than the Patronus charm, and that isn't something I want to do when we won't have plenty of time to work on it. The three week lay off would make starting now kind of pointless since everyone could lose whatever progress they might have made without being able to practice."

"It's too bad, really," Pansy added. "Dementors on the loose, joining the Dark Lord, that's a spell that someone could need one of these days."

"True, but I've been focused more on the dangers closer at hand-"

"The next generation of Death Eaters, you mean."

"Yeah, and keeping the rest of us safe from those scumbags. Warrington in particular."

"He does seem to have a thing for Flora."

"And it's surprising to me that he hasn't tried anything recently. It's been more than a couple of months since we had to break things up at Hogsmeade. That worries me."

"Yeah, me too."

"Alright, enough," Luna sighed. "We've only got one more week till the holidays; let's not spend all that time being anxious over whatever may come. We should have some fun while we can. "

"Unfortunately, we both have an assignment for McGonagall that we really should be working on," Pansy huffed. "She seems determined to drive us into the ground buried under all the work."

"So, no tickle fight then?" Luna pouted.

"Maybe later," Pansy replied, ignoring the quivering lip. "We could at least put on some music while we work though."

"Alright. I need to study for Runes anyway. I might as well bug Harry if I've got any questions."

"I live to serve," he smirked.

"I know," Luna replied with a dreamy little smile. "Pansy says you are a most attentive lover."

Both girls laughed as Harry blushed and winced.

"I guess I sort of set myself up for that, huh?"

"It could be worse," Luna added. "She could have told me you were not any good in bed. That wouldn't be nearly as funny, though. Plus, it would be too mean to talk about. I don't like being mean."

"That's the one thing I haven't been able to teach you, sweetie. Being mean can be fun."

Harry snorted at Pansy's statement.

"Can I pick the music?" Luna asked.

"Sure, sweetie."

"Harry, put on Mazzy Star please."

"We haven't listened to that in awhile," Pansy said.

"It reminds me of you two."

"I guess I should get up then," Pansy added, following Harry over to the phonograph.

"Why?" he asked as he started the record.

"Because we have to slow dance to this song."

"It's the law, Harry," Luna piped up. "Plus, it's really cute and it will put us all in a good mood so we can get our work done."

"As you wish."

Pansy moaned softly as she leaned against his chest. It was a good thing they had History of Magic first thing in the morning. She had a feeling she was going to need a lot of attention from Harry before the night was through.

* * *

The last week of the term flew by, despite several exams. After dinner Friday evening, the group met one last time before the holiday break.

"Alright, I know most of you need to pack and get ready for the train tomorrow," Harry began as he looked around the room. He had to hope that his luck would hold, as Riddle had been far too quiet ever since the night in the graveyard. "I'll try to keep this brief.

"First of all, yes, by popular demand, we will begin working on the Patronus charm once we get back. As long as the dementors are on the loose, it has to be a priority, but I want to warn everyone that it is not an easy to learn spell. Yes, I was able to cast it a couple of years ago, but-"

"But you're amazing," Parvati teased, a smile lighting up her face.

"Well, uh, maybe, but um..." he swallowed as he heard plenty of giggles, guffaws, and a couple of snorts. "Right, as I was going to say, I was only able to do that after a lot of practice over a few months. So, I don't want anyone to get discouraged if it doesn't come easily. It certainly didn't for me, anyway."

"But you do think we can learn it?" Neville asked.

"I think it's possible, but it will require a lot of work. Maybe only some of you will get it to work, I can't really be sure. But I was able to teach Pansy, and I made progress with both Hermione and Luna before other things took over, priority-wise."

"Really?"

He couldn't tell who said that, but Harry turned to his girlfriend with a grin.

"Make me proud."

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

A burst of white light shot out of Pansy's wand, quickly turning into a fox that ran around the room twice before settling onto Harry's right shoulder, curling up and appearing to fall asleep. He could feel the slight weight of it against him as he turned back to the group.

"As a preview, I can give out a little bit of homework over the break." Harry wasn't surprised by a couple of groans, but he grinned and continued anyway. "The most important component of this spell is actually an emotional state of mind. You need to have a powerful positive feeling in order to perform the Patronus. And I don't just mean 'happy.' It has to be a lot more than that- something profound. Something like 'I got an Outstanding in Charms' or 'we won the quidditch match' will not work."

"What do you suggest then?" Hestia asked.

"Whatever works best for each of you will likely be very personal. I'd like you all to think over that during the break. Something significant that will fill you up with utter joy. It could be a memory or an idea of something you want for the future. I can't really tell you what will work best. Figuring that out will be part of the work necessary to learn the spell.

"However, I have one other thing before we go. Call it an early Christmas present, courtesy of my godfather, Sirius Black." Harry stepped over to the box that he'd had set on the desk in the center of the room. He opened it up and began giving out a pair of socks to everyone.

"Um, is this a joke, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I smell Dobby's influence," Pansy muttered, to which Harry could only smirk.

"They may look plain, but those may just save your life. If you're feeling festive," he lifted up his trousers to show off his own mismatched pair, one green and one red, "you can easily mix and match to suit your tastes. The important bit, however, is that each of those socks is enchanted to act as a portkey to St. Mungo's in case of emergency. So, yes, each of you effectively has two now. They will only trigger with skin contact and if you say 'submarine.' Also, yes, they will drag along anyone who is in contact with you, for example any family members."

"Why sub-" Dean began as he looked at the blue pair he was holding.

"Don't say it," Harry warned, raising his hand. "I know most of you are purebloods, or at least, you come from backgrounds with magical families. I didn't want to use something that would be said in everyday conversation, causing them to go off accidentally."

"Good thinking, Harry," Luna said, sitting down and immediately putting one purple sock on- it contrasted a lot with her other which was orange, but Harry knew that she wouldn't care about that. "Nice and comfortable too. These are great, Harry!"

"Thanks. There was no need to use old socks, you know, and Dobby did want to help- he enjoyed picking out a wide variety of colors. He may have grabbed a few pairs for himself too."

"I knew it," Pansy snorted.

"Right, anyway, that's it for tonight. I hope you all stay safe and have a happy Christmas."

Several people replied in kind as the meeting came to an end and little groups split off as they started to head for the door.

"Hey Dean, can you stay behind for a second?"

"Sure, Harry."

He waited for the room to empty, with Pansy giving him a wink as she closed the door behind her.

"Look, I didn't want to say anything in front of everybody, but-"

"Huh, I thought it would have been one of her brothers," Dean muttered.

"What? Daphne doesn't have any brothers."

"Daphne? No, I figured out that I missed out on that boat."

"Are you really surprised? She's from an old pureblood family, and you're a muggleborn, mate," Harry snorted. "That's not a likely match even ignoring the whole house rivalry nonsense. Plus, well..."

"Being one of the only black guys in the school doesn't help either," Dean shrugged. "It's not as on the surface as some of the blood supremacy stuff, but I've had a few nasty looks that I would recognize just as easily in the muggle world. I guess that's why I like Ginny."

"Ginny? Ginny Weasley?"

"Yeah, I thought that's what you wanted to talk to me about. I saw Fred or George staring me down the other day when I was chatting her up."

"Oh, well, no it's..." Harry exhaled. If he weren't the leader of this little club, he would happily not have any conversations like this. "I had to give Ernie a warning the other day because he was flirting with Susan too. I don't really care who you date, or ask out, or whatever, but just don't do it here. We've got enough problems to deal with that I can't have that sort of thing causing any more, especially with-"

"I'm not going to try to talk to Greengrass anymore, you don't have to worry about that," Dean smirked.

"I wouldn't care if you did, but this isn't the place for it. That's why I warned Ernie too, I mean..." Harry sighed. He wished Pansy were still inside- she could say something cutting and full of scorn and have this all taken care of so much faster. Of course, she wasn't even remotely friendly towards Dean, so she wouldn't care if he hated her guts afterwards.

"The thing is Dean, you need to realize that some of the girls here are worried more about being captured than killed. You and I don't have to worry in the same way about becoming the _play thing_ of some creepy Death Eater scumbag."

"Oh. Right." Dean looked pretty abashed by that thought.

"Like I said, I don't care who you date. In fact, if you're going out with Ginny, then that means her awkward little crush on me must be over, so cheers for that."

"Thanks, Harry," he laughed.

"No problem."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Pansy stepped outside to wait for Harry. She knew that he might like a little support, but she also knew that he and Thomas were friends. Maybe not close friends, but on good enough terms that her standing there sneering at the other Gryffindor probably wouldn't help things.

Assuming that she didn't just call him out on his boorish behavior. Not that it bothered her particularly, but she'd talked to Flora and Hestia enough, as well as bits here and there with Daphne and a couple of the sixth years like Wilkins, to know exactly how much the looks some of the guys gave the girls were bothering them. Macmillan had been a bit of a problem; Thomas was the worst. That one Ravenclaw was pretty annoying too, but Luna had said she would take care of him.

From the fact that she'd heard he spent a day having a nasty reaction to a Conjunctivitus Curse after last Friday's meeting, she knew that Luna had gotten that message through to him. Especially when he was on much better behavior ever since.

What was his name? Gold... something or other.

Eh, she never paid much attention to any of the Ravenclaws other than Luna. Parvati was right, they were almost always boring nerdy types. Granger really should have been sorted in with them.

She went over the rest of their evening in her head. Harry still needed to gather anything he might want to take with him over the break, although she had at least pestered him into starting the process before they had gone to dinner.

Pansy began nervously fidgeting with her purse. She'd learned a space expansion charm so that she could carry so much more than the little clutch's appearance would suggest. It wasn't her favorite, but she liked it more than most. Now that she knew she could do the charm properly, she'd have to upgrade all the others in her collection.

Poor Harry didn't even seem to mind what a monster he had unleashed. Now, if she could only get Luna more interested in clothes. Her unusual sense of style didn't bother Pansy, but she could do a bit better with a little push here and there.

Plus, making Luna into more of a knockout, rather than just a pretty little oddball, would be a lot of fun. And as the older sister in the relationship, Pansy felt like it was her duty to look out for Luna about things like that.

"Harry! Pansy!" A voice screamed out from inside her purse, and Pansy yanked it open, nearly spilling the contents. Grabbing one of the mirrors, she saw Hestia's face as a yellow light shot past her friend's ear.

"Help!"

"Fuck," Pansy growled as she yanked open the door. "Beat it, Thomas. We've got an emergency."

Harry nodded as the other Gryffindor gave her a rude look as she pushed him out towards the hallway with her free hand.

"What is it?"

"Harry, we need you down here!" Hestia shouted as the sound of spellfire and screams came from the mirror. "Slytherin common room. Those fuckers-"

Her voice was cut off as there was a loud crash. Harry was looking at the mirror with Pansy when they saw the picture break and something red that looked far too much like blood streaked across the now-cracked image.

"Dobby!" Harry yelled and their secret weapon appeared. "Take us to right outside the Slytherin common room. I need you to stay invisible if you can, but help us get the girls to safety. You still know the password, right?"

"I do," Pansy confirmed. "Even if I haven't been down there in months, it seemed prudent to keep in the loop, so to speak."

"Good. Let's go."

One quiet pop later and they were standing in a hallway in the dungeons. "Wands out. Be careful."

* * *

Hestia remembered being sorted into Slytherin and her first night stepping into the common room down in the dungeons. It was a bittersweet moment even then, seeming to be one more step along a path in life that she had no real control over. She and Flora had discussed what response they would get to being sorted anywhere else, and even having a better experience at school for seven years might not have been worth risking the fury of their father.

Hearing the sorting hat call out Slytherin for Flora meant that Hestia couldn't go anywhere else. She would never abandon her sister like that.

Instead, they tried to be consummate little snakes, hiding in the background, keeping their dreams and ambitions to themselves.

Many of the students from the older years were terrifying though. People like the former quidditch captain Marcus Flint openly supported the Dark Lord, years after his supposed death, and that sleaze Snape seemed to encourage them. Letting little bastards like Draco Malfoy strut around the school as if he owned the place, blatantly calling people mudbloods, starting fights whenever they could, and protecting them from any sort of reasonable consequences- was it any surprise that the girls in Slytherin had mostly banded together over the years? To protect themselves from their own housemates, if nothing else, when those guys were scumbags who could get away with anything.

She admired Flora immensely. Even growing up, she knew her sister had a fierceness that was amazing. Hestia was only a few minutes younger, but they seemed to make all the difference in the world. Flora had _always_ protected her. Hestia could still remember bumping into a table and breaking a flower vase when she was four years old. Amycus Carrow, sadistic bastard that he was, easily repaired it with a wave of his wand, but she was terrified that he would Crucio her for her clumsiness. Flora took the blame without even flinching.

Thankfully, their father only slapped her instead. It still gave Flora a bloody lip, and Hestia remembered crying herself to sleep that night for what she had caused her sister to endure. It was one of the many, many times she had prayed to God, Merlin, Morgana, and every other legendary name she could think of for someone to rescue them.

But no escape ever came, so the girls grew to rely only on each other.

She remembered when her breasts began to develop not with fondness but near panic. There had been too many rumors about what had happened to that sixth year girl Farley- she had only been a half-blood, but she was still a prefect. You would think that would have meant she was safe, but when she didn't return after the Easter holidays, Hestia knew that she would have to be much more careful if she and Flora wanted to finish school not only alive but with whatever of their dignity they could manage to keep intact.

Harry Potter had helped her so much, even if none of it was done on purpose. Dear old Sluggy was an old-fashioned pureblood, and while clearly biased for his house and his favorites, he wasn't actively encouraging a new generation of blood purists, so he was a huge step up from Snape.

Hestia was still troubled by how she felt as she watched her first Potions professor when he bled to death from betraying the life debt he had owed James Potter. Even more worrying was the absolute glee that was on Flora's face at the time.

But a year later, they were even luckier when Harry's blasting curse at the graveyard had rid them of their horrendous parents for good.

Now, they were dealing with the drawbacks of everything that had happened. The Dark Lord was known to have returned, at least to everyone who didn't have their heads buried in the sand. Vincent Crabbe had returned to Hogwarts that fall with renewed confidence despite not having Malfoy's coattails to ride around on. Cassius Warrington had become even more troubling with the way he strutted around the place.

Flora had suggested that both of them might have already been branded by the Dark Lord. Possibly others too.

Still, they only had one more day before they would be back with Sirius for the holidays. Hopefully, that would mean three weeks of peace and quiet. No tension, no worries. Maybe even some happiness.

Then she and her sister led the group of girls returning from meeting with Harry back into the Slytherin dungeon and everything changed.

Several of the younger girls, mostly third years, were lined up in a row and bound on the floor. There were about a dozen guys, including the entire quidditch team to no surprise, standing above them, wands drawn and leering.

Just in front of her, Millicent Bulstrode was racing past one of the black leather couches with a spell already leaving her wand- a flash of red blasting three of the guys as they were caught in the surprise of someone having the gall to fight back.

That wasn't what their parents had told them about 'the good old days.' People were supposed to cower in fear, not ever daring to fight back.

And with a cry of rage, Millie led them all into battle and chaos, as Flora darted forward and sent a piercing curse headed for that jerk named Pike, who failed to get a shield up in time before a blossom of red began to spread across the left side of his abdomen.

Hestia had a flash from a few days past when he had been leering at Flora's arse in Potions. It had sickened her because, being identical, he was effectively leering at her too. It made him doubly gross.

Now, her sister had begun to get revenge. Hestia knew that this was going to get so much worse. She ducked behind a chair and reached into her pocket, desperately searching for the charmed mirror that could call Harry for aid.

She hadn't ever imagined she would need to use it quite like this.

Hestia screamed as a jet of yellow shot above her- she hadn't heard the incantation, but based on the deep gouge in the stone wall behind her, it would have hurt like hell. She saw Pansy's face in the mirror though and seconds later Harry as well, so a slice of hope cut into the terror that had gripped her.

"Harry, we need you down here!"

She started trying to warn him of where they were and what was happening. There was so much she needed to say, and so little time for them to get there before someone got killed.

But suddenly something smashed through the arm of the chair that she was crouched behind, knocking the mirror out of her hand. For some reason, she felt warmth running down her left arm, and looking at it, she saw a piece of wood at least a foot long sticking out of her shoulder. Hestia reached up to try to pull it free and cried out as she realized that there was blood running down her shoulder blade too, as the wood had gone all the way through her.

" _Expulso!_ "

Millie's deep voice was easy to recognize in the chaos, and Hestia grinned as she saw Crabbe blasted from point blank range and sail what must have been twenty feet before smashing into the wall. His head cracked loudly, and he would not be rejoining the fight any time soon.

Daphne Greengrass sent a flame whip at Harper, who had been leering down at her little sister when they came barreling into the room. It seared through him, his wand arm falling off, the stump by his elbow cauterized as he began screaming.

Flora was there too, dodging in a frenzy as she sent a Reductor curse at a large table by the wall then summoning the pieces of shrapnel into the backs of several of the boys. It was a move she had learned from Harry, and her sister was amazingly precise with it. Her rage had focused her, and Hestia thought she was magnificent.

That was when the first killing curse came out. Hestia shivered but saw the green light go high as several people ducked, the curse thankfully hitting nothing other than the far wall.

Millie responded first, conjuring an axe into her left hand and slashing down into the torso of Montague. Blood sprayed everywhere as he fell, and Bulstrode turned to her classmate Goyle, who raised a shield and backed away, trying to retreat from the girl wading through the battle like an amazon. Bletchley was closer though, and her axe was quick to sink into the right side of his chest as she raised her wand and cast a banisher that sent him flying away from her.

But Bletchley had been fast as well, his own wand coming up slightly before hers, and what looked like purple flames tore into Millie, who screamed as she fell onto her back.

Hestia cried out too, and with a rush of adrenaline, yanked the spike of wood free from her. There was a spurt of blood, and she felt a wave of dizziness, but she forced herself to concentrate as she aimed and sent it towards her target- Goyle, who was now standing over the fallen body of Millie. He looked unsure of what move to make, but a moment later Hestia's focus proved exquisite as the enormous splinter of wood embedded itself in his right eye.

Goyle screamed as he stumbled backwards.

Then, praise Merlin, Harry was there, rushing into the chaos with a cutting curse that took Urquhart's wand arm off as he had tried to cast something at Flora's back. Harry threw up a shield as Flora fired another curse at someone- Hestia couldn't tell who between all the spells flashing and the dust and debris that clogged the air. There was another scream, and Hestia clearly heard her sister using the cutting curse on someone, before a terrible gurgling sound let her know that she had hit her target.

And just like that, it was over.

An almost calm silence fell, broken only by a few moans and sniffles.

She saw Daphne Greengrass comforting her younger sister, whose shirt was torn open, as the younger girl cried against her. She stared in shock as Pansy- _Pansy_ of all people- was sobbing, and as Hestia struggled to her feet, she saw Millie lying there unmoving, her eyes open and blank.

Hestia collapsed into the damaged chair, tears beginning to fall, and she felt long fingers pressing a piece of cloth over her shoulder.

"Be careful, miss," Dobby said, the little house elf tending to her wound. "Dobby will get Miss Pansy to come heal your cut."

"You can call her your mistress, you know?" She didn't know why, but Hestia let out a little giggle. Anyone could see how devoted he was to Pansy, the same as with Harry.

"Not until it's official, miss."

Dobby gave her a sad smile in return as he quietly faded from sight.

It was hard to tell what happened next. At some point, Pansy came over and did her best to close the wound in her shoulder. A visit to Madam Pomfrey would probably be required for her, especially as she felt woozy and almost certainly needed a blood replenishing potion.

But it was hard to focus on any of that.

One of her friends was dead.

Several other people likely were too, and Hestia herself might have killed one of them. She hadn't been able to tell how far the splinter of wood had gone into Goyle's head. The impact of all of it began to sink in, and Hestia felt like throwing up.

They'd only had twelve hours before they would have been riding the train back to Sirius. Towards the first Christmas she could ever remember looking forward to. Three weeks of peace, and now it would never come.

She was a killer.

If her target hadn't been the son of a Death Eater, her parents would have been proud of her.

That thought was so incredibly horrifying that Hestia was unable to hold back the nausea any longer.

"Hes, are you alright?"

Flora was looking down at the blood all over Hestia's shirt with tenderness, ignoring the splatter all over herself.

"I should be," Hestia answered, exhaling as she wiped at her mouth.

"We need to leave."

"What?"

"I killed Warrington. Maybe Pike too. We can't stay here."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Do you think Fudge will hesitate to arrest me? I killed two purebloods from 'good, upstanding, old families.' We need to run."

"Oh fuck."

Hestia looked around the common room, apparently for one last time. People were milling about almost entirely in one half of it, far from the carnage and the bodies strewn near the hall that led to the dormitories.

"Are you two alright?" Harry asked, walking over to them.

"We're screwed, Harry. I killed two of them. Can you help us get out of here?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think I can. Dobby?"

The elf appeared beside him. "Master Harry sir?"

"I need you to get the escape portkey. You know the one I mean?"

"Yes sir."

"Hurry."

He left with a pop, and only after a few seconds returned with another.

"That's the one, thanks. Now, here's what I'm going to need you to do. Go with the girls, alright? Then come back, and get Sirius. He's their guardian, so he'll be able to help." Harry turned to look at Flora before he continued. "This will take you to France, to the Delacour family. Ask the father for political asylum. You might want Sirius there for that, he should be able to smooth things over. Explain that you don't trust the British government, that the courts can't be trusted to be unbiased."

"Can we trust them? The Delacours, I mean?" Hestia asked.

"I believe so. They know that Fudge is lying about the Dark Lord at least." Harry turned back to Dobby. "After you get Sirius to go with them, come back here again so you can get their trunks and things. Take those to them, and then come back. Try not to over exert yourself, though."

"Dobby will take care of everything. Are the misses ready?"

Flora helped her to her feet, and Hestia took a deep breath. This portkey ride wasn't going to be pleasant, but hopefully one of the Delacours would know some healing spells or at least have a potion handy.

"Ready sis?"

"Yeah," Hestia said. "Thank you for everything, Harry."

He nodded. "I'll probably see you soon. Take care of yourselves."

"We will," Flora replied. "Let's go."

* * *

Horace Slughorn heard an alarm spell blaring in his office, louder than he'd ever experienced before. He flinched but was able to cast a couple of spells to keep the potion he'd been brewing safe until he could return. He then went over to the fireplace and bellowed for Albus.

"Something dreadfully powerful has set off my alarm in the common room. Can you meet me there?"

"I'm on my way," the headmaster responded. Horace climbed away from the fireplace and ran for the first time he could remember in years out of his office and down a hall towards the Slytherin common room. He had his wand in hand, and he could only try to prepare himself for whatever he would find. He knew, with terrible certainty, that blood had been spilled.

The hidden door slid open before he even called out the password. Horace briefly noted the ghost of the Bloody Baron looking mournfully across the room as he slowed down and tried to catch his breath. There were no longer any spells being cast, but he saw splashes of blood here and there, on walls and furniture, and several bodies lying on the floor.

"Merlin's beard! What has happened here?"

Somehow, the headmaster had nearly beat him there, appearing right behind him as he came down the stairs. Then Slughorn noticed one of his favorite students standing among the carnage. Young miss Pansy was kneeling beside him, silently weeping near one of the fallen bodies.

"Harry, my boy, what are you doing here?"

"That's a bit of a story, professor."


	77. The First Casualies of the Second War

* * *

Pansy sat motionless in the infirmary, staring at Milllicent Bulstrode's body laying in the bed next to her. Harry could see the tracks of tears running down her cheeks. There was a little zone of eerie calm in the middle of the chaotic din that surrounded them.

Madam Pomfrey would likely be busy all night.

Professor Slughorn was there, as was Dumbledore and the retired auror Watts. Harry was pretty sure there would be several more joining them soon. He'd heard that Amelia Bones was on her way to oversee things, not willing to let any underlings bumble the investigation into what had happened.

Hopefully Fudge wouldn't intrude and screw everything up even more than he usually did.

But Harry's focus wasn't on any of that at the moment. He remembered how Pansy had told him that she and Millie (as the other Slytherins affectionately referred to her) weren't particularly close- friendly acquaintances, she'd said. Judging by her reaction though, Millie had meant more to her than she had said. Maybe more than Pansy had even consciously realized.

Thankfully, she was the only permanent casualty among the Slytherin girls.

The final tally was six dead and nine injured in the night's chaos. That didn't count the Carrow girls; Harry knew that Hestia would require some medical aid once she got to France. Flora hadn't had anything too noticeable, only a couple of scratches that he had seen. He had to hope that both of them were alright.

Beyond the physical wounds, Hogwarts was almost certainly going to use up its entire supply of calming draughts. Everyone there had seen death much more up close and personal than anyone should ever want. Worst among them had been the half dozen girls that had been tied up and that would have had much worse fates if not for the actions of people like Millie and Flora charging in to rescue them. Remarkably, none of them had suffered anything physical beyond a bit of groping and having some of their clothes torn off, but Harry had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy to get over that night for them.

He could still remember the terror he had felt the first time Vernon had thrown him into the cupboard, his head bouncing off the wall when he was four. He had cried for hours as silently as possible after his awful uncle had threatened him with worse if he didn't quiet down. Harry knew that being a victim was bad, but that feeling of being helpless was even worse.

Of the guys involved, five had died. He had seen that both Warrington and Crabbe had been marked with Riddle's tattoo. The others he hadn't been close enough to tell, but if Bones and her people didn't do their jobs properly, he was going to go around the infirmary surreptitiously cutting everyone's sleeves off.

He had his cloak in his pocket and was already considering it.

The Slytherin quidditch team was now out of the running for the year. Harry almost had to laugh when he thought of it, no matter how inappropriate it would have been. After the brutality of both the last match as well as what they had tried to do that night, he would not mourn any of them. Harper, Urquhart, and Goyle were the only survivors, and the first two were both now missing their wand arms due to the actions of Daphne and himself.

But none of that truly mattered to him at the moment. Pansy would need him tonight and she took precedence over everything else.

At least she was safe. She'd only cast a shield spell and a summoning charm to pull one of the still-bound girls out of the way of a spell. Harry hadn't killed anyone either, so legally they should both be okay, but he had Dobby deliver a message to Sam just in case. Their lawyer was supposed to be on his way.

The doors banged open as Madam Bones led a group of eight people into the infirmary. Harry was pleased to see Alastor stumping along in the rear. He was even more relieved that Fudge hadn't barged in as well.

"Dear Lord," Amelia gasped as she saw how full the room was. "What the hell happened here?"

"We have been trying to discern just that, Amelia," Dumbledore replied. "The tragedy appears to have happened in a flash, and finding a witness who saw everything as well as being calm enough to explain has been difficult."

"Potter!" Moody growled. "You've got your head on straight. What can you tell me, lad?"

"I was only there for the end of it," Harry replied, as he squeezed Pansy's shoulder before stepping over to join the adults. He was very worried that she didn't respond at all. "By the time I got there, the fighting was well underway. Several people were already on the ground."

"Just tell us what you can, Mr. Potter," Bones prompted. "We need to know all we can."

"Alright. Well, I've been leading a sort of study group for those who were worried about-" he had to stop himself for a moment. "For things like these supposedly 'rogue' Death Eaters. Several girls from Slytherin are members."

"Only girls?" Bones asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Only girls from Slytherin," Harry clarified. "There have been a mix of guys and girls from the other three houses."

"Very well, continue."

"We had a short meeting tonight before everyone was going away for the holidays. A bit after that, I was contacted about an emergency happening down in the Slytherin dungeons."

"What sort of emergency?"

"It was hard to tell. There was a lot of noise, screaming even, and I saw spellfire."

"Saw?"

"The person who contacted me had an enchanted mirror."

"I've heard of such a thing," Amelia nodded. "Useful little trick. Can I see this mirror?"

Harry nodded and pulled it out of his pocket.

"Where is the linked mirror?"

"The last time I saw it, it was still on the floor of the Slytherin common room. It was broken in the battle."

"Can you tell me what you saw when you did arrive?"

"As I said, the fighting was already well underway. I saw several people wounded. The battle seemed to be largely split along gender lines. From what I was able to gather, several of the older guys had captured several of the younger girls with intentions to do... things to them."

"That is only supposition, if you weren't there to see it," Bones sighed.

"True. I am only telling you what I have been told. The older Slytherin girls were mostly in my group. Without them there, the younger girls would have been more vulnerable. It is possible, although again this is only supposition, that the guys may have been waiting for such an opportunity."

"Why do you say that?" Moody asked.

"Because my group has been meeting often on Friday nights, and there are enough people involved that it is possible the guys could have learned there was a meeting tonight. Maybe they thought it would last longer and they could get away with what they were planning? I'm just guessing, but from what I heard, the guys were interrupted when the older girls returned earlier than usual. I'm not sure who cast the first spell... well, not in the fight itself. There were some girls bound in ropes- that I did see. But when I arrived, there were several people on the ground and several people still fighting. First, I cast a shield spell to block one spell. Then, I saw someone about to curse a girl in the back, and I stopped him."

"How?" Amelia asked.

"Cutting curse. Took his wand arm off." Bones exhaled while Alastor grunted approvingly. Harry didn't see the headmaster's face, but he knew he wouldn't be happy about that.

"Why did you think something that... severe was necessary?"

"Because I'd already seen one of the guys cast a killing curse that thankfully missed everyone. There were people bleeding, people dying, and the bastard tried to curse one of my friends in the back."

"Good choice lad," Alastor grumbled. "Which one of 'em did you get?"

"Urquhart," Harry replied, pointing to one of the people in a bed across the room.

"What happened after that?" Amelia prodded.

"The fighting stopped a moment later. I didn't cast anything else."

"We'll need to check your wand."

Harry nodded and pulled it out. "Who should I hand it to?"

"Shack, Tonks," Bones called two of the aurors to step forward. "Kingsley, you're in charge. Take all appropriate notes for evidence. Tonks, I want you to run the checks on all the wands as you go around the room. Follow Shack's lead. Make sure not to miss anyone, and see who else is up to testifying at the moment."

Harry handed his wand to Tonks, and sure enough the spells he said he cast showed up. It was returned to him a moment later.

"Did you see who got the girl? Bulstrode, I believe," Alastor asked, motioning over as Harry looked at Pansy.

"No. She was already down when I got there."

"And your girl?"

"They were friends."

"Alright, that's enough for now, Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded at Amelia's dismissal and returned to his Pansy's side. She still seemed to be practically catatonic. He was struggling to find any words that could help, so he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. He had to assume that it was a start- she leaned into him, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I... I don't know what to say." There was a hitch in her breathing, so Harry tried to press on. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"Just stay by me, Harry."

"Always."

He let them sit in silence.

The rest of the room slowly began to fill up as parents started to arrive. The Greengrasses were the first, and Harry overheard bits of Astoria's testimony of what happened. He wasn't meaning to eavesdrop, but they were only about ten feet away. It was pretty much what he already knew or had inferred.

Warrington had been the ringleader. No real surprise there. He'd been the captain of the team too, as well as the fact that Harry now knew he was marked as an actual Death Eater.

Harry wondered with disgust what sort of ceremony Riddle would have for his followers. He imagined a display of both sadism and obedience. There was likely an unsolved muggle disappearance or murder. With the Dark Lord keeping a low profile, they couldn't afford to go after anyone magical. And to the Death Eaters, muggles didn't count for anything at all.

His thoughts were broken as he saw Sam McKenzie walk in. Harry kissed Pansy's temple and whispered that he would need to get up. She nodded and let go of his hand. He was a little surprised once he realized how tightly she had been holding onto him.

"Harry."

"Sam." They shook hands and Harry took a couple of steps away.

"What can you tell me about this terrible business? I've heard there was some sort of fight that broke out in Slytherin, but this... I never expected to see-" He motioned towards all the beds filled with bodies, both wounded and deceased.

"Yeah, everything went nuts. From what I've gathered, a group of about ten upper year guys decided they wanted to have some fun with some of the girls."

"Dear Merlin," Sam exhaled. "Please tell me they didn't succeed."

"No, they were interrupted before... well, anyway, my group that I've been teaching, I told you about that, right?" Sam nodded, so Harry continued. "Yeah, so most of the upper year Slytherin girls arrived and put a stop to things, but it got violent really fast."

"And how did you get involved?"

"I was contacted by Hestia."

"Then what?"

"She said that they needed help, so I got down to the dungeons as fast as I could."

"And Pansy went with you, I assume."

"Yes."

"What happened next?"

Harry spent the next few minutes explaining all he could. Sam pulled out a notepad and made a few notes with a pen as he listened. Harry was a little surprised to see an old pureblood not using a quill for everything, but Sam mentioned that it was much more convenient. While Hogwarts still insisted on parchment for some reason, even the ministry had graduated to paper a hundred years prior.

Tonks and her partner made it around the room to Pansy by then. Harry and Sam led them over to her.

"Pansy?"

She flinched and forced herself to look up. "Yes?"

"We need to examine your wand," Tonks answered.

She nodded and handed it over. A couple of healing spells had been most recent, a shield and a summoner before that. Pansy croaked out that she had pulled one of the bound girls away from the fighting, pointing to a third year whose name she couldn't remember.

"I assume neither of my clients are facing any charges," Sam stated. Tonks stepped back, deferring to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"At this point, it seems that both of them should be in the clear. Pansy didn't cast anything to cause harm. As for Potter, he could have been charged with assault, but Urquhart had a couple of really nasty curses on his wand. If he had hit someone with one, he would have likely killed them. That moves things into the realm of self-defense."

"That's good to hear, but if for some reason anything changes, I expect to be notified immediately. Especially if there is some sort of pressure from the top. I'll remind Fudge himself if I have to."

"That shouldn't be a problem, Sam," Bones said as she walked over. "I wanted to make sure that no one botched this, so I've got some of my best people here. Cornelius sent a bureaucrat," she motioned over to a younger man standing against a wall, out of the way. "But he wasn't anyone that I couldn't handle.

"However, since you're here, we might need your help."

"What can I do?"

"I believe more than a few of our teenage witnesses, and their families, might want legal counsel tonight."

"Give me a moment to speak with my clients, and I'll see what I can do."

Madam Bones, Tonks, and Shacklebolt all left them at that point. Sam stepped over closer to Pansy.

"Was she a friend of yours?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

"I'm terribly sorry, Pansy. Why don't you let Harry take you back to your rooms?"

"There's no one here for her," she replied quietly, still staring at Millie.

"Her family?" Sam asked, looking over at Harry.

"Hopefully her mum will come," he said. "Her uncle is supposedly one of the 'rogues.' I don't know about her dad, but-"

"He's a bastard too, but not marked," Pansy croaked, barely above a whisper. "She didn't deserve this."

"No one deserves this," Sam sighed.

"We'll stay for now," Harry decided. "At least until someone shows up. Millie saved a lot of those girls tonight. It's the least we can do."

"Alright. But after that, you two should try to get some rest."

"I'll take care of her," Harry answered.

"Mr. McKenzie?"

Harry and Sam turned to see Daphne's father slowly strolling towards them.

"Mr. Greengrass, what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping to engage your services this evening."

"I have a feeling you won't be the only one," Sam replied before turning back to Harry and shaking his hand. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"You'll probably be hearing from Sirius soon," Harry warned him. He saw Sam look around the room, then his eyes narrowed and he nodded.

"Until next time then. Now, what can I do for you, Mr. Greengrass?"

Harry went back to Pansy and sat down. It was a waiting game now. Just as it had been most of the fall. He hadn't seen this coming, not exactly, but something had obviously been brewing all term.

It was strange to think that the first real skirmish was between teenagers, almost all of them underage. Harry had expected the Death Eaters to begin terrorizing people sooner. But, in a way, Hogwarts had been terrorized by this rising tension for weeks now.

Another ten minutes passed quietly before a large, square-jawed woman came rushing in and headed straight for them.

She fell to her knees and wept as she cradled her daughter's body. Harry looked away, not wanting to intrude, but Pansy was not yet moving, so he waited. By the time Mrs. Bulstrode looked up, she stared right at Pansy.

"What happened? What happened to my baby girl?"

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Bulstrode," Pansy choked out. "Millie... she was already gone by the time I got there. I'm... I'm so sorry."

"Mrs. Bulstrode?" Harry turned and saw Astoria Greengrass leading four other girls over towards them. "Millie- she saved us."

* * *

It was almost an hour later before Harry and Pansy made it back to the Gryffindor common room. Professor McGonagall had come along to escort them back to the tower as it was nearing eleven, well past curfew.

He privately thought that she walked with them in part to try to get her emotions under control. The victims might have been Slytherins, but McGonagall had been clearly torn up over what had happened. From what Harry had seen, Slughorn had been in even worse shape, but he'd been struggling to stay strong for all the families involved.

As for Dumbledore, the headmaster maintained a calm exterior, but his eyes were dull and somber, a huge contrast to his usual manner.

Harry wondered at what all this would mean for the school. His club could get shut down, for one thing, or at least have more supervision. But the bigger question was what would happen to Slytherin. The girls should be safer now, at least theoretically, but at the same time, this could drive someone to act out even worse in some quest for revenge. Professor Slughorn was going to have his hands full trying to keep his house from falling apart.

"I'll leave you two here," McGonagall said as they reached the Gryffindor tower. "Do try to get some rest tonight."

"Thank you, professor," Harry answered.

Just as they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady though, Pansy pulled him to a stop. "I can't do it, Harry."

"What?"

"If, if people are still up, I just... I can't."

"Okay. Let me do the talking. I'll take care of everything."

Pansy nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist. They made their way inside, and she was proven right. Parvati, Lavender, Dean, Seamus, and a few others were still up, clearly waiting for them.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Parvati asked. "Dean said there was an emergency, and you guys have been gone a long time."

"I'm alright. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be back out."

Once they were in private, Harry was happy to see Dobby already waiting for them. Pansy collapsed on the couch.

"Dobby, can you go get Luna?"

He didn't even bother to answer; Dobby was gone in a flash.

"I need to say something before the rumor mill makes anything worse," Harry explained and Pansy nodded. "Will you be okay if I leave you with Luna for a little while?"

"Yes," she whispered. "Just don't take too long."

"I won't."

A moment later, Dobby returned with Luna, who was clearly distressed. "He told me what happened. Are you both alright?"

"For the moment, yeah," Harry answered. "Will you stay with her? I need to go talk to some people."

"I've got her, Harry," Luna said as she sat down and cuddled up next to Pansy.

"Thanks."

He took a deep breath before he went back out into the common room.

"Harry!" Hermione ran at him, nearly barreling him over. She hadn't hugged him like that in a long time. "Dean said there was an emergency, but then you were gone, and there were rumors about the Slytherins, and... well, you look alright at least."

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"Are all the younger years in bed?"

"Yes, why? Oh no, was it... was it that bad?"

Those still up were all now openly staring, and Harry realized that the group had probably tripled since when he had first arrived.

"Is Pansy okay?" Parvati asked. Harry smiled at that- she was the only one who asked about his girlfriend.

"She isn't hurt, but..." he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. Better to just get it over with he decided. "I know several of you were with me at our little meeting earlier tonight. Unfortunately, that meeting meant that most of the upper year girls from Slytherin were busy. A few of the guys decided to take advantage of that. When the girls got back, they found some of the girls tied up and..."

"Oh god!" Hermione gasped. "Are they alright?"

"Millie-" Harry got a little choked up, and had to swallow to continue. "Millie charged into the fray and things pretty much went to hell in just a few seconds. Flora was right on her trail, and the guys started throwing curses too. By the time I got down there, it was almost over, but..."

"Millicent Bulstrode?" Hermione asked, almost shocked.

"She saved those girls. Flora helped, and some of the others too, but Millie- she took out several of those bastards before..." Harry had to take another breath. "It was Bletchley, he got her with a curse that made her organs fail. She... she didn't make it."

There was a shocked moment of silence that eventually Dean broke.

"Was she the only one?"

"No. From what I heard she got Crabbe, Montague, and Bletchley. Buried an axe in his chest just as he cursed her. Wounded a few others too. And Warrington and Pike are also dead."

"Holy shit," Dean whispered. "Did... did you kill any of them?"

"No, not me. I saw Urquhart about to curse Flora in the back though- I took his wand arm off."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione moaned. "Are you in any trouble?"

"The aurors said I was in the clear. It was done in defense, and he had some nasty curses on his wand."

"What about Flora?" Parvati asked. "And the other girls, was anyone else-"

"The rest of the girls were alright, as far as I could tell. The hospital wing is pretty full tonight, though, and I bet Madam Pomfrey is going to be needing to restock her supply of potions.

"I... I never thought the first battle of the war would be fought here." Harry scrubbed at his face, feeling incredibly weary. He needed to finish up and get back to Pansy, but he knew he was probably forgetting a few things. "Oh, yeah. I should tell you all that at least Warrington and Crabbe had the Dark Mark."

"Shite!" Seamus yelped. "Even though they were still in school?"

"One way for the Dark Lord to build his forces back up," Harry shrugged. "If you hear any idiots talking about how Riddle isn't back, you can tell them that Crabbe just turned sixteen, and he had the Dark Mark. If not for Riddle being out there now, that would mean he's had it since he was a baby. I hope no one is stupid enough to think that.

"But anyway, that means that they had spies here, and they still might. So, we all need to be careful. I don't know who they'd want to spy on other than Dumbledore, and well, me, but just keep it in mind."

"What do we do now, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Not much we can do at the moment. I just wanted people to know the truth. I've got to get back to Pansy though. Millie... she was her friend."

"Tell her I'm sorry," Parvati said. A few voices murmured in agreement. Harry nodded and went back to his room.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Gregory Goyle was having the worst night of his life. Not that the rest of it had been that great, but he would always remember that as the night when everything really changed.

Vincent Crabbe had been his best friend all his life. Just like their dads. Although they were purebloods, their families weren't rich or powerful. But their fathers had also both been Death Eaters. It was an open secret, and their fathers had always taught them that muggles were no more than filthy animals.

About a year before starting Hogwarts, they were taken to Malfoy Manor. Greg at first had thought it must have been Hogwarts with how big the mansion was. There, he met Draco Malfoy. Draco seemed like the coolest kid he'd ever met. He was rich and his family had all their well-connected friends, and from then on, Goyle had a spot among the powerful. It may have only been as a follower, but it was still a big step up.

For a few years, everything seemed great. No one ever cared that he was a poor student. He could push the other kids around because Snape never let Draco get in trouble. Since Greg was always by his side, that protection extended to him as well.

Then that Parkinson bitch attached herself to Potter, and everything started to change.

First, Potter somehow defeated Draco's father in a duel. Then, Draco tried and failed to curse Potter to death. Potter got rid of Snape too. It seemed like no one in Slytherin was safe anymore.

But things got so much worse at the Quidditch World Cup. It was supposed to be a bit of fun and a reminder of how powerful they were. How scared the rest of the wizards and witches were compared to the might of the Death Eaters. But his father was unlucky enough to get caught and sent to Azkaban.

In a way, that seemed like it might make things better for him. Greg's mum was always a lot nicer and less demanding of her son.

Most of his fourth year was quiet. But by the time summer came back around, Vincent was telling him all about how proud his dad had been to present him to the Dark Lord. He talked about how the Dark Lord was going to put them back on top of things. Warrington did too, and it soon turned out that joining the quidditch team might as well have meant joining the Dark Lord. Three of them were already marked, and the others at least seemed to be looking forward to it. Practice always involved a lot of talk about putting the mudbloods and blood traitors in their place.

As for Greg, he just wanted to play quidditch and stay far away from Harry Potter. Potter had killed a whole lot of people, and Greg didn't ever want to be on the other side of him in a fight.

But things got worse that Halloween. The Dark Lord broke his followers out. That meant that Greg's dad was free. His thoughts of a nice quiet holiday with his mum went out the window. Crabbe tried to tell him how amazing it would be, that maybe he could even get the Dark Mark for Christmas.

That and all the other fun that his team wanted led to that one terrible night.

Now, Greg had never even kissed a girl.

When Warrington said they were going to have a party, and a bunch of pretty girls would be there, it sounded great. Maybe he would have one good night before his father forced him to follow in his footsteps in the shadow of the Dark Lord.

He was the last one to get back to the common room. He'd had a second slice of apple crumb cake for dessert. Greg should have stayed for a third.

The room was so quiet when he got there that he could hear a couple of the girls crying. Warrington called him over and that's when he saw what was happening. There were six girls all lined up, bound with ropes, and lying on the floor. He saw Harper standing over Astoria Greengrass, her shirt half torn off, laughing and leering at her.

In a way, Greg couldn't blame him. Daphne Greengrass was probably the hottest girl he'd ever seen, and her little sister was really good looking too. But ignoring the not so little crush he might have had on Daphne, he knew exactly how she would respond to someone doing this to Astoria.

He barely listened to the words Warrington and Montague were saying- that Potter's group was meeting but they'd have to be quick, that there weren't enough girls so some of them would have to share. He heard Harper call dibs on Astoria, and Greg stood in the back, trying to figure out what to do. If he didn't go along with it, his teammates would probably kill him.

But if he did, he knew that Potter would _definitely_ kill him. That's if Daphne or someone else didn't get to him first. He'd seen the scary look on Flora Carrow's face before, and that was one witch in particular he wanted to stay far away from. She was friends with Potter, after all.

Goyle was damned no matter what he did. So he chose to do what had become the usual for him all that term- stay in the background, be quiet, and hope for the best.

When Millie came roaring down the stairs, Greg knew that his hopes were gone.

The spells came fast and furious at that point, and he started to panic. He'd been near a wall and there had been an old shield hanging on it that he pulled down. He wasn't great with a wand, so he hoped that someone would put a stop to things. Professor Slughorn's office was nearby. Hopefully, he would hear what was going on and could save the day.

He saw Warrington cast a killing curse that Flora Carrow just barely managed to duck in time. There were explosions and bits of stone and wood in the air. A thud smashing into the wall next to him drew his eyes down to see Vincent lying there with an enormous pool of blood leaking out of the back of his head.

Greg didn't remember standing up, not exactly, but he couldn't stay there crouching next to his best friend's dead body.

A moment later, he was looking around horrified as people were still trying to kill each other. If this was what being a Death Eater was like, he knew that serving the Dark Lord was going to get him killed. Just like Montague, as Millie slashed him open with an axe and blood splashed up all over the right side of Goyle's face. If he wasn't so dazed by everything going on around him, he probably would have thrown up.

Instead, he tried to back away, to stay out of the fighting as much as he could. Not that it did much good- he was near the wall furthest away from the exit and there were two people lying on the ground next to him.

Then, Bletchley and Millie had met in the center of the chaos. It looked like Millie had scored another killing blow with her axe, but Bletchley was cursing her at the same time. Greg paid no attention to Bletchley's body going flying away. He was staring at Millie as she fell, and he saw the flash of pain in her eyes before they grew dim.

He was too shocked to move.

Years before, when he and Vincent were still just kids, they hadn't made many friends. Most of the other wizards their age were either too snobby or the wrong sort. They were on the poorer side of the purebloods, and it's not like their dads would ever be chummy with people like the Weasleys. There were a few witches they met, but most of them played with silly girly things like dolls.

When he was about five, he met Millie. Her uncle had brought her over, and while he went to talk with their dads, Millie joined him and Vincent as they played what they called monster fighting. They had these little figures, and they would argue over things like who would win between a troll and a werewolf, or how many goblins it would take to kill a hippogriff. That day, he and Vincent were arguing about which creature was the best of all. Crabbe wanted to be a good little Slytherin, so he said a basilisk, while Goyle had said a nundu, because their breath could kill- and of course, they could close their eyes so the basilisk's gaze wouldn't work.

Millie told them they were both wrong, that a dragon could fly over them and burn either a basilisk or nundu up with it's fire. When Vincent told her she was wrong, she punched him in the jaw.

It started a fight, and a few minutes later, when the dust settled, the three of them were friends.

Millie wasn't like most girls. To Greg, she seemed like the coolest girl he'd ever met. She might not have been as pretty as someone like Daphne, but she could throw a punch better than most of the guys he knew, and that was impressive. Plus, she thought girly things like 'tea parties' were just as stupid as he did.

They had ended up in Slytherin together, and while they weren't as close as they had been when they were younger, he still got along with Millie just fine. At first, while he followed Draco around, she had become pals with Pansy Parkinson, who was half her size but seemed just as mean. When Parkinson went off with Potter, Millie was left kind of alone, but she still had enough of a reputation that no one messed with her.

Greg had still been her friend too, and in fact, she sometimes helped him with his assignments, especially for Charms and Defense.

And now, she was dead. First Vincent, now Millie.

He was just standing there in a stupor when he felt a horrific pain as something stabbed him in the eye.

Three hours later and it still hurt, even as he now knew that his eye was gone. Greg was in the infirmary, and he counted himself grateful that he was still alive. And at least he wasn't like Urquhart or Harper, both of whom were now missing their wand arms.

But even with his wounds, he still faced going home tomorrow and having to deal with his father. And that meant that sooner or later, he would end up before the Dark Lord himself.

His mum was beside him, trying to console him, but Greg thought she was probably trying to calm herself down as much as anything else. He had barely heard any of what she'd been saying for the last half hour.

"Mum?"

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Can you get one of the aurors over here?"

"Whatever for? I think you've been through enough tonight, they can come back tomorrow to bother you." She continued to fuss over him, alternately stroking his hair or holding his hand, but he sat up and waved her off. Then he saw his old Defense professor and had an idea.

"Professor Moody?" he called out, and wondered just for a second if he could get a magical eye like that. It would probably cost too much. The clomping of wood reminded him of how glad he was to not be missing anything else.

"I'm not a professor anymore, lad. Goyle, wasn't it?"

"Yes sir. I'd like to testify."

"Gregory-" his mum warned him, but he shook her off.

"But I need help. No, we need help," he clarified, pointing her out as well.

"What do you mean?" Moody asked.

"I want to stay at Hogwarts. I mean, for Christmas. And I want you to take my mum somewhere safe."

"Safe from what?"

"My dad. You know he's free now. If I go home, I might not ever come back. If I don't show up though, he might try to hurt my mum."

"What are you saying son?"

"You keep her safe, and I'll tell you everything I know."

"And just what do you know, lad? You're what, fifteen?"

"Sixteen next month, but I know my father was a Death Eater. I know Crabbe's father is one, and I know others too."

"Gregory!" his mum hissed in a quiet voice. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"I almost got killed tonight, mum. If dad makes me join the Dark Lord, I will get killed."

"Why do you say that, lad?" Moody asked.

"I saw enough fighting tonight, sir. I saw people like Flora Carrow that Potter's been training. And I saw Potter himself. He's killed people before. I remember his duel with Draco's dad. I know he killed people last spring too. I don't _ever_ want to be on the other side of his wand. I want to stay out of this war. I want to stay alive."

"So you're willing to testify then? You'll tell me what I want to know if I help keep your mum safe?"

"And talk to the headmaster too. If I can stay here over the holidays, then my dad can't force me to join the Death Eaters. If he gets to me, I won't have any choice."

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal. I'll even talk to Albus for you. Now, what can you tell me?"

"I can tell you that if you take a look at Harper's left arm, you'll see he's got the mark. Warrington and Vincent did too."

"Any others at school?"

"Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if some others might be... er, that is, Vincent talked to me about how I might be able to get it over the holidays too. That our dads would take us in front of, of _him_ , you know? I wouldn't have a choice. Please, you've got to to tell Dumbledore that I have to stay here."

"Alright, calm down," Moody replied, holding his hands up. "Don't worry about Albus- he's not going to turn someone in your position down. But what other names can you tell me? Adults, I mean."

"You'll get my mum somewhere safe too? I don't want Dad hurting her when I don't come home."

"You have my word, son. How many more do you know of?"

"Maybe ten?" Greg shrugged. He wasn't completely sure of all of them, but he knew at least six that definitely bore that tattoo. It had once seemed so impressive. He remembered his dad telling him about how it could move and how the Dark Lord could summon him through it.

That type of power had once seemed amazing. Now, all Greg Goyle saw was a death sentence.

* * *

Christmas had come early for Alastor Moody. He'd discreetly thrown up a privacy charm as soon as the boy had started talking. Not all of the names were that useful, a couple of them he'd already known, but three of them turned out to have incredibly fortuitous timing. Because Emery Warrington, Simeon Montague, and Tobias Harper were all standing in that very room.

A huge grin lit up that battered old face as a plan started to come together.

* * *

In another part of the castle, Harry found Pansy and Luna ready for bed when he came back into their quarters.

"I asked Luna to stay the night," Pansy explained. "I didn't think you'd mind."

"Of course not."

"Okay, go get changed, Harry. Pansy seems to think I shouldn't watch for some reason." It was obvious that Luna was trying to lighten the mood, and Pansy gave a half-hearted grin, so maybe it was working a little bit.

"Uh, yeah, I guess it might be um, inappropriate?"

"I don't really know why," Luna shrugged. "I've seen you two shag before. Unless you're going to do a sexy strip tease?"

"I wasn't planning on it," he snorted.

"That's more my style, anyway," Pansy added, before letting out a slow chuckle. "But we probably shouldn't put any ideas in Harry's head tonight, sweetie."

"If you insist," Luna sighed.

Harry made it quick, as he was hoping that maybe with the three of them together they could keep any nightmares away. He was really worried about Pansy.

Within a couple of minutes, the girls joined him as they all climbed into the bed together.

"You'll have to scoot over a little, Harry," Luna said. "Pansy needs to be in the middle tonight."

"Yeah, no problem." He slid over a bit, and Pansy molded herself to his side with Luna curling up behind her.

"There, now you've got both of us to hold you tonight," Luna said. "Just so you'll remember that Harry and I both love you."

"Thank you, sweetie."

Harry kissed her forehead and added, "Luna's right as usual. We both love you, and we'll do whatever we need to in order to help you get through this."

"I know, Harry, I just..." Pansy shivered slightly against his chest. "I failed her. Millie, she- I-"

He heard and felt her begin to cry again, tears dripping onto him. Harry just held on that much tighter.

"I never really thought of how I abandoned her," Pansy admitted. "Those first couple of years here, she was... she was my best friend. I mean, we weren't always really close, but neither of us had anyone that was closer, you know? I always felt too insecure and jealous around Daphne, even though I'd known her longer. But Millie, well, we never really had all that much in common. But she had this really nasty sense of humor, and, and... I guess we just really bonded over the fact that we were both mean little bitches. It's not like the other houses were open to befriending a couple of nasty little Slytherin witches like us. Plus, some people would have made fun of her, you know? She wasn't turning the heads of any boys, but that never really mattered to me. She was kind of intimidating, and I loved having someone like that to watch my back.

"Did I ever tell you the story about the beginning of our second year?"

"No."

"This was maybe a week or two into the fall term, and this older bitch... what was her name? I think it was something like Sternes or Sternley or... I don't really remember. Anyway, she was a sixth year, and for some reason she decided to pick on 'little' Millie. Ha!" Pansy chuckled to herself. "She was always a head taller than me, but I suppose she was a bit shorter than whatever her name was. But, this stupid bitch tried to take Millie's new quill. You see, it was a gift from her gran, and it had a charm on it that could turn ink into different colors. Millie had shown it to me on the train. I guess word got around, and this sixth year tried to take it from her. Can you guess what happened?"

"I would venture that Millie kicked her arse," Luna suggested.

"You would be right, sweetie. Millie blasted her across the common room. Before she could get up, Millie had jumped on her and given her a black eye. She said, 'next time you try to take something of mine, I'll take something of yours, bitch.' She had her wand pointed right at the bitch's eye too. It was amazing. But that was Millie. She wouldn't have done bad in Gryffindor, really."

"I think that's a compliment for once," Harry teased.

"Yeah, for once, it is."

Pansy grew quiet after that, and Harry couldn't think of anything to say that would help. He hated the feeling of not being able to do enough for her. He wished he was better with words. His worries lightened a moment later when he heard Pansy's breathing change and she started to softly snore.

"She's going to be alright, Harry," Luna whispered. "You need to get some sleep too. You can't take care of her if you wear yourself out."

"Thanks. Good night, Luna."

* * *

The next morning was very subdued. People were talking quietly in little groups, obviously about what had happened. Breakfast went on like that until it got even worse when the paper arrived.

For once, the Daily Prophet seemed to be only reporting the facts- that a fight had broken out at Hogwarts and that several students had been killed. The fact that Mr. Greengrass was quoted heavily let Harry know where they got their information. Greengrass had been smart about it too; he'd mentioned his own daughter being attacked and Harry couldn't see how Fudge, or anyone else, could try to throw the blame at anyone other than the Slytherins involved in the fighting.

Unless they tried to argue that Dumbledore had lost control of the school. Harry sighed when he thought of that. If someone like Umbridge came to Hogwarts after the Christmas break, he wasn't sure what he would do.

Hopefully, not have to kill anyone else.

He couldn't imagine anyone being worse than that awful bitch. Unless they sent a Death Eater. Harry snorted to himself at that thought- he'd probably just jinxed himself.

The Slytherin table was very quiet, which seemed obvious since it was half empty. A number of people were still in the hospital wing. Most of those eating were kids from the first couple of years. And they looked frightened. Harry briefly wondered about going over to sit with them, if that wouldn't scare them even more.

But Pansy was still hurting, so he focused on her.

By the time they got on the train, the pressure seemed to be easing up. Once again, Luna came and helped things along.

"Alright, Harry, you sit down first." He wasn't used to her bossing him around, but Luna usually did things for a reason, so he sat closest to the window where she was pointing. "Now me, then Pansy can lay her head down in your lap."

Pansy took her directions too, and Luna then helped her stretch out her legs across her lap.

"Luna, what are you doing?" Pansy asked.

"Taking your shoes off."

"Why?"

"I know that you like it when Harry rubs your feet, so I thought I should start practicing too. You know, for when Harry isn't around to cater to your every need."

Pansy snorted and grinned at her. "He does have to go to the bathroom now and then. Thanks, sweetie."

"You're welcome."

"But leave my socks on," Pansy added. "It's fucking freezing out today."

"It will be nice to see my grandparents soon," Luna said with a grin. "What are you two looking forward to for Christmas?"

"We were supposed to meet up with Sirius at some point, but I imagine things are going to be really hectic for him. He's probably in France at the moment. I hope the girls are doing alright."

"Hestia and Flora?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, I let them use our escape portkey. Did I tell you about that?" Harry asked, and Luna shook her head, so he explained about how Fleur had spoken to her father and had a permanent portkey set up that they could use to go right to the Delacour family home, just in case things got bad enough with the Dark Lord. After helping rescue his youngest daughter, Mr. Delacour had felt it was the least he could do for Harry.

Hermione came in a moment later, sitting down across from them.

"Harry, you know we're supposed to patrol the train today, right? You should have your badge on."

"Someone else will have to do it. I'm busy."

"But, Harry, people look up to you. Even more than most prefects, this is something-"

"Hermione, listen, I just really don't care." He saw her narrow her eyes and he could just feel the angry retort coming so he raised his hand to cut her off. "I am taking care of Pansy today. One of her friends was killed last night."

"What about everyone else? There were a lot of people hurt and scared and-"

"They can fuck off for all I care. Pansy's more important."

"You... you really mean that don't you? She's more important than everyone else. The world could burn, and as long as she was safe, you wouldn't care."

"Yeah, pretty much," Harry replied.

"You two are really co-dependent," Hermione huffed. "It's not healthy, and I worry about you, Harry. You used to be more caring. You've become so hard and so... ruthless. It scares me, frankly. You should be upset by the fact that you permanently maimed someone last night. I went to the infirmary, and I saw Urquhart there. Everything below the elbow is just gone. I know he was doing something awful, so don't try to make this about me worrying over him. This is about _you_ , Harry. I'm concerned about how all of this violence is affecting you."

"I'm still alive," Harry shrugged. "If it takes being more ruthless, or colder, then so be it."

"Just... just don't let it change you too much. I guess I should go walk the train then. Someone has to," Hermione said, sending him a mild glare as she got up. "I hope you all have a good holiday. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Hermione."

Once the door closed behind her, Luna turned to look at him. "I don't think she's as observant as she thinks. She should have already known how much Pansy means to you. Hermione acted like it was all a big surprise. I've seen how close the two of you are ever since we met. I'm not sure why she thinks it's a bad thing."

"Harry used to be more noble and heroic in her view," Pansy answered, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as Harry idly stroked her hair. "He's had to fight to stay alive, but more than that, he's had to kill people. Someone like Granger is still an idealist. She doesn't realize that when you're in a war, you have to either kill the enemy or watch them kill the people you love."

"Plus, I don't know why she said we're co-dependent like it's a bad thing," Harry added. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Pansy. Why shouldn't we depend on each other?"

"I think she meant more that the two of you are too obsessive about each other," Luna explained.

"Well, of course I'm obsessed with her. You know how awesome our sex life is. Why wouldn't I be obsessed with the woman who-"

"Harry!" Pansy objected, looking up at him with a glare.

"What? It's not like you don't tell Luna all those sorts of things when you're alone."

"Yes, but that's different."

"How?"

"It just is!"

Harry turned to Luna who shrugged in response.

"Don't look at me. I'm always up to hear more about your sex life. But, we are supposed to be catering to Pansy today, so I suppose we should do as she asks."

"Good girl, Luna."

"Alright, you win," Harry surrendered. It was two on one with them, like always. But Luna was right. And Pansy's mood had improved a lot, so him being picked on was worth it.

* * *

When they arrived back in London, they departed the train to find Pansy's uncle Malcolm waiting for them. As Harry looked around, he noticed there were a lot more people than usual. Probably families wanting to make sure their children were alright after that morning's headlines.

"Uncle Malcolm, what are you doing here?" Pansy asked as they walked over to him. He leaned over and gave her a hug.

"I just wanted to see you after what happened last night. Are you alright?"

"I'm getting there. I've got people who've been looking after me," she said with a smile, motioning to Harry and Luna. "Oh, I don't think I've introduced you. This is Luna Lovegood, she's my best friend."

"Miss Lovegood, it's a pleasure."

"You as well, Mr. Parkinson."

"Luna?"

The girl in question turned her head. "That's my dad. I need to go."

She threw her arms around Pansy and kissed her cheek, then did the same with Harry. "Take care of each other."

"You too, Luna. Have fun and we'll see you soon."

As she left, Pansy turned back to Malcolm.

"I'd love to take you out to eat, if you don't mind," he said. "It's been too long since we caught up. And if I remember correctly, I was usually really hungry by the time the train ride was over."

"That sounds good," Pansy said and Harry nodded in agreement. "I'm starving actually. But can we stay out of Diagon Alley or anywhere like that?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. I know a really great Italian place here in London."

"Thanks, uncle Malcolm. After everything last night, I just want to relax and not have to worry about what happens next and..."

"I understand," he said. "I don't see any of your things. Are they still on the train?"

"No, Dobby handled it," Harry answered. "He takes really good care of us."

* * *

Dinner ended up being very nice and relaxing. Malcolm was kind enough not to ask too many questions about Hogwarts, and specifically avoided the night before, which Harry was thankful for. Malcolm and Pansy had plenty of other things to talk about, and Harry mostly just listened. He felt really good by the time they got back home later.

It wasn't too late, roughly nine, but Pansy was quick in heading for the bedroom in their flat.

"What are we going to do tonight?" he asked as she opened the closet.

"We're going out."

"Out?"

"Yeah. Dancing, and drinking, so give me a minute to find some clothes for us both. It's a Saturday night, and I don't want to stay in. I want to feel... different. I want to put the magical world behind us. So I want loud music and to just forget everything. And when we get home, I expect you to shag me until I can't think straight."

Harry chuckled behind her. "I think I can handle that."

"Good. Now get out while I get dressed. Go put on something upbeat to listen to."

"Your wish is my command," Harry grinned.

If this was the way she wanted to cope with all the stress, he certainly wasn't going to argue.

* * *

The next several days passed in similar fashion. Pansy wanted to go out and do things constantly. If they weren't at a club they were going to a movie. Or shopping. They dined out at least once a day too. She was clearly staying busy so that she wouldn't have time to get depressed.

Harry was far from an expert on mental health, but it seemed to be working, so he followed her lead and tried to always have something for them to do.

Unfortunately, Pansy also didn't want to celebrate her birthday by doing anything special. He'd had an idea that had been set aside due to the end of term, but he was keeping it in the back of his mind for later. Instead, they just had a quiet, romantic dinner at a fancy French restaurant that was way more expensive than any other place they'd been to, with a bottle of red wine that cost more than their food.

Harry barely touched the stuff, but Pansy's smile made it clear that he'd chosen well.

Plus, they had to get dressed up, which meant she was wearing this sleek dark purple dress that he couldn't wait to peel off her. Between the creme brulee and what came later, Harry ended up having two desserts and both of them were delicious.

* * *

Their third Christmas together was nice and quiet like the first one had been. There was no Yule Ball or anything fancy like that going on. It was just the two of them relaxing, drinking hot chocolate, exchanging a few gifts, and shagging like teenagers.

Luna popped in briefly, dropping off a couple of presents and chatting about her family. Winky was tapping her foot though, as she wasn't supposed to stay too long. Instead, Pansy told her to call later on her mirror if she had free time to talk.

They did have a few things coming up though- Boxing Day at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and a trip to France to see the Carrows and Delacours. According to Sirius, the girls seemed to be doing alright, so Harry and Pansy were trying not to worry about them.

* * *

When they arrived at that gloomy old townhouse in London, there was a lot more activity going on than they expected as Sirius led them inside.

Harry wasn't surprised to see Remus Lupin there, but the dining room was full of people and when Dumbledore and Fawkes arrived in a burst of flame, it was clear that the Order of the Phoenix was having a meeting.

"Sorry about this, Harry," Sirius said as he waved to the crowd. "It was sort of last minute's notice, but it's hard to get everyone together during the busy holiday season. Moody says he has something to talk about. Do you mind waiting a bit?"

"No problem, Sirius."

"Thanks," he said before turning to Pansy. "I hope you and Harry are doing alright after everything. The girls told me what happened."

"They're okay?"

"I think they will be. They've been pretty shaken by everything but-"

"Sirius?" Lupin called for him from the doorway.

"Right. Feel free to browse the library. I'll be up as soon as we're done."

Harry nodded as his godfather went into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Pansy went up the stairs; Harry followed as she went into the library.

"I was thinking we might as well see if there's anything interesting to look up. For Surviving Death Eaters 101," she teased.

"It will be a new term though; I think that means it becomes 102."

"101 sounds better."

"Yeah, I guess," Harry shrugged at Pansy's grin. She started browsing the books.

"Ooh, this sounds fun. 'Three Hundred Ways to Torture a Muggle Without Killing Them Too Quickly.' I think I might like to borrow this."

"The Dursleys are still locked up though."

"I'm pretty sure the Death Eaters feel pain the same as anyone else," Pansy replied with a wicked smirk. "Plus, it would be fun irony to deal with them as if they were nothing more than the muggles they all look down on."

"True." Harry tried to find something that was less horrible sounding. It was the holidays after all. "I think I'll try this one. 'Dark Creatures and How to Make Them Serve Your Every Whim.' Might be useful."

"Going to replace me with a succubus, Harry?"

"What? Don't be silly. You're all the temptress I can handle."

"Good answer."

"I know," he chuckled. "I was actually thinking that it might have something about dementors in it, and-"

"And you have been planning on teaching the Patronus charm to people. You're smarter than you look, Harry."

"As I recall, you claimed to be the brains of this partnership from the very beginning. I should have known you only wanted me for my body."

Pansy cackled at that. "What if I did?"

"Then I'd say we should probably find a different room."

"Why?"

"As much fun as christening Sirius' library might be, I thought we might like to find some place a little more comfortable."

"The meeting will probably last awhile," Pansy said, clearly considering the idea. "What the hell, it could be funny if someone catches us anyway."

"Now you're talking."

Harry smiled as they darted out into the hall and started to look for a bedroom to borrow very temporarily.

Unfortunately, that plan was shot to pieces when he saw Andromeda Tonks come barreling out of the drawing room. Her hair was loose and wild and there was a nasty cut down the left side of her face.

"Where are they?" she yelled as she stomped down the stairs. Harry noticed that she had a slight limp too.

Nym came out behind her, looking pale and holding her left arm gingerly.

"Tonks? What's-" Harry stopped himself when he saw that she had obviously been crying. "Are you alright?"

"No," she winced, and Harry saw that she was limping too. He stepped forward and she threw her good arm over his shoulder. "Thanks, Harry. It's... my aunt, Bellatrix. She came to visit and she brought those Lestrange bastards with her. They...

"They killed my dad."


	78. Conflicts and a Return to Frace

* * *

'Fuck,' Harry thought to himself as he helped Tonks down the stairs. He wasn't too far behind Andromeda as she banged the door to the kitchen open, causing several voices to all begin speaking at once. "I hope they've got someone who knows some healing here today."

"Dumbledore can do it if no one else," Tonks responded with a grimace.

"I'm really sorry about your dad."

"Thanks, Harry. When we heard them breaking in, dad was actually the first to get his wand out and start defending us. He and mum had Rabastan taken out pretty quick. But that just made my crazy aunt even crazier. There's a reason she was thought of as you-know-who's most dangerous servant. Psycho bitch actually used the Cruciatus on her own sister. I hit her with a bone-breaking curse to get her to stop, but things just got even worse. She...

"Bellatrix threw a killing curse at me. Dad knocked me out of the way, but it hit him instead. That fucking bitch just laughed about it. Screaming about how at least the mudblood was dead. She was saying how she was going to 'get the mongrel half breed' next. Really nice family I've got, huh?"

"Yeah, that's not right. Everyone knows Sirius is the mongrel."

"Hah," Nym snorted. "Thanks for that, Harry. We better get in there before mum starts cursing anyone that looks at her wrong."

"All of you bloody morons, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Tonks and Harry looked at each other and winced before following Andromeda into the kitchen, seeing a number of abashed faces looking at the new widow before turning to them. Sirius got up and helped Nym into a chair.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"I'll live, but a healer would be nice."

"We can go to St. Mungo's later," Andromeda said. "First, I want to know what this useless band of old gossips plans to actually do about the damn war we're in."

"Now, see here-" Mrs. Weasley was quickly cut off.

"I don't want to hear a word out of you, Molly. You're a housewife. When have you ever taken your wand up to fight the Death Eaters? For that matter, how many of you have ever actually killed one of those bastards? I lost my husband today, and we're going to lose even more people if none of you will do what is necessary to cleanse the world of those murderers."

"Hear, hear!" Alastor Moody bellowed.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss, Andromeda," Dumbledore said. "But we cannot do anything too rash, or we risk even more death. Especially with Cornelius' position leaving us without official backing."

" _Official backing?_ " Andromeda sneered. "When has this little group ever had official backing?"

"Never," Moody replied. "We came together last time because we needed to. That hasn't changed."

"Exactly."

"While that is true," Dumbledore began, "I formed the Order of the Phoenix to try to save lives. I did not do so to become a leader of a band of murderous vigilantes."

"Then you shouldn't be leading!" Andromeda yelled.

"Who else would lead us?" Mrs. Weasley argued, her own voice getting just as loud. "Who can we trust if not Dumbledore? Someone as paranoid as Mad-Eye?"

"Mad-Eye has at least put some of those monsters down for good! How many of you have done the same? How many of them did you deal with, Albus?"

"I successfully captured several-"

"Yes, _captured_ ," Andromeda again sneered. "The ones locked up in Azkaban. Oh wait, I forgot, none of them are in Azkaban now, are they? If we had put the bloodthirsty crazies to death, Riddle wouldn't have half the forces he does."

"I will never sanction executing people in cold blood," Dumbledore retorted.

"And because of that, my insane sister murdered my Ted! You can take your condescending, self-righteous sanctimony and shove it up your arse you stupid old man. You keep your hands clean and your conscience clean, and we all suffer as more and more people die. WE ARE AT WAR! We can't follow a pacifist against terrorists!"

"Let's all try to calm down," Lupin interrupted. "Yelling at each other won't fix anything."

"How many people have you ever killed, Lupin?" Andromeda asked. "You fought last time, right? How many?"

"None."

"Yes, that's what I thought. And how many of your friends and family were killed? How many times did you go into battle against the Death Eaters, and how many times did they leave behind carnage before they fled? How many people died because you weren't willing to kill?

"I want a straight answer now. Who here has ever killed someone? Raise your hands."

Andromeda held her own hand up, her chin held high, daring anyone to say she had done the wrong thing. Harry saw the headmaster looking incredibly pale, and he wondered at why he looked so pained. Did he really think they could win the war without killing anyone? How exactly would that be possible?

When he looked around the room, only a few hands were up. Harry raised his own and he saw Dumbledore sigh as he looked at him.

"I never wanted this for any of you, but especially not you, Harry."

"We live in the real world, Albus," Moody said. "What you want isn't realistic. We've been at war ever since the Quidditch World Cup, almost a year and a half ago. A lot of people might not want to accept that fact, but it's true. You should be glad we've got Harry. Who knows how many lives he's saved by killing?"

"Is it noble to be willing to die for the people you love?" Harry asked, the room going quiet as everyone turned to stare at him. "I've always been told that my parents were brave. That they died to save me. That they were heroes. I suppose they were. But I am not them. I don't think self-sacrifice is the best idea in a war. I'll tell you what I will do, though. I will kill to protect the people I love. I will kill every last one of them if I have to. Someone has to, and I don't care if it has to be me. If it means the people I love survive, then I will do whatever I have to."

"The lad is right," Moody said as he walked over to stand by him, his wooden leg clomping in the silence before he stood behind Harry and put his hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't ever disparage someone brave enough to lay their lives down for another. I lost way too many friends and companions over the years who did just that. But it takes a different type of courage, a different type of willpower, to shoulder the burden of being able to kill to protect others. That's the mindset necessary for a soldier. Very few of you have that, and I don't blame you for that. But I won't let any of you complain about the few of us who are capable of it. You should be bloody grateful for people like Potter and I."

"Harry is just a boy!" Molly Weasley protested. "He isn't a soldier! He's a child!"

"I've never really been a child," Harry argued. "I didn't have what anyone could truly call a childhood. Maybe that's why I am the way I am. I've never really trusted adults to take care of things. And Mrs. Weasley, let me remind you that if I had been different, you wouldn't have a daughter anymore. So, don't tell me to sit back and let the adults handle things. The only adults at that graveyard were trying to kill me. I'll take care of myself, just like I always have. And I'll take care of the Death Eaters too, if I have to."

"You won't do it alone, Harry," Sirius piped up. "I wouldn't have let James try to take on the world by himself, so I'm definitely not letting you do it either. Besides, Lily would tear my head off if I didn't do whatever I could to help."

"So, now we're talking about going out to kill?" Harry looked at the older man who voiced that question.

"Diggle, do you think the Death Eaters are just going to roll over and give up?" Andromeda asked with an incredulous look. "Of course we're going to have to kill some of them! What part of the word _war_ do you people not understand?"

"Hopefully, we can avoid as much bloodshed as possible," Dumbledore said. "I have always tried to save as many lives as I can, and that will never change."

There were a few mutters as people looked around the room, and Harry felt like sighing. The vaunted Order of the Phoenix wasn't going to be nearly as much help as he had hoped when Sirius had first told him about it. Then again, more than half of them had been killed in the last war. Apparently, most of those truly willing to fight were lost at the time.

"Get out."

Harry turned and saw a look of fury on Andromeda's face.

"I said GET OUT! This is the house of Black, and I won't let a bunch of gutless cowards stand here and talk about how they are afraid of getting blood on their hands. My husband is dead because of people like you. If you want to keep your heads buried in the sand, praying for another miracle to stop Riddle and his Death Eaters, then you're all useless. So GET OUT!"

"Andromeda-"

"You most of all Dumbledore. I don't want to hear another bloody word out of you. Take your naive, moronic, selfish, cowardly idealism and GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT OF MY FAMILY'S HOUSE!"

There were a couple of gasps as she drew her wand and pointed it at the headmaster.

"NOW!"

A few people stood up and began to leave before Dumbledore said anything. Seeing the meeting fall apart, he also walked out. "I am terribly sorry about your loss."

It was tense for a minute as the room emptied. Only Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor remained behind with them.

"Andromeda, Ted was a good man. I'm very sorry about what happened to him. As an auror though, I should probably investigate. Your home is now the scene of a crime. I hope you understand."

"Do what you need to," she said quietly as she sat down next to Nym.

"I'll escort them to St. Mungo's and then I can come help deal with everything," Sirius suggested.

"You stay with your family," Moody interjected. "I'll handle it."

"Thanks, Mad-Eye."

"Think nothing of it. Now, Nymphadora, I hope you can do something for me."

"What?" she whispered. Harry could see that she was still somewhat in shock.

"Don't let this break you. I'm no stranger to loss, so I know how hard it can be. Take your time to grieve, lass, but don't let Ted's death be in vain. When you're ready, let me know."

"Ready? Ready for what?"

"When you're ready to pay the bastards back."

"Andi, I really should take you two to see the healers," Sirius said, trying to be helpful. "Are you-"

"Just give me a second."

"Alright."

It took everyone a moment, but the last of them got ready to leave. Shacklebolt went to the Tonks home. Sirius told Harry that he would call him later when he could. Pansy called for Dobby, but Moody pulled the two of them aside before they left.

"You two be careful now," he said.

"We will professor," Pansy replied.

"I'm not your professor anymore, and thank Merlin for that," he snorted. "If the Death Eaters are going to start attacking people, then you and Harry are going to be at the top of their lists. So, you know what I always say."

"Constant vigilance!" she barked at him.

"Atta girl. I see why you like her, Harry."

"That's hardly the main reason."

"I should think not," Alastor chuckled.

"I heard that you had a plan for today."

"Don't worry about it right now, lad. It's only something I'm working on for the moment. But I'll let you know if I need your help."

"I'm glad someone isn't going to try telling me I'm too young," Harry said.

"You've earned it. Besides, I'm not sure how many other people I could really count on when things get messy. And they're only going to get messier from now on."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. What a shitty way to celebrate the holidays."

"I've seen worse, unfortunately," Moody grumbled. "Well, happy Christmas anyway."

"You too, Alastor," Harry said as they shook hands.

* * *

"What the hell do we do now?" Pansy asked once they had popped back to their flat. "Should I call Luna? To warn her, I mean."

"Um... I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I doubt Luna's in any specific danger at the moment. She'll hear about the attack sooner or later, and I don't think she needs her holidays ruined with worry. Besides, I'm not sure if today is the beginning of anything or not."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm thinking about everything Sirius has told me," Harry answered, turning to face Pansy as they sat on the couch. "About Bellatrix Lestrange, his demented cousin. According to him, she's known as one of Riddle's most devoted and rabid followers. Even among that group of murderers, she's supposed to be the maddest of the mad. Today, I think, was a personal attack for her. Sirius said she was just as likely as his mum to rant about blood traitors, and you know how bad that damn painting is."

"You're saying that this attack might not have been planned then? That it might have just been a lunatic wanting to ruin her sister's day- what, for fun?"

"From what Sirius has told me, yeah. I'm kinda surprised she didn't do it on Christmas day. Or even on Andromeda's birthday. But that's not till April, so maybe she just couldn't wait that long."

"Bellatrix is someone that we definitely need to plan on killing then. Not just trying to get her arrested again."

"Azkaban has proven to not be of any use as long as Riddle's out there," Harry pointed out. "He's broken them out once, he can do it again. Until he's out of the picture, just capturing Death Eaters will be pointless. We may as well just let them go. Especially with the dementors being out of control. They were supposedly what made Azkaban so impenetrable."

"Look at you with the big words," Pansy smirked.

"You're not the only one who reads on occasion."

"Alright, so I won't bother Luna. Do you think we should do anything for the Tonks ladies?"

"I'd like to help, but I'm not sure..."

"What?"

"I just had an idea."

"Yes. And?"

"She said they'd made a mess of their home. I remember Nym mentioned that they'd destroyed the kitchen in particular. So, what if we helped put things back together? Cleaned up the mess and everything."

"That's not a bad idea, but unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to help. I've got another year until I'm of age, and we don't need to give Fudge or his cronies any ammunition to try to mess with us. After Umbridge, I don't trust them at all."

"Yeah, good point," Harry admitted. "However, we do have a secret weapon."

"Dobby?"

"Dobby."

"Dobby is very good at cleaning up messes," the elf said as he appeared.

"You're an expert at it," Harry agreed with a smile. "You're also very good about taking care of people. Nym and Andi could use the help of someone like you, Dobby."

"Dobby would be pleased to help misses Andi and Tonky."

"Right, but we'll need to wait until the aurors are done and everything."

"Let Dobby handle everything, master Harry. But you must promise to stay safe while Dobby is busy."

Harry didn't mind the elf's suspicious finger that he was waving at him. The little guy took his role as caretaker very seriously, and Harry wasn't going to suggest that he didn't appreciate it.

"Pansy and I can stay in and order a pizza. Just watch the telly and relax."

"No gettings into any troubles while Dobby is gone."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Pansy replied with a grin.

"Miss Pansy is a tricksy one, but Dobby knows she'll only be getting master Harry in trouble."

"So true," Pansy said with a laugh as Harry snorted. "Now the only problem is that we have to make sure they don't put any of that disgusting greasy mess on the pizza."

"We could order all veggie," Harry suggested. "That would probably make it less likely for there to be any stray pepperonis to offend you with their presence, your majesty."

* * *

A couple of days later, they were gathered at a small church in Ashford. Due in part to being so far south, it was a rather pleasant day for the end of December. The clouds even parted for a bit of sunshine that afternoon.

Ted's family had lived nearby, and he and Andromeda had moved there when they had married. With most of the Blacks disavowing Andromeda, it had been nice to have some family that supported them. Especially when little Nymmie was born.

Harry met several of them that day, Tonks taking specific pleasure in introducing him to the only grandparents she'd ever really known. Despite the somber occasion, he had a feeling that much of her mischievous nature came from Ted's side of the family, as Mrs. Olivia Tonks even shared the same laugh as her granddaughter.

Andromeda was grateful to Harry for asking Dobby to come help her clean the place up once the aurors were done with their work. Dobby had told him that the great miss Andi had already thanked him, so he said that was all that was needed.

Dobby had obviously enjoyed his time doing some hard work anyway, and Harry had come to understand that it was its own reward for the little guy.

Obviously, there were very few people from the Black side of the family. Sirius was there, of course, and Harry was something like a third cousin, but they did have one other visitor.

Narcissa had come to support her sister.

Harry gulped when he saw her. He couldn't stop himself from glancing over at Pansy, who was staring coldly at her as well.

'This just got more complicated,' he thought.

However, nothing happened before the service began. Narcissa was sitting in the front row, next to her sister. Tonks was on Andromeda's other side, and then came Sirius. Harry recognized only a handful of others. Kingsley Shacklebolt was there, as not only did he work with Tonks, but he had been friends with Ted since Hogwarts.

Pansy led Harry a couple of rows further back, and he noticed unhappily that they were sitting where she had a good view of Narcissa.

'Yeah, definitely more complicated.'

Harry really couldn't blame her for wanting to console her sister, but he really didn't want Pansy to get upset by seeing her either. And he felt more than a little annoyed with his penis too- apparently it wasn't paying attention to the fact that he was very much not interested in sleeping with her again.

He tried to ignore everything and focus on the priest speaking about Ted and his tragic loss. Harry felt a little strange when he realized that the last (and only other) time he had been in such a religious setting was for Pansy's mother's funeral. They really needed to go to a wedding or something someday so that they could have a good experience for once.

Andromeda was putting on a stoic face here in public, but Sirius had confided that she had fallen to pieces after they had gone home from being patched up at St. Mungo's. She and Nym were staying at Grimmauld with him for the time being. Her house just had too many memories.

Harry could relate to the way she had channeled her grief into fury, yelling at Dumbledore and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix. He couldn't bear to imagine how much worse he would be if he lost Pansy. And the Order made a good target too- as far as he could tell, they really hadn't done anything of note to actually combat the threat of the Dark Lord and his minions.

He wished he could have heard whatever Alastor had planned.

Before he knew it, the service was ending and the crowd went outside, following the casket. Sirius and Kinglsey were two of the pallbearers. Other than some of the guests, it was a normal ceremony. That made it very different from the one he'd seen in France. He wondered what his parents' funeral might have been like.

Did they even have one?

There were so many unanswered questions about that Halloween, and the more he thought about it, the more of them Harry came up with.

He assumed that this more recent tragedy would now probably forever taint the Christmas season for the Tonks ladies.

* * *

Half an hour later, Pansy was more than ready to face her foe.

She was already winning on the surface anyway. Her own little black dress was much slinkier than what Narcissa was wearing, and as selfish as that thought may have been, she was going to enjoy every advantage she had over the older woman. Not that Pansy was necessarily trying to look sexy at a funeral, but she wasn't going to dress poorly either.

And she looked really good in black. Harry thought so too, but unfortunately, Narcissa didn't look bad either. She might not have been going for sexy either, but she was pretty far from dowdy or frumpy.

All that being said, Harry hadn't done anything other than greet her politely before talking with the other ladies, mostly Tonks. She had obviously needed it, based on her dull hairdo if nothing else. He was even doing a decent job too, as she'd seen a hint of color flash a couple of times.

Seeing her prey finish a brief conversation with Sirius and separate herself, Pansy took the opportunity to start things off rather than waiting for the inevitable.

"Narcissa, how are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you. I didn't know you were familiar with my sister and her family."

"We met a few months ago," Pansy answered. "Obviously, my father wouldn't have been in contact with them. But Sirius introduced us, and Harry is a distant cousin."

"That is true, I suppose. I never got the chance to have much contact with my great aunt Dorea because she married into the Potters. It's a shame really, how even the purely magical families still have such strong divisions. There aren't that many of us, after all."

"Indeed."

"So, how have you and Harry been lately? I've heard about your relationship. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Pansy replied with a tense nod.

"He's been looking over here at us, you know," Narcissa smirked. "Do you think he's worried about whatever we may have to say to each other?"

"Harry is always worried about me. He's very caring. Maybe a little obsessive too."

"Yes, I believe he is a caring person. I would have to assume that he's had more than a few offers to care for him in return. With all the stress he's faced, I must say that he probably deserves it."

"He gets plenty of care, I can promise you that."

"Well you do live with him, so I suppose you are the expert on Harry. Are you sure that you don't need any help, though?"

"As he said to me the other day, I'm all the temptress he can handle," Pansy said with a wicked little grin. "Another woman would just be... _extraneous_."

"So, you've got him wrapped around your finger, do you?"

"He loves me."

"Does he now?" Narcissa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Would you like to ask him?"

"Maybe I should."

"Be my guest. I have nothing to worry about."

"You've become a lot more self-assured than I remember," Narcissa replied. "Harry has been good for you, clearly. But I fear I must put an end to this little game. It looks like my sister needs me, and believe it or not, I'm not that interested in a minor verbal scuffle with you. Give Harry my best, will you?"

Narcissa walked off without giving Pansy a chance to get the last word in.

It left her fuming to herself.

"I'll give him _my_ best instead, you bitch," she grumbled to herself. "It's much better than yours ever was, you washed-up hag."

Harry joined her a moment later as she was still muttering to herself.

"Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," Pansy growled.

"I'm sorry if she bothered you. Want to get out of here?"

"Very much so."

"Then it's a good thing I've got two tickets reserved with the Dobby express. Care to join me?"

Harry offered her his arm with a smile.

* * *

When they were back home, Pansy decided to let off some steam, practically stomping around the living room and as she tried to keep from growling to herself.

"Harry, how would you feel about a little kidnapping?"

"Um, I'm not sure I should ask, but why?"

"I was thinking about how lonely Narcissa must be. It's hard to find a good man, you know. We could go visit her. You could act like you were there to seduce her while I hid under your cloak. But before she got to any of the fun, I would tie her up, silence her, and make her watch you worship every inch of my body."

"We don't have anything pressing for the rest of the day, so I could use parseltongue on you," Harry suggested with a grin.

"Even better. But afterward, I'd need you to shag me silly and cum inside me."

"Not that I would ever turn that down."

"Of course not. Once we were done though, I would wipe that smug look off that bitch's face. Literally." Harry gave her a questioning glance, so she continued. "We tie her to the bed and I sit on her face and make her lick up every last drop of you as it dribbled out of me. Let's see how condescending she feels while staring up at my arsehole."

"That sounds... really, really hot," Harry grinned. "I think I like the idea of you being all dominant."

"It could be fun for a change," Pansy admitted. "You're always so willing to please though."

"Yeah. Sorry?" Harry chuckled at his strange apology.

"You're forgiven. But Harry, if we do ever have a threesome, then I'm in charge."

"Whatever you say. However, I think right now, you need some stress relief. And I know just the thing."

"Not now, Harry," Pansy turned him down with a sigh. "I'm... the thing is I've been feeling more cranky and crampy, and tomorrow should start... you know, so I just don't feel up for anything like that."

"Oh, right. I guess that today hasn't helped things then. Sorry about that." Harry scratched his head and then had an idea. He lifted Pansy off her feet and carried her over to the couch, where he set her down.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Harry just removed her shoes and started rubbing her feet, which caused her to let out a happy little groan. "Why did you have to wear high heels to a funeral?"

"I wanted to look my best."

"I mean, you certainly look hot, but it seems like a bit of a waste if you don't want to have any fun happy naked time."

"Believe it or not, I don't always dress to impress you. Not nearly as much as you probably think, actually," Pansy admitted with a snort. Seeing his confused face, she decided to explain. He was being sweet after all, and the balls of her feet were feeling a lot better. "Harry, this is one of those things that women do. Well, most women, anyway. I think Luna wouldn't bother, but we both know how unusual our girl is. Women dress to impress each other. It's like... an ingrained need to compete, to see who looks the best. Remember the Yule Ball?"

"Yeah. You were gorgeous."

"While I of course appreciated your response, part of the reason I wore that outfit was to see all the looks of jealousy from all the other girls there that night. It wasn't just about turning you on."

"Oh. What about turning on the other guys? You know, making them feel like they were missing out. That none of them were as lucky as me because I had such a hot date."

"I guess there was a small amount of that too. It might have been more pronounced for a different girl, but-"

"But?"

"But our relationship is unusual. I doubt most of the other couples there were anywhere near so... so permanent, I guess." She shrugged, closing her eyes for a moment and relishing Harry's hands wringing the tension out of her as she sighed. "You're stuck with me, Harry."

"Good."

"I'm glad you think so too."

"Want me to put something on? We could just relax, you know, watch a movie or something."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, but why don't we go out? Let's hit the rental place and maybe grab something to bring home for dinner on the way back. I'm feeling like Chinese food."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

New Year's Eve had arrived and Harry was being looked over by his incredibly thorough girlfriend. Not only was his outfit being scrutinized, but she'd even taken to his hair with comb and gel- styling it apparently, although it was hard for him to notice much difference. Pansy just rolled her eyes at him when he said so, calling him blind.

It was still early in the evening, and they were told that dinner would be served a bit later than usual since there would be a small party for the holiday. Pansy was planning for them to arrive an hour beforehand though, so they could talk to Flora and Hestia for awhile about everything that had happened.

Once she'd deemed him passable, Pansy retreated back into the bathroom, checking herself over as well.

"If I asked you for a favor, would you indulge me?" he asked.

"I might. I am in a fairly good mood, so I suppose it depends on how good you make me look tonight."

"I can be nice-looking arm candy."

"I meant more about your behavior, Harry. You and Sirius together can be a handful. Especially if he talks you into partaking in too much champagne."

"Don't be so worried. I can handle Sirius."

"Sure you can," Pansy snorted. "Sometimes I'm not sure which of the two of you is more of a bad influence on the other."

"He's the dangerous escapee from prison, not me."

"Uh huh." She looked over at him full of doubt.

"Alright, if I don't make you look too bad then, will you please wear that dress again later?"

"This old thing?" Pansy did a little twirl, showing herself off completely _innocently_. It was a very tasty little black dress with an even tastier looking lady wearing it, and she knew exactly how much she was teasing him. "Why ever would you want me to do that, Harry?"

"Don't be mean, you know why. We've got another week before school starts. You can give me a little treat for being such a good boyfriend."

"Fine. We are going over to see Vanessa later this week. I could be persuaded to dress up for that outing."

"How is she doing, anyway?"

"She said she's finally gotten over the morning sickness a couple of weeks ago. Now she's either hungry or horny all the time."

"So her hormones are making her feel like a teenage guy?" Harry chuckled.

"You aren't hungry that often."

"True, which tells you how often I've got sex on the brain."

"Alright, hush now," Pansy said with a smirk. "Let me double check my makeup and we can go."

* * *

One of the many, many nice things about having Dobby to look after them was how he could help with portkeys. They had become used to his very smooth elven version of transportation, and with him traveling along with them, Dobby was somehow able to reduce the spinning sensation to something much more bearable. They landed in France without tumbling over onto the floor, which would have been even more embarrassing once they saw the statuesque blonde awaiting them.

"Welcome to Chateau Delacour," Apolline Delacour greeted them with a smile.

"Merci beaucoup," Pansy replied with a curtsy. "Your home looks lovely."

"You're very kind my dear. As for you, monsieur Potter, you should be glad that I didn't allow my daughter to handle the arrivals. Gabrielle has been very enthusiastic ever since she heard you were coming to visit. I fear she's nearly driven poor Hestia and Flora half mad asking about you."

"Oh, um... it will be good to see her again," Harry answered, trying for a diplomatic tone. Judging by the grin on her face, he had failed but Apolline seemed to find it amusing.

"Yes, I'm sure she'll think so too. But for your sake, Pansy my dear, I'll try to keep her from completely monopolizing your beau's time."

"Thank you, madame, but it shouldn't be too hard to share him for one evening," Pansy smirked at Harry. "Besides, I've got a lot of catching up to do with the Carrows, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing Fleur again as well."

Oh yeah. Fleur.

Harry gulped to himself, remembering the last time he had seen her, or at least someone looking like her. Pansy hadn't worn the sexy French maid outfit since then. That was going to be really awkward, and he just knew that Pansy was really going to enjoy seeing him squirm.

"I'm impressed by your lack of accent," Harry said, quickly changing the topic in his own mind.

"I know many languages, Harry," Apolline replied with a smile. "It helps my husband with his work by being an elegant hostess."

"He couldn't have chosen a better wife then."

"Such a charmer, Harry. Come let me show you to our guest wing. Flora and Hestia will be there, and we've prepared a room for you as well as monsieur Black. We wouldn't want any of you to have to travel home so late at night."

They made small talk as Apolline led them through her home. It truly was a remarkably beautiful place, and it reminded Harry of when Fleur had told him that she had no need of the prize money from the tournament. She clearly wasn't joking as her home put even Malfoy Manor to shame. There was so much art everywhere, and even the occasional flower vases looked like they cost more than Harry would spend in a year.

Apolline stopped and knocked at a door. "Girls, your friends have arrived."

Hestia opened it a moment later. "Thank you, madame Delacour."

"Come now, how many times have I told you to call me Apolline," she chided gently. "Regardless, if you wish to speak with Harry, you should do so now before Gabrielle gets her hooks into him."

"We will. Thanks, Apolline."

"Dinner will be in a little less than an hour. We'll see you there. Harry, Pansy, your room is just across the hall."

"Thank you," Harry answered as their hostess nodded and left, closing the door behind her. "How are you two doing?"

"I'm alright," Flora shrugged. "Hes needed a little patching up, but nothing too bad."

"I meant more, you know, about feelings and stuff."

"Why?"

"Unlike my aloof sister," Hestia interjected, "not all of us are able to handle everything so well. I was very relieved to hear that Goyle survived. I had nightmares that first night, thinking that I had killed him."

"I still don't think it would have been a big loss," Flora scoffed.

"No, it was definitely a good thing," Pansy said. "His testimony helped get Harper arrested. I don't imagine trying to send him back to Hogwarts after the holiday break would have been a good idea, and Greg is the one who revealed that he'd already been marked."

"What about the others?" Hestia asked.

"Did I get both Warrington and Pike?" Flora wondered.

"They both died, yes," Harry answered, and he wasn't surprised that Flora merely nodded in response. "Millie was the only girl who died. There were some bruises, cuts and whatnot, but mostly it was just the mental trauma for a lot of them. I'm pretty sure madam Pomfrey must have gone through her entire supply of calming draughts. As for the other guys, Millie took out Crabbe, Montague, and Bletchley."

"That's a damn shame," Flora sighed. "I always liked Millie."

"Me too," Pansy said. Harry noticed her start to tear up, so he tried to press on past that sad reminder.

"I heard that Urquhart is going to transfer to Durmstrang once he's fitted for a prosthetic," Harry added.

"He didn't get arrested?" Flora growled.

"No."

"Harry, where did you hear this?" Pansy asked.

"Oh right, sorry, it was in Sam's letter this morning. I forgot you were still in the shower when I read it. Anyway, apparently what happened is that since he wasn't marked and he hadn't been responsible for any curses that had done any permanent damage, it was going to be a big hassle trying to get him charged with anything."

"That bastard was going to curse my sister in the back!" Hestia yelled.

"I know, and I'm glad I got him," Harry said, trying to soothe her. "But the thing is, other than a sexual assault which was stopped before it happened, he didn't commit any major crimes. I'm not happy about it either, believe me, but I understand. Madam Bones is having enough of a battle to try to get Harper dealt with."

"Because of Fudge?" Hestia asked.

"Partly, yeah. He's still got his head up his own arse about the Dark Lord not being back. Pretty damn stupid that teenagers could have the Dark Mark now though. It's kinda nuts to try to imagine Riddle putting that gross tattoo onto the arms of infants." Harry shook his head. "But it's more than that. Harper is also underage. If not for the fact that he's got the Greengrasses as opponents, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had been released too. Fudge is really just the worst sort of moron. It's horrifying that he was actually elected."

"Any others then?"

"Not really, but I think Goyle told Alastor something really useful. He told me he was working on a plan, and the look on his face when he said it gave me hope that it will be a strike against the Death Eaters."

"Um, Alastor?" Hestia asked.

"He means Mad-Eye Moody," Pansy clarified with a smirk. "Harry's mentor."

"Right, I forgot that was his name. It's kind of funny to think of him and Harry hanging out together though." Flora snorted at her sister's mirth. "What would the two of them do?"

"He could probably give me some pointers on how to escape the clutches of a Veela," Harry suggested.

"You've no idea," Hestia giggled. "Gabrielle really can't stop talking about how her hero is coming just to visit her. If you had been here while the Christmas decorations were still up, Gabrielle would have maneuvered you under the mistletoe. Repeatedly. Watch out, Pansy, the girl is tenacious."

"Well, she can have him for most of the night. I've got friends to catch up with," Pansy winked at Harry's groan. "But I will require him at midnight. We've got a tradition to uphold."

"Lucky you," Hestia sighed.

"Oh, don't be like that. I expect you'll be turning the heads of all the French boys once you start at Beauxbatons. I trust that getting that transfer arranged hasn't been too much of a problem?"

"No, Sirius and Apolline have both been really helpful. Even Fleur too, as she was a favorite of the headmistress. We start in a little over a week. I'm looking forward to it."

"The language charm was an odd feeling, though," Flora interjected. "Apolline cast it so that we could speak and read French. I'm glad that there's a magical shortcut for that sort of thing. Otherwise, we would have had a bigger problem. Although, I suppose we could have tried to go to America."

* * *

Dinner was wonderful. Not only the food, as Pansy was definitely a fan, but Apolline had arranged for Gabrielle to sit on Harry's other side and she was talking his ear off. Her mother was clearly amused too, as she was nearby and kept smiling at the two of them.

Fleur was seated across from them and down the table a bit, next to a handsome young man with piercing light blue eyes, who she had apparently started dating a few months prior. He introduced himself as Isaak Mendel, a German wizard who worked as an enchanter. He'd come to the country for schooling at Beauxbatons and stayed because he'd found a job that he loved.

And apparently a woman as well, as Apolline teased.

Pansy really liked her. She was even more fun than her daughters, and it was clear where they got their mischievous side from. Henri, her husband, tried to maintain a much more dignified air, possibly due to his work, but thankfully he was seated at the other end of the table.

Sirius was next to him, and he was failing badly at controlling his gaze. Apolline had a sister, two nieces, and a cousin who were all visiting. Every single one of them blonde bombshells. Pansy was actually impressed that the old dog wasn't openly drooling.

By contrast, Harry was actually behaving himself quite well. The youngest Veela was taking up most of his attention, but Pansy never caught him more than glance at her relatives. And she saw him blush when he looked at Fleur, which reminded her of the fun they'd had over the summer.

She was considering doing it again sometime, just for Harry's reaction if nothing else.

Once the final course was finished, people began to get up and amble down the hall towards a ballroom with tall windows and doors leading out to a balcony with a spectacular view looking out over the water of the Mediterranean. Pansy had grabbed hold of Harry's arm before Gabrielle could, but she walked along side him chatting the entire way.

No need to let the girl get too comfortable, after all.

"'Arry, you must tell me all about zis Defense group you've been leading. 'Estia says you are a very skilled teacher, and even Flora has spoken well of you, at least when I can get 'er to speak much at all. Zat poor girl really needs to lighten up. We are in France. She should leave ze brooding behind for ze dull grey skies of England."

"I think you might have the right idea," Pansy said. "Both of them are now in a much more civilized country. They should both try to leave as many of their worries behind."

"I see why you like 'er, 'arry. Pansy clearly sees ze superiority of my homeland. You simply must consider moving 'ere in ze future."

"I'll think about it," Harry chuckled. "Pansy's prejudiced though because her mother's family is French."

"Zen your taste in women is good too. You should prepare yourself for when I am older, you know. I shall show you ze absolute best time of your life."

"I think my girlfriend might disagree with that."

"Silly 'arry. You are clearly far too much man for any one woman. But it is good zat you have someone to practice with for now. I would be most disappointed if you were not a skilled lover once my turn came."

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, Gabrielle, I'll make sure Harry gets plenty of practice," Pansy said with a smirk. Precocious, outspoken, ridiculously over confident- Gabrielle Delacour was the most amusing possible fan girl. Pansy was having far too good a time listening to her to be bothered by her arrogance.

"You are most kind, Pansy," she replied before turning her gaze back to Harry, who was still blushing. "Now, you must tell me all about zis class. What spells are you teaching? Could you teach me? I 'eard all about your escape from ze Death Eaters. Zat you killed several of zem in your escape, even after being tortured. You must be so brave, 'arry. Like a Prince Charming from all ze fairy tales. Someday, I may just 'ave to wake you with a kiss, mon amour."

"Uh, I think it was the prince's job to do the kissing," Harry tried to argue.

"Well, if you are feeling so forward, I won't say no," Gabrielle replied before puckering up.

Harry was saved by Apolline, who had been watching and who poked a finger into the side of her daughter.

"Maman!"

"Don't be so forward, my angel. Boys like girls with a hint of mystery. And it is never in good taste to so brazenly flirt with another woman's man in front of her. Now, what do you say?"

"Pardon me, Pansy."

"You're forgiven."

"Very good. Now, give me a moment with our guests." Gabrielle pouted, but clearly her mother was used to it. "Do not worry, you will still have plenty of time to speak with Harry later. The night is young."

"If you insist."

The three of them watched her walk off and Pansy couldn't completely contain a giggle as the ten year old exaggerated the sway of her hips.

"And I thought Fleur was a nightmare," Apolline snorted. "I hope she wasn't bothering you, Harry."

"No, um, I don't really mind, madame."

"Besides, he knows that I find her hilarious," Pansy added with a grin. "Harry's had admirers before, but none of them have made me laugh so much at his response. She's young enough that he would feel like a jerk if he turned her down the way he would if she were a few years older."

"Plus, I believe you are not concerned about her as a rival for his affections," Apolline suggested. "Hopefully, she will grow out of this obsession sooner or later. But I must warn you that there is a certain amount of _willfulness_ that runs in our family. I wouldn't be completely surprised if she did try to track Harry down in a few years once she feels like she's old enough."

"As much as I love him, I would assume she'll run into a few boys once she starts at Beauxbatons that will make her forget all about Harry."

"I'm not sure if that would be for the best, actually," Apolline sighed.

"Why not?"

"Gabrielle seems to be developing a bit faster than Fleur. Puberty tends to be very rapid for us, and if Gabrielle hits it in the next year or so, that could be a nightmare. Imagine if a girl at your school had been able to bend all the boys to her whims from the very first day. She might never have a female friend in that case. What's more, Gabrielle is spoiled enough that I can easily imagine her toying with people. Sadly, I don't know if there is much I can do to reel her in now."

"I see." Pansy mused over the idea for a moment. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to keep her wrapped up in her Harry obsession."

"Are you speaking of Gabrielle?" They turned to see Fleur who had come over with her date on her arm. "She 'as been very excited for your arrival, 'arry."

"Yeah, um, so I've been told."

"May I introduce Isaak to you both? Zis is ze famous 'arry Potter and his girlfriend Pansy."

"My pleasure," Isaak said, kissing the back of Pansy's hand before shaking with Harry. "Fleur has told me all about the tournament you were both in last year."

"It was a very eventful year," Pansy replied. "How have you been, Fleur?"

"Very well, zank you. I've 'eard of your most recent stresses at school from ze Carrows. I 'ope your summer at least gave you a chance to relax."

Pansy didn't miss how her eyes briefly darted over to Harry, nor how he quickly looked away.

"Indeed. Izaak, may I borrow your lovely date for awhile? We have some catching up to do."

"Of course."

"And Harry," Pansy said before she strode out onto the balcony. "Don't leave Gabrielle too long. You still have so much to tell her about your study group."

She saw him narrow his eyes at her before she turned away. It wouldn't be as funny if she weren't there to watch, but she could still laugh about it later.

"I am not so sure it's wise to encourage my sister," Fleur said in a low voice before they escaped the crowd.

"Harry's fought off more dangerous foes. I'm sure she won't be able to take too much advantage of him."

"Let's 'ope not," Fleur snorted. "I love my sister, but she can be 'ard to deal with at times."

"I like her. But I doubt that's what you really want to talk about."

"No. Did you take ze polyjuice?"

"I did."

"Zen you must tell me everything! Did 'arry react well? I trust you 'ad plenty of fun," Fleur grinned.

"It was... enlightening," Pansy began. "I'm still a bit envious of your breasts, but over all, I think it helped my self-esteem in the long run. I've been very jealous of your type in the past. Two years ago, Harry and I were at a New Year's Eve party and there were all these pretty blondes there that danced with him. And every single one of them was taller than me! Even my best friend Luna is now becoming a leggy blonde. She's got three inches on me. But Harry..."

Pansy sighed while Fleur looked on, smiling.

"You are very clearly a woman deeply in love."

"I am. Harry has been so good to me, and it has helped me get over my past insecurities. For example, I can now see you as a friend even though you look like a supermodel."

"You 'ave no idea 'ow much I appreciate zat," Fleur laughed. "Veela are usually starved for female friends. Zat is one of ze reasons we tend to stick together socially. But back on topic now. Did you and 'arry 'ave any fun? Or should I say, did 'arry and I?"

"Yes," Pansy replied with a smirk.

"I knew it," Fleur chuckled. "Poor 'arry has been unable to look me in ze eye all night. I take it we 'ad a night to remember zen?"

"We did, and it taught me a couple of interesting lessons too."

"Do tell."

"First of all, it seems that Harry has some interesting ideas. He finds kissing to be more intimate, in a way, than actual sex. He was very reluctant to kiss me while I looked like you."

"Zat is unusual, but I guess I can see ze point."

"Yeah, he said it was even stranger because he could see some of my expressions shining through even while they were on your face."

"Zat would be strange," Fleur agreed. "But what else happened?"

"Well..." Pansy looked around to make sure no one could overhear them. Thankfully, the only other people on the balcony were at the far end. "The thing is, sometimes I like for Harry to be very dominant. To let out a more primal side, if you know what I mean."

"I can imagine," Fleur said and Pansy saw that she was slightly flushed. "Please go on."

"Yes, so, the other thing is that Harry isn't always in the right frame of mind for that sort of thing. I guess he adores me too much, actually. Sometimes, I just want him to bend me over and spank me. And I'm not worrying about how hard he'll do it."

"But 'arry is," Fleur nodded. "Because 'e loves you, 'e does not want to see you in pain."

"And a little pain can be fun sometimes," Pansy said. "So, I- or that is, you- might have said some very filthy things to get him stirred up."

Fleur laughed out loud at that, and a few heads turned to look at the two of them. "No wonder 'e won't look me in ze eye."

"Yeah, he probably feels like he took advantage of you or something. Harry's like that. But I told him I had your permission."

"Everyone 'as different views on sexuality," Fleur shrugged. "I wouldn't 'ave said yes to ze request if it came from most other people."

"Well, since we're speaking of our sex lives, how is yours doing?"

"Isaak and I 'ave not yet gone zat far. Ze foolish man is trying to be too much of a gentleman," Fleur scoffed. "I am strongly considering tying him to ze bed one of zese days."

"That's something I've never tried. I wonder what type of ropes to use."

"Silk would be best," Fleur suggested.

"That's what I was thinking too. Now I just have to figure out how to get Harry to think of it on his own."

"You don't want to capture 'im and do as you please with 'im?"

"I prefer for him to take charge," Pansy answered. "I don't know if I would be as submissive with someone else, but Harry is so incredibly good to me pretty much all the time that I know I can trust him when it comes time to play in bed."

"Zat makes me wonder about something. When did you two really get together? I could tell zat night at ze Yule Ball wasn't ze first time. No one would be like zat on a first date."

"No, we'd been together for a year and a half by then."

"Why ze deception?"

"Mostly paranoia, and most of it on my part, actually. Harry had wanted to reveal things sooner. But at first, we did have enemies, and it would have been dangerous for us when my father was still alive. However, I am glad how it all worked out. That night was magical in part because of all the jealous looks I got from the other girls that wished they were in my place."

"Zat is understandable."

"Oh, before I forget, I've been meaning to ask you something. How do I go about getting a Beauxbatons uniform?"

"I take it zat 'arry enjoys when you play dress up?"

"He does, and that makes me enjoy how he reacts. He is very willing to please."

"Zat is good. Gabrielle would be disappointed if 'er first time was less zan spectacular," Fleur teased.

* * *

"Pardon me, my dear, but I really must borrow my godson for a few moments."

Harry felt like hugging the old man for saving him from Gabrielle. Not that he disliked her, but he couldn't find any way to dissuade her from her blindingly obvious crush. She was too young and too cute for him to just be a jerk to her.

But if she asked him any more about his bravery, he was tempted to tell her exactly how awful things had been when the fighting was over in the Slytherin common room. Only if Pansy wasn't around though- he didn't want to make her start mourning Millie all over again.

"If you insist, monsieur Black. But do not keep my 'arry for too long."

"Of course not," Sirius grinned as she nodded before he dragged Harry out onto the balcony. He could see Pansy and Fleur at the other end, and they waved at him before going back inside.

"Thanks Sirius."

"Don't thank me yet. I did agree to return you to your admirer."

"Yeah, laugh it up. I've seen you staring at her cousins. And sister. And mum."

"I'm not blind Harry. Of course I've been staring at them," Sirius scoffed. "Beautiful women expect to be stared at. And speaking of beautiful women, I wanted to ask you about one."

"I really never thought I would be having to give you advice about this sort of thing. Then again, I am the one who is currently in a very successful relationship."

"If you're going to get a big head, I'll just drag you back to the pint sized blonde."

"Fine, I'll be-" Harry stopped himself from saying serious. "What can I help you with?"

Sirius pouted when he realized Harry had blocked him from another bad pun. His godson wasn't nearly fun enough sometimes. "What can you tell me about Kathryn Nott?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just humor me for a moment."

"Okay. Well, let me see. I don't really know all that much. She was the head girl when I was a second year. She's obviously pretty smart and talented. Very good looking too, which I'm sure caught your eye if you're bringing her up. From what I know, she wasn't too close with her father because she wasn't broken up over his death. Not much else I can really say," Harry shrugged. "I've only met her a couple of times, and the last time we spoke was a year ago."

"I notice you didn't mention her brother," Sirius said.

"I haven't seen him in a long time," Harry said, trying to keep his poker face blank. "I heard he had some sort of accident and that's why he wasn't at Hogwarts this term."

"Uh huh, and that's all you heard?" Sirius asked. He waved it off when Harry didn't give anything else away. "Right, well the reason I mention her is that I've struck up an acquaintance with her recently."

"Acquaintance huh?"

"Don't give me that tone, Harry. I can speak to women without immediately trying to get them in the sack."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Yes you will. Anyway, the point is, she and her mum have approached me about an arrangement."

"Arrangement?"

"As in marriage."

"And you're actually considering it?" Harry gawked. "Have you been dosed with a love potion?"

"No, please, I'm not that careless," Sirius scoffed. "I told you that happened once when I was a teen, and I've made sure it's never happened since."

"Oh right, what was her name? Bertha?"

"Edna actually, but that's not the point."

"Why then? I wouldn't think you'd be interested in getting tied down now. Or ever, really."

"I guess I'm finally growing up," Sirius sighed. Harry just raised an eyebrow and waited for him to go on. "Now that I've been free for awhile, I realize that the idea of just going out and trying to pick up girls forever loses its charm eventually. I'm not getting any younger, you know? One of these days, I might actually want a family, and I'll be damned if you end up having kids before I do. Lily would never forgive me."

"Pansy and I aren't in that big of a hurry."

"I know, and part of this is all your fault, you inconsiderate git. The fact that you've already settled on your girl makes me feel like I have some catching up to do. It reminds me of your dad too, and he would be laughing at me if you beat me to the altar."

"Okay, but why her? And the whole arranged thing really doesn't seem like-"

"Like something I'd do? Yeah, maybe not, but it was something I was brought up to believe in. I rebelled against my family in a lot of ways, but it's still something that isn't as alien to me as it might be to someone like you. As for the Notts, I can see their point. Her mum is pushing for it, and Kathryn is a very beautiful young woman. Between the dead Death Eater father and the heir who lost his memory, the family could use some more support."

"The type of support they could get from aligning with another old family," Harry finished. "I'm surprised they would choose our side though, what with everything that's going on."

"I've heard plenty of rumors of how some of those types of families have been in the past. Kathryn could do a whole lot worse if they were aligned with some of the brutes that hide behind those masks. Hell, you should have seen plenty of what I'm talking about very recently."

"True, I would think most women would probably choose you over a Death Eater. I guess you can take that as a compliment. I'm still surprised that you're thinking about it."

"I did say that Kathryn is a beautiful young woman, Harry. Plus," Sirius leaned in close to whisper, "she's still a virgin. I haven't had sex with a virgin since the Seventies."

"Okay, now that sounds like something you'd say," Harry snorted.

"Yes, but there's also a ritual that you can do with a virgin-" Sirius cut himself off. "Did you and Pansy?"

"Yeah, and it probably helped me out a lot. I finally got the Patronus charm down after we'd done it."

"Exactly. We're in a war, Harry. If Kathryn and I were to arrange things, and we did that, it could help me out the next time I get into a battle too. With what happened with Ted recently, I know that it's going to be sooner rather than later. Once the blood starts spilling, things will only get worse. And I don't trust many people on our side- or the aurors, for that matter- to be able to stand up to the Death Eaters."

"I've been thinking about that too. I was pretty damn shocked that things broke out at school. And Pansy's taken her friend's death really hard. I just hope there aren't any more damn Death Eaters left at Hogwarts."

"Me too, Harry. I've said all along that teenagers shouldn't be having to fight this damn war," Sirius grumbled. "I'm worried about Flora, how she's handling everything. She killed two people, and it hasn't seemed like it even fazed her. She just turned fifteen for fuck's sake!"

"I killed when I was even younger than that," Harry pointed out.

"I know, and I would think that you've realized by now that I've been worried about you too. I'd go kill every one of them to keep you from having to do it. I owe it to your mum and dad, if nothing else. But I also know how you are, and that you're better off prepared for the next time someone tries to do you in. Merlin knows it's happened too many times already."

"You can say that again," Harry muttered. "So, are you going to say yes to Kathryn Nott then?"

"I think so. Do you think I should?"

"If it will make you happy, yeah. I hope you like her for more than her looks though. Marriage can last a long time, you know."

"Yeah, it can," Sirius nodded. "That's why I've been getting to know her. I think we might be able to make it work. Sure, maybe she's hiding that she's actually an awful bitch, but that could be true of a lot of women. At least she's hot."

"Fair enough," Harry snorted. "You have my blessing then."

"Shut up, Harry."

"I really do wish you well, you know."

"Yeah, thanks." Sirius sighed and looked up at the stars. He turned back to Harry a moment later with a scowl. "Wait a minute. You said that the ritual helped you with your Patronus."

"Yeah. So?"

"That means you lost your virginity at thirteen."

"Yep."

"I hate you, Harry."

"I know."

"Oh look!" Sirius physically turned Harry around and pointed at Gabrielle, who was clearly waiting to have his attention again. "I simply mustn't keep you away from such a pretty young girl any longer. To make her wait for her beau even one second longer would just be rude."

"I hate you too, Sirius."

* * *

Pansy saw Harry's put upon face and decided to take pity on him. Midnight was only fifteen minutes away and she'd had plenty of time to spend with the Carrows, as well as a hilarious conversation with Sirius. He seemed both annoyed and amazed that she'd been sleeping with Harry for more than two years. Pansy smiled triumphantly when he called her a scarlet woman for taking Harry's innocence.

She grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne and headed for her overwhelmed boyfriend.

"Excuse me, Gabrielle, but I really must spend some time with Harry tonight." He mouthed thank you to her over Gabrielle's shoulder and Pansy had to force herself not to grin. "I hope he has been good company, though."

"Oh yes, of course. Dear 'arry has been very gallant. Ze night has been so much more exciting with 'im by my side."

"I'm glad my boyfriend has been such pleasant company for you, but I really must take him back now."

"If you insist," Gabrielle sighed melodramatically. She tugged his arm hard enough to yank his head down so she could kiss him on the cheek. "Till next we meet, my dear 'arry."

Pansy bit the inside of her cheek as the little Veela walked off. She noticed her grab a flute of champagne and take a swig of it before her mother chastised her and took it away. Pansy lost control of her giggles at that point.

"I'm glad you're so amused," Harry snorted.

"Oh come on, she is hilarious. It's too bad she doesn't go to Hogwarts. With that much confidence, she'd definitely be in Gryffindor. And zen she could follow 'er dear 'arry around all day."

"No, that would get really old. And you shouldn't make fun of her accent."

"Why not, monsieur Potter? Do you zink ze accent is sexy?"

"If you're going to play with fire, I will burn you tonight, my love."

"Fine, Harry. We can play that game another time."

"Thank you," he exhaled. "I take it you've had a good night?"

"Yes."

"Did Sirius tell you his news?"

"No. What news?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Why not now?"

"Because for once I know some fun gossip that I can hold over your head, and I'm going to savor this moment." She pouted at him so Harry stuck his tongue out at her.

"Is that an invitation?" she purred.

"Always," he grinned in return. "Besides, I'm sure you've had plenty of amusement at my expense tonight."

"I suppose," Pansy drawled out. "Would you like to hear about my conversation with Fleur?"

"Probably not," he said with a frown.

"You're right, Harry. I might tell you anyway."

"I know," he sighed. "Shall we make a toast?"

"A toast?"

Harry raised his glass. "To many more years of you teasing me mercilessly."

"I'll drink to that," she grinned.

"And to many more years of me taking it out on you in the bedroom."

"I'll definitely drink to that, too. Just give me two more nights, and I'll be ready for whatever."

"Tuesday night? Is that when we're going to see Steven and Vanessa?"

"Uh huh."

"And you'll wear this dress again?"

"Since you've made tonight so much fun, yes, I will."

"And you won't complain when I keep you up all night long making up for lost time?"

"Only because I love you, Harry."

"It's almost time!" Apolline announced as she strode out onto the balcony. She was on her husband's arm and Henri Delacour was holding out his watch. "Everyone get ready."

Harry looked at Pansy and smiled before he turned to set both of their glasses down on the nearby rail. He wrapped his arms around her waist while hers went up around his neck. She was looking at him with a grin, and all the worries and stress waiting for them back in England fell away, completely unimportant.

The countdown began, and they joined in with the other voices as they smiled and slowly moved closer together. Another kiss to bring in another new year, with hopefully many, many more to come.


	79. Some Wounds Are Harder to Heal

* * *

" _Expecto Patronum!_ "

Harry's dragon once again burst forth from his wand in a nearly-blinding display. It was so large that its wings brushed up against the walls of the classroom on either side. After remaining for a moment, looking for threats, the glowing form disappeared.

"Something like that is what we'll be aiming for in the future for all of you. However, the shape a Patronus takes will vary between who casts it. Pansy, if you would demonstrate please."

He turned and watched as she summoned her glowing fox.

"This is the final step of the charm. Once you have it mastered, it will turn into some type of animal. Before you get to this point, a bit of light should come out of your wand. Don't be discouraged if that's all that happens though because that's what happened for me too. It took me a lot of practice to get the dragon to come out. Now, another thing I want everyone to understand is that you need to be careful when practicing this as it can leave you feeling weak and drained. I know some of you might want to try to practice it outside of these little meetings, but don't do it on your own. Have at least one partner with you to make sure you don't pass out from casting the spell too many times.

"Professor, do you have anything to add?"

Watts had explained to Harry that he had 'unofficially' been ordered to watch the meetings for the time being by both Dumbledore and Madam Bones. There were too many possible problems going on with the investigations of the violence that had erupted in the Slytherin common room, and keeping the political nightmare from further affecting the school meant Harry's group would require an observer for the time being. He liked Watts well enough, so it wasn't a problem so far.

He just hoped that it would remain true, especially if he went back to teaching any more violent spells. Alastor had written to him suggesting that he move on to a bone-breaking curse as it was a good way to put someone out of a fight. Very few people could fight through the pain it caused.

"I'm here only to watch," Watts answered. "Who knows? I might even borrow a few of Mr. Potter's ideas once I run my own classes on the subject."

That caused a couple of chuckles, and Harry nodded as the professor remained in the back.

"Alright, I want everybody to spread out. Give yourselves some space, and try not to look directly at anyone else's wand. The Patronus can be really bright, even when it is still in mist form. I hope everyone has thought of some strong positive emotions to use because that really is the key. Don't be afraid to try out several different ideas or memories. If you get the right one, the spell itself should feel stronger.

"Now, let's get to work."

* * *

There were still a few people yelling out the incantation when he tried to call for an end to things. Harry had seen enough- a couple of them were starting to be unsteady on their feet, a sure sign that the attempts at learning the spell needed to be stopped for the evening.

One Sonorous charm later, he managed to get everyone's attention.

Neville was the last who had desperately tried to produce something from his wand, but Harry noticed that the earlier bits of white mist had bits of grey laced among them before they faded to nothing at all.

"Alright, I'm afraid that's going to have to be all for tonight." Harry grinned slightly at the groans. "I can understand wanting to work more on this, but you'll all end up passing out if we keep going. Like I said earlier, feel free to keep working on it in your free time if you want, but I am very serious about having someone to practice with. Madam Pomfrey will be angry if people start completely exhausting themselves, and I shudder to think what might happen if you did it where Fred and George might find you."

Harry winked at the twins as a few people chuckled at that thought.

"So, for now, let me just say good work everyone. Don't feel discouraged by not having it learned tonight. I would have been shocked if any of you had done that. It took me months to get it down. I'm thinking we'll try again in our next meeting a few days from now. I want you all to think over how it felt when you were trying tonight, and how whatever memories or ideas you were using seemed to work. Some will work a lot better than others. Don't be afraid to try out several of them- that's what I did, and it took me awhile to find the precise feeling I needed.

"That's all for now. Have a good night everybody."

* * *

"Hey, Neville!" Harry called out as the group began to leave. "Can you stay behind for a second?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to walk Luna back to her dorm," Pansy said as she pecked Harry on the cheek. "I'll meet you in awhile."

"I'd rather you not go alone."

"Don't worry so much, Harry. Besides, Parvati is coming along with me."

"Alright. Be careful, ladies."

"Bye Harry," three voices answered in a chorus. He heard them start to giggle as they left the classroom and could only grin to himself.

"So... right, where were we?"

"You wanted me to stay for some reason," Neville replied.

"Yeah. I saw something when you were trying to cast the Patronus. Specifically, that last time you cast it, the white light sort of got all murky and grey. Do you mind telling me what you were thinking of?"

"I... er," Neville stuttered for a second before taking a breath. "Did you hear about what happened over the holidays? With the Lestranges attacking the Tonks family?"

"Yeah. I heard all about it. Andromeda and little Nymmie are distant cousins of mine. Plus, they're Sirius' closest family, so I've gotten to know them a bit over the last year."

"Oh, er sorry. About Ted Tonks, I mean," Neville clarified. "But, I... that is, when they were attacked, they killed Rabastan Lestrange. He was one of the ones... the ones who... you know, attacked my parents."

"I get it. So you tried to use that thought to power the spell?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Okay, I can understand why you might have thought that would be a good one. The fact that one of those bastards isn't out there anymore, right? That he can't hurt anyone like that again, and that your parents have been, at least partially, avenged. That you got some justice. Something like that, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Neville agreed.

"That isn't what you can use. Believe me, I understand about wanting to see vengeance and feeling righteous about what happened. But you need something purer for the Patronus. What you used, those feelings are too... complex, I guess. You need something simple that overwhelms everything else. For example, I don't think you'd be surprised to know that I think about Pansy when I cast the spell. Not that love isn't complex in ways too, but..."

"I think I understand."

"Hmm..." Harry thought for a moment, peering at his friend and trying to remember details about Neville's life. From what he'd heard, his family hadn't always been very supportive of him, and having to live in the shadow of his parents' fate couldn't be easy. "You're really good at Herbology, right? Do you have a garden at home?"

"Yes. I spend a lot of time there. It's really nice... and peaceful."

"That might work then," Harry suggested. "Try focusing on the feeling of being content there, digging your hands in the dirt. Something like that."

"Do you think that will work? I mean, will it be strong enough?"

"I can't really say for sure, Neville. But I think it would be a good place to start, for the next time you try to cast the spell." Harry scratched his head and chuckled to himself. "You know, you really should have been in Hufflepuff."

"I know," Neville sighed as he looked down at the floor. "I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor."

"No, that's not what I meant at all. I wasn't knocking your bravery, Nev. It's just that Hufflepuff is pretty clearly the earth element of the four houses, you know? Like Ravenclaw is air, obviously, and Slytherin is water. Plus, you could have become closer with professor Sprout. Then you could spend extra time in the greenhouses with her, learning all sorts of things about magical plants.

"I just thought you would like that," Harry shrugged.

"I probably would," Neville admitted. "Professor Sprout does let me do extra credit work with her sometimes."

"Good. Anyway, I hope I've given you some ideas about the next time you try the Patronus."

"Yeah, thanks Harry."

"No problem. We better head back to our common room. Curfew is going to be coming soon."

* * *

The first week of classes sped past and Harry found himself following Pansy down into the dungeons Saturday after lunch. He hoped his presence wouldn't cause too many problems, but he'd been told by every single Slytherin in his group that he was wanted there.

The wall slid open revealing the hidden door that led into the common room. This would make the third time Harry had been inside, but for once it wasn't because of anyone being in danger.

The danger had already come and gone. Now it was time to try to heal some wounds.

Harry was a little surprised when he saw Greg Goyle standing off to one side looking at them. He was wearing an eye patch now, and Harry had noticed that he'd been rather solitary since the return from the holidays. Then again, his only male year mate left was Blaise Zabini, and from everything Harry had heard he was a loner. It looked like Greg was going to have to be on his own now too.

"No Slughorn?" Pansy asked Daphne as she stepped towards the large group of girls.

"We thought it would be better if this weren't official."

Pansy looked around at the others, several of whom looked uncomfortable. Harry noticed that the six girls who had been rescued that night were all there.

"He would probably have to do something for everyone that died," Chloe Abbot added. "For obvious reasons, we don't want to do that. This is about the rest of us trying to heal. Trying to move beyond what happened. This is-"

"This is about Millie," Pansy said in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Daphne nodded.

"She saved us," Astoria Greengrass stated, clearly trying to sound more confident despite the tear rolling down one cheek. "I know it wasn't just her. Daphne got that lech Harper when he was about to curse me. Flora charged into the fray too. Emma cast a shield that saved my friend Cecilia from being hit by some shrapnel. And others, but... but Millie-"

"I think we can all agree that it was a group effort," Chloe said. "But Millie was the heroine of the hour, and she is the one who paid the ultimate price for protecting others. That is why we are gathered here. To honor her."

"Right. I notice the youngest students are missing," Harry wondered and Daphne turned to answer him.

"For the first and second years, they mostly don't understand how different things used to be. With Slughorn replacing Snape, and without Malfoy strutting around like he owned the place, Slytherin had been pretty calm. Having a head of house who no longer encourages people to misbehave was a big step up, and well, last year the pressure was mostly focused on you, Harry. The rest of the school didn't have a lot to worry about."

"Until that changed recently," Chloe chimed in. "Even most of the fall term was peaceful, although there was a tense undercurrent that those of us who were older noticed. For the first and second years, these are all kids who were born in a time of peace and that meant they didn't grow up scared. One of my earliest memories is of my parents celebrating when they heard Riddle had fallen. Then when I got here, I watched as Snape and his favored hooligans ran roughshod over the rest of the school for five years. That's very different compared to what they would have experienced. It's probably better, or at least easier, if we don't try to make them understand how much things have changed."

"I'm just glad none of them were hit by a stray curse," interjected Diane Carter, a sixth year from Harry's group who had a very similar looking girl leaning against her. It was pretty clearly her younger sister. "We got pretty lucky that night, other than Millie."

"Yeah," Pansy sighed. "Other than Millie."

"Sis?"

"Oh right," Diane looked down at her sister and stepped forward with her towards Pansy. "This is Emily, my younger sister."

"Hi," the younger girl said, stretching out her hand to shake with Pansy. "I just wanted to thank you. You pulled me out of the way when everything was going crazy and... well, thanks. You can't imagine how much all of you showing up meant to us."

"You're very welcome," Pansy replied with a trace of a smile. "But unfortunately, I do have some idea of what it meant. My father was a Death Eater and I grew up knowing exactly what kind of monster he was. That's why your sister and the rest of us have been training with Harry. Learning how to protect ourselves, and the people we care about too."

"So, with all that said, I thought we should start with a toast," Chloe Abbot said, as she walked over to a tray full of small empty glasses along with a bottle of Scotch. "Normally, I'm supposed to frown on this sort of thing, but today is a far cry from normal."

"Scotch?" Harry felt he had to ask. He was a prefect, not that he usually cared about the rules, but he was a little surprised to see something other than firewhisky.

"We are in Scotland, aren't we?" Chloe responded with a smirk before she began to pour roughly a shot for each of them. "I've got a bunch of butterbeer too. I figured that would wash the taste down for people who were put off by it."

"Good thinking," Pansy said.

"I thought it would be a good idea for all of us that wanted to talk about what happened, to help break the tension a bit," Chloe shrugged. "You can think of this as sort of a wake, if you like."

"I think Millie would have liked that."

"Good. We can also treat this as something like a belated going away party for Flora and Hestia." Chloe held out the tray and every one gathered there grabbed one.

"I'd like to say something." The girls all turned to see Goyle, who had taken a few steps towards the group.

"What is it, Goyle?" Daphne asked with a sneer beginning to form.

"I just want you all to know that I had know idea what Warrington and the others were planning that night. I'd been told that there was going to be a party. I'm sorry..." He took a moment to clear his throat before he continued. "I'm very sorry about what happened. That's why I told professor Moody everything I knew.

"I know some of you might think I'm one of the bad guys," Goyle clearly noticed a few grumbles at that. "But all I wanted to do this year was have some fun. You know, play some quidditch and hope I do alright on the OWLs. Everything changed that night.

"Look, I'm sure none of you are sad about Vince's death. He was my best friend, and I, er, I think I'm the only one who is going to miss him, but..."

Harry had to admit he was surprised to hear Goyle speaking as well as he was- not only in front of a group, but a somewhat hostile one at that.

"But, Millie was also my friend. I'd known her for ten years. And I am very sad that I won't get to see her again. So I'd like to join you in your toast to Millie. She was the coolest girl I've ever met, and I'm going to miss her."

Goyle grabbed one of the glasses and raised it over his head.

"To Millie."

"To Millie!"

Harry was taken aback by how loud the voices rang out in unison. But it was a fitting tribute to a girl brave enough to go out wand in hand, fighting to save others, some of whom had likely never even spoken to her before.

It probably helped that he had seen a few of the younger girls gathering their courage before taking a drink of alcohol. Harry had been about their age the first time he'd ever had anything to drink.

The Scotch was thankfully smooth enough that only a couple of people choked on the potent drink.

"Yuck! People actually like drinking that?" Astoria asked while grimacing.

"You might change your mind when you get older," Chloe answered as she poured a bit more into a couple of glasses for some of the older girls. Harry handed his over as well- if this was going to be a wake, he would try to do it right. Besides, he saw Pansy doing the same, and he wasn't going to make her drink alone.

Not that the other girls didn't count, but Harry saw it as his duty to go down this path with her, even if it led to both of them needing to vomit in the morning.

"You know, the first time I met Millie was when my father and hers were drinking together over some sort of business deal," Pansy said with a wistful expression. "I think that was the key to my father's success in business- he always had plenty of good alcohol for his guests. I remember him saying that it was one of the only good things about muggles, all the different types of drinks they came up with. But Millie and I, we just kind of stared at each other for a few minutes. She was so much bigger than me, even then when we were no more than six. I asked her what she liked to do."

"What did she say?" Daphne asked.

"She liked to learn about how to fight. I think she was always planning on being able to take out anyone dumb enough to try anything against her."

"I think a lot of us thought about things like that at some point," Diane Carter replied. "It sort of goes with the territory with how some of us grew up."

"I wasn't really like that," Pansy admitted. "I used to day dream about running away, but I never really thought that I would be able to fight back. I think my mum set a bad example in that way."

"The first time I met Millie, she got in a fight with Vincent," Goyle interjected. "They were arguing about which magical beasts would do better in a fight. She said a dragon and she punched him when he said she was wrong."

"That sounds like Millie," Daphne snorted.

"Yeah," Pansy agreed with a chuckle.

"That's why I thought she was so cool," Goyle said with a blush. "I'd never met a girl who could throw a punch. Most of the boys I met couldn't either."

"Yeah, can you imagine Draco trying to hit someone? He'd probably have been afraid of breaking a nail," Pansy scoffed.

"I remember once asking him what he would do if someone punched him, and Draco said that's what wands were for." Goyle shrugged. "I always assumed that's why my dad said I should stick with him. Because he would need someone to watch his back, and it would be good for me because his dad was rich."

"I asked Millie once if she hung around me because my dad was rich," Pansy said. "She said that it wasn't the only reason with this little grin. I never was quite sure how much she might have meant that, but I always shared my chocolate frogs with her just in case."

"Millie loved those things," Daphne added. "She must have had three hundred of the cards. I remember seeing her looking over her collection last year; when she had them spread out, they covered her entire bed."

Daphne stepped over to Chloe Abbot and got a little more Scotch before turning to Pansy and Harry and raising her glass. Goyle got a second shot as well.

"To Millie, wherever she is, I hope she has all the chocolate frogs she wants."

"To Millie."

Daphne's was only the second toast that night as the gathering broke up into smaller groups. Harry stuck right by Pansy's side while she mingled with the other Slytherins. By the end of the night, they had several more, and Chloe Abbot's bottle was finished off. They stuck to butterbeer after that but still found themselves swaying a bit when they finally headed to the Great Hall for dinner that evening.

The rest of the school noted with some surprise at how boisterous the table of those wearing silver and green was. Harry and Pansy sat with the rest of them, and he noticed that Greg Goyle had been at least somewhat accepted.

In the end, it was a much nicer day than Harry had assumed it would be. Pansy was doing better than Harry had hoped, and by the time they got back to their room that night, both of them seemed to have sobered up. His girlfriend was more than ready to spend some quality time in bed though, and Harry was never going to pass that opportunity up either.

* * *

The rest of January was pretty quiet other than the usual things- classes, cold weather, quidditch practice in the cold weather. Harry didn't enjoy that last one, but Angelina was only half as insane as Oliver Wood had been, so he tried to keep his complaints to a minimum.

Their group kept working on the Patronus charm for a couple of weeks as well. Luna had managed to get hers to form completely and Harry was then forced to go outside on the next clear day so that Luna could try to have her glowing white rabbit climb on top of his dragon and see if they could fly together. Pansy was snickering at the innuendo the entire time, but the two charms did seem to interact well enough. Harry was surprised that Luna's rabbit didn't fall off.

"I told you that you didn't need a saddle to ride a dragon," had been her rather snooty response.

No one else had gotten that far just yet, although most of the group could hold steady misty shields if nothing else. He did notice that Hermione's previous progress seemed to have been forgotten, unfortunately. If anything, she was getting worse at the spell the longer they worked at it.

When he asked her about it, Hermione just claimed that she was putting a lot of work into all her other classes. She wasn't as focused on the charm as some of the others.

That seemed odd to him, especially as she had escaped from the monsters the previous summer, but she had been acting somewhat distant and Harry didn't know if he had done something to annoy or anger her so he let things lie for the time being.

* * *

"So, what are we doing today, exactly?" Harry asked as he looked around the room that he'd been led to by Pansy, Luna, and Parvati. It was rather small, having previously been some sort of office he would guess. There was a dusty old couch along the back wall as well as a couple of chairs and a desk buried in clutter. Pansy pointed to the couch.

"That's where you sit down."

"Okay... and?"

"Luna and I will be over here, possibly trying to get some studying done. However, I have a feeling you will be distracting us, so we'll probably just talk instead."

Parvati grabbed one of the old chairs after using a charm to clean it off. "You're going to want to be comfortable, which is why you get the couch. Today, I'm going to give you a lesson on healing since you've missed so many of the lectures that Madam Pomfrey has given us."

"That's not my fault, I-"

"I know, Harry. I'm not accusing you of anything. We were all there last time when you acted as the unconscious training dummy. Speaking of which, you've got some pretty horrible luck with quidditch."

"It's usually not my fault, but yeah I guess so."

"You'll want to roll up your sleeves."

"We shouldn't even bother trying to study," Luna remarked with a grin as she turned to Pansy. "This is going to be far too interesting to watch. I do have to wonder why you're not teaching Harry this yourself."

"Parvati is better at it than I am," Pansy shrugged. "My ego can handle saying that much more easily than the rest of me could deal with Harry getting hurt and not being able to do anything about it."

"I understand. I'm just a little surprised is all."

"I'm very aware of my skills as well as my limitations," Pansy added. "With this small group of company, I don't have to worry too much about impressing any of you. For a similar reason, I really wish Flora was still around. The next time Harry gets thrown into danger, I'd rather have her watching his back. She's much better in a fight than I would be."

"I would sort of think you'd be good at it too," Parvati piped up. "You handled Rita Skeeter well enough a year ago. Whatever happened to her, anyway?"

"No one knows," Luna replied. "She hasn't been seen since. Maybe Pansy's humiliation was so bad that she moved to Bora Bora."

"What's Bora Bora?" Harry asked.

"It's an island very far away from here in the South Pacific. My father went there once when I was young."

"Oh."

"Anyway, while I did well enough against her, my nerves afterwards had taken a beating," Pansy further explained. "It's not really my sort of thing. That's not to say that I won't keep working at it, but I know the Death Eaters are going to be more challenging than a reporter who likely hadn't dueled anyone in years, if ever."

"And that's why it would be nice to have Flora around," Luna finished her thought. "I miss Hestia too. She was nice. Flora could be as well, if you got past her prickly exterior. There haven't ever been that many girls in my year that were pleasant to me. Plus, they were pretty."

"Alright, so let me get back to the point of our little get together," Parvati interrupted. "We're going to start with a cure for closing wounds that are bleeding, like cuts or scrapes. You move your wand like a wave over the affected area and the incantation is Percurio. If the injury is bad enough, you may need to keep channeling the spell. Do that by waving your wand back and forth over the area as long as necessary. Does that sound simple enough?"

"Yeah, I think I can handle that," Harry nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. "Now I see why I was told to bring this as well."

"Wait a minute," Parvati began. "You don't mean you're going to-"

But Harry cut her off by slicing the inside of his left forearm.

"Harry!" she yelped. "You should have warned me, you prat."

"This would be the better way to practice, right?"

"I guess, but it will be harder to learn while you're in pain. You could have cut me instead."

"Not going to volunteer me or Luna?" Pansy asked.

"I'm not dumb enough to ask Harry to hurt you, even in a minor way. You two can be scary, and you're both really protective of Luna too."

"Yeah, well anyway, if I'm going to need to cast this spell on myself some day, then I'll likely be in much worse shape than this," Harry said as he waved his arm. "This isn't bleeding much at all; it was much worse at the graveyard. Almost the exact same spot too."

Harry shrugged as he pulled out his wand. " _Percurio!_ "

He waved along the wound and watched as the cut healed itself.

"That wasn't too hard."

"A lot of healing is fairly easy for minor things like that. It gets harder when the injuries get more severe," Parvati informed him. "At least, that's what Madam Pomfrey says. This is the type of spell that every parent knows so they can fix up their kids when they get scrapes and bumps. If it were worse, you would need a lot more focus. Things can get a lot more complicated beyond this. Also, if the patient has lost too much blood, a blood-replenishing potion is needed. Trying to cast a spell to cause that effect is too dangerous."

"And illegal," Pansy added.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Blood magic is by its very nature both powerful and dangerous," Luna explained. "Your blood is symbolically tied to your life force. Messing around with that can be deadly, even if you don't intend for it to be so. For example, have you heard of the Blood-Boiling Curse?"

"No, but it sounds nasty."

"It is. However, the spell was originally created by a Russian mediwizard who was trying to create a cure for hypothermia. While it can save a patient from freezing to death, an incredible amount of finesse is needed to keep from warming the blood up too much. A master healer could possibly do it safely, but even the inventor of the spell accidentally killed one of his patients."

"And from there, word of this new spell that could cause an incredibly painful way to die got out," Pansy continued. "Dark Arts practitioners liked the spell a lot because they didn't care about trying to be careful with it. If anything, they would prefer to over charge the spell, hence causing even nastier deaths."

"Okay, I get it. Why is the potion different though?"

"Because a blood-replenishing potion doesn't actually create more blood," Parvati answered. "It causes your body to work harder to produce more blood on its own much more quickly than it usually would. Make sense?"

"Yeah. What's next?"

"Do you want to try to practice that spell again? You could cut me instead of yourself."

"No, I don't want to hurt you. Besides, after all I've been through, I probably have a higher pain threshold than you. No offense." Harry grabbed the knife and cut himself again, this time creating a much worse wound. He winced as he set the knife aside and reached for his wand.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Parvati asked while she pointed with her own wand.

"Yeah. I've had worse though."

"Well, warn me next time you're going to do something like that. If for no other reason, so that I can be ready in case you screw something up."

"Yes ma'am," Harry snorted. " _Percurio!_ "

He waved his wand back and forth over the cut.

"Focus and keep doing that," Parvati instructed.

Harry nodded as he waved the wand the length of the wound four times before it completely closed.

"Keep going," Parvati told him, so he did two more passes. Then she held up her hand for him to stop. "There, that should be good. With something that bad, you want to channel the spell a bit longer to keep any scars from forming."

"Okay."

"I really shouldn't be surprised you're good at this," Pansy scoffed. "Sometimes you annoy me, Harry."

"She's just mad because last time Madam Pomfrey told her that her casting was sloppy," Luna chimed in with a smirk. "That's the real reason you asked Parvati to teach Harry, isn't it?"

"No comment."

"I'm glad that I could help," Parvati smiled as she turned to Harry. "Besides, you've been teaching me a lot this year so I sort of owe you."

"Thanks."

"I've got two more spells to teach you that you missed out on. But in these cases, we won't have a way to practice them. First up, if you get a bite or a scratch from some sort of beast, there's a charm to fight infection. It helps against less powerful forms of venom too. There's no motion necessary with this one, you just point your wand at the wound and the incantation is Remedio."

"Remedio," Harry nodded. "Okay, that sounds easy enough."

"Good. However, if you get into something nasty, I would recommend seeking out a real healer. Knowing your luck, Harry, if you get bitten by something, it will be the most terrible monster possible."

"Like a basilisk," he sighed.

"Yes, if you get bit by one of them, you're most likely going to die," Parvati said with a shudder.

"Not always."

"What?!"

"I guess you never did hear the full story of what happened with the Chamber of Secrets, huh?"

"There was a basilisk?" Parvati gasped.

"Yeah. It was a big one too. I mean, of course it was- Slytherin's pet had to be a thousand years old, right?"

"Harry, do this properly," Luna interrupted with a sigh. "I swear, you are terrible at telling stories."

"Alright, alright," he rolled his eyes. "You probably remember the whole thing with the attacks and people being petrified. Do you remember that last attack, when everyone was forced to stay in the common room?"

"Yes, as I recall you and Ron disappeared that day."

"We did because it turned out that it was his sister who had been taken down into the Chamber. The message was that her skeleton would lie there forever."

"And Harry, being our hero, couldn't leave a damsel in distress," Luna cheerfully added.

"Right, so Ron and I heard what happened and then..."

* * *

_Several minutes later..._

"So that's why you and Ron got all those points that won us the house cup. Wow. For once, the truth is much more amazing than the rumors," Parvati said, still dazed at hearing what Harry had been through. "After the bite, how long was it before the phoenix, um..."

"Fawkes," he filled in.

"Right, how long between the bite and Fawkes crying on it?"

"A few minutes, I guess," Harry shrugged. "No more than five. Probably more like two or three though."

"That shouldn't be possible," Parvati shook her head. "You should have died within a minute. If the snake was as big as you say, less than that. Basilisk venom is the deadliest in the world."

"I can show you the scar." Harry rolled up his sleeve on his right arm and pointed to the faded circle. "I wonder if there was a way to remove _that_ scar."

"Sorry, Harry, but you're out of luck," Parvati replied as she softly ran her fingers over his arm. It was a very pleasant sensation. "Normal scars can be removed easily enough, but not when there's a powerful magical creature or dark magic involved. That kind of makes professor Moody from last year stand out even more. He didn't get all of those injuries without coming up against some really nasty curses."

"Yeah, Alastor told me about a couple of them," Harry chuckled. "Don't ask him about the one on his arse."

"Alastor?" Parvati said.

"Moody is still Harry's all-time favorite professor," Pansy answered with a grin. "They're like two little paranoid peas in a pod."

"It's not paranoia when people really are out to get me," Harry said.

"Just be grateful you have a mentor that's as crazy as you are," Luna said with a smile. "Not everyone can be so lucky. My father and I have had to learn everything piece by piece without any help. Did you know that there is still no one willing to write the definitive guide to dealing with infestations of noxious muffdagglers? I've been thinking of working something up once I get past my OWL year. That is, if I have enough free time and no more threat of dark wizards hanging over my head."

"Yeah, Harry, why don't you get on that?" Pansy asked with a grin. "Luna needs for you to be all heroic and wipe out the rest of these 'rogue Death Eaters.' Why don't you have that done already? It's not as if much older, supposedly responsible people like Dumbledore can't take care of the problem. Oh, wait, that's right, he didn't, which is a large part of why we're in this mess in the first place."

"Wow, you really don't think much of the headmaster, do you?" Parvati asked.

"With all his power and influence, he should have done a much better job at putting them in Azkaban after the first war ended. Instead, the old fool just let people like my father bribe their way free. 'Oh, I was under the Imperius Curse, I swear I didn't really mean to torture and murder and rape all those muggles, mudbloods, and blood traitors. Pay no attention to all of my other behavior, nor how obviously bigoted I behave. I'm really a good person, just in need of a second chance.'

"Fuck him and anyone else so brain dead that they would believe any of that shit. People like my father and Lucius Malfoy should have been fed to the dementors, but no, they got to walk free, keep all their wealth and influence, and that's why we have such a useless ministry today. Fudge is a corrupt moron- and for the record, that's what my father called him in private. My father, who donated to his campaign and knew exactly how easy it was for people like him and Malfoy to have the head of the government under their thumbs. It just makes me so... disgusted."

Harry couldn't blame her for the sneer nor the rant, but he hoped that Pansy could try to relax- his usual methods of getting her to calm down weren't really going to work in public.

"Don't worry, Pansy," Luna interrupted the gloomy mood from taking hold. "The truth will be revealed soon enough, and Fudge will be tossed out of office on his ear. Then we just have to hope that someone with a brain gets put into office. Bonus points if they have a spine too. I'd vote for either you or Harry."

"Not me," Harry laughed. "That sounds like way too much work for not nearly enough reward. Pansy's welcome to it if she wants."

"I find people in general to be cowardly, gullible morons. There isn't enough money in the world to pay me for having to be in charge of them."

"Oh goody!" Luna giggled. "Then neither of you will mind if I take over the world?"

"That would be a much more interesting world, I think," Harry replied with a grin.

"Okay, I never thought I would be the one to say this, but maybe we should finish up this lesson," Parvati suggested.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like the responsible one," Harry said with a wink. "I promise I won't tell anybody. We won't ruin your reputation like that, will we girls?"

"Of course not," Luna agreed happily.

"Yeah, thanks," Parvati grinned in response. "Anyway, I've got one last charm to tell you about. This one is for mending broken bones. Keep in mind that particularly nasty breaks will require a lot more focus or a real healer, but a clean break can be dealt with easily enough. The incantation is Percurio Ossium. You move your wand along whichever bone you're fixing and you want to follow the shape of the bone, or the normal shape anyway. With something like an arm or a leg, where the bone is fairly straight, it's easier than if you've got something more complicated with a bunch of curves. Madam Pomfrey said that the pelvic bones are particularly tricky, especially for women."

"Why?"

"Because a woman's pelvis is shaped the way it is so that we can give birth. That's why-"

"That's why girls have that sexy walk!" Harry exclaimed. "Of course, that sway effect that us guys love, it's like we just know that you're showing off like... like your fertility or something. Oh man, I'm going to have to apologize to Seamus now."

"What do you mean?" Parvati asked.

"I remember back in first year he was talking about how we could tell which girls were the hottest by the way you walk. Now, to be fair, you're all a lot more curvy than you were then, but I just thought he was full of it at the time. I mean, he was like _always_ talking about girls and bums and stuff. To be honest, I kinda just thought he was being a pervert, but I guess he was just sort of precocious. Well, and really happy to talk about things like that."

"I think it's funny to imagine your dorms when you guys were that young," Parvati giggled. "I can just see poor little innocent Harry being shocked by our resident shameless Irishman. I think he's been a bad influence on Dean over the years."

"Maybe," Harry admitted with a shrug. "Alright, so it was Percurio Ossium, right?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, I wonder if-"

"No, Harry," Pansy cut him off. "No practicing it now. You'll just have to make do with her instruction."

"But I could just do one little break. It's not like it hasn't happened to my arm before."

"Harry!" Parvati shrieked. "I will not let you break one of your bones so that you can try out the spell. Madam Pomfrey would kill us for being so irresponsible."

"I don't think she can do that," Harry teased. "Isn't the healer's code something like 'do no harm?' She'd have to be nice to me, especially if I impressed her by healing myself for a change."

"I don't know," Luna shook her head. "She could be jealous of not getting to fix you up herself. You are one of her favorite patients, or so I've heard."

"Pansy, how do you deal with the two of them?" Parvati wondered. "Isn't it hard being the only sane person in the room?"

"Sometimes," she smirked in response. "The trick is knowing when to let a little madness go. Not everything is worth getting upset about. However, I will agree with not letting Harry practice breaking and fixing his own bones. And he's usually smart enough not to argue with me about things like that."

"Fine, you spoil sports. If I can't fix a broken bone when I really need to, I'll blame it all on the both of you," Harry frowned. "Now, if we're finished, I could go for a snack. Who wants to go down to the kitchens?"

* * *

Harry led another meeting of their group on the last weekend of January, and once again they were all trying to do better at the Patronus. He'd taken to having them do that every other get together, alternating with dueling practice. It wasn't ideal, but after talking to Gordon Watts, Harry knew that there would be objections if he taught them anything too dangerous. Especially after everything that had happened in Slytherin back in December.

Luna and Pansy were still the only two that had managed full animal forms although a few of the others were getting close.

Fred and George had both progressed the furthest, and he was pleased for them. Theirs were both shaping up to be something small and roughly humanoid in shape- Harry was leaning towards a monkey perhaps. Knowing how loud and boisterous their family could be (and how incredibly deafening their mother could get) he was guessing they would be howler monkeys.

It was no real surprise that the twins had matching Patronus forms either. They'd been running that gag into the ground their entire lives, after all. But Harry thought that it probably helped make them so good as a pair of beaters because it would be hard for anyone else to be as in sync as the Weasley twins.

On the other end of the scale, Harry was starting to worry about Hermione. He had led her through some Patronus training two years ago, and with most other magic lessons, he would have expected her to be one of the first to have a spell perfected. Instead, she seemed to be getting worse and worse every single meeting.

Therefore, he asked her to stay behind when the group was breaking up.

"I'm surprised at you Granger," Pansy began as the door shut behind the last of the other stragglers. Harry should have been worried by her smirk. "For once, you seem to really suck at learning this spell. Your brilliant reputation is going to take a beating at this rate."

"Laugh it up if you want, Pansy," Hermione replied with a tired expression on her face. "What do you want, Harry? I've got three assignments to work on tonight, I really don't have time for this."

"You do have the rest of the weekend," he pointed out, but at her scowl he knew that wasn't going to appease her. "Fine. I wanted to see if I could figure out why you're struggling so bad with the Patronus. You're actually getting worse at it, and that really isn't like you. I am, at least for these purposes, a teacher of sorts and beyond that, I'm your best friend. I just want to help."

"You can't."

"I think I've been doing alright helping everybody else. So why not?"

"Because," Hermione huffed before folding her arms and looking towards the door with a scowl.

"Because what?" Harry replied with a smirk.

"Because it's your fault!"

"Uh, what?"

"I can't... I just can't keep going like this Harry. I know- well I may not _know_ , but I've figured it out that you had something to do with it. I'm not sure how much, and even worse, I'm not sure I want to know, and if I do know, then I don't know how I'll be able to handle it. How to just, just look at you without everything... argh! You are so bloody frustrating, Harry."

She finished with a growl and Harry was as confused by that as he was about whatever the hell she was talking about.

"Um, what are you going on about?"

"Professor Umbridge," Hermione answered with a sigh as she turned away from him. "Something hasn't set quite right with me ever since her death. Maybe it was the timing. She'd only been here at Hogwarts for a little over a week, and the idea that the stress about being around 'awful little brats' as her suicide note claimed didn't quite ring true. If she truly couldn't stand children, then why would she have agreed to come work here in the first place? It just doesn't make sense.

"Then there's the fact that her death coincidentally happened to have occurred the day after I'd been given detention by her. I don't remember anything odd about her behavior that night, and if she was upset enough to be contemplating suicide, then I should have picked up on it. This has been bugging me for months, and I finally realized what I've been missing. It's you, Harry."

"Me?" he asked, trying not to let his voice crack. He should have known this would come back to bite him at some point.

"You've always been protective of people. With me and the troll, with saving Ginny from the basilisk, with your Patronus charm to drive off the dementors- and then I heard the full story about Luna."

"What do you mean, the whole story?" Pansy wondered.

"Last month, we swapped around patrolling schedules so I was paired with Padma for one night. She told me about how Luna was being bullied a couple of years ago and how Harry put a stop to it by threatening to kill the rest of her dorm mates. Now, normally I could probably laugh that off as just being something someone would say in a fit of anger. But this is Harry we're talking about, and I've seen him kill before. Considering this happened after those same girls would have seen his duel against Lucius Malfoy, it would have been a much more terrifying threat.

"But more than that, it made me realize that Harry probably would kill someone to protect other people. So I put that together with Umbridge's mysterious fate-"

"No one else seems to think it was that mysterious," Pansy pointed out. "It was officially ruled as an open and shut case."

"I'm not willing to believe that just because everyone else does. I assume Harry had something to do with it, and I've been fretting over it ever since. I can't simply focus on happy thoughts when I've got my best friend in the same room and I'm worried that he may be a murderer."

"Oh." Harry sighed as he didn't know what to say to any of that. He had noticed Pansy putting up privacy charms a few minutes ago when Hermione had her back to her, and now he was really glad for them. This mess had come back with a vengeance, despite the fact that he thought it had all been cleaned up back in September.

"Oh? I'm calling you a murderer, and your response is just 'oh?' How can you possibly be so calm about all this?"

"I guess I always knew you'd figure it out someday."

"You- you're admitting it?" Hermione gasped.

"I didn't personally kill her, no. But I do know what happened to her, and I... I may have helped set her death up. She was a monster, and she deserved it, and I don't really care if you disagree."

"How the hell can you be so cold-hearted? What happened to you, Harry?" Hermione was cut off by the wand point digging into the back of her neck.

"You will give us a vow of silence on this, Granger, or _I will end you_."

"So this is how it goes, huh Harry? I find out your dark secret and your girlfriend gets ready to get rid of me or forces me into silence. After all this time, that's all how little I mean to you?"

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Pansy yelled. "Harry has done nothing but protect you. For years, you silly little girl. From that troll attack on. Who else in the entire school was bothered enough to even notice you missing that night? Only one person cared enough to rescue you then. That first day I ever talked to your nosy, self-righteous arse, who was it that stood in front of the dementors to protect you on the train? When they attacked the school during a quidditch match, who was it hovering right over us with his Patronus driving those demons away? When Weasley kept going on about your cat 'murdering' his poor, defenseless, nasty little rat, who defended you from that rude twat? When it turned out the rat was a murderer, and Sirius Black dragged you off, breaking your leg in the process, who was it that came to rescue you? I may have been talked into coming along to help, but if Harry hadn't been there, I wouldn't have lifted a finger to save you."

"You've never hidden your dislike for me," Hermione scoffed. "It's no surprise that you wouldn't care if I was killed."

"That's because you're such an arrogant, insufferable bitch, Granger. But I'm not letting you break my train of thought. Every single one of those instances, it was Harry who saved you. When that Bulgarian sleazebag tried to take advantage of you, who used an old fashioned policy to draw you under the protection of his family? When the Dark Lord returned, who was it that made sure that you had a portkey that could take you to safety in an emergency? And when those two dementors attacked your family, who was it that came to the rescue once again?

"Every single time it was Harry fucking Potter. You should be down on your knees thanking him for everything he's done. You owe him your life several times over. Instead, we get you being all high and mighty about how Harry is now a murderer and how you just can't handle it. Grow the fuck up, you whiny little cunt.

"Do you want to know why he saved you from that bitch? Umbridge was the one who sent the dementors to attack your family. She was the one who set up the trial to get you expelled and have your wand snapped. Then she came here to torture all the little mudbloods and other disobedient brats, and guess who's name was at the top of her list to torment? You. Harry followed you that night to protect you. Umbridge had a quill that made you write with your own blood- that's what she was going to make you write lines with.

"What type of sick fuck comes to a school with the intention of torturing children? That's who you're so bent out of shape about, Granger. Harry is right, she did deserve it. Would you prefer for her to still be here- for you to be having weekly torture sessions with her?"

"Of course not, but-"

"I don't want to hear any more of your bullshit," Pansy scoffed. "You will give us a vow of silence about this, or I will deal with you myself. Unlike Harry, I don't care what happens to you. So make your choice."

"I-" Hermione turned back to face Harry. "Is this really how it's all going to end, Harry?"

"You like to eat sausage at breakfast, but no one ever wants to see the butcher do his work," Harry shrugged. "I've been resigned to losing my friendship with you for months now, Hermione. Maybe that makes me seem cold-hearted to you, but I figured it was better to see you protected from the reality of things. I'm not an idealist like you. The world isn't a good place just because we want it to be one. We can either force things to get better or complain about how awful things are.

"I had to suffer in silence for years. That's what my childhood was, Hermione. At some point, I decided that if no one else was going to help me, then I was going to make my own life better and that I would do whatever it took to make that happen. And yes, when I see the magical world's justice system completely fail, time and again, I decided to do something about it. I could protect you from a psychopath who tried to murder a teenage girl because you were only 'a filthy mudblood' to her, so I did. I knew you wouldn't approve of my methods, and I knew that eventually it could drive a wedge between us. I did it anyway, Hermione. Because I knew no one else would protect you.

"And I don't regret it. Not even now, when you've figured it out."

"Did you- did you obliviate me?"

"Yes."

"You bastard!" Hermione growled. "How dare you! Who are you to decide that your actions are more important than my free will?"

"He's the person who saved your life _several times over_ , Granger," Pansy answered with a snarl. "You're too consumed with your own self-righteousness to bother with the fact that Harry has always cared about you. It tore him up to do it, but Harry knew that you couldn't handle the truth.

"Now, personally, I don't give a shit at all about you. But I will do anything to protect Harry. If that means that I have to arrange for you to disappear tonight, then believe me, I won't lose any sleep over you. So, agree to a magical vow of silence... _or else_."

"Harry?"

Hermione stared at him, pleading with her eyes for him to somehow make this not the reality of what was happening. Harry couldn't do anything other than look away. Even if he knew this was coming, it still didn't make it any easier.

"The one thing he couldn't save you from was yourself, Granger," Pansy finally said. "Are you going to agree to the vow? Or am I going to get to take out all my pent up loathing for you? Because believe me, if you think I didn't like you before, you have no idea how much I've been holding back for Harry's sake. I cannot stand you. Just give me a reason."

"I'll... I guess I'll take the vow. It's not like you're giving me any choice," Hermione scowled.

"Oh, I'm giving you a choice- it's just not one that you like. Deal with it, bitch."

"That's enough Pansy," Harry muttered. "Let's do the vow and get this over with. And for the record, Hermione, I am sorry that it came to this. But I'm not sorry about protecting you from Umbridge, even if you do hate me for it."

"Harry, I don't... I don't hate you, but I just-"

"I don't care, Granger," Pansy interrupted. "You can't handle it. We get it. Now take Harry's hands in your own and we can do this the easy way."

* * *

A moment later, Hermione was heading out the door with tears in her eyes as Harry wearily sat down in a chair off to the side of the room.

"You can say that you told me so if it will make you feel better," he sighed.

"I'm not that surprised by her, but I would prefer to make you feel better, Harry. Now that I got to let my inner bitch out to play, she's satisfied. Let's get somewhere private and I'll help you relax."

"You do take good care of me, don't you?" Harry said with a small grin. "What would I do without you?"

"Not have nearly as much fun," Pansy teased.

"True enough."

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah. You know what sounds nice right about now?"

"What?"

"A nice hot bath."

"I'm always up for that," Pansy smiled. "And afterwards, I think you'll need a massage to make you feel all better. Luckily for you, we still have some massage oil."

"Yes, lucky, lucky me."

* * *

They got back to their quarters and slipped into a nice relaxing bath together, neither of them bothering to say much about what had happened with Hermione. It was an awful mess, but at least there was a sense of finality to that night's confrontation. Harry had mostly grieved for that lost friendship by now, and Pansy wasn't going to aggravate his nerves by wanting to celebrate not having to deal with the girl who annoyed her as much from then on.

The warm water helped to soothe all those feelings that had been pent up, released, and now were subsiding. And it always helped to make the bitter cold of January in Scotland that much more pleasant too.

However, the end of Harry's night was interrupted before they could get to his massage or the happy ending that Pansy had been teasing him about.

Because his mirror that connected to Sirius was shouting for them as they got out of the bath.

"Harry! There you are. Finally."

"Sirius, it's almost eleven. Not that I don't like talking to you most of the time, but couldn't this wait till morning?"

"No, it couldn't. Why? Were you about to have some fun?" Sirius asked as he waggled his eyebrows with a gleam in his eyes. "I notice you aren't wearing a shirt, young man. Is there anything scandalous going on that your godfather needs to be concerned about?"

"Enough of that, Black!" Alastor Moody's voice interrupted with a bark. "Hand that damn thing over and let me talk to the lad."

"Uh, right. Harry, Mad-Eye wanted to speak with you."

Harry tried not to let the motion bother him as the mirror was passed over, but he couldn't repress a little grin as he saw the grizzled face and the spinning eye that quickly rolled back into Moody's head.

"Damn, I'd forgotten how badly the magic of these things screws with me."

"How come?" Harry asked.

"The magic doesn't interact well with the eye, so they can give me an awful bloody headache. So let's keep things short and get to the point, eh Potter? I need to meet with you, as soon as possible. Can you sneak out of the castle tonight?"

"I..." Harry thought about it, sadly looking over at Pansy who was twirling the belt of her robe and pouting at him. Alastor better have a _really good_ reason for interrupting the end of this night he thought with a sigh.

"Yeah, I probably can."

"Good. Sirius tells me of a little place where you met once before a couple of years ago. Meet me there in an hour. We've got plans to discuss."

"What sort of plans?"

"The sort that I don't want to talk about in public," Moody replied with a grunt. "Are you in or not?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good lad. One hour. Don't be late."


	80. Remake the World in Flames

* * *

"You're not going down there alone." Pansy said as she was getting dressed.

"Okay. That doesn't mean you have to come though," Harry replied as he tied his shoes.

"What?"

"I was going to ask Dobby to come, of course."

"Dobby will be very happy to help keep an eye on the great Harry Potter!" the elf said with a gigantic smile on his face. "No nasty wizards will be sneakings up on Dobby's master while Dobby is on the job!"

"See?"

"Yes," Pansy answered. "Dobby, you know I appreciate you, but I am coming with Harry also. That means you'll just have to watch out for the both of us."

"Dobby understands."

"Good. Harry, let me borrow your cloak. Just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

"In case Mad-Eye Moody has some sort of crazy plan that's going to get my boyfriend killed. Duh," she snorted.

"Alright." Harry got his invisibility cloak out and handed it over. "Dobby, why don't you stay invisible too? Pansy is right. Just in case."

* * *

The journey down to the Shrieking Shack wasn't too eventful. It took Harry three tries to banish a rock into the knot at the bottom of the Whomping Willow. He probably would have gotten it faster, but it was very dark out due to it being almost midnight.

They arrived with a few minutes to spare.

Moody was already there, which wasn't a surprise to Harry. Sirius was with him, but the other wizard was not someone he recognized.

The blank look on his face was something he was familiar with though.

"Hey, so who's our guest?" Harry asked as he came up out of the tunnel that led into the creaky old house.

"Harry, good to see you could make it," Sirius answered as Moody was holding his wand on the third man. "May I introduce you to Pierce Bulstrode. Death Eater, all around scumbag, and our guest of the honor this evening."

"Okay, so what's this about a plan?"

"Black, if I can trust you to actually keep an eye on this bastard, then I'll go over everything with Harry."

"Why don't you call me by my first name too? You even say Nymphadora to her face, but I'm never Sirius."

"Exactly," Moody snorted. "It gives you too many chances to make awful puns. Now shut up and focus on our prisoner."

"Fine," Sirius huffed.

"I don't know how you put up with him, Harry," Moody continued.

"I guess I just got used to the old dog," he replied with a smile. "Besides, sometimes it's good to have someone you can have a laugh with, you know?"

"Fine, fine. Let's get on with it." Moody stomped over to a chair and took a seat, but he kept his wand in hand, just in case. Harry would have thought him an imposter if he had done otherwise. "I've been doing a lot of reconnaissance work over the last month. It's finally paid off. Bulstrode here is going to a meeting with a bunch of his Death Eater buddies tomorrow night. They've apparently got something big planned, and from what I've heard either Barty Crouch Junior or Riddle himself will be there."

"That's... damn," Harry exhaled. "What are we going to do?"

"Unfortunately, it won't be all of them," Moody added. "Apparently, the ones that were taken out of Azkaban have been kept somewhere secret. Flitwick told me you'd researched the Fidelius charm, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Apparently, Riddle has one of his bases under one. He's got that portion of his force getting healthy again. It can take awhile to recover from time around the dementors, especially for the ones that had been there for more than a decade."

"You can say that again," Sirius agreed with a sigh.

"Right. Also, Riddle apparently wasn't too happy about Bellatrix going off to get reacquainted with her family. The Lestrange brothers weren't up for it yet, judging by their performance. Rabastan was no slouch with a wand, but Andromeda took him out fairly easily. Rudolphus didn't escape unwounded either. Riddle doesn't want the rest of the ones he broke out to do anything dangerous until he needs them. So, instead, he seems to have a raid or two planned to see how the others fare when he puts them to a task for the first time in years."

"You got a lot out of Bulstrode, huh?"

"As much as I could," Moody nodded with a wicked grin. "Not that he was feeling too helpful, but..."

"Yeah, sometimes you've got to make someone see your point of view. So, this plan of yours is what exactly? I take it we're going to try to get the drop on them in some way?"

"Damn straight."

"If you're asking me here, does that mean you want me to come along?"

"Normally, I wouldn't ask it of you, lad. But the amount of wands I trust to know what they're doing, to have the resolve to do what's necessary, and who won't flinch if things get messy is a pretty short list."

"You, me, Sirius... who else?"

"Andromeda is more than ready to get some payback," Sirius answered. "We've got Nym too, but-"

"But she's got a part to play that means she won't be there when the shit hits the fan," Moody interjected. "And while I trained the girl, I'm still not quite sure she's ready for what's coming. Not that I don't trust her, but Nymphadora hasn't ever had to kill someone before. With a little luck, I might even be able to keep it that way. I've seen way too many good aurors get burnt out due to the hazards of the job. She's the best one I've seen in years, and I'd like to know that she's still there when this is over."

"Ah, little Nymmie will be so touched that you're looking out for her, Mad-Eye," Sirius teased. "I'm surprised that you came alone though, Harry. I wouldn't have thought Pansy would let you run off like this by yourself."

"Maybe I wouldn't want her to get involved either," Harry shrugged.

"The girl has a good head on her shoulders, but I wouldn't take someone like that out for a mission like this anyway. No offense to you or her, Harry, but she hasn't had her nerves really tested yet. Much better not to do it under such dire circumstances."

"Alastor, I agree completely. I'm still really not liking the odds for whatever this is yet, though."

"Ah, well, I haven't gotten to the good parts yet. Plus, I'm still refining some of it as I go. For starters though, what do you know about bombs?"

"Bombs? Like, we're going to try to blow them up? I thought you were a pureblood."

"I might be one, but I lived through World War II, Harry. I saw what happened to London during the Blitz. Muggles may not know magic, but if there's one thing they do know it's how to create massive amounts of destruction."

"Okay, Alastor, I can see the general idea. Do you have access to a bomb?"

"Not just any bomb, but a relic from that time."

"Are you sure it will still work?" Harry wondered.

"Us old timers still have a few tricks up our sleeves," Moody chuckled. "Don't worry lad, I've got a muggleborn friend who made sure it was still in good working order. Now, what's even better about this device is that it's an incendiary bomb. Years ago, the RAF called it the Superflamer. It's supposed to burn so hot that it can make a brick wall crumble. Only problem will be getting it delivered. My first thought was to have a broom rider drop it, but we'll need to make sure that whoever does that can fly while holding onto the damn thing. It's a heavy son of a bitch."

"Couldn't we shrink it?" Sirius asked. "Cancel the charm when you let it go?"

"It's possible, but I was warned that doing so could mess with the explosion, so I'd rather not chance it."

"I'm good on a broom. I could give it a shot," Harry offered.

"Have you ever flown while carrying something that weighed more than two stone?" Moody asked.

"I've had my girlfriend fly with me before. She weighs a bit more than that, but I didn't have to hold onto her quite the same way I imagine."

"You probably had your arms wrapped tightly around her all the same," Sirius teased.

"No comment."

"However, we run into a different problem if we do that," Moody suggested. "I need four people covering the house from the outside. We put one at each point of the compass and blast any survivors when they come out. If you're in the air, Harry, then we're a witch or wizard short."

"I could fly down-"

"I know you're a more than fair flyer, but those few seconds could be important. Besides, we'd want you to have your wand at the ready the very second the chaos starts. Picking off the stragglers could be every bit as important if we really want to succeed."

"What about him?" Harry asked as he pointed to Bulstrode. "Could we make use of him?"

"I'd rather not take that chance," Moody replied. "I've got him here tonight in case we think of any more questions to ask him. Before the night is through, he'll be obliviated and wake up tomorrow with a hangover. He won't think much of it. I don't want anything to tip off the Death Eaters before we strike."

"Alright."

"You're in then, lad?"

"Of course. This could be a huge step."

"You sure you won't have any problem with this, Harry?" Sirius asked. "We're talking about wiping a whole lot of them out, after all."

"They'd do the same, or worse, to us. Probably a few rounds of torture first. Maybe some rape thrown in. Right?"

"Yes, but-"

"I want to win this war, Sirius. The sooner, the better. Fuck these psychopaths. I don't care what it takes. I've got the stomach to handle getting some blood on my hands. I've done it before anyway."

"I know what you can do," Pansy interrupted, as she pulled the cloak off to reveal herself.

"Damn, girlie, don't scare me like that!" Moody barked as he barely kept himself from firing a spell at her in his shock.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"I'm watching out for Harry of course. And it looks like I'm going to help you finish your plan as well."

"I already said I don't want you there, Pansy," Moody shook his head. "You're better than most people your age, but I need someone who has already been battle-tested."

"I wasn't going to suggest myself, actually," she replied with a smirk. "You already have enough people if you just have someone to cover for a minute or so while Harry gets into position."

"That minute could be key though."

"True," Pansy agreed. "Which is why I would only trust this to someone that I believe will do anything to keep Harry alive."

"Are you sure?" Harry looked at her, having a feeling she was about to reveal their secret weapon.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Harry took a breath as he thought it over before he realized she was right. "Okay, but we should knock Bulstrode out just to be extra safe."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked.

"You'll see," Pansy answered. "Do any of you mind if I have the honors?"

"He needs to be in one piece," Moody growled.

"Fine. _Stupefy!_ " Pansy walked over to the man as he dropped to the floor. Before anyone could stop her, she kicked him in the groin as hard as she could. "That's for Millie, you fucking sack of shit."

"I take it he was rough on the girl?" Moody wondered aloud.

"She never really told me much, but I'm sure he deserved it."

"Fair enough."

"So, what's this big secret?" Sirius asked.

"I wouldn't let Harry get involved in something like this without having someone to watch his back," Pansy replied.

"Which is why you came tonight, I get it-"

"No, I just did that because I wanted to see what was going on."

Pansy had that smirk that he loved so much and he nodded at her as she raised an eyebrow at him- he may as well let her do the big reveal.

"Dobby!"

The elf popped in as if called, and Harry smiled even more at that. The little guy could be sneaky as hell when he put his mind to it.

"A house-elf?" Moody asked. "I'm not sure he'd have what it takes. No offense."

"Three years ago, Dobby blasted Lucius Malfoy down the hall when he tried to curse me," Harry said as his little friend blushed with pride. "I trust Dobby with my life. If I ask him to make sure no Death Eaters escape, I know he won't let me down. I'll be flying down to help him anyway, so it will be like we'll have two of us for whatever direction we're facing. Hell, I'd offer to take the front of the house if I know he's watching my back."

"I'll be taking the front," Moody stated, clearly not allowing anyone to question that. "But if you're so sure of you and your partner, then I'll have the two of you take the rear. Sirius and Andromeda can take the sides."

"I'd like to help too," Pansy suggested. "Do you have escapes planned if something goes wrong?"

"Aye. We'll each be taking portkeys if we need a quick exit."

"Where to?"

"Headquarters," Moody grunted.

"I could be waiting there, then," Pansy offered. "You've got a triage set up, in case people get wounded, right? I could be there, and if things are bad enough, I could be ready to send someone on to St. Mungo's. Or I could patch up simple injuries."

"We've got some potions on hand there," Sirius said. "It would be a good idea to have someone on hand to pass them out if need be."

"Fine. You'll both have to sneak out of the castle and get to headquarters by seven o'clock. Will that be a problem?"

"No, we can handle that," Harry said. "We're known for hiding away in our quarters sometimes."

"If anything, people will just gossip that I'm having my wicked way with Harry," Pansy laughed. "You mentioned Tonks earlier though. What is she going to be doing?"

"Well, Nymphadora has a very unique talent, so we're going to make use of it. Her job is to infiltrate the ministry. Specifically, the floo office. She'll look like one of the people that works there and have the meeting place disconnected so that the Death Eater scum won't have an easy escape route."

"Good thinking," Harry nodded. "What about apparition?"

"I know the spells for taking care of that too. Emergency portkeys are more difficult to block, but there's one jinx that should take care of them too. Plus, we don't know if they'll be paranoid enough to have any of them."

"Alright."

"However, we'll need to coordinate our timing carefully. Once I throw the jinxes up, you need to drop that bomb immediately. It is possible to recognize when magical transportation is cut off, and there's bound to be someone with some talent there. Think you can handle that, Harry?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. I might need a little practice at flying while holding onto it. Just to see how that affects my flying, my speed and whatnot."

"We could do that tonight if you can stay up late enough. I'll need to get our guest taken care of, but I could transfigure something to be roughly the same size and shape. You don't happen to have your broom with you too, do you?"

"No, but I'm sure Dobby can go get it," Pansy suggested. The elf looked at both of them for confirmation, but after Harry's nod, he popped away for a moment before returning with the Firebolt in his outstretched hands.

"We've got a plan. Potter, try to only fly over the forest if you can. We don't want anyone to spot you out tonight."

"I think I can handle that."

"Good. Tomorrow night at seven then. Oh, and one final thing," Moody grumbled as his eye spun back around and he pointed his wand at Harry then Sirius. "If by some chance Jugson is there, then he's mine. Knock him out, tie him up, whatever you want. But _he's mine_."

"Isn't he one of the ones that was in Azkaban?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, which is why I'm not expecting him, but maybe I'll get lucky. If the bastard is there though..."

"It's personal?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"He's the one who..." Moody took a second to clear his throat. "He's the one who killed my niece. Little Lizzie Moody. Such a sweet girl."

Alastor sighed and Harry looked over at Sirius, who was clearly feeling uncomfortable at the older man's reminiscence.

"Heh, you'd have never thought she was related to such a mean old bastard as me. I know some people think that I tried to take the Death Eaters alive and thought I was being merciful. Hah! Nonsense. I wanted the filth like Jugson to feed the dementors for decades. Death would be too quick for scum like that.

"If I'd known that Riddle would break them all out years later, I wouldn't have bothered."

"So this is a chance for you to fix that mistake," Harry suggested.

"Damn straight."

"I'm still a little surprised that we'll be using a bomb though. Wouldn't fiendfyre work pretty much the same?"

"I'm getting old, Potter," Moody chuckled darkly. "It could work roughly the same, but I don't know if I trust myself to be able to control it so that we wouldn't all be burnt alive too. And who the hell is going to win this war if I get you and me killed?"

"Fair enough," Harry grinned. "One last question. You said that Riddle himself might show up. Even if the surprise all goes to plan, I'm not sure we want to try to take him on."

"You've got a point. If the Dark Lord is there, we activate our portkeys and get the hell out of there as soon as the bomb does its work."

"Okay. I guess we've got a plan then."

* * *

They were both up very late that night. Between sneaking out of the school, learning about and refining the plan, then having Harry practice flying while holding onto a weight, before finally having to get back to the castle, it was well after midnight by the time they were back in their quarters. Then there was a bit of late night mint tea to try to calm the nerves, talking about everything, and finally trying to get to sleep.

It was no wonder that Pansy woke up the next day still feeling exhausted.

She would have likely rolled over and closed her eyes if her bladder hadn't protested. Clearly, the second cup of tea did not believe that she should stay in bed all day.

Pansy groaned as she climbed back into bed and curled up on Harry's side. Somehow, he was still sleeping. But no matter how comfortable and warm he might have been, she just could not fall back asleep.

After a few minutes of feeling frustrated, she decided to wake him up so at least she'd have some company.

By poking him in the side. Repeatedly.

"Ugh, what?" he groaned.

"It's time for you to get up."

"That's not how you should wake me."

"I wasn't feeling up to something more fun," she answered as he yawned and blinked. "Plus, I'm too wired about everything that we learned and what we have to do later. Fun will just have to wait."

"Fine," Harry said as he forced himself to sit up. "But I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'm sure you will. What are we going to do today?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, for the next-" she paused to reach for his watch and look at the time, "for the next seven hours or so. I don't know how well I'm going to be able to pretend that everything is normal when I know what's coming up tonight."

"Luna usually helps take our minds off things," Harry replied before yawning again. "We should probably start with breakfast though. I think my stomach woke up before the rest of me did today."

And breakfast was a good idea, as Pansy's stomach took that opportunity to remind her by loudly rumbling. But after the food, all she could think about was that night and Moody's plan.

They joined Luna for the afternoon, heading to the library to work on a few assignments just to have something to do to occupy their time. Hopefully, it could also act as enough of a distraction to keep her from worrying herself to death.

She saw Granger look up at them before quickly turning away as they went past her to find an empty table. Harry had noticeably stiffened and she just knew that it was one more thing that would bother him. Thankfully, there was space on a table that was long enough for the three of them to all sit in a row.

"Luna, sweetie, we need to let Harry sit in the middle today," Pansy said in a low voice as they placed their books and bags down on the table.

"Okay. Why?"

"Did you notice Granger?"

"Yes."

"Well, we had a bit of a... a _disagreement_ with her last night," Pansy finished as Harry slumped down into a chair. "Needless to say, Harry could use a little cheering up."

"I'm good at that," Luna smiled as she sat on his left and threw her arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry Harry, we'll take care of you."

"Thanks Luna," he chuckled quietly. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be there to make sure you two are having enough fun in your lives."

"I know sweetie," Pansy said from his other side. "Sometimes Harry just needs a reminder from the people who care about him."

"Was it a bad argument then?"

"Yeah, pretty bad," Harry sighed. "I don't think she's going to want to be around me anymore."

"That's her loss then," Luna replied. "I would think Hermione would be smart enough not to do that. She needs you in her life to keep her from being too serious all the time. And we know that too much serious can be a bad thing."

"Yeah, he can be a bit much," Pansy smirked, trying to get a reaction from Harry. "Nothing, not even after the pun?"

"Sorry," he mumbled as he looked downcast.

"Don't worry, Harry. I will always be your friend," Luna said with confidence.

"What if-"

"There is no what if, Harry. I said _always_ , and I mean _always_."

"But what if... what if I do something that you hate me for?"

"Harry, unless you are planning on raping my father, I'm pretty sure there is nothing I could possibly hate you for."

"I really don't think Xeno's his type," Pansy snorted.

"I hope not," Luna agreed. "That's why that sort of thing would be so off-putting and strange. Plus, I wouldn't want Harry to hurt you by doing something like that."

"What about your dad?" Pansy asked.

"Oh, I don't think his bum would like it either." She leaned in close with a conspiratorial look on her face. "He sometimes says it hurts after he poops. We think the Unspeakables have placed a curse on him because he had exposed their plot to create a dirigible capable of flying to the moon that will be powered by pixie tears. What type of people would be so cruel to make hundreds of pixies cry?"

"Apparently, the type who would also curse your dad in the bum," Pansy giggled.

A stuffy looking Ravenclaw shushed them from a few seats down on the other side of the long table, but Harry had finally started to smile. He leaned over and kissed Luna on the top of the head.

"Never change, Luna."

"Only in good ways, I hope," she responded with a grin.

* * *

They somehow made it through an early dinner, although Pansy found she had little in the way of an appetite. Harry looked to not be paying much attention to his food, just trying to keep his focus on Luna as she told him a pretty wild (and amusingly filthy) story about one of the fae folk who slipped into the world of muggles in order to look for a husband. She had ended up becoming a model for a painter and moved to Spain to live with him.

Whether or not it was true that they had children who only grew to the size of a house cat, Harry seemed to be letting her thoroughly distract him.

Pansy wished it was working as well for her. She had been a nervous ball of anxiety the entire day, and it was all she could do to keep herself from screaming.

By the time they made it back to their quarters, they still had almost another hour before they needed to be at Sirius' home.

"Harry, do you want to go shag?"

"I don't think we should," he shook his head sadly. "I need to try to not think about sex for a while. It's going to be a hardship. I just hope we'll be able to celebrate later. With any luck, tonight will be a major victory against Riddle."

"I just- agh!" Pansy threw her bag aside and wrapped her arms around him. "Promise me you'll come back safe and sound tonight. Promise me, Harry, because I'm having trouble trying to keep from losing my mind with worry. I can't... I can't lose you."

"Hey, it'll be alright," he answered while he squeezed her tightly. "I've got way too much planned for our lives together to do something as silly as getting myself killed. Besides, you know Dobby will be there and he'll make sure I come home.

"Isn't that right, Dobby?"

"Of course!" the elf shouted with glee. "Master Harry will be safe while Dobby watches over him. Don't worry, miss Pansy. Dobby knows how to take good care of the great Harry Potter."

"I know you do, Dobby," she sighed. "I have faith in both of you. I'm just worried. You know how much Harry means to me, don't you?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, maybe we should get ready to leave," Harry suggested. "I know we have time, but we may as well get there early just in case Alastor has any last minute additions to things."

"Are we going to actually sneak out?" Pansy looked up at him.

"Hell with that," he snorted. "We're letting our secret weapon out tonight to make sure everything goes well. We may as well take the Dobby express straight there. Let's just make sure we've got everything we need first."

"I know Moody wanted you to bring your mirror that connects to Sirius," she said. "You should grab your cloak too. Just in case."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Tonks had been the first one to leave from Grimmauld Place. She had the key job of infiltrating the ministry and making sure the floo connection would be down for the house in question that the Death Eaters were using as a meeting place.

The good news was that it should be fairly simple- being Saturday night meant that only some lowly young clerk might be on duty, if anyone at all. Hopefully, she wouldn't have too much trouble getting them cleared out so that no one would be any wiser before it was too late.

She had a mirror that she wouldn't be using to contact them unless something went wrong.

Sirius had wished her luck before she morphed into a rather fetching blonde and apparated away.

There was one last check for the others. Andromeda, Sirius, Moody, and Harry were taking a single portkey together since Dobby hadn't been there before. Once they arrived, the plan was to split up and approach the property from different directions.

Harry had the bomb secured in a backpack that he would wear as he flew up above the house. Pansy had made sure that Moody had triple checked the safety of the device before she let Harry handle it- there wasn't going to be any point to tonight if he blew himself up.

Just before they had left, Pansy had kissed him good luck.

It might have gone on too long for the adults watching- Sirius had wolf whistled at them- because Moody gruffly demanded they knock it off before they were late. But that didn't matter to her because Pansy needed Harry to focus on the most important part of the night...

Coming back safe.

And now that they were all gone, Pansy had nothing to do but sit and wait. Unfortunately, she didn't have anyone to keep her company other than Kreacher, and the wretched little house-elf was a far cry from Dobby in personality and behavior.

At least he knew how to make tea though. She took a sip and tried to keep herself from going crazy with worry. Pansy tried to think of the things they could do for the rest of the weekend- they had the end of the night and Sunday still to go- and if Harry didn't hurt himself, then they were going to celebrate like crazy.

'No- when he comes home, _not if_ ,' she thought to herself.

She clenched her fists, closed her eyes and forced herself to count to ten while taking deep breaths.

Pansy took another sip of tea, hoping that might help. Then, she looked at the clock on the wall. They'd only been gone for two minutes.

With any luck, it should only be half an hour till Harry got back.

But she found it hard to trust luck because it had gone so badly at times. Thankfully, it wasn't Halloween. Pansy would have called the whole thing off then but instead it was the end of January.

As she got up and paced around the room, she heard the patter of rain beginning to fall against the windows. Pansy looked outside and wondered if they were far enough away that the night might be clear...

* * *

And more than a hundred miles away, roughly northwest from her, the clouds were thick but there was only a mild drizzle. Harry took it in stride. He'd been in much worse weather before. For that matter, he'd flown in much worse weather.

He was just glad to not have anyone knocking bludgers at him that night.

Dobby had been an even bigger help than Moody had intended because he could quickly scout around the area and pop everyone in the right direction once they landed from the portkey. Harry hadn't been kidding when he'd called him the secret weapon. He smiled when he thought of Alastor nodding appreciatively and telling Dobby good work just before they separated.

"You ready, Potter?" Moody growled from the mirror.

"On my broom and ready to fly, Alastor."

"Alright. We've got five minutes till Tonks should be in position. Unless she gives us the all clear, I'll contact you and send you up. Hold tight for a moment while I double check with the others."

"Aye-aye."

Harry looked over at Dobby as he adjusted the straps of the backpack. Now that he was in position, he turned it around to wear backwards so that he could release it without reaching over his shoulder. The bomb- the Superflamer Alastor had called it- was a lot heavier than any load of school supplies he had carried before. Probably more even than Hermione's constantly bulging school bag.

That thought brought a momentary frown before Harry quashed it. She might not understand, and she might not approve, but tonight would make her future much less likely to end in death or torture.

He took a calming breath and closed his eyes while he thought of Pansy. Once the night was over, he was hopeful that the good luck kiss would be a sign of things to come.

"Are you ready, Dobby?"

"Oh yes, master Harry," the elf replied quietly. It was kind of jarring compared to his usual loud and happy tone, but they were on a secret mission, so Dobby had turned on his sneaky skills. Harry thought that they should watch a heist movie with him some time. He imagined the little guy would love the idea of cat burglars.

"Did you sense any other house-elves in the area? I'd hate for anyone innocent to get caught in tonight's... um, you know."

For some reason it seemed wrong to call it festivities, even though that's what his brain had first meant to say.

"No other house-elves are nearby. Dobby can tell."

"Well, that's a relief then. I'm almost surprised, though. You'd think a bunch of purebloods would have someone on hand to serve them."

"From what Dobby sensed, this isn't a place where anyone lives. It's an old place. Far out of the way. The nasty wizards picked it because they are thinkings they are being sneaky. But master Harry, Dobby, and the great mister Mad-Eye are all much sneakier."

"The great mister Mad-Eye, huh? I didn't know you held Alastor in such high regard." Harry grinned briefly to himself.

"Master Harry and the great mister Mad-Eye are the only wizards taking the Dark Lord serious enough. Dobby knows that things will go much, much worse if wizards just wait for the bad wizards to start up all the killings and other nastier things. Dobby remembers from the last time."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Dobby. That's the reason we're doing this tonight. We've got to do something to try to keep people safe. No one else is."

"Dobby knows, sir."

"I know you do. Sometimes, it just helps me to reassure myself as well. Not everyone sees it that way."

"Potter?" Moody called from the mirror. "We've got one minute and counting. Get on your mark."

"I'm good to go," Harry nodded. "No word from Tonks then?"

"No news is good news."

"Are you close enough to see anyone with that eye of yours?"

"Not quite, but I will be soon. They've got a few minor protection spells up that I can see. That's why we aren't any closer to the target. Remember, it will take me twenty seconds to get their magical escape routes shut down. So count to twenty before letting her go."

"I've got it." Harry patted his payload.

"I wouldn't count on anyone else, lad. Ten seconds. Make me proud, Harry."

"I'm off."

He put the mirror back in his pocket and flew straight up into the air. Moody had said that a hundred feet up would be plenty to get above any enchantments they might have on the house, but he made it at least twice that high before he looked down to make sure he was directly over it.

Now the waiting.

Twenty...

He was planning to fly down a bit as he dropped the bomb. Harry figured a little bit of speed building it up could be a good thing. He trusted the firebolt to outrun the explosion, especially with a head start.

Ten...

Almost there. Almost ready to strike a blow against Riddle that should shock him like nothing before. When had anyone dared to launch an attack like this before against his forces? According to Alastor, never.

Five...

Time to go. Harry prepared for his descent and readied to drop the bomb. His hands felt sweaty, and suddenly his nerves all started to fire, but he clenched his teeth and got on with it.

Two...

He could see the building as he drew closer. There was smoke coming from the fireplace. But only a fireplace. Not a floo. Not for that night.

There would be no escape.

One...

He let the bomb go and watched for what couldn't have been more than a second but somehow felt almost infinitely longer. Instinct more than anything else led his broom off into the distance. East from the meeting place full of Death Eaters, what would have been the rear of the building.

Harry looked back for a second and saw that there was a door coming out the back. That meant he might have stragglers to pick off.

If Dobby didn't get them first.

Before any other thoughts could come, the Superflamer did its job.

Harry would always remember the orange flames that flashed just before the enormous blast of sound reached his ears. Within seconds he was reaching Dobby and the position he was meant to take. By the time he turned back around and readied his wand, there was smoke pouring everywhere from the building.

He wondered for a moment if there would be any survivors of that initial explosion.

Dobby was standing next to him, and their eyes were scanning the dark night through the drizzle of rain as they strode towards what was left of the building. The seconds seemed to drip even slower. Was it over already?

But in answer to his thoughts, a figure staggered out the back door, waving its burning arm in a panic.

Harry could see it clearly, lit from behind by the building on fire. He didn't hesitate as he fired off the bone-breaker curse that Moody had made sure Harry knew like the back of his hand.

His aim appeared to be true enough- always go for the torso when you're at a distance, another lecture Harry had absorbed- and the shadowy form flew backwards and onto the ground. Harry kept his eyes on it, but there was no more movement.

They had continued to advance slowly and the distance was halved before another figure emerged. This one looked larger, although Harry couldn't tell if that was true or just because he was so much closer.

Another bone breaker flew from his wand and another figure fell to the ground. This one was still struggling to move, trying to get back to its feet.

Harry cast the bubblehead charm as he got nearer to the smoke.

Ten feet closer, and he could see this one coughing as it crawled on its hands and knees away from the fire. He looked up for a moment, a mask falling onto the ground and out of the dark robes, Harry could see the face of Marcus Flint. The former quidditch captain of Slytherin from his first three years at Hogwarts. He couldn't be more than twenty or so. A new recruit for the Death Eater cause.

He looked up at Harry in confusion.

" _Diffindo!_ "

The cutting curse caught him right in the neck, and suddenly it wasn't only the smoke that Flint was choking on.

Harry took a step back even as he kept his wand pointed at the Death Eater before him, who collapsed after a moment of shock. The sound of his foe gurgling on blood seemed all too loud considering the inferno still raging from the building.

For two whole minutes, Harry stood there waiting for any further sign.

During those two minutes, he watched Marcus Flint die. At first, the Death Eater had grabbed at his throat, trying to stop the blood loss. But the bone breaking curse had no doubt done plenty of damage too, as his struggle grew feebler within seconds.

There was no last gasp of air, no final spell from his wand, which he apparently had dropped. The end of Flint came with only a slight slump as the body went still. The body that was now a corpse, Harry realized.

He watched it all.

Should he have been feeling worse? Something like pity for the life snuffed out in front of him?

Harry wasn't sure what he was feeling, and that bothered him more and more as the wait continued and no other Death Eaters tried to flee.

"Master Harry sir!" Dobby tugged at his arm. "No more nasty wizards are coming, sir. Dobby thinks we should meet with the others."

"Right," he muttered before shaking his head free from his confusion. "Right, good idea, Dobby. Pop me to Moody's position."

* * *

A second later, they were at the front of the house. Alastor had been busy though. Harry could see five figures laid out in the grass. None were moving.

"How many came out the rear?" the old man asked, wand still pointed at the flaming wreckage.

"I only saw two," Harry answered. "Both came out pretty quick. No movement after that, and Dobby said he couldn't sense anyone else."

"Good work, son." Alastor patted him on the shoulder and gave him one of those wicked looking grins that Harry had learned to recognize despite the scars. "The others should be here soon."

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, as he noticed Moody holding his left hand against the side of his stomach.

"I'll live."

There was a crack from apparition as Andromeda appeared just to their left, her wand ready to curse anyone in sight. Her expression relaxed as she saw them, and a few seconds later Sirius joined them.

"How many?"

"Only one," Andromeda replied. "It fell over before I even had to fire a curse. I put a couple of piercing hexes through him anyway, to make sure."

"Anyone you recognize?"

"No. He looked to be a bit younger than me, but old enough that he could have joined up the first time."

"How about you, Black?"

"I saw two, but one was trying to practically carry the other as they climbed out a window. I aimed for the one that looked more capable, but he was bent over and-"

Sirius leaned over and wretched for a moment.

After a few seconds he spit and wiped his mouth.

"When he moved, my curse hit him right in the head," he sighed. "It will be hard for anyone to identify him now. As for the other one, he fumbled for his wand and I nailed him with two bone breakers. The second one might have been over kill. He didn't move after that, and no sign of anyone else still moving inside the house either."

"That's at least ten that we got outside. I saw a few more in the wreckage, but we don't want to stick around to count them up. Black, you know the spell to conjure the mark, right?"

"Yes."

"Fire it off right before we go back to headquarters. Everybody ready? Make sure you didn't leave anything behind."

Dobby snapped his fingers and the vomit from Sirius vanished.

"Good thinking," Moody grunted. "We certainly don't want to leave _that_ behind as evidence. Did you lose your lunch when it happened, Black?"

"No," Sirius shook his head. "I was too caught up in the moment, but... Merlin, I don't ever want to see someone's face explode like that again. Fuck, can we get out of here now?"

"The Mark first and then we go."

"Right," Sirius nodded as he aimed his wand at the sky over the whole burning, bloody mess.

" _Morsmordre!_ "

* * *

Pansy could feel the knot in her stomach growing worse and worse as the time kept slowly ticking away.

The half hour was up and they should be returning soon were the things that her brain was trying to remind her past the flood of anxiety that she was fighting with. No word from Tonks. No emergency portkeys activated. No need for any of the line of potions she had setting on the nearby desk.

She was still pacing. Occasionally, she would go over to the window and look out at the rain, just as something different to try to focus on rather than her fear of something going wrong.

Pansy remembered that at least Dobby was with Harry, and that did help her feel better for a few seconds. But that brought to mind a different problem. What if Dobby did have to do something to protect Harry?

Because she didn't doubt for a second that the little guy would throw himself in front of a curse to keep the great Harry Potter sir safe.

That would be a terrible loss. Dobby was so many different things for them. Yes, he was a house-elf who could cook them meals, clean, and do everything else to take care of them and wherever they lived. But he was so much more than that. He was also a friend, if a little strange one at that. Considering Luna though, it wasn't like their human friends were too normal either. Dobby was also a bodyguard when they needed protection, like with Harry tonight.

And last but not least, Dobby was also their form of transportation. Apparition lessons were still a year away, and they would be seriously screwed without him to help them get around. Especially if they ever needed to flee in an emergency.

Maybe she could get Harry to talk Sirius into teaching them the skill a year early. He would probably do it.

But then she heard the pop that she knew so well and saw Harry and Dobby standing right in front of her.

She let out a happy little sob as she ran over and threw her arms around him.

"I'm alright," Harry murmured while he squeezed her tight. "I'm alright."

"Thank you," she sighed. "Thank you for coming back to me."

"Always."

"Let's hope," she replied, trying to chuckle. It came out more as a grunt, not quite able to lighten the mood. Pansy turned her head and looked down at their caretaker. "And thank you too, Dobby, for making sure you both came back home, safe and sound."

"Dobby is happy to have been of help!"

"We're okay too," Sirius added as Pansy now realized that the rest of the group had returned as well.

"Nymphadora hasn't returned yet?" her mother wondered.

"Not yet, but we did plan on her being the last one to get back," Pansy said. "I haven't heard from her, so I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Did everything go according to plan?"

"It was almost perfect," Moody barked.

"Only almost?"

Before he could answer they heard a commotion from downstairs and Tonks came running in, paying no attention to the shouts coming from Walburga's painting.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked breathlessly, hurrying over to check on her mother.

"We're fine," Andi replied.

"Did we get them?"

"We did," Sirius nodded. "A lot of them too. A dozen or more, probably."

"Holy shit," Tonks gasped.

Her mother chuckled. "Indeed. Tom Riddle won't be pleased at losing half his forces."

"Do we really think it's half?" Sirius asked. "There were several teenagers that had been marked that were found out at Hogwarts just a month ago. It's possible he's got more than that."

"No. According to Bulstrode, Riddle had been more focused on keeping a low profile than trying to recruit new members," Moody answered. "The ones you heard about all came from families that already supported him. Mostly sons and nephews of other members. By his count, they were still less than forty. And that's before losing a few at Hogwarts."

"That's good news," Harry sighed. "We did well. But, what about you, Alastor?"

"What about me?"

"I saw you holding your side. Did you get hit by something?"

Andromeda stepped over and forced him to move his hand out of the way. Blood had soaked through his shirt.

"Were you going to tell us about this, or were you planning on bleeding to death as a way of celebrating?"

"We had to finish the mission first," Moody grumbled.

"Well now that we've done that part, let me see what I can do about this."

"It won't work."

"Why not? I've patched up plenty of wounds before," Andromeda said.

"Because this wasn't a simple cutting curse," Moody admitted.

"Then do we need to get you to St. Mungo's?"

"We can't," Harry said. "That would blow the secrecy, if the country's most famous auror just so happens to get wounded on a night during the biggest of what the ministry is still officially calling 'rogue Death Eater attacks.' We have to keep this between us if at all possible."

"And that could be a problem," Alastor finished. "Because I know this curse, I've seen it before, and I only know of one man that knows how to counter it."

"Who?"

"Dumbledore."

"Crap," Harry said. "We really don't want him asking questions."

"No, laddie, no we don't. Albus is a good man, and good men don't want to do what we had to do."

"What is the curse?" Sirius asked. "My family has been coming up with all sorts of nasty spells for generations. Maybe there's something in the library that could help."

"No," Moody shook his head. "This isn't something old. This is something new- and that's the problem. Remember your old buddy Snape?"

"Snivellus? You're saying this is one of his curses?"

"Yep," Moody growled. "I was not at all pleased when Albus told me about him supposedly turning spy. Right at the end of the war too, and I never heard of any decent intelligence from him that helped our side. Fucking useless, if you ask me. If Albus weren't such a bleeding heart, Snape would have been rotting in Azkaban with the rest of 'em. Where he belonged."

"Amen to that," Harry nodded. "But now we've got a big problem. Is there anything else we can do?"

"The problem with this curse is that even if you close the wound, the darkness in the spell will keep trying to force it open again."

"Damn, that is a nasty one," Tonks whistled.

"Yeah, and Snape came up with it when he was still in school. I know for a fact he taught it to some of his buddies who all just so happened to become Death Eaters as soon as they got out of school."

"Some of them while they were still in school, I'd wager," Sirius suggested. "You don't know how bad it was our last few years at Hogwarts. Every day you'd wake up and look in the paper to see who'd died. Then you'd look over at the Slytherin table and see the smug faces that knew they were winning. Fucking bastards."

"Little Barty Crouch Junior just so happened to be one of those friends of Snape's," Moody continued. "And guess who happened to be lucky enough to make it out the front door?"

"I saw more than enough of Barty at that graveyard," Harry said. "He's completely nuts and completely devoted to the head psycho. We did think he'd show up to give out orders tonight. Please tell me he's one of the bodies you left in front of the building."

"Unfortunately, no. Bastard used one of his comrades as a human shield while he cursed me. There were three of them that came out first, and it was all I could do to get the other two down without taking another hit." Moody sighed and rubbed his face. "Junior got away."

"Which means that Riddle probably knows exactly what happened tonight," Harry added. "Fuck. That's going to make him really angry. I would be surprised if he didn't lash out after this."

"That is a pretty awful thought," Andromeda said. "But we can't worry about that right now. What are we going to do about your injury, Mad-Eye?"

"I... have an idea," he responded slowly. "I don't think any of you are going to like it though."

"Just get on with it before Andi hexes you," Sirius replied.

"We need stronger magic to beat the Dark Arts."

"What type of stronger magic?"

"The really old kind," Moody answered.

"As I recall, you warned me about that type of magic last year," Harry said. "You said that old magic was dangerous and could be unpredictable. So why are we going to turn to that now?"

"Because Albus could be far too much of a hindrance about what needs to be done, Harry. The last thing we need is for him to try to get us arrested for taking out the trash. As much as he might want the Death Eaters stopped, he would never approve of what we did tonight."

"Alright, what is this old magic then?" Harry asked.

"Have you ever heard of a Geas?"

Before he could say no, Pansy and Andromeda both gasped. Harry turned to each of them as they looked shocked. "I guess I'm likely the only one here who hasn't. What is a Geas?"

"It's a very old form of curse," Andromeda replied. "Definitely not the sort of thing that's done anymore- and for good reason. Which of us were you going to try to invoke such an awful thing?"

"It would have to be Harry," Sirius sighed. "He's got the most power, right?"

"Yes," Moody confirmed before turning to look at Harry. "I need your help for this, son."

"What do I do?"

"The process is a little complicated, but basically we're going to set up something sort of like a magical contract. You remember how things went with that goblet last year? The idea is that a Geas works sort of like that."

"But I thought it was a curse-"

"It is," Andromeda interrupted. "You will be cursing Mad-Eye to make him do your bidding. I'm guessing he wants you to force him to survive this wound, with the implication being that your will and magic would be strong enough to override the curse that's still affecting him. Am I right, Moody?"

"That was my thought," he admitted. "Potter is strong enough for it from what I've seen."

"Now tell him the downside," Andromeda said threateningly.

"What downside?" Harry asked.

"Old magic like this can be dangerous and complicated," Moody replied. "You can't just tell me to be healed and have it work. You'll have to bind me to a cause and I'll have to work towards it for the Geas to take effect."

"I never thought I'd hear someone as paranoid as you do something like this, Mad-Eye," Sirius snorted. "I think we may have an imposter, folks."

"I wouldn't do it if it weren't necessary," Moody grumbled. "Besides, you have to realize that I'm going to be very specific about how we word this. The cause will be obvious- I'll be working to defeat Riddle and the Death Eaters. I think Potter and I can agree on that. It should make the magic easier for him."

"Okay, so I just basically call on magic to ask you to do what you'd do anyway?" Harry wondered what made this so dangerous.

"It's more than that," Andromeda shook her head. "Yes, you do have a good common cause, but a Geas requires several things. First, the victim has to willingly accept the curse. That could be a problem, especially today. For centuries, wizards and witches have been taught to never accept a curse. It is ingrained into our natures so deeply that our magic naturally works against exterior magical forces. That's one reason why the Dark Arts are so dangerous- the spells were specifically created to break through our natural magical defenses by any means necessary. Often in gory and disgusting ways."

"That's why Mad-Eye will need you for this, Harry," Sirius added. "He's counting on you being strong enough to pull it off. And for dealing with such a stubborn old bastard, you're going to have to work for it."

"But that's not the end of it, either," Andromeda continued. "While the Geas is active there will be a sort of magical connection between the two of you. You have to agree to a way for Moody to satisfy the conditions of the magic to be released from its curse. When that condition is met, the magic of the Geas is undone, at which point Alastor will be in danger from his wound becoming much worse from the delayed effects. On the other hand, if you release it early, there can be very bad consequences. Maybe for each of you.

"So if you consent to this, there's no going back."

Harry looked over at his mentor who had been watching for a reaction. "What were you thinking of for the terms?"

"Simple enough. I have to keep working to bring down every last Death Eater and the Dark Lord himself. By the time I'm done, the war will be over. At which point, I can either try to get Albus to fix me up or..."

"Or what?" Harry asked.

"Or die in peace. I've been fighting bastards like this for a long time, Harry. You're young, lad. You've still got a lot of living to do. For me, dying sounds like a chance to finally let my guard down. I've been told I could use a vacation," Moody chuckled to himself. "Well, what do you say? Can I count on you, Harry?"

"I'll do it."

"Just like that?" Andromeda shook her head. "You should think this through first, Harry."

"Old magic bound Pansy and I together," Harry said. "I have no regrets about that. If old magic can help Alastor, then I'll trust it."

"Good lad," Moody said as he patted him on the shoulder. "Someone else will have to write up something that we can agree both agree to. I'm not feeling up to holding a quill right now. Then I'll walk you through the incantation. The rest will be up to you."

"Let's do it then."

* * *

Other than a strain as the magic took hold and a strange feeling that pulled at him, as if something was physically connecting him to Alastor, Harry was a little surprised at how simple the Geas seemed to be. There were no bright lights or overt displays of the magic.

But it did seem to work, because once the spell was finished, Andromeda was able to easily seal the wound. Pansy handed over a blood replenishing potion, and Moody seemed to be in a good mood as he drank it.

Afterwards, they were all sitting around talking for a few minutes as they drank some tea and tried to relax after everything that had happened. Harry noticed everyone start to speak quietly and when he looked down, he saw that Pansy had drifted off with her head laying in his lap. She had just enough room to stretch out on the couch they were on, and when he looked up, he noticed Andromeda smiling at him.

"Maybe we should move down to the kitchen while she rests," she whispered.

At Harry's nod, they all got up. He slowly moved as Dobby handed him a cushion to slip under her head where his thigh had been. Once he was assured that she was still asleep, Harry crept out of the drawing room and asked Dobby to wait for her so she wouldn't be worried when she woke.

Once he made it down to the kitchen, he saw several glasses on the table and a bottle of firewhisky that Sirius was pouring.

"Want one, Harry?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I should stop you from being a bad influence, Sirius," Andromeda said before sighing. "After tonight though, I think we could all use it."

"It was a hell of a thing we pulled off," Alastor said as he reached for the first glass. "Whatever happens from here on, I want you all to know that I'm proud of you. We've never had a victory like this."

"And with the Dark Mark floating in the sky, it might even wake a few people up to the idea that this isn't just some 'rogue Death Eaters.' I'd love to see Fudge's face when he hears about this," Sirius guffawed. "I can just imagine it now, 'it's all clearly the random acts of a few bad eggs. Nothing to worry about, nothing to see.' If the sheep don't fucking start screaming after this, then I don't know what will get their heads out of their arses."

"Sadly, I have to agree with my cousin," Andromeda agreed wistfully. "The longer I live, the more cynical I become. I think our government has been so useless for so long that I just can't picture it any other way. I might take Cissy up on her offer."

"What offer?" Harry asked.

"I told you that she and I have been in contact, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, she told me that she took your advice," Andromeda grinned at him. "Something about how you told her she was still young, rich, and beautiful and that the world was her oyster."

Harry blushed a bit. When Tonks started giggling at him, he just might have kicked her shin under the table as he took a sip of firewhisky.

"I was trying to warn her to get out of the country before anyone- namely Riddle- came sniffing around her mansion looking to get the old gang back together. Even without Lucius there anymore, I just didn't trust the other bastards to not try intruding on her. To try to take advantage of her, you know. There are a lot of bad reasons why some men might want to seduce a rich widow."

"You mean other than just for the sex?" Sirius snorted. "That's what I've always liked the most about rich widows."

"Or anyone else, you scoundrel," Andromeda scoffed. "Regardless, I appreciate you warning my sister, Harry. She's doing a lot better now. Last I heard, she'd even had a little dalliance with, of all things, a muggle."

"Aunt Narcissa with a muggle? I don't believe it!" Tonks yelped. "The woman I remember would look down on a muggle like something foul on the bottom of her shoe."

"Yes, that would have been my first thought too," Andromeda grinned. "Apparently, Cissy was enjoying a beach somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. The muggle in question was young and clad in what she called a scandalously small bathing suit. But she approved of his finely-chiseled muscles and something she could clearly see was not small in that bathing suit."

"Good for her," Sirius shouted. "I always thought Cissy would have been a lot more pleasant if someone could shag the bitchiness out of her."

"It does seem to have helped. He's a much younger man too. She told me he was only twenty three. I think she might have developed a taste for younger men."

"I'll bet," Tonks snorted, with a glance over at Harry.

"I hope she's happy then," he said as he tried not to blush again. "Didn't you mention an offer of hers though, Andi?"

"I did. She offered to have me come join her on what she's calling her semi-permanent vacation. Maybe the only good thing about Lucius was that he left her a very wealthy woman. I've... I've been thinking that I could use a break."

"Mum?" Tonks looked worried. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think I can go back to that house," Andromeda said, choking back a sob. She wiped her face and took a large swig of firewhisky. The smoke pouring out of her ears gave her a moment to compose herself.

"Ever since losing Ted, I just can't imagine trying to go back there. It isn't a home. Not anymore. I... I just want to sell the place. And maybe-"

"Maybe a vacation away from the painful memories," Sirius finished. "I can completely understand that. You must realize how much I hate it here," he waved his hand around at the old house he'd grown up in. "If not for Harry, I'd probably cast this whole damn country aside. Fucking ministry did fuck all to help me, despite being the heir to one of their precious old pureblood families. With the girls now in France, I'm tempted to join them. Not that I love the French, or anything but-"

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the family full of Veela that I introduced you to?" Harry asked, taking his second sip of firewhisky. It burned nicely, and he could imagine drinking far too much of it before the night was through. "Weren't you supposed to be courting a young woman now? Miss Kathryn Nott, I believe. She's an acquaintance of mine, you know. I'd hate to have to warn her off of my miscreant of a godfather."

"I'll have you know that I can be a complete gentleman," Sirius protested.

"When you're trying to get into the robes of a respectable witch, maybe," Andi laughed as she took another drink. "I don't think you'll ever grow up, Siri."

"I have to! And it's all Harry's fault!"

"How is it my fault?"

"Because I swore to myself that I wouldn't let you become a father before I do. You and Pansy are far too convincingly devoted to one another, and I'm afraid that there will be some little Potters running around before too long. I can't handle the idea that you'll beat me to it."

"Siri, I never took you as the family type," Andi smiled. "What has brought about this lovely character growth?"

"It might have been Harry's fault," he grinned.

"No way. You're not blaming me for this," Harry shook his head. "We might talk about our sex lives sometimes, but I know I've never talked with you about wanting to have kids someday."

"Sirius! He's only fifteen!" Andromeda scolded. "You might have been fine being a filthy little reprobate with James Potter, but Harry is your godson. You are supposed to be a good influence on him, for Merlin's sake."

"Oh please, Andi. The little bugger has more sex than the rest of us combined." Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's more mature at fifteen than I was at twenty, anyway. And if you had been around him and Pansy more, you'd see they're practically a married couple already. Just unfortunately still in the honeymoon stage, so I feel envious whenever I'm around him."

"Harry, I think you and I need to talk," Tonks said with a wicked gleam in her eye. "You should be careful about how you treat your girlfriend. In my role as big sis Tonks, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put a stop to all this."

She raised her hand and it grew to a comically large size. "No more nookie for you, mister Potter."

"Tonks, I killed a lot of people tonight. Don't make me kill someone else who stands between me, the woman I love, and our bedroom."

He chuckled for half a second before it started to sink in just as he was about to take another sip of his firewhisky.

"Crap... I killed a lot of people tonight."

Harry sat the glass down and looked at his hands. Were they shaking? How long had that been going on?

"Son, I'm the one responsible for what happened tonight," Alastor said as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It was my plan. It was my bomb. And I was the one who had the front of the house, so I personally cursed as many as the rest of you did. This was my call and that means it's my burden."

"Yeah, but I was the one who dropped the bomb! And I did it without even a hint of doubt. Shouldn't I... What the hell does that say about me? Is... is there something wrong with me?"

"Yes, lad. You've had a rough life, and you've had to grow up and turn into a cynical old bastard like me way too early." Alastor squeezed his shoulder and Harry looked up at him. "But we weren't there to kill innocent civilians. These were Death Eaters. Every single one of them was filth. We're talking about murderers, rapists, scum that would torture you with a smile if their precious Dark Lord told them to. What do you think any one of them would have done to your girl?"

"I'd kill them all over again to protect Pansy. I'd kill as many as I needed to. But... but I... I don't think I feel any regrets about tonight. Shouldn't I?" Harry looked around at all of them. "Shouldn't I feel something like that? I don't want to do whatever it takes only to turn out to be a monster. I want to be able to finish all of this and be able to live the rest of my life. I want to love Pansy and not worry that someday I'll do something to hurt her. If I can kill people-"

"Death Eaters, Harry," Sirius interjected. "Mad-Eye is right. They were the monsters. They would do terrible things to all of us and they wouldn't think twice about it."

"But that's just my damn point!" Harry yelled. "I didn't think twice about it tonight, either. What the hell does that make me, Sirius?"

"It makes you someone that had to take on far too much of a burden because no one else would." Sirius got up and helped Harry to his feet before pulling him into a hug. "It's not your fault, Harry. All of this mess should have been cleaned up years ago by the people who've failed all of us. The useless fucking ministry. Hell, I blame Albus almost as much as anyone of them."

"Really?"

"Why do you think we never mention the Order of the Phoenix? Albus hasn't had that group of his doing anything useful."

"That's why it took this little group of ours," Alastor said. "If I were a better flyer, I would have dropped the bomb myself. I'm sorry, lad, I should have realized that would have been hard on you."

"No, it's... it's not," Harry shook his head. "Not really. I've killed Death Eaters before. I can handle it. I just... I just wish I didn't have to."

"Maybe we should go wake Pansy?" Andromeda suggested. "She could help you cope with what happened."

"No, let her rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She's been worried out of her mind all day long. Last night too. She had the harder part compared to me. I've had to be the one who sat behind and waited, worrying about what happened to her. I can't fucking stand that. I was a complete wreck last year when she was my hostage for the second task of that stupid tournament. That was in a controlled environment, and if I trusted the headmaster more, there shouldn't have been any real danger. But I was still barely able to function- I couldn't really sleep the night before.

"It's in my nature to be active. To do things. To leap without looking, Pansy would say. But that's just how my instincts work. I don't have the time to let my nerves get to me when things get rough because I have to act. Whenever I have nothing to do but be anxious- that's a nightmare for me."

"I get that, Harry," Sirius said. "I've been told I'm too impulsive before. But you're definitely right about feeling worse when you've nothing more to do than sit and worry. When you're out there fighting, that's easier on me too."

"Let's all try to calm down. A couple of drinks will do all our nerves some good," Andromeda suggested.

"Good idea," Tonks said. "I'd like to make a toast."

"A toast?" Sirius asked, reaching for his glass.

"To everyone we've lost. They're why we did this, right? For them, and to hopefully not have too many more victims of the Death Eaters."

"Indeed, lass," Alastor said as he raised his glass.

"To my dad, then," Tonks said with a nod.

"To Ted," Andromeda agreed.

"To James and Lily," Sirius added.

"To Lizzie Moody," Harry said as he looked over at Alastor who nodded in appreciation.

"And to everyone that we're trying to save for the future," Moody added. "A better future and a remembrance of what we've had taken from us."

They all gulped down their drinks and they were all soon belching up smoke.

It made Harry giggle.

He kept giggling and it soon set off the rest of the room as the charmed warmth of the alcohol started to fill them up.

"Harry?"

He was still giggling when Pansy appeared in the doorway.

"What's going on?" she asked. He waved her over and as soon as she was close enough, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap.

"Here's my future," Harry mumbled.

"Are you alright?"

"We're all having something to drink," Sirius explained. "After what we saw tonight, we could really use it. Maybe Harry most of all."

"Harry?"

"Future," he grinned before turning to Sirius. "Did I ever tell you that I'm going to marry her someday?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," he snorted.

"That's not enough then." Harry shook his head. "I think about it all the time."

"Really?" Pansy asked, smiling as he looked up at her.

"Oh yeah. I can't wait for all this crap to be over. Then I'll put a ring on this-" he fumbled with her hands for a moment, "this finger right here. And then we get to go on a honeymoon. I'm thinking we spend a year traveling all over the world. We've still got all those other countries to shag in, remember?"

"I remember Harry."

"Then someday, a little after that I guess, we'll get a house or something. Pick somewhere nice to live... and." He stopped and started rubbing her tummy with a wistful smile on his face. "You know what I really want to do then?"

"What?" she grinned in response.

"I want to put a baby in here," he said as he continued to rub.

"See!" Sirius exclaimed. "What type of fifteen year old is excited at the idea of becoming a father? There's something wrong with you, Harry. If only your dear godfather hadn't been cruelly kept away from you all those years- then you'd be properly terrified of the idea of little kids."

"Nawww," Harry slowly shook his head back and forth. "I've always wanted a family. A real one, you know."

"I know, Harry," Pansy agreed, putting her hand over his. She was thoroughly enjoying how he rubbed her.

"In fact, I want a big family."

"A big family, huh?"

"Someone help me talk some sense into him," Sirius teased. "You know, Harry, I couldn't stop your father from rushing into starting up a family. Don't make me fail twice."

"Oh shush, Sirius," Andi replied. "This is cute. You were saying, Harry?"

"Yeah, a real big family." He lifted Pansy, a little bit clumsily, but soon enough she was parked on the table top right in front of him as he stood up. Harry continued to rub at her tummy. "In fact, I want to put lots of babies in here."

He leaned in and was clearly ready to start snogging and even more right there in front of everybody. Pansy just smiled as he kissed her.

"Okay, kids," Andi said as she stood up. "I'm happy for you, really I am, but let's not make a show of it. Maybe you should go back to Hogwarts before Harry has any more to drink. Think you can manage that?"

"Dobby will take good care of us," Pansy answered as Harry had burrowed his head into her neck. "He always does. Right Dobby?"

The little elf popped in and nodded his head fervently as he replied, "Yes, miss Pansy!"

"Alright then, mister Dobby," Andi leaned down to look at him. "I'm trusting you to get these two back to school safe and sound. Alright?"

"Yes, miss Andie-romeda. Dobby is good at taking care of his family."

"I'm sure you are."

"Are you ready to go, Harry?" Pansy asked and he nodded sleepily against her.

"Off you go then," Andi said. "And for heaven's sake, use a contraceptive charm. No making babies too soon!"

"Don't worry about that," Pansy chuckled. "I'm not in too big a hurry. Apparently, I've got a year long honeymoon to look forward to. I don't want to be pregnant during any of that, now do I?"

"I hope not," Andi grinned. "But be sure to remind him of what he said tonight. I'd bet the look on his face will be worth remembering."

"I think you're right. Dobby, are you ready to go?"

"Yes miss."

"Pansy?" Sirius stopped her for a second. "Take good care of him, alright? Tonight... tonight was hard on all of us. Make sure Harry knows that you still love him."

"If anything, I love him even more," she replied. "I know how much he's done, and I know that it's mostly been because he wants to protect me. Why do you think I love him so much?"

"I thought maybe it was the tongue thing?" he teased.

"Not so much," she grinned in response as Dobby took hold of her free hand. "He was good at that before he figured out how to cheat anyway. Toodles!"

They disappeared with a pop.

"Oh dammit!" Sirius howled. "I am both proud and jealous that my godson has turned out to be a great lover already. Now do you see what I'm up against? Of course I need to try to settle down before Harry beats me to it."

"I'm still not convinced," Andi said as she narrowed her eyes. "Nymphadora, do you know this young miss Nott that my cousin is interested in?"

"Not well, but I know who she is. Why mum?"

"How old is she?"

"Let's see... probably twenty one?"

"I should have known," Andi turned on Sirius with a scowl. "Chasing after younger women. You'll never grow up, Sirius Black."

"Nymmie didn't mention the best part."

Tonks hit him with a stinging hex, spilling his drink all over his shirt but Sirius just kept grinning.

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"She's really hot," Sirius grinned.

"Hot?" Andi raised an eyebrow, considering reaching for her own wand.

"Smoking hot."

"You are an unrepentant scalawag. A dastardly wretch! A dog of a man!"

He turned into Padfoot and barked as she fired another couple of hexes to chase him from the room. "Go get him, Nymphadora."

"Right, mum!"

As her daughter barreled after her furry cousin, Andromeda let out a sigh.

"That was good of you," Moody said. "Getting the youngsters to take their minds off what was bothering them."

"I've been a mother for a long time. I know how to take care of children."

"And Black is still such a child," Moody snorted.

"Indeed. We might have asked too much of Harry tonight, though."

"I know," Moody nodded as he reached for the bottle to pour himself another drink. "I wouldn't have asked him if I had anyone else I trusted half as much. I wasn't kidding when I said he's too much like me. I think that's why I like Harry so much. You know what he asked me?"

"What?"

"This was during my first term teaching him, mind you. I gave them all a practical lesson on the Imperius curse and how to fight against it. Harry was a natural. He was better than any auror I've ever taught. Almost immediately, he was asking me for extra work, wanting to learn everything he could about how to fight Death Eaters. When his name came out of that damn goblet, he knew that someone was trying to kill him. He was fourteen, and he never flinched."

"He impressed you," Andi said.

"So much that it was scary. He was already as paranoid as I had been after a decade or more on the job. But that wasn't the kicker. After the Imperius lesson, he asked me to put him under the Cruciatus."

"He didn't!" Andi gasped.

"Said he wanted to know what it was like so he could figure out if he could still manage to fight afterwards. The boy wanted to learn how to withstand torture. And people call me mad. Ha!"

"Fucking hell, Alastor," Andi sighed. "The world has asked way too much of him."

"It's asked too much of all of us. Especially tonight. But Harry is a tough lad, and his lass is really good for him. If we can get him through the next couple of years, I think he'll be alright. I think they'll move away somewhere and get to work on making those baby Potters that Black is so scared about. It'll be good for him to have a family. They'll keep him sane."

"Let's hope so. You know what's going to be good for me tonight?" Andi asked.

"What?"

"Helping you finish that bottle, Alastor."

"I'll pour then."


	81. A Little Romance in aTime of Darkness

* * *

"Ugh..."

Pansy had been waiting for this moment, and she was pleased that Harry was finally waking up. He'd been out of it by the time they'd gotten back to their quarters the night before, so she knew that he was going to be feeling awful.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Still too loud," he moaned. "My head feels like it's been trampled on by a herd of centaurs."

"Not hippogriffs?"

"They can fly, they wouldn't have to trample on me."

"I suppose I could give you this potion that Dobby fetched last night. That would make me a wonderful girlfriend, wouldn't it?"

"Don't tease me, woman," Harry groaned. "You're already a wonderful girlfriend; just put me out of my misery already."

"Here." She handed it to him and Harry struggled to sit up so he could gulp it down.

"Thanks." He closed his eyes again and rubbed his forehead. "For the record, be careful with firewhisky. I felt like I went from tipsy to falling down drunk in just a few minutes. Of course, I did take a really big drink for that toast, but..."

"Yes, I heard something about that. Sirius actually called me on the mirror when we got back home. He was worried about you."

"Really?"

"Yes, Harry, believe it or not, there are a few people who really care for you."

"Not that, I just... never mind."

"So, do you remember anything else about last night? Something embarrassing you might have said, for instance?"

"No." He frowned and thought for a moment. "Hold on a second, I'm remembering something."

"What?"

"I think... I think I might have had another of those dreams connected to Riddle."

"Really? What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think the alcohol helped," Harry chuckled. "There was something about fire, yelling and screaming... but I'm not positive that wasn't just me remembering the bomb. But there was also something about a place... an old place? Huh, I'm not sure. There was definitely something about a door and a silvery glow coming from behind it. I don't know. The hangover might have confused my subconscious."

"I see. That's not much to go on, sadly," Pansy replied.

"No, it isn't."

"Would you like me to remind you what you said before we left Grimmauld Place last night?"

"Um..." Harry cracked one eye open and looked over at her. "Is this about the 'wanting to put a baby in you' thing?"

"You do remember," Pansy teased with a grin. "Andromeda seemed to find it very amusing."

"Why would I be embarrassed about that?"

"What?"

"I think it's obvious that we're getting married someday. That would naturally mean that I'm hoping you'll also get pregnant some time in the future. I mean, I am an orphan so obviously I'm going to want a family. You know, eventually."

"You're no fun, Harry," Pansy pouted. "You were supposed to be blushing and whatnot so I could tease you about this. Sirius was eager to try to talk you out of it, or at least get you to want to wait long enough so that he can become a father first. I think it's funny to see him feeling competitive with you."

"Sirius is a funny guy," Harry grinned. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"Don't worry, I won't. If anyone doesn't need any more encouragement, it's Sirius Black."

"Yeah." Harry rolled his neck and stretched out his arms. "We should probably get up."

"It's Sunday, so we don't have to, you know. If your head's still hurting, we can relax in bed for awhile."

"Thanks, but I think it would be better if we're seen down at breakfast, seeming like everything's normal. I don't want anyone to get suspicious after last night. I'll just say I woke up with a headache- it's even true."

"If you're sure."

"I don't really feel like it, but I think it would be the smart thing to do," Harry sighed.

"Let's go then."

She helped him when Harry struggled to get moving and by the time he had splashed some water on his face in the bathroom he at least no longer looked like he would fall over while walking to the Great Hall for breakfast.

For once, Luna wasn't there before them. Harry slumped into his seat and laid his head down on the table while Pansy started making plates of food for the both of them. Luna came skipping over to them just as she was about to try to get Harry's attention.

"Good morning."

"Not for Harry," Pansy said with an exaggerated pout. "The poor thing woke up with a headache. Which is why..."

She placed a cup of tea right next to his head and Harry opened one eye to look at it. He groaned but sat up to take a sip.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"She really is the best," Luna agreed with a grin as she sat down to Harry's right. "We should go for a walk after we eat."

"It's a bit cold out," Harry muttered. "I think... wasn't it raining last night? Is it still raining today?"

"No, and it didn't rain that much yesterday. Besides, Harry, we've got magic on our side. You know what that means?"

"What?"

"That rain and cold don't stand a chance."

"Don't argue with Luna, Harry," Pansy said. "She knows best. Besides, we've been cooped up in the castle too much lately. We could do with some fresh air."

"If you say so." Harry looked down at his plate and ignored the meat to pick up a piece of toast. "Good."

"You'll need to eat a bit more than that," Luna lectured. "Pansy, while I think it's admirable of you to share the sausage for once, Harry probably needs something sweeter to give him more energy to help get him going. Maybe some peaches?"

"You're just saying that because you like watching him eat my peaches," Pansy teased.

"True, but it would probably help him too. In fact," Luna reached over and scooped out some peaches into a second bowl and slid them over to Harry.

"He might need to eat both our peaches."

"I don't know if he could handle that many peaches," Pansy snorted.

"When I feel better, I'm going to get you both back for this," Harry groaned.

"What? We're just trying to make sure you have a balanced, healthy breakfast," Pansy replied.

"You know, Harry, you do have two hands," Luna said.

"Huh?"

"Well, with two bowls of peaches to eat, two spoons, two hands... you see where I'm going with this, right?" Harry groggily shook his head at Luna, who continued her thought. "I'd like to see how good you are at multi-tasking. Supposedly, working different parts of the brain can help with headaches."

"Really?"

"Only one way to find out," Luna smiled.

"Okay." Harry took a spoon in each hand. He figured he'd start with the left hand, since it was his weaker side and he could focus on it more for the first bite. While he didn't have the enormous sweet tooth that Luna did, he had to agree that the peaches were pretty yummy. He then took a bite from his right hand with ease and took a moment to savor it while he made sure he didn't fumble the spoon on the left again.

A few moments later, Luna broke his concentration. "Not bad, Harry."

"Huh?"

"You've eaten almost all the peaches without spilling anything. How does the head feel?"

"A little better, I guess." Harry gave her a little grin. "Thanks Luna."

"You're welcome. I guess it turns out I do know best. This means we will be going for a walk, right?"

"Sure," Harry shrugged. "If you both want."

"I do. Pansy?"

"In a bit. If Harry isn't going to eat it, then I'll be having the sausage." She winked at Luna and shoved one entire link into her mouth. After she finished chewing, she made a show of licking her lips. "Yummy."

"That's not making me want to go for a walk, you know."

Luna giggled and rushed to finish her own food while Harry had a second cup of tea and silently praised the miracle of caffeine. By the time the girls were done, the hall was only half full. That wasn't too surprising, as it was still twenty minutes till nine and a lot of people rolled out of bed late on Sundays.

As they headed for the main door, Hermione passed them and looked away quickly as Luna took Harry's arm and waved at her.

"What was that about?" Harry asked as they stepped outside and the chilly air hit him in the face. "Okay, definitely warming charms."

"I'll do the honors," Pansy said. "We don't want you making us all melt accidentally."

"He's done that to you too?" Luna asked.

"My dear Harry's got a headache, and sometimes he overdoes it with his spells if he is distracted by something." Pansy cast warming the charm on all three of them, then pecked Harry on the lips. "And we can be so very distracting when we feel like it."

"You can say that again," he snorted. "It's a little windy today, but not nearly as bad as some days."

"I'm just glad it's not snowing," Luna added. "I love snow in general, but I'm not a big fan of trudging through it."

"Good thing we haven't had any lately then."

"Yes," Luna nodded. "There's going to be a big storm later this week though."

"Really?"

"Yes, Parvati told me."

"How would Parvati know?" Harry wondered.

"You don't know very much about Divination, do you?"

"No. I heard the class was pointless. Why?"

"Well, I do admit that I've heard less than glowing things said about professor Trelawney, but the subject does have its uses," Luna explained. "For example, when I stayed at your flat, there was that pretty lady on the telly who told what the weather was going to be for the next week. With Divination, we witches and wizards can determine similar things. Although it isn't fool proof, sadly."

"Hmm," Pansy muttered as they were walking towards the lake. "I never really thought about that before."

"There's a section in the back of the Daily Prophet that gives a weekly forecasting of the weather. They tend to be more accurate than most of the paper," Luna admitted with a sigh. "Just don't tell my father that I said anything positive about them. He hates the competition."

"Understandable," Pansy said with a smile. "I don't think very much of them either."

"Your dad's work is much more interesting," Harry agreed. "How is Xeno anyway?"

"He's doing well. He sent me a note the other day that said a source had sent him an old manuscript from America discussing how a muggle group of freemasons had secretly founded the country and had been ruling them from the shadows ever since."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but it sounds like malarkey to me. Everyone knows that the Illuminati rules the entire world, especially America."

"Huh," Harry shrugged. He looked over at Pansy who grinned at him.

"Don't worry, Harry. I wasn't sure that the Illuminati was real either," she teased. "But if Luna says it's so, then who are we to argue?"

"Who indeed?" he chuckled. "You know what my favorite part of the lake is?"

"What?" Pansy asked.

"The sound of the water. You know, the way it moves and everything."

"My favorite part is the giant squid," Luna said. "I'll admit the sound is nice too. I just wish it weren't so dark and murky. Even in warm weather, it would be hard to go visit the merpeople, or to find them if they weren't in the mood for a visitor."

"Now, who wouldn't want you to visit them, sweetie?" Pansy replied.

"I know, right? I like to think I'm fun to be around."

"We'll both agree with that," Harry said as they came near to the shore. "Even if it isn't raining, it's still pretty muddy out."

"We can always change later," Luna suggested.

"I've got a better idea," Harry answered. "Dobby?"

"What can Dobby do for his great master Harry?"

"You're right, Harry," Pansy interrupted. "He has gotten a lot better at that. I didn't even hear a pop that time. Were you following us, Dobby?"

"No, miss Pansy," he shook his head vigorously. It made Pansy's neck hurt just watching him. "Dobby has been bored, so Dobby was hoping that master and miss would have something to do."

"Well, we do," Harry replied. "I need you to bring us a nice big blanket that we can spread out to lay down on. Or is it lie down? I can never remember."

"Dobby will be right back!"

Two pops later and Harry had a blanket that he was spreading out across the mud.

"This is going to be filthy now," Pansy said with a scowl.

"I know," Harry said with a grin. "It will give Dobby something to do when we're ready to go back inside later."

"Master Harry truly is the greatest wizard in the whole world!" Dobby pronounced with glee.

"He is pretty great," Luna giggled. "And he also knows house-elves better than most people. However he doesn't know all of his grammar rules. Harry- lie down on the blanket. Right in the center, if you please."

"Okay."

"Pansy, you want the left, correct?"

"I do."

"How did you know that?" Harry asked.

"She always sleeps on your left side," Luna answered as the two girls sat down and prepared to get comfy. Harry stretched his arms up over his head and out, as he knew the expected position. "I thought it was obvious. Also," she settled down beside him and put her head on his chest, directly across from his girlfriend. "Now Pansy and I can look at each other while we talk. Maybe I should tell another story...

"But whatever we do, it will hopefully help you lay down your burden and relax from your stress."

"Okay."

"Luna sweetie, you are brilliant, but maybe too brilliant," Pansy snorted. "I'm not sure Harry caught the lesson you just gave him."

"I'm not that dumb, thank you very much. I just needed to lie down. I think a Luna story would be fun."

"Okay, let me see..."

"Make it as silly as possible," Pansy suggested. "I think Harry needs some more laughter right about now."

"Oh, I know just the one then," Luna smiled. "This is the story of Rumpletitskins."

"Wasn't it Rumpelstiltskin?" Harry asked.

"Let's not interrupt Aunty Luna," Pansy grinned. "I'm sure the name is different for a very good reason."

"A very good and filthy reason." Luna confirmed. "It's about a sad old hag and her quest for a much nicer set of boobies."

Pansy and Harry laughed and Luna began her tale.

* * *

They were in the middle of dinner that evening, with Luna and Pansy sitting on either side of Harry, when a number of owls swooped down into the hall. Hedwig landed in front of Harry with a special evening edition of the Daily Prophet.

The reason why was clear from the headline.

_**Death Eater Massacre!** _

He reached up to pet Hedwig with his left hand while he took the paper with his right and looked at the image of the Dark Mark floating over the burnt wreckage of the building and a number of covered bodies laid out on the lawn in front of it as aurors moved around the scene of the crime.

The rest of his meal was forgotten. He didn't notice Pansy watching him closely for his response.

Harry found what he was looking for in the second paragraph.

"Harry?" Luna asked with an unusual touch of worry in her tone. "How bad is it?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at her and realized how quiet the room had become as a number of people were reading about what had happened. "Sorry Luna, what did you ask?"

"How bad was this massacre?"

"Oh, um, yeah... it looks like twenty three dead." Harry looked back down and read even as most of the story just slipped right through his mind. _Twenty three_ \- the number stuck in his head. Even with the ones that had fled the building, that still left fifteen deaths that he was directly responsible for. _Fifteen._ A small shudder passed through him.

His thoughts were briefly broken by the sound of a gasp from the other side of the table, down just a bit closer to the teachers. Hermione. She had an expression filled with worry and fear that he remembered from the years past. All the times she'd been near him when bad things happened. She looked up at him, mouth slightly open in shock, only to quickly turn away.

What was she thinking, he wondered to himself. Maybe now she thinks that I had a point about the necessity of violence in a war with monsters.

'If she only knew that this time _I was the monster_.'

And that was what had been stuck in the edge of his mind all day. When you do something monstrous, does that make you a monster? He'd listened to the others about how this was different- these were Death Eaters- and that did seem to matter to his brain. Objectively, or whatever...

But Harry's real angst wasn't coming from what he had done. It was the lack of guilt, or doubt, or shame, or... really much of anything. It worried him that he didn't feel worse. 'Maybe this is what a soldier feels in a war,' he thought. 'Just wish I hadn't been drafted so damn young.'

The muggle world had its problems, but at least they no longer had child soldiers. Harry had been fighting for his life from eleven on.

And that didn't count what it took to survive the Dursleys without breaking or poisoning them all. He had considered it once or twice when he was younger- but he had held back because the only other person he knew of that was supposedly related to him was Marge, the fat evil bitch. She had seemed even worse at the time. Harry had been pretty sure she would have fed him to her dogs.

After running into a hag in Knockturn Alley a few years past, he thought there probably was a resemblance.

"Harry?"

Pansy's voice brought him out of his reverie. He hadn't been reading for a few minutes. Probably just staring off blankly.

"Yeah," he shook his head. "It's pretty bad."

"Are you done?" she asked. "With the paper, I mean."

"I guess," he shrugged. "Probably done with the food, too, for that matter. I see the Dark Mark and I tend to lose my appetite."

"Don't show it to me yet," Luna said. "I'd like to try to eat a bit more first. I should have had a bigger lunch."

"Alright." Harry opened it up to the inside but did not find a list of names. Apparently, the ministry was still working on identifying everyone. Harry guessed they would want to contact the families first too- although that had never stopped the Prophet from printing salacious gossip before.

That briefly made him wonder whatever had happened to Rita Skeeter. Come to think of it, she hadn't been seen ever since that day when Pansy humiliated her in Hogsmeade. The memory brought a smile to his face as he turned to look at his girlfriend.

"I'll be done in a second," she said as she noticed his expression. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"I don't know. Even though my headache is gone, I'm still feeling kind of worn out. I guess I could do with an early night, to try to catch up on some sleep. We do have a week of classes coming up."

"You should be thankful that we've got history first thing. You can always start the week off with a nap," Pansy suggested.

"Ooh, that is lucky," Luna added. "Naps always make me feel better. Usually, I feel even more refreshed than I do after a full night of sleep."

"Yeah, I like naps too," Harry agreed. "I still think I'm going to call it an early night."

"Do you mind if I read that?" Luna asked, motioning to the newspaper. "I normally wouldn't want to read our rivals, but... this does seem like the type of thing that I should pay attention to. If you're done with it, that is."

"Sure, Luna."

"I'm done, Harry," Pansy said as she got up. "We can go now, if you like."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright," she nodded as she leaned down to kiss the top of Luna's head. "Don't let that crap give you nightmares, sweetie."

"I have a large essay to write for Transfiguration this evening. So, if anything, it will be a very different type of nightmare."

"Let me guess, McGonagall wants three feet?" Harry asked.

"Two and a half, actually, but it is due tomorrow. And unlike you, I actually care about my grades," Luna finished while turning her nose up in the air.

"Silly Ravenclaw," he shook his head and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, Luna."

* * *

"Are you alright, Harry?"

Pansy had waited until they were back in their quarters before she asked, but he knew it was coming. He sat down on the couch and tried to figure out how to answer her question.

"I think so. I'm not... I don't know. I just... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be feeling now. I mostly just feel... normal. It's kinda weird, huh?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "You've had so much of this shit in your life for so long that you've gotten used to it. And I'm sorry about that for you, but I'm also glad that you're handling this so well."

"That isn't a bad thing?"

"No. Not to me, it isn't. It makes me proud of you, Harry."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"So, what now? Do you really want to go to bed early?"

"I don't know. I said that in part because I couldn't just sit there with all those people and not feel strange about everything. I mean, not Luna, you know, but everyone else. And I didn't want to see Hermione looking at me, not with knowing how we argued, and... I don't know. I sort of feel like she was right, in a way. But at the same time, I care even less. If this is me being cold hearted, then maybe that's a good thing. If killing those Death Eaters was... like making me all guilt-ridden or something... that doesn't seem like it would be any better. Maybe cold hearted is the way you have to be when you're in a war."

"You're probably right," Pansy said as she climbed onto his lap and kissed him. "You came back safe and sound. That's what matters the most to me. The fact that we have a major win against the Dark Lord is nice too, but as you like to say, _I have my priorities straight_."

Harry kissed her back and grinned. "Yes you do. You know something funny about all this?"

"What?"

"The Dark Mark is the Death Eaters calling card, right? And it started all this off again back at the Quidditch World Cup. But half the times it's been spotted is because of us using it to frame them. Well, and to try to stir up the public."

"The public is a herd of sleeping sheep," Pansy scoffed. "We should probably just be glad if they stay out of our way. That's more than we can say about Fudge. Let me guess, the ministry's official position is still that this is all some 'rogue Death Eaters.' Am I right?"

"Yeah, of course," Harry chuckled. "That's funny too. They all hid their masks away in their closets and did nothing for what- twelve or thirteen years? Why would they come back out now without some sort of guiding force? How come no one thinks about these simple questions?"

"Sheep aren't smart," Pansy snorted. "This is why Luna can rule the world if she wants it. I'd rather live in the middle of nowhere than to have to constantly deal with idiots."

"Yeah," Harry laughed. "Me too. And can you imagine all the paperwork?"

He shivered.

"I can barely get you to write something long enough to keep you out of detention sometimes," Pansy giggled. "You could never work in an office. Not that it's at the top of my list either."

"What do you want to do? I mean, you know, in the future."

"I'm not sure," Pansy replied before she grinned at him. "We do have that year long honeymoon to look forward to. That sounds a lot better than getting bogged down in any sort of job. I guess we'll have to really go over our finances one of these days to figure everything out. I'm all in favor of working as little as possible though. We'll have much more fun if you just keep spoiling me."

"Spoiling you is pretty fun. It usually makes you that much more fun in the bedroom."

"You've got me all figured out, don't you?" Pansy giggled. She then wiggled on his lap for a second. "And speaking of spoiling, I know what we should do for the rest of the night. I'm going to help ease your stress. Do we still have some massage oil?"

"Yeah, in my trunk."

"Good," Pansy purred as she stood up. "Shall we?"

"There's no way I would ever turn this down." Harry hopped to his feet and followed her into the bedroom.

"For some reason, I had a feeling you'd feel that way," Pansy smiled. "You know, I was talking to Vanessa about the massage parlors that they have in the muggle world. She said that some of them are specifically for men."

"Really? I would think women would like them just as much as guys. More probably."

"I certainly love it when you rub me all over," Pansy purred. "But no, those sorts of places tend to specialize in what she called a massage with a _happy ending_. Luckily for you, I'm in a pretty good mood, so maybe you'll get one tonight. Now strip."

"What did I ever do to get so lucky to have you in my life?" Harry asked as he kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head.

"Just remember this the next time it's your turn to spoil me."

* * *

The next couple of days held a lot of tension at Hogwarts. Harry tried not to let it go to him, but there were an awful lot of people staring at him. More than usual, even. It was pretty clear that a lot of them were looking at him with hope that he would pull off something heroic. After all, he'd been the miraculous savior baby and he'd escaped Riddle's clutches after being kidnapped and tortured. Surely, Harry Potter was once again going to save the day.

His cynical thoughts made him want to sigh constantly.

He'd also had to delay the next meeting of his group. He was having to consider what he would try to teach them next, and professor Watts had already warned him after his class on Monday about how much scrutiny they would all be under for the time being.

Other than that, things were mostly quiet until that Friday night. The headmaster was missing from dinner that evening, but Harry had other things on his mind. He'd finally come up with something for the group to work on. So the word had gone out and they made their way back to the former Defense room they'd been using, which was soon full of excited voices.

"Alright everyone, welcome," he said once Watts closed the door. The professor stood off to the side, only watching as usual, but Harry thought he might be surprised by what he'd planned. "I know there was some big news this week, and I'm sure some of you might want to talk about it. But we only have so much time tonight, so let's save the gossip for later."

"What are you going to teach us then?" Parvati asked with a grin and a flutter of her eyelashes. Harry had to stop himself from chuckling at her persistence.

"Unfortunately, the ministry is still claiming that this is all nothing more than a series of random attacks from individuals, so we have to be careful about certain things. Now, I admit that part of me wants to start really training you all on what I know of magical combat. But that runs into a couple of really big problems.

"On the one hand, if I taught you anything particularly dangerous or, heaven forbid, _lethal_ then we could get into all sorts of trouble from people like the headmaster. Or even worse, Madam Pomfrey."

There were a couple of giggles at that before Harry pressed on.

"And it would be much worse if the ministry heard. Just imagine one of Fudge's toadies running to him with the terrifying news that Harry Potter was teaching you how to fight Death Eaters. He'd probably faint- but once he woke up, who wants to bet whether they'd try to expel us or arrest us? Or snap our wands- that's what they were going to do to Hermione last summer after she was attacked by the dementors."

"Where is Hermione?" one of the Weasley twins asked.

"She said she wasn't coming," Parvati replied. "Apparently, she needed some time to think things over after what happened last weekend. I don't know what there is to think about, personally. It seems like we need this group now more than ever."

"It's her loss," Luna shrugged. "If we can't do more dangerous training, we could always work on the basics- duels with stunning, disarming, shields, and the like."

"That is one idea," Harry nodded. "However, we could run into a very different problem if we do that. Namely, if you're ever thrown into danger against Death Eaters, then I don't want you to have any bad instincts. The instinct to stun your foe can work alright if you're only dealing with one attacker. But what if there are a half dozen of them?"

"Then the one you stun gets revived by Death Eater number two, while the other four try to kill you," Pansy replied. "That's why you don't try to capture blood-thirsty monsters like Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Yeah, you definitely don't want to hold back against someone like her," Harry agreed. "So, I've tried to come up with something else to work on. And I finally had an idea. Dean, come to the front please."

"I'm the guinea pig tonight, huh Harry?"

"You are actually sort of the inspiration. Now, you have some younger sisters, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Right. And they aren't magical, so they would be in even greater danger. I believe we discussed this awhile ago when I was trying to get across the point that running away is often the best idea- especially if you're getting attacked by Death Eaters. And thus...

" _Lateo!_ "

Harry flicked his wand at Dean's head and everyone watched as he seemed to fade from sight. "This is the disillusionment charm. It can conceal the target of the spell, and most importantly, you can use it on yourself or other people."

"That felt really weird," came the sound of Dean's voice.

"Yeah, it does," Harry chuckled. "But better to have a weird feeling and stay alive, right? Death Eaters can't kill you very easily if they don't know where you are."

"They could still hear you," Luna pointed out.

"True," Harry nodded. "Spells to muffle sounds are also a good idea for us to work on, but they are easier than this. Hell, Pansy taught me one more than two years ago. On the other hand, the Disillusionment charm isn't normally taught before NEWT levels, so I want us to work on it first. I imagine a lot of you probably already know some sort of spells for quiet. But, keep in mind, that using the Silencing charm on yourself can be a problem if you can't dispel it when you want. Hence why I mentioned muffling the sound instead.

"But we'll worry about that later," Harry finished. "For tonight, we're going to work on making sure we all know how to disappear. The wand movement is a little more complicated for casting it on yourself, so we'll start with that.

"First though: _Finite!_ " He canceled the spell on Dean and had him go back to his previous spot. "I'll demonstrate a couple of times so you can watch my example. Then we'll break up into groups of... let's say three. That way we'll have one person to cast it and two partners on either side to watch and see if you get the spell right. If you don't focus enough, you can leave part of your body showing, so let's work on getting it right.

"A bit of good news though- once you've learned to cast it on yourself, it's actually a lot easier to cast it on someone else. Much simpler wand movement, and from what I've seen, not as much focus required either."

There were several hopeful smiles at that.

"Alright, let's begin."

* * *

When Dumbledore had called for a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix that night, Sirius hadn't been surprised. The news of the Death Eater massacre was bound to get some sort of response. If anything, he was almost shocked that the headmaster had waited until Friday evening before summoning everyone to Grimmauld Place.

There were a lot of frightened people that showed up.

When he looked around that night at all the faces, Sirius had to restrain himself from shaking his head. Sure, they had Mad-Eye, little Nymmie, and Shacklebolt, but who else would be of any real use in a fight?

In one of his less cynical moods, he might have said Remus. But Sirius had finally admitted to himself that his old friend was more afraid of letting his inner wolf out than anything else. Sirius imagined that sort of thing could get him killed one of these days.

As for the others? Old men like Diggle who were well beyond their prime and hadn't been worth much twenty years before. Or well-meaning people like Arthur Weasley who had never really been tested- and the less said about his overbearing shrew of a wife, the better.

Apparently, Dumbledore had talked McGonagall into joining them, but Sirius was disappointed to learn that an old master duelist like Flitwick had turned down his offer to join them.

He was also really starting to miss Andi.

She'd packed her things earlier that week after making arrangements to sell her house. What she wanted to keep she'd either taken with her or packed away in one of the many rooms there at the old Black family home. He couldn't blame her though- even with how poorly he'd gotten along with Narcissa when they were younger, the idea of a beach somewhere on the Mediterranean coast sounded really good when it was a grey and drizzly February in London.

As usual, there was a lot of talk and talk and even more talk, and nothing got done. He wasn't surprised by that though.

Dumbledore did let out a couple of big pieces of news though, and Mad-Eye had given Sirius a knowing look.

He waited for things to start to break up and asked Tonks if she would make some tea while he escorted everyone to the floo. He came back a few minutes later with Mad-Eye in tow and sat down while the old auror locked and silenced the door.

"Fucking hell," Tonks sighed after taking a drink. "We might need something stronger than tea, Sirius."

"No, lass, we need to keep our heads first," Moody argued. "This is something important we've got to discuss."

"You mean the potioneer they kidnapped?" Tonks asked.

"No. That's simple enough to figure out," Moody snorted. "I'm surprised it wasn't done sooner. If anything, that might be a good sign over all."

"How exactly?" Sirius wondered.

"It tells us that we got even more of them than I'd hoped. Riddle needs potions more than ever. For one thing, he doesn't have Snape this time around, but also, this suggests that most of his forces that he's got left are the ones he busted out of Azkaban three months ago. Tell me, Black, how long did it take you to get healthy again after you got out?"

"More than a year, but in my case, I was still on the run for most of that."

"Even so, I've seen a lot of prisoners that finish shorter terms and still need weeks at St. Mungo's to get healthy again. I imagine the poor fellow would prefer not to have been kidnapped, but he'll need to be kept safe while he treats the Death Eaters, so he's likely much better off than just about any other prisoners they've ever taken before. We put a boot up the Dark bastard's arse, and that's a job damn well done."

"But all those-" Tonks began before Moody cut her off.

"I know. Riddle couldn't let it stand so he had to throw a temper tantrum. As usual with these types of scumbags, he went after muggles that didn't know how to fight back. And his old orphanage, at that. Good thing they'd shut that down, I never like to hear about dead kiddies, but what exactly was Albus saying they'd turned it into?"

"A bail hostel," Tonks answered. "It's basically a place for people who have gotten out of jail and are trying to get their lives back on track."

"Too late now," Sirius sighed as he shook his head. "Thirty five dead according to Albus. I hope some of them died in their sleep."

"That's the important thing we've got to talk about," Moody said. "Not a word of this can get back to Potter."

"I don't like the idea of lying to Harry," Sirius said. "But I have to agree. He's got way too much on his shoulders already. He doesn't need any guilt over this."

"Damn right," Moody nodded. "This was my plan, it was my call, and that means that it's my fault, as much as it's anyone's other than Riddle. I knew he might respond in some way. It was a calculated risk- and as harsh as it might sound, even with all the dead muggles, taking out a large portion of his fighting force will pay off in the long run."

"Do you think Dumbledore suspects anything?" Tonks piped up.

"Not yet," Moody replied. "Once the list of names comes out, then it will be a different story. He'll put two and two together- and maybe he'll see that these are so many of those _poor souls_ who had been under the Imperius last time. Hah!"

"You know, it's a shame that old Bagnold is dead," Sirius grumbled. "Not only would I like to deck the bitch for letting Crouch lock me up without a trial, but I'd love to see her name get dragged through the mud for being so damn corrupt. They should posthumously find her guilty of treason if there was any justice in this world."

"Amen to that," Moody nodded. "If I could go back in time, I would do everything I could to make sure she never took office. The stupid old bitch undid a lot of my hard work tracking down all that scum."

"Alright, if we're done talking about the important stuff," Tonks interrupted. "I don't know about you two, but I need something a lot stronger to drink."

* * *

Pansy had noticed over the next week that Harry had taken to disappearing with Dobby, often for an hour or more at a time, every evening. Obviously, Valentine's Day was coming up, so she hoped they were just doing something to surprise her. If it was anything more dangerous, she thought by now that he wouldn't keep something like that a secret from her. Of course, she also knew that Harry hated making her worry.

But it was probably just about Valentine's Day.

Luna noticed her sighing as they were sitting in the Great Hall for dinner, pushing around the food on her plate more than eating. Since it was Saturday, Harry and Dobby had gone off earlier than usual, and they were now late in returning for dinner.

"He's fine," Luna said.

"Do you know what he's doing?"

"Not precisely," the blonde replied before smiling. "I know it's something to do with the upcoming holiday though."

"Really?" Pansy turned to her. "He told you?"

"No, not about this. But he did have something else that he wanted to plan for you, but-"

"But what?"

"I don't want to give anything away. Ruining fun surprises isn't very nice," Luna teased. "Let's just say that one of Harry's ideas proved more difficult than he had hoped, so he came up with a very different idea."

"Too difficult?" Pansy pressed, hoping to get more out of her best friend. She was a little surprised that Harry had confided in her.

"There were certain... supplies that Harry had trouble finding," Luna shook her head, still with a small grin. "I told him he could always keep that as something fun for later, but it was really cute when he pouted. Harry almost never pouts."

"Are you sure I can't get you to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Harry asked as he came over to sit with them. "Sorry I'm late."

"Pansy was just trying to get me to ruin your surprise."

"You're supposed to be on my side," Pansy grumbled as she poked at Luna's arm.

"Don't worry, I am. You'll thank me later, even if you are grouchy right now."

"Thanks for not spilling anything, Luna," Harry said as he started serving himself some food.

"You're welcome. So, is everything set?"

"Yes."

"Good." Luna looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head. "I guess I'm not going to see you guys tomorrow then. Oh well. I'll just have to hear all about it later."

"That's really not fair," Pansy sulked. "You're making me even more curious."

* * *

She continued to badger Harry and Luna throughout the rest of the meal, but they just kept changing the topic in response. Afterwards, once she and Harry had gone back to their quarters, Pansy tried a different tactic.

She pulled Harry into the bedroom and bent over the bed, waiting for him to take the hint. He did, and about twenty sweaty minutes later, Pansy hoped that his defenses would be lowered.

"So, do we have something fun planned for tomorrow?"

"Yes, we do," Harry admitted.

"And will you tell me what it is now? I've been a very good girl," she purred.

"Yes, you have, which is why I've got a treat planned- for tomorrow."

Pansy growled at him. "It better be good or I will be very fussy."

"You mean even fussier than you are now," Harry chuckled. "You know, after sex, I'm always in a nice, calm mood. I guess I'm going to have to try harder to get you to relax."

"Harryyyyy," she whined. He just grinned at her pout.

"I'll tell you the basics, okay? I've got a little trip planned for us tomorrow. Since the big day is in the middle of the week, I thought we should do something special while we could."

"Where are we going?"

"Uh uh," Harry shook his head. "That's the surprise."

"Fine. What will the weather be like then? Will I need to dress up? Bring a coat?"

"Umm... warmer than here, but not the beach, if that's what you're thinking. Dressing up wouldn't be a bad idea, and a coat if you want, but I was just planning on using charms if we need them."

"Somewhere magical then? Or are you just going to be cautious about waving your wand around in public?"

"You're the one with an exhibitionist streak," Harry scoffed. "If we're getting in trouble for waving my wand around in public, it will likely be your fault."

"That's awful," Pansy snorted. "You've been talking to Sirius, haven't you?"

"Maybe," he grinned. "Did you know he's actually doing this whole thing with Kathryn Nott?"

"I'm not too surprised. From what I've been told it's been a much more open, no... let's say more permissive than most arranged marriages I've heard of. At least Sirius and Kathryn are taking the time to get to know one another somewhat before committing to anything permanent. Why do you mention it?"

"He and I were talking about the upcoming holiday, and he was pretty excited about his date that he's got planned. I think they're getting on really well, and Sirius, shockingly, might have actually decided to pop the question."

"Really? On Valentine's Day, no less," Pansy said with a frown. "I really wouldn't have seen that coming from him."

"Yes, well..."

"Well what?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone this?" As she raised an eyebrow at him, Harry could only sigh. "Not even Luna. Sirius would kill me if Kathryn ever found out."

"Found out what?"

"Okay, so...like a year or so ago, when you and Ruby were talking one time back at the flat, Mortie gave me a piece of advice. He said that it's important to never forget a birthday or anniversary or that I could end up sleeping on the couch for a month. Or something like that, anyway. The thing is, Sirius apparently was thinking of something similar, and this way... Well, this way he doesn't have to remember another date. Pretty simple to remember that you proposed on Valentine's Day, right?"

Pansy burst out laughing. "Oh my... that's... that's so perfectly Sirius."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Harry snorted.

"You know that you won't be able to get away with that now," Pansy pointed out. "I'll know better."

"I think I've proven myself by now. After all, I am the one planning a romantic getaway for tomorrow."

"True," she sighed. "Alright, well let's go look at my clothes and you can help me pick something out to wear. Have you already got your own outfit planned?"

"I do."

"Then show it to me so I can make sure we look good together."

"We always look good together," Harry grinned.

"And how much of that is a result of my hard work?" Pansy challenged.

"Fair enough. It's not like I'm going to complain about you wanting to look your best, now am I?"

* * *

Harry kept her up late that night, celebrating their pre-date night as he called it. It's not like she was going to complain though. They had plenty of time to sleep in, and Dobby was always available with breakfast whenever they finally rolled out of bed.

And that was a very good thing, since it was nearly eleven before they awoke.

When Pansy asked if he had dinner plans later, Harry said yes and they might as well just have a big breakfast before they left. They would be eating dinner a little earlier anyway.

She gave him a questioning look at that, but he still wasn't breaking. Harry just grinned and said that she'd see soon enough.

Within an hour they were both dressed and ready to go... wherever they were going.

First, Dobby popped them back to their flat. Pansy was surprised by that, but then she saw their elf handing Harry a sock. He held it out in front of him and told her to grab on. The spinning sensation told her they were traveling somewhere fairly far away.

A moment later she felt herself landing and leaned into Harry to help herself stay standing. Pansy pulled back and looked around, seeing waterways threading between buildings where she would have expected streets.

"Are we-"

"Welcome to Venice!" Harry proudly announced with a huge smile on his face. A face that was quickly being kissed.

"Bongiorno!"

Pansy pulled away from snogging her boyfriend to see a middle-aged Italian man standing beside one of the city's famous gondolas, and then he said something in Italian that she could not understand.

"He asked your permission to cast a translation spell on you," Harry explained.

"You understood that?"

"I've already been here, so yes, now I speak Italian," he grinned. Pansy nodded and a moment later she realized that she could speak a new language.

"I welcome you, miss, to our wonderful city. I will be your guide for the day. You may call me Marcello."

"Our guide for the day?" she asked.

"Oh yes, mister Potter made it clear that he would be interested in renting my services for an extended period of time. Allow me to help you into our vessel and we may be off."

"Is this the magical part of the city?"

"Miss, all of Venice is magical," Marcello chuckled as they climbed into the gondola while he used his wand to hold it completely still. "But more specifically, those of us who are a bit more magical simply make use of charms to make sure the majority of our guests do not notice anything out of the ordinary."

"It does seem like the notice-me-not charm is one of the most handy for daily life," Harry added.

"Indeed, mister Potter."

"You can call me Harry. And may I introduce Pansy, my incredibly gorgeous date."

"He is a lucky young man," Marcello said with a smile as he grabbed his long oar and pushed off. "May I assume you have not been to Italy before?"

"No, it's our first time," she replied. "Although I guess maybe it's just my first time, if Harry's been organizing this."

"I told you it would be a good surprise. Dobby couldn't get all the way here in one shot, so we've been doing a bit of work. We had a portkey to France from the Delacours, and from there, it just took a bit of time and me creating a few more as we made our way to Nice and then further east."

"This is..." Pansy stopped and sighed before leaning back into Harry's arms as they began to float down the canal. "You've outdone yourself, Harry."

"I try," he grinned.

"Ah, young love," Marcello said fondly. "The weather is fairly pleasant for February, but let me know if either of you need a warming charm or anything."

"I've got it covered," Harry replied. He then conjured up a quilt and Pansy quickly spread it over her lap. It was a lot nicer than up in Scotland, but it was still cool enough that she didn't want her legs to get covered in goosebumps. After all, she had worn a dress in plans for them going somewhere fancy. There were scattered clouds in the sky, but thankfully it didn't look like rain.

"Is there anywhere in particular that you would like to go, miss Pansy?"

"Oh, no. I mean, I've heard of Venice before, but I don't know much about it."

"Then I shall endeavor to help you both discover all of its beauty. We shall have to see many things, and the light in the afternoon should be good for you to admire so many wondrous places."

"I've just heard of the Rialto bridge," Harry offered. "I'd like to see it, but other than that, I guess we're putting ourselves in your hands."

"Yes, the Rialto is quite popular with our visitors, and with good reason. I prefer the Salute, myself. Tell me, are either of you religious?"

"No."

"Ah, well I won't hold it against you, but we are close by and you simply must stop off at the Salute. Or by its full name, Santa Maria della Salute. It is a Catholic church more than three centuries old that sits right on the waterway. It has inspired many artists, such as Canaletto, Guardi, and your Englishman Turner, to paint its majesty."

And so their trip began through one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Pansy couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought how lucky Harry was going to get later that night.

* * *

"You have the biggest smile on your face," Luna said to Pansy as they joined her for breakfast the next day. "I take it you liked the surprise then?"

"Harry impressed me."

"I would like to see it sometime."

"See what?" Parvati asked as she and Lavender sat down across from them. "I noticed you two missing all of yesterday. Did you sneak out of the castle?"

"We may have," Harry smirked.

"Don't let Hermione hear you," Lavender giggled. "She'll tell you off for setting a bad example as a prefect."

"It looks like she has other things on her mind," Parvati replied as she pointed a fair way down the table. Hermione was reading a book and had a piece of parchment out that she was scribbling on. "So, what exactly did you see?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Pansy asked. The faces of the two gossips lit up.

"You know I can," Parvati proudly replied. "And if it's a good enough secret, Lavender will too."

"Only if Harry makes more of those special brownies," Lavender added. "We've got all this studying to do. The OWLs are coming up, you know, and I think we'll all need something to help us relax. Maybe multiple times."

Harry shook his head and chuckled but he had to admit that it did sound like a fun idea. "Deal."

"So... theoretically speaking, Harry may have decided to take me somewhere romantic, and since Valentine's Day is in the middle of the week, it would have been easier for us to go yesterday. And one portkey later, we may have found ourselves in Venice."

"Ven-" Lavender had begun to shriek before Parvati quickly covered her mouth. She then narrowed her eyes at her friend before turning to Pansy.

"I am sooo incredibly jealous of you right now."

Pansy only grinned back at her.

"Harry, are you sure you don't need a second girlfriend?" Parvati asked coquettishly as she batted her eyelashes at him. "I would make it very, _very_ worth your while."

"Sorry, but I'm pretty happy with the one I have."

"I'll just have to convince her then." Parvati hummed to herself for a moment as she thought.

Hedwig flew down and interrupted their conversation though, as the Daily Prophet had yet another headline story bound to get everyone's attention. Harry sighed as he once again saw the Dark Mark floating in the sky, knowing that this time it had been the actual Death Eaters to blame.

He read on and found that apparently Bellatrix Lestrange had attacked an apothecary in a small village in Norfolk, robbing the place before killing three people. It was a stark reminder of what they were still up against, as well as bringing the fun talk about his weekend getaway crashing to a halt with the troubling news.

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of February proved to be quiet.

There were a few people that began to work even harder during the group that Harry was still running at least twice a week. Neville, for one, had become much more serious than Harry had ever seen him, and he started to worry that perhaps his friend was obsessed with the idea of getting better so that he could do something about the Lestranges. Harry knew that look when anyone mentioned Bellatrix around him- and he also knew that it could get Neville killed if he wasn't careful.

Parvati was the bigger surprise though. She was putting an enormous amount of effort into whatever he came up with to teach them, often learning new spells faster than anyone else in the group. When they occasionally ran duels or mock battles, she also excelled. It was kind of shocking, as he had always considered her rather carefree and laid back, but she was clearly dedicated.

When Harry mentioned it to Pansy later, she teased him that Parvati just needed the right teacher as incentive- and that impressing him was clearly the point.

He had to admit, though, that it was working. Halfway through March, he thought she could go toe to toe within anyone else in the group, and she might have even been a match for Flora if she were still around.

Otherwise, there was little of note before one late night in March rolled around.

* * *

"Can I open my presents now?" Luna asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Not for another few minutes," Pansy said. "It isn't your birthday until after midnight."

"Oh, it's close enough, isn't it?"

"No. But we can prepare to enjoy the cake," Harry replied. "I believe Dobby and Winky teamed up to make it. Isn't that right?"

"Dobby should have let Winky do all the baking," the little house-elf scolded, waving a finger at her counterpart. "Miss Luna is beings Winky's family, not Dobby's."

"Miss Luna is beings of master Harry and miss Pansy's too! So Dobby gets to help," he argued back. "Theys is always saying miss Luna is 'our girl' and that means miss Luna is our family too! Isn't that right, master Harry?"

"I'd say that Luna is wonderful enough that we should all be happy to share her company," he answered with a grin. "And we shouldn't fight over things when it's her birthday."

"Sorry miss Luna," Dobby said, lowering his head.

"Winky is sorry too." She looked like she wanted to cry, but Luna quickly stepped over and pulled both of them into a big hug.

"I feel very lucky to have so many people and house-elves who care about me. Thank you both for your hard work."

'You're welcome miss Luna!" They both replied in a chorus. A few minutes later, midnight arrived and all strife was completely forgotten as a large devil's food cake came floating over to the table in front of them. Luna was wished a happy birthday, blew out the candles, and they all began to eat.

"This is wonderful," she said in between bites. "You both did a really good job."

The house-elves were quite pleased by that, and they thanked her before finishing their pieces of cake and preparing to clean everything up. They may have even scowled at each other a bit, obviously wanting to not share in those duties. Harry left them alone though- even their competitive nature about things like that was something he'd gotten used to. He'd try to remember and leave a really big mess for Dobby to clean up the next day. It was a weird way of saying thanks, but as long as it made the little guy happy, Harry would do his best to keep coming up with ideas like that.

Luna stopped between her second and third servings to open the presents they had gotten her. For Christmas, they had bought her an enchanted phonograph similar to the one they used at Hogwarts and then started on a record collection of her own.

Luna was delighted and still smiling when she finally finished the last piece of cake. Harry found it hard to believe she could put so much food away and stay so thin.

"This is already shaping up to be one of my best birthdays," she sighed happily.

"That's good, sweetie," Pansy replied as she sat next to her and gave her a one-armed hug. "It's too bad it's in the middle of the week though. At least you do have a free morning, I guess."

"Yes, it's only too bad that you are busy in the morning. Was it Arithmancy first thing?"

"Unfortunately," Harry said with a yawn. "Wednesday is our busiest day for classes. Thursdays and Fridays are much better."

"I think, when I'm older, that I'll take the day off from whatever I might be doing otherwise and feel free to just goof off and do whatever might strike my fancy. I hope you two can join me sometimes."

"Of course, Luna. Sounds fun."

"You know I'll be in too," Pansy added. "If you could do anything for this birthday, what would you like to do? No worrying about school the next day or anything else."

"I... hmm," Luna paused, stood up, and looked at both of them for a minute. "I do have one thing I'd like to do. But I would need both of your permission, and I wouldn't want to do it if you didn't say so."

"What is it?" Pansy asked as she sat up straight. "You know we want you to be happy."

"Well... it's that-" Luna cut herself off and began to pace around the room. Pansy got up and Harry followed her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm fifteen now," Luna replied as she stopped and stared at Pansy first, then turned to Harry. "I haven't been kissed yet, and I think I'd like to change that. But the thing is, I've watched you two for the last couple of years, and I want you both to know how much I appreciate you both. You're my best friends, and I love you so much. I just... I..."

Luna reached over and took hold of one of Pansy's hands in her right, and Harry's in her left.

"I always wanted my first kiss to be with someone I really love. But the thing is, I really only love the two of you. Other than people in my family, of course, but I don't want to kiss any of them like that," she explained. "And I don't want to cause any problems between us, so that's why I would want to make sure you were both alright with this. Because you two mean the world to me, and so I-"

"I understand, sweetie" Pansy said, cutting her off before she could really start to ramble. "I'm giving my permission. I think it's very sweet, and in fact, you're one of the only people I love too.

"Harry?" his girlfriend turned to him, apparently wanting him to agree as well.

"Are you sure this won't make anything weird between us?"

"Not if we don't let it," Pansy shrugged. "This isn't just anyone, this is Luna. I'm saying yes. Your turn."

"I... I guess so."

"I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm," Luna said in a dry tone. "Also, I want to hear you say that you give permission. I want this all clear so we don't have any misunderstandings later."

"Sorry, Luna. You're right. I give my permission, and also, I guess... um."

"Look at you, Harry," Pansy giggled. "You've made him blush, Luna. I'm rarely able to do that anymore."

"Don't be so silly, Harry," Luna grinned.

"Yeah, don't be silly," Pansy agreed. "Now, are you going to kiss our girl, or what?"

"And make it a good one," Luna teased. "You've got a reputation to live up to, and I'll be disappointed if I think Pansy has been lying to me all this time about you being a good kisser."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" he chuckled before stepping closer to her.

Luna put her hands up around his neck and waited for him to lean down. She was about three inches taller than Pansy, and Harry had to adjust to what he was used to, but he took a deep breath and relaxed. He wasn't going to blow this for Luna and his nerves calmed as he pulled her lips to his. She was soft and sweet, and it didn't surprise him in the least, but her hands were rather insistent as they pulled him closer, so Harry responded by reaching around her waist and letting her take the lead for a moment as she began to fully snog him. Kissing Luna at that moment was like kissing Pansy when she was feeling more emotional, so he just went with it and answered the movement of her tongue with his own.

Some brief but uncounted moments later, the kiss ended. Luna had a big smile on her face.

"You are good at that," she said.

"Told you so," Pansy snorted. He turned to look at her, slightly worried, but Pansy was grinning too.

"Okay. Your turn!"

Luna stepped around him and wrapped her arms around Pansy, and a second later he was watching his girlfriend getting thoroughly snogged. Harry could see the shock on Pansy's face, as her eyes were still wide open but he could only grin and shrug at the two of them, so she closed her eyes and tried to kiss Luna back properly.

He really should have seen that coming- but he was almost positive that Pansy hadn't.

Luna stepped back and let out a pleased little grumble. "Harry was right, you are tasty.

"Now then, I'm going to sleep in the other bedroom. Thank you both for tonight." She reached down and squeezed both of their hands before turning and walking off. "Oh, and you might want to use a silencing spell if all of my moaning starts to bother you. Good night!"

She shut the door behind her, and Harry repressed a snort as Pansy was still stunned.

"What moaning?" she asked a moment later as she tried to bring herself out of her shock.

"Ohhh... yesss!"

"I'm going to say that moaning," Harry replied as he pointed to the bedroom they rarely used. Luna was clearly enjoying herself, but she was pretty loud, so he cast a silencing charm at the door. "So..."

"So?"

"Bedroom?"

"Huh?" Pansy shook her head and really looked at him as Harry smirked. "Yes, bedroom. And wipe that look off your face."

"I know just how to do that," he teased as he pulled her with him to their own room.

"I'll bet you do."

The door shut behind them, and soon enough the sound of moaning could be heard once again.


	82. The Beginning of the End

* * *

Pansy felt herself gasping for breath and knew that Harry was in similar shape laying next to her. She realized that he would always be happy to take any excuse for them to shag, and as stunned as she had been by Luna, she couldn't help but admit that it did lead them to having a lot of fun.

The only problem was that they would have to wake up in less than six hours for a very full day of classes. And she still didn't feel like she could go to sleep just yet. Too many things were buzzing around in her head, and the blonde staying in the other room was at the center of them.

Harry chuckled next to her, which got her attention. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"To finally have Luna's teasing on the other foot for once? I'm not sure if seeing her kiss you was more funny or sexy. You should have seen the look on your face."

"Yes, well, I just wasn't expecting another girl to feel that way about me," Pansy replied. "I'm used to seeing other girls that want you, but, I don't know. I guess I should have seen it coming. Maybe I'm a bad friend, for not realizing that about her."

"I don't think you're a bad friend," Harry disagreed. "She's never talked about wanting a girlfriend. But I did see it coming."

"Really?"

"Not about her wanting to kiss the both of us necessarily, but I've heard Luna say that other girls were pretty a few times. Can you remember her ever saying something like that about a guy?"

"Just you."

"Okay, well, let's go back to last year. Remember, she had us dress up in our Yule Ball outfits? As I recall, she said that I was handsome, but she gushed about how you were 'sex on two legs' and that was by far the most she's ever talked about anyone being attractive. Face it, Luna has great taste in girls. That's why she agrees with me about how hot you are."

"Uh huh," Pansy giggled. "Did you really tell her that I was tasty?"

"Yes, and I might not have only been talking about your lips either," he laughed. "On those rare occasions when it's just the two of us, what do you think Luna and I talk about? You mostly, and sex. Two of our favorite topics."

"Of course," Pansy sighed. "I really hope this doesn't make anything weird between us."

"With Luna?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to let it change anything," Harry shrugged. "Tomorrow, I'm going to treat her like our best friend, the same as always. She said she didn't want this to mess up our friendship, so that's what I'm going to do."

"It might be a little harder for me," Pansy admitted. "I never really thought of her wanting to do anything like that with me."

"Is Luna still our girl?"

"Yes," Pansy chuckled to herself. "Maybe even more now, in a way."

"Exactly. Do you want that to change?"

"No."

"Then don't let it change."

"That simple, huh?"

"It is for me," Harry answered.

"I guess I'll try to do the same then." Pansy thought to herself, trying to imagine talking to Luna tomorrow at breakfast without blushing or saying anything weird. Then she remembered that this was Luna, and saying something weird would be perfectly fine. Pansy just had to accept this new fact as something she hadn't realized about her friend. Luna wouldn't want there to be any problems- she'd said so, that's probably why she had made such a big deal about getting permission from them both. It really was all about her own perception, so Pansy would have to accept this new little quirk and...

When she thought of that word, it triggered a realization in her mind. Luna's other little quirks had been so easy for her to acknowledge. Pansy could let this one go as well because that's what she wanted to do. She loved Luna, maybe not in the physical way that her friend might enjoy, but she loved her. That was really all that mattered.

She rolled over to tell Harry about her epiphany and saw that he had already dozed off. If only she were such a simple-minded creature like him. Pansy smiled and curled her arm around his chest.

She loved two people, and they loved her. With that happy thought in mind, Pansy drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, everything seemed fine. Luna was in an especially good mood, and while they didn't say anything about the night before, the three friends enjoyed their breakfast and talked about their schedules for the day. She sat in the middle of them, her position of honor as the birthday girl, and a letter from her father soon arrived, wishing her well and talking about a gift he had waiting for her at home. It was apparently too large to send, but the Easter holiday was just a couple of weeks away, so Luna was more than willing to wait for it.

Judging by the smile on her face all day long, she was a lot more than happy.

Pansy was still tired from staying up so late, and so she suggested they take a nap between dinner and their Astronomy class that night. Harry yawned and nodded in agreement. Luna asked him a question about Runes for an assignment she had, which helped wake him up.

Other than that, it was a nice calm morning. Before they had to go to their lessons, Harry and Pansy stopped Luna in the hallway and wrapped her up in a big three way hug.

"Thank you both for last night," she whispered, her face squished in between Harry's chest and Pansy's shoulder.

"We love you, Luna," Harry replied.

"You're our girl," Pansy added with a smile. "Now, go and have a wonderful birthday."

"We'll see you at lunch."

She skipped off down the hall, a dazzling smile on her face as she waved goodbye at them.

* * *

The weeks passed until they reached that Easter holiday. Luna and her father were going to spend it in Greece. They all decided to skip the train ride this time, so they parted with her in Hogsmeade, where Xeno had come to pick his daughter up.

Therefore, Harry and Pansy took the Dobby express back to their flat.

That very evening, they ended going over to visit Vanessa. Steven was out playing a show with his band, but his very pregnant wife wasn't feeling up to going out.

"Do you know the due date?" Pansy asked with a huge smile as she brought her friend a glass of Coke and sat next to her on the couch.

"Not fucking soon enough," she grumbled. "Sorry. I've just had a bad week, and my ankles are swollen and I am so very, very ready for this baby to be born. She should be here around the first of June. Her mum will be very happy if she decides to come early, though."

Vanessa said the last bit while staring down at her belly. Pansy had to admit that she was pretty big, although she certainly wasn't going to say that out loud.

Harry had returned from another room holding a box full of old cassette tapes. "Do you want me to set this down?"

"No, I'll never be able to reach it." Vanessa looked over at Pansy. "Do you mind holding it while I find something?"

"Not at all." She held back a smile as she tried to keep her friend from straining anything as she started rifling through it, obviously looking for something in particular. A few minutes later, Vanessa let out a triumphant yelp.

"Aha! Here, we go." She handed a tape over to Harry. "Put this on please. Oh, and be sure to rewind it back to the beginning."

"What is it?" Pansy asked.

"Summer 85 mix tape," Harry read from the label as he went over to the stereo.

"I've been feeling nostalgic," Vanessa said with a dramatic sigh before she turned back to Pansy with a smile. "I was sixteen and I suddenly realized that I had the hugest crush on my older brother's best mate. He was in a band, and he had these eyes that just made me want to melt."

Pansy joined her in giggling while Harry sat in a chair next to them. How Soon Is Now? by the Smiths was the opening song.

"There was so much great dance music back in the Eighties," Vanessa continued. "I remember starting... oh, when I was about fifteen, sneaking out of the house to go to clubs. My dad wasn't too pleased with me back then, but mum never got on my case as long as I didn't come home too drunk, or god forbid, high. I thought that was a bit hypocritical at the time- I mean they had been hippies back in the day, you know? It's not like both of them hadn't done things like that. But I think mum was mostly just worried about me being taken advantage of or getting pregnant. Steven sort of helped keep that from happening, in a weird way."

"How so?" Pansy asked.

"Well, that summer I was daydreaming about him all the time, so I wasn't in the mood to let any other guys get in my knickers. But Steven was going out with this awful tramp. _Becca_ ," she growled. "God, I hated that bitch. She clearly was just sooo wrong for him."

"Not like you would have been," Pansy grinned.

"Exactly. In fact, before things were over, she cheated on him. Sadly, by that time, I'd met this guy named Gary, so when Steven was single again, I had gotten over my crush. I mean, not completely, I still thought about him from time to time, you know? But, that was how things went for us. It was three years later before we finally got together. You two are really lucky to have found each other so young."

"I couldn't agree more," Harry said with a smile. "Pansy's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Of course I am," she responded with a tease.

"You know, I do expect to be invited to the wedding," Vanessa added. "Just as long as this little one isn't squeezing my bladder anymore, I'd really love to see it. They can be stressful, but they can also be really fun."

"We're not in a huge hurry," Pansy said. "We've got to finish school, so you've got awhile. Who knows, maybe by then, your little girl might even be able to enjoy it."

"I don't know if I'm going to wait that long," Harry piped up.

"We'll see." Pansy turned back to their hostess. "Have you decided on a name for her yet?"

"No. We've both thought of a lot of names, but it's taken us this long to narrow the list down. Ooh, I love this song!

 _'I will find a way and I will have you.'_ Vanessa was happily singing along. Pansy heard the lyrics and turned to smile at Harry. She had a feeling she knew what was on his mind- because it was the same thing that was always on his mind.

Her friend was cheering up as she listened to the music and talking about her own teen years. A few minutes later, Vanessa stopped and shifted in her seat. "She's kicking," she said with a smile to Pansy. "Do you want to feel her?"

She was already reaching her hand over even before she nodded in agreement, and Vanessa took her hand and slid it under the bottom of her shirt- then she felt it. Tiny little feet kicking against the side of her mother's stomach.

"Does that hurt?"

"Sometimes more than others," Vanessa replied while still grinning. "If she does it for too long, then yes. But I can't blame her for wanting to dance to the music, now can I?"

"I guess not," Pansy giggled. "Wow. This is so... so real. I haven't really been around a baby before."

"Do you want to feel her, Harry?" Vanessa asked. "Or is that too weird? I know some guys aren't into babies. We gals mostly stick together when it's pregnancy time, but Steven hasn't been too bad, over all. Don't tell him I said that, though. I've got to keep him on his toes."

"I'd love to," Harry smiled. "I didn't want to ask, in case it was weird. I wasn't sure if this was one of those things where guys and girls have to behave differently."

His smile grew even larger once he felt the movement and he looked over at Pansy who smirked.

"Not too soon," she shook her head.

"A lot of guys aren't interested, or they find the whole idea to be off putting. It's nice to see you aren't like that," Vanessa said. "Pansy, you'll have to make him stick to that for the future. Whenever you do decide to have kids, remember to slap Harry if he doesn't pamper you. Except when you don't want him to. Then, he'll just have to bugger off and leave you alone."

"That sounds confusing," Harry said.

"You won't be the one full of a baby and tons of hormones," Vanessa chuckled. "You'll have to deal with the confusion."

"I suppose that's fair."

"So, are you guys busy this week?"

"Not really," Pansy answered. "We've got a few things we want to do with our time off. Why?"

"I haven't had much of a chance to go out lately, and I'm trying to organize a little get together on Friday night. Since I can't drink, and dancing is out now that I'm so swollen, I need my friends to entertain me. So, I'm wanting to get a bunch of people together to go to a karaoke bar. You can all drink and embarrass yourselves singing, and I can sit back and enjoy laughing at you. It's the least you can do for your poor pregnant friend."

"That sounds pretty fun actually," Pansy nodded. "We don't have anything we specifically were doing on Friday, so count on us showing up."

"Oh, thank you," Vanessa smiled, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "Jenny agreed right away, and Steven will be bringing the boys, but my cousin was such a bitch when I brought the idea up with her. I swear, if we weren't related, I'd like to smack her sometimes."

Pansy and Harry looked at each other briefly, both knowing they could relate more than they would probably ever admit to Vanessa.

* * *

The rest of their holidays sped past far too quickly. Harry and Pansy had a few assignments to complete that they knocked out during the days so they would have their nights free for whatever might catch their fancy.

They joined the Brightwells for a couple of meals as well, and Ruby gushed over her son's new girlfriend. She was clearly already planning the wedding, even if Simon had only been dating her for a few months. That didn't matter for his mother, who was more than ready for her son to settle down. Mortie teased his wife about it, saying that she was going to frighten the poor girl off with her zeal. Harry and Pansy just enjoyed listening to them tease each other over slices of fresh apple pie.

Soon enough that Friday rolled around, and Pansy had outfits picked out for them on their trip to the karaoke bar.

"Pansy, I think these pants might be too small," Harry said as he got dressed that evening.

She came over and peeked in at him in the bedroom. "Turn around."

He did as she asked and she responded with a smirk. "They look perfect to me."

"They're a bit tight."

"That's the idea," Pansy replied. "I'm planning on ogling your bum in those tight jeans of yours. With the way you're always drooling over me, it's only fair for you to be eye candy sometimes too."

"Oh," Harry looked over at her confused for a moment. "Alright."

"You really don't think of yourself as attractive, do you?"

"I guess I just don't think about it," he shrugged. "As long as you're happy."

"I suppose I can be vain and more than focused enough on our appearances for the both of us," Pansy scoffed. "This is just another way you'd be lost without me. You'd probably only go shopping when your clothes were worn out otherwise."

"You're probably right," Harry chuckled. "Are we going to be fashionably late tonight?"

"No," she shook her head. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready so we can leave."

"Alright."

A moment later though, she called him over to the bathroom. Harry saw her putting on some lipstick.

"I remember a certain spell you used last Halloween," Pansy began. "It let you mimic someone else's voice."

"Yes, and I remember how much you liked it too," Harry grinned. "Why do you mention it?"

"Because it would be perfect for tonight."

"True," he nodded.

"So why don't you go ahead and cast it on both of us?"

"Well..."

Pansy saw that Harry was ogling her as usual. She fought down a smile- it was one of the reasons she liked dressing up, after all. "Well what?"

"What do I get out of it?" he asked with a lusty grin.

"I'm sure I can make it worth your while. The better mood I'm in at the end of the night, the better mood you'll be in for the rest of the weekend."

"Sold!"

Pansy giggled as Harry grabbed his wand and cast the spell on the both of them. "Now, remember it will only work if we've heard the song before. So if it's something we don't know, we'll be out of luck."

"Why do you think I asked Vanessa to borrow a couple of those mix tapes of hers?"

"You are so devious," Harry answered with a laugh. "Even for something as simple as going out with some friends. Color me impressed."

"I'm glad you approve," she snorted. "Let me grab my purse."

* * *

Pansy had to smile when they arrived at the karaoke bar. Vanessa's best friend Jenny was there, and though she'd met her on a few occasions, Pansy couldn't ever remember seeing her with the same hair color. It was a dark blood red that night.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it," Jenny said as she waved them over. "Vanessa's already inside claiming a big table for us. I think she wanted to get off her feet too. Are you guys ready to be entertaining? Drunken silliness is expected."

"Harry's a natural at being silly, and the alcohol only seems to help," Pansy replied with a smirk.

"And I'll make sure Pansy joins us in being ridiculous."

"Thanks, Harry. I trust that means you're both ready for some serious drinking?"

Pansy had to roll her eyes at Harry's snort, obviously thinking of his godfather and the terrible jokes he would have made with a line like that.

"We've got to go back to school in a couple of days," Pansy answered. "We may as well party as hard as we can, while we can. This year has been a pain in a number of ways."

"Agreed," Harry nodded.

"Okay, well Steven, Richie, and Barbara are also already here. I'm going to be out here waiting for everyone else to arrive and flag them all down. Don't get too much of a head start on me, alright?"

"Want me to order you a drink?"

"You're a real friend, Pansy," Jenny smiled. "I'll have a martini to start. Hopefully I'll be in to join you soon."

Pansy wrapped her arm around Harry's and let him guide them through the crowd inside and over to the bar. They ordered the martini as well as two rum and Cokes and slipped over to where the rest of the party was waiting.

"Oh! You guys made it!" Vanessa cheered as Pansy sat down next to her and gave her a one-armed hug. "Thank you for not making me get up. I'd also normally be really glad to see that martini in your hand too."

"Sorry, we got it for Jenny."

"I'll try not to pout too hard. I swear, when this baby's born I'm going to become a raging alcoholic at this rate to make up for all this lost time."

Harry snorted and sat down too. "Hey everybody. How many more are coming?"

"Four more, assuming Paul can make it," Steven replied. "He was working late today but he's supposed to get here when he can."

"Probably wants to see Jenny again," Vanessa grinned before turning to Pansy to explain. "They're on-again in the revolving door that seems to be their relationship."

"When did that happen?"

"At a New Year's Eve party where I didn't get to have a bottle of champagne," she again mock pouted. "Next year I'm having two."

"I think we might be able to make that one," Pansy said. "Hopefully it will be a less stressful holiday season than this most recent one was. And we'll have a baby to buy presents for!"

"They grow so quick when they're small. She'll be wearing out her onesies by then. Having a summer birthday might be pretty nice, now that I think of it. Every six months we can have people help buy her new outfits that she'll outgrow by the time the seasons change again."

"Is there going to be a baby shower?"

"Yes, next month. You'll be away at school, sadly."

"I'll try to get in contact," Pansy answered. "We should be able to send you a gift if nothing else."

"Alright, who is going first?" Steven asked.

"I had two shots to start things off nicely," Richie replied. "Any requests?"

"Do a Madonna song," Jenny yelled as she came in with Steven in tow. "It will sound wonderful with that deep voice of yours."

The poor drummer shook his head as his band mates laughed, but he took a big drink and headed over for the stage.

A moment later, when he began serenading them with a hilarious version of Material Girl everyone in the group was soon laughing their heads off.

"This was a brilliant idea," Pansy whispered in Vanessa's ear before turning to Harry. "Drink up, we're going next."

He took a deep breath as he looked at his girlfriend and only nodded as he tossed back the rest of his drink. She'd already finished hers. Harry was glad that he had his wand in a pocket as he was pretty sure they would both need a sobering charm or two before the night was over.

Pansy pulled him with her as she practically bounced onto the stage. She was soon looking through the song list before picking one out and turning to him with a gleam in her eye. And Harry had to start off, of course.

He was thankful for the liquid courage as well as the fact that it was at least a song he'd heard before. A week before, specifically.

Mostly though, he was glad that he had a prompt for the lyrics. " _You are an obsession..._ "

Pansy was happily dancing along, microphone in hand as she waited for her section. He had to admit, a duet about an obsessive love affair was pretty fitting for the two of them. And watching her sing and dance was a lot of fun, even as he felt kind of silly beside her. Pansy was a much better performer.

He was going to have to drink a lot more to properly loosen up.

Vanessa and her friends were cheering them on though, and they congratulated them when the song was over. Harry immediately went back to the bar for another round.

"That was great," Vanessa smiled when Pansy sat down next to her. "This summer, assuming I can ever get a babysitter for a few hours, we simply have to go out dancing again."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. We've got some big exams coming up in June, but after that, I don't want to think about _anything_ for a couple of months."

"I remember what that was like. In a lot of ways, school can be pretty fun, but I was glad to be done with it in the end," Vanessa replied. "Harry ran off pretty quick. I guess he's needing to get some more drinks in him pretty badly."

"He's not nearly as extroverted as I am," Pansy said. "He can be when he needs to, but it doesn't come naturally to him. I blame the evil shits that he grew up with. Sometimes, I think if I could, I'd kill those bastards."

"Were they abusive?" Vanessa whispered, looking around furtively.

"Yes. Harry doesn't like to talk about it."

"I think I understand a little better now. You were his first serious girlfriend, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"It makes sense," Vanessa nodded. "He's probably more strongly attached to you because of it. Just be careful. Crap like that in your past can be trouble for years to come."

"I know. Harry has said that his life before me was like a bad dream that he woke up from," Pansy shrugged. "That just means he's stuck with me. I've put way too much work in on him to let him go."

"I don't think he'd want that anyway. I've seen the way he treats you," Vanessa snorted. "He pampers you like a princess."

"I know," Pansy smirked. "Lucky me."

"Lucky you what?" Harry asked as he returned with two more drinks.

"Oh, Harry, would you get me another Virgin Mary?"

"Sure."

As he got up and walked back to the bar, Pansy turned back to her friend. "Look how well I've got him trained. He's even fetching you drinks."

"Well, I am a pregnant woman. He has to be nice to me."

"True," Pansy agreed as she took a sip. "I think I've got a new favorite drink."

"You should try tequila," Jenny piped up as she sat down after coming back from the restroom. "It always makes my nights more fun."

"That's because you only drink it when you're looking to have sex," Vanessa scoffed.

"What can I say? It's liquid panty remover. I just can't help myself."

"Uh huh," Vanessa snorted. "I assume that Paul is getting you one right now then?"

"He knows me well," Jenny teased with a huge smile.

"Will you two just make up your minds one of these days? Make him put a ring on that finger and then you can get to work at joining me in the pudding club. My little girl is going to need some good friends to grow up with, you know?"

"Not all of us are in a rush for that sort of thing," Jenny replied with a roll of her eyes. "Now, Pansy, let me introduce you to the marvel that is tequila. Believe me, Harry will thank me before the night is over."

* * *

Harry wouldn't actually end up thanking her, but he did get some practice in using the sobering charm. He and Pansy would have been a mess otherwise. As it was, after the usual type of late night fun, the ever vigilant Dobby made sure they got a late night snack and plenty of water. Waking up the next day without a hangover was a huge relief, especially to Pansy.

Soon, it was time for them to head back to Hogwarts and back to all the lessons leading up to their OWLs which were now less than two months away. Some people were already starting to study- Harry briefly sighed as he saw Hermione burying herself under a table groaning with books and parchment one night in the library. The professors were encouraging them to start preparing, but he found it hard to care. There were simply too many other important things going on in the wider world that however well he might do on some exams didn't really matter to him.

That was driven home even harder one Wednesday morning when the Daily Prophet announced yet another Death Eater attack. This time both Bellatrix and her husband had been spotted leaving behind carnage and the Dark Mark in the sky.

This led to Susan Bones coming over asking to speak to Harry the next day at breakfast. Pansy scowled but followed along as they left the Great Hall to find somewhere private. Luna came along as well, hoping to keep Pansy in a good mood as she knew exactly how much she disliked the Hufflepuff girl.

Harry checked three rooms before finding one without a magical portrait. He figured that if this was some sort of message from Amelia Bones then a bit of caution would be a good idea.

"This one will do," he said as he closed the door and nodded to Pansy who began casting charms to ensure they wouldn't be overheard or interrupted. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"My aunt sent me a letter about, well, you've seen the most recent attack," Susan replied. "The ministry is in turmoil right now. She said that most of her aurors are practically in revolt. They know this is more than just some random attacks, but they can't officially do anything or Fudge will cause even more problems. We need... I don't know exactly, but we need to do something. Anyway, aunt Amelia asked to meet you this weekend. We've got Hogsmeade coming up, so she was hoping you could come see her."

"I could do that," Harry nodded. "I don't know how much help I can be, but maybe Amelia has some idea."

"I have a thought," Luna interjected. "We know that the Daily Prophet has been following the official position from the minister leaving out all mention of Riddle. I could ask my father to come along. Maybe an article in the Quibbler that lays out the truth could help rouse the public. Especially if my favorite wizard agrees to an interview."

She looked at him with pleading eyes and Harry laughed. "How can I say no to that face?"

"You can't," Luna grinned.

"I think my aunt would go along with that," Susan added. "It could give even more authority if the head of the DMLE goes on record too. I'm not sure if she wants to go that far, but we might need to do something drastic. I just hope it wouldn't cause too many problems with her job. But from everything I've heard from her recently, it's been a nightmare trying to keep everything in working order."

"Yeah, I imagine it wouldn't be a good place to work right now," Harry replied. "So, Saturday afternoon then?"

"If that works for you, yes. She said she wanted to meet at the Hog's Head. Apparently the bartender there owes her a favor, so she can have a private room set aside without any problems."

"Okay. I might contact a few others that may be able to help. Alastor Moody has given me good advice in the past, and if anyone knows how to hurt the Death Eaters, it's him. Plus, he already is working with your aunt, so maybe the two of them can come up with something more. If they need me to be a figurehead- or if 'the boy who lived' doing an interview helps get through to some of the sheep out there- well, better that than getting attacked again."

"We might be able to save some lives," Susan said. "There were four deaths in this most recent attack. Did you see that they've raised the bounty on all of the ones that escaped from Azkaban? They're up to five thousand galleons each, ten thousand for the two Lestranges. That's a fortune."

"You'd almost think there would be some sort of bounty hunters for that amount of money," Harry chuckled. "Someone's got to be desperate enough to try to track some of them down."

"I think most people are still too afraid because of what happened in the last war. That's what my aunt said anyway."

"I should go if I want to get a letter to my father quickly," Luna piped up.

"Why don't you just write something and I can take it to Hedwig?" Harry suggested. "We've got a free period first thing this morning, and I know Hedwig would like the chance to stretch her wings."

"Good idea."

"Is there anything else you need Susan?"

"Oh, um, no. I don't think so," she muttered with a small blush. "Are we going to have another meeting of the group soon?"

"Quidditch practice tomorrow night, I'm afraid. Angelina's been wanting to run more of them because we've got that final match coming up in three weeks. She's determined to finish school as a champion again."

"Ravenclaw doesn't have a chance against you guys. Oh, um, no offense Luna."

"That's quite alright, Susan," the blonde said with a look of indifference. "I always root for Harry anyway. I'm not particularly close with anyone in my house. Now, if Pansy played too, then we might have a problem."

"No thanks," she snorted. "That sport is for maniacs like Harry. I'll just be content with my victory celebration with my boyfriend."

"Well, I should be going then," Susan said. "I've got an assignment to work on and I should write my aunt to let her know you said yes, Harry. Um, talk to you later."

"Bye," Harry said as she hurried out the door.

"Meow," Luna teased as she looked at Pansy. "Did you really need to get the claws out like that? Susan seems pretty harmless."

"Bitch shouldn't be interested in my boyfriend then," she growled.

"You just don't like her because of her big boobies," Luna said with a frown. "Boobies are a wonderful thing, so you shouldn't have bad feelings towards them. Harry, you're going to have to remind Pansy exactly who has your favorite boobies."

"I certainly don't have anything better to do with my free period," he grinned.

"One moment," Luna said. "Winky?"

The little house-elf arrived with a pop. "What can Winky do for miss Luna?"

"Could you get me a piece of parchment and writing materials? I need to send a letter to my father."

"Winky could take a message to master."

"Oh, that's true, but my friend Harry's owl would enjoy the flight. Thank you for the offer though." As Winky popped away, Luna turned back to Harry. "Once I've got this finished, you can stop by the owlery, then drag Pansy to a broom closet and improve her mood."

"I like the way you think, Luna."

"I like the way I think too."

* * *

And so it was that a motley group met that Saturday afternoon in Hogsmeade. Harry, Pansy, and Luna had come together, and they ran into Xenophilius, Sirius, Tonks, and Moody who were waiting for them alongside Amelia and Susan Bones inside the Hog's Head right by the bar.

They soon followed the elder Bones up the stairs to an open door where there were a number of chairs sitting around an old table.

"I wasn't aware that we'd have quite so many people joining us today," Amelia began as she duplicated a couple of the chairs while Alastor began sealing the door and casting a number of privacy charms.

"Harry contacted me when he was trying to get in touch with Mad-Eye," Sirius replied. "Plus, I try to advise my godson when he's potentially looking at something as public as an interview. I'm somewhat surprised that his lawyer isn't here today too."

"I actually forgot," Harry shrugged. "We could always run it by Sam and see if he has any suggestions before going to print."

"As for me, I'm just here to keep Sirius out of trouble," Tonks said with a grin. "Mum told me he needed a minder, and from everything I've seen, she's right."

"They're trustworthy enough," Moody grunted. "I wouldn't have let them in otherwise."

"Alright, Alastor. Tonks, you know some of this already anyway. We've got a big problem at the ministry. Fudge and his cronies might be burying their heads in the sand, but my department knows that there's more going on here and that we're having to fight through red tape when we should be ramping up to deal with these terrorists. I know you told a lot of your fellow students about what happened at the end of last year, Harry, and I thank you for that. They told their families and the word got out to a lot of people, even if some of them would rather not believe it. Unfortunately, we've had Fudge putting pressure on the paper to keep from admitting what we all know to be true."

"It's not surprising," Harry sighed. "They're mostly still so terrified that they can't even say his name. That's why I try to always call him Tom Riddle instead. I mean, that is his actual name, plus I assume that if he doesn't want to go by it then he's probably ashamed of being so normal. Calling himself the Dark Lord Tom wouldn't inspire so much fear. That's something we should probably push if we're going to do an interview."

"I could do that," Xenophilius nodded. "The _Truth About the Dark Lord Tom_ might make for a good headline."

"You should probably put me at the top," Harry muttered. "The first official interview with the boy who lived will get a lot of interest, even from people who might otherwise believe the official ministry position about all these attacks. I don't really like it, but I am famous. We might as well use that for a good cause."

"I agree," Luna said. "You could use the bit about the Dark Lord Tom as a secondary headline, or maybe use it as an inside header, but for the cover we want something about Harry Potter's first official interview. That would also throw some salt in the eyes of the Prophet, getting that over on them."

"I like it," Xeno nodded. "Would you care to go on record as well, Madam Bones?"

"I believe I should. We probably do want to have Sam McKenzie here though for the interview. He's dealt with the ministry for decades, and he's probably better at wording things for public consumption than most of us would be."

"That is why I hired him," Harry agreed. "I guess I could try to floo him to see if he's available."

"Why don't you do that and we can order some refreshments downstairs while we wait," Amelia suggested.

"I'll stay to keep an eye on the room," Moody growled. "We don't want any intruders or eavesdroppers."

"Good idea Alastor," Harry grinned. "Want us to order something for you?"

"I've got my own." He pulled out a hip flask and took a swig.

"Okay. Could someone get me a butterbeer?" Harry asked.

"I'll get it, Harry," Sirius replied. "You go make your floo call."

Harry got up and a few of them followed him down the stairs. While the others went over to the bar and began talking to the gruff old bar man, he headed for the fireplace and stuck his head in.

"Sam? Are you home?"

A moment later, he heard a voice call out asking him to wait. "Harry, please tell me you don't have an emergency. Knowing your luck, this can't be a simple business call."

"Hey, don't jinx me," Harry snorted. "And this is a simple business call for once. I've got a group of concerned citizens who have gathered and we're speaking about putting together a sort of press release. It was suggested that your expertise would be of great help."

"Fine," Sam huffed. "But I'm billing you extra for the lack of notice. Do I need to dress up?"

"You know the Hog's Head?"

"I'll take that as a no," Sam chuckled. "Give me a few minutes to find my shoes on and I'll be right over."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Harry climbed back to his feet and turned around where he spotted several of his companions over at the bar getting drinks. Pansy saw him and winked holding two bottles of butterbeer. She really did take good care of him.

Most of the patrons of this little pub seemed pretty disreputable, and a number of them wore cloaks with hoods up and stuck to the dingy shadows of the place. He could only imagine what sort of trouble the barkeep might have had to deal with, especially since he was apparently on decent terms with the head of the DMLE. It certainly wasn't the friendly and loud atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks.

Unfortunately, that meant that Harry didn't see anything odd about the figure that moved towards his group of friends that was still at the bar. Alastor would have been so disappointed in him.

In the blink of an eye, the cloaked man reached out and grabbed for his target. But if Harry hadn't already learned that a parent could somehow break the laws of magic and reality judging by his parents' sacrifice that somehow saved him, he would always remember that moment.

The figure pushed past and reached out for Luna only for Xeno, in the blink of an eye, to step in the way and deflect the man in black. A piece of parchment was still falling to the floor behind him as the two of them disappeared with a crack.

"Daddy!"

* * *

For the last several months, Antonin Dolohov had dreamed of once again being unleashed on the world. The Lestranges had been allowed out, Bellatrix ever the favorite- even after her impetuous attack on her blood traitor sister had cost them the life of Rabastan. One dead mudblood was hardly worth the price of losing one of the master's most loyal followers.

It had made the Dark Lord more cautious for a time, although that night when they had been ambushed had once again changed things. Mad-Eye Moody, that old warhorse, was still a thorn in their side and he had somehow wiped out a significant portion of the master's forces.

The master's timeline had been moved up because of it.

That was why Dolohov was now in Hogsmeade. He had followed Potter and his two little whores into the Hog's Head. It was a lucky break that they had chosen such a spot- his dark cloak and pulled up hood would not be out of place there. The Death Eaters had surreptitiously used it before and none had been wiser.

Another lucky break happened when Moody himself had not been paying enough attention. Dolohov had been using a glamour just in case, but there were rumors that the old man's special eye could see through that sort of thing. The old man was apparently losing this touch. When the group went upstairs, Dolohov's task became one of waiting.

After nearly fifteen years, he had done plenty of waiting. Another hour wouldn't matter too much.

He had seen the little blood traitor whore that was now Potter's girlfriend- that fool Edmund Parkinson's daughter- and oh how he wished that he could have an hour or two alone with the little slut. He wouldn't kill her, unless the master had ordered it, but sending her back to Potter broken and violated would have been an even more savory treat.

In fact, that day in Hogsmeade, he could practically taste all of the little blood traitor whores. The word of the attack on the sons of several old families, in the Slytherin common room no less, had spread like an angry flame through the Death Eaters over the holidays, and the fact that so many pureblood daughters had dared to go against them was something that had most of them wanting to go out for blood. Potter had somehow turned most of what should have been fine, pure Slytherin witches into practically an entire generation of blood traitors.

They would all pay soon.

And that little weakling Goyle junior would be right beside them. If his father hadn't been killed in the January raid, the Dark Lord would have made him kill his own son for his treachery.

If all went according to plan today, Dolohov would have at least one play thing at his mercy though.

The plan was simple enough, even if he still wondered exactly why the master had ordered them all to leave the Parkinson girl alone. Something about how old magic had protected Potter before and that they were not to risk it again. If all went well though, she would soon enough be alone and vulnerable.

That was just the way Antonin Dolohov liked his women. Or his prey. It was all the same, really.

The Lovegood witch would have to be good enough for now. She was the target, and though she was to be a hostage at first, once she had worn out her usefulness, the Dark Lord had promised he would let them have her to do with as they pleased. Having a crucial role that day would put him at the front of the line too.

Finally, several of them came back down the stairs. While Potter went over to use the floo, the others gathered at the bar. Ordering drinks, unaware, and thankfully without Moody- now was his chance. Amelia Bones and her tasty little niece were there too, and oh if he could, Antonin would grab her as well. Two hostages would be better than one.

But as he moved towards the bar, ordering a shot of firewhisky and placing the parchment under the edge of the glass, the group shifted a bit. Lovegood and her father were still nearby, but the redhead was out of reach. Such a shame, but he would always have another chance later- especially as Amelia Bones was near the top of the list of people that the Dark Lord would be getting rid of very soon.

Dolohov downed his shot, palmed his wand and took a deep breath. Before they noticed anything, he crashed into the group and reached out for the girl just as he began to apparate.

But the damn fool next to her shoved her aside and grabbed onto him instead... and with that, Antonin knew that as soon as he arrived, the Dark Lord would not be pleased.

* * *

Hearing Luna's cry of alarm had Harry racing across the room. Xeno and the cloaked man had disappeared, and Harry had a feeling this was not some random attack. He picked up the parchment from the ground as some of the others were scanning the room for any other potential attackers while Pansy had her arms wrapped around Luna as she sobbed.

"What does it say, Harry?" Sirius asked.

He looked down and started to read. "It says that if I want to see the girl alive again, then..."

But before he could say anymore, Harry's scar felt like it was exploding. He didn't know it, but he let out a scream as he fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

" _CRUCIO!"_

Dolohov writhed as the Dark Lord punished him for his mistake. He had used it on the damned father first, but now it was his turn.

His nerves were still screaming out even as he realized the Dark Lord had released him from his torment. The cold hissing voice made it clear that he had better have a good explanation if he didn't want another dose.

"Now, Antonin, tell me why you have brought me the wrong person? I believe my instructions were quite clear."

"Forgive me, m-master," he groaned out before straightening up as best he could. "It is the girl's father. He stopped me from reaching the girl at the last moment."

"Is that true?" Voldemort turned to the bound form of Xenophilius Lovegood and looked him over. "Are you the father of Luna Lovegood? Answer me, worm!"

"Yes."

"I see." The Dark Lord paced for a moment as Crouch spoke up.

"Perhaps he will serve as a hostage just as well, my lord. Knowing Potter's supposed heroism, it seems unlikely that the boy will leave him to suffer. I believe the plan can still proceed."

"Yes, Barty. Everything should work out. But let me remind you all because I will not tolerate any further failures. Bring me that prophecy at all costs. If the boy can be captured or wounded, then I will be pleased. But he is not to be killed. Potter must suffer, he must know utter misery, he must in fact beg for death before I am done with him. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my lord," the Death Eaters all replied as they bowed.

"And what of the hostage, my lord?" Bellatrix asked.

"He won't be the sort of reward that many of you might have enjoyed," Voldemort chuckled. "But I suppose he might still be of some entertainment. Once he has outlived his purpose, do with him as you will. But above all, do not fail to bring me that orb.

"Bella, I will be most displeased if we lose any more of my followers due to carelessness. Do not take the boy lightly, or any that might be with him either. Am I understood?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. All of you will follow the lead of Augustus as he takes you down to the Department of Mysteries. Do not make any mistakes and do not fail me. Go now, and tonight we will celebrate our victory."

* * *

"Harry! Harry, wake up, please," Pansy's voice called to him and he felt something cool upon his forehead.

"What happened?"

"You screamed and collapsed when your scar burst open. It bled again. Please, tell me that doesn't mean what I'm afraid it means." Her voice was worried, but he didn't have any good news for her.

"I know where Xeno is."

"We read the note, Harry," Sirius replied. "Riddle's using him as bait, right? It was supposed to be Luna."

"Fucking hell," Harry muttered as he sat up. Luna was still crying as she sat next to Pansy. They were back in the room upstairs as Moody and Amelia were talking quietly behind the rest of the group. "I'm going after him."

"Harry, that's what they want," Sirius shook his head. "You're the real target here. Xeno just... got in the way. Unfortunately."

Luna let out a little sob at that and Harry reached over and pulled her to him. After the hug, he looked her in the eye and wiped away her tears.

"You listen to me, Luna. I am not willing to let you join Pansy and I in the orphan club. I promise you, I am going to bring Xeno home."

She nodded in response before hugging him tightly again.

"If we're going, she would be a liability," Alastor said. "I'm sorry, but it's true. We'll have trouble enough dealing with Death Eaters."

"I know," Harry said as he stood up. "We're going to need reinforcements though."

"I already thought of that, lad. I sent a message to Albus to have him join us immediately and to bring the cavalry. As for Amelia-"

"We're going to the ministry anyway," she continued. "We'll have someone stop by the auror department first and send out the emergency signal."

"Won't the ministry be busy?" Harry asked.

"It's the weekend, Harry," she snorted. "Most ministry workers would be horrified to think of working more than they had to."

"That might save lives, actually." Harry was already on his feet and heading for the door.

"Aunty, I want to come too," Susan said.

"No, Susan."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, but your parents would never allow it, and neither will I. You're my only niece, and I will stun you and leave you behind if I have to."

"Stay with us," Pansy suggested as she helped the still shocked Luna down the stairs. "We can wait for the headmaster and whoever he brings and we can tell them what we know."

They were soon back in front of the bar again, where Moody stopped briefly. "Sorry to do this, Abe, but Albus will be coming by. Keep an eye on the girls till he gets here, please?"

"Aye, Alastor, but you'll owe me one."

"Put it on my tab."

The barman snorted, but he pulled out a fresh round of butterbeers for the three girls who sat down in front of him. He also conjured up a clean rag, possibly the only clean thing they'd seen in the entire place, and handed it over to Luna.

The door slammed open and Parvati raced in, followed by her sister.

"Harry, what's going on?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Half the village heard Luna's screaming. Now, answer the damn question."

"A Death Eater kidnapped her father. We're mounting a rescue."

"Then I can come with you," Parvati said.

"Sis, you can't," Padma argued before being cut off.

"I can and I will. What do you think we've been learning with Harry for? Besides, only those Slytherins Carter and Abbot are any better than me when we duel, and neither of them are here. And I know a lot more healing than Harry does."

"Mother and father-"

"Aren't here," she once again shook off her sister. "I'm doing this. Don't try to stop me."

"Harry, please talk some sense into her," Padma begged.

"We don't have time. I'm not turning down any help right now. But Parvati, you need to follow our lead. Don't be reckless and don't make any mistakes. I don't plan on losing any friends today."

"I can do that."

"Good. Dobby?"

"Dobby is here sir," the elf answered without any sign that he had arrived. "Dobby will make sure master Harry and his friends all come home safe."

"I know you will," Harry nodded. "We're heading to the Department of Mysteries. Everyone stay together and be sharp. Expect our enemies to be waiting for us."

The floo roared to life as Alastor stepped through and the rescue party was on its way.


	83. The Department of Mysteries

* * *

A man stepped from the fireplace and entered the Hog's Head then looked around for his client. Unfortunately, he seemed to be missing. It took Sam McKenzie a minute, but he finally spotted Pansy sitting over at the bar with a few other girls, one of whom he thought he recognized as the niece of Amelia Bones. That wasn't too surprising given that there was supposedly a meeting of concerned citizens and he knew that Amelia had been well beyond frustrated with the minister.

Who could blame her?

He snorted to himself at that thought and headed over to the bar, shifting his briefcase over to his left hand as he walked. "Pansy? I assume you're part of this meeting that Harry invited me to?"

"Sam?" She turned to look at him and he noticed the blonde next to her that had clearly been crying.

"What's going on?"

"A Death Eater kidnapped Luna's father and Harry is leading a rescue party to the ministry. You just missed him."

"Hold on, I think you left out a few things," he said with a furrowed brow. "Why would a Death Eater kidnap this young lady's father?"

"He wasn't the target. Luna was. It's a trap that they're trying to draw Harry in to force him to get something that the Dark Lord wants."

"And Harry has gone off to spring this trap," Sam groaned. "Good Lord, Pansy, I thought you and I were keeping him from doing insanely dangerous things like this."

"Luna is our best friend, and this is Harry we're talking about," Pansy replied wearing a frown. "I couldn't stop him if I tried. But he didn't go alone. He's got Mad-Eye Moody, among others, with him."

"That's good. I take it Amelia went as well?"

"Correct. And Dobby too, thankfully."

"I never would have thought to put so much faith in a house-elf," Sam chuckled grimly. "Then again, I never had one, so I suppose you would know better than I do."

"That's it!" Luna interjected. "Winky!"

A popping sound revealed a female elf who looked up at the girl.

"What can Winky do for miss Luna?"

"Can you tell where daddy is?"

"Winky will check," the house-elf said as she closed her eyes and scrunched up her face for a moment. "Master Xeno is in a dark place. Winky cannot travel there. Winky is sorry, miss Luna. Winky has failed."

"Wait, Winky," Pansy stopped her as she looked dejected. "Maybe you can help us with a couple of other things. Could you get a calming draught for Luna first?"

"Winky could do that," she nodded before popping away.

"That will help," Pansy said as she turned to Luna. "I know you're worried, but we can talk to the headmaster as soon as he arrives. Hopefully, he'll bring a lot of help. If so, maybe we can go along and try to get Harry and your dad back safe and sound. But we'll need you to be able to handle it, okay sweetie? If the calming draught doesn't work, I'll stay here with you."

"Winky has potion for miss Luna!" the elf said with a little smile as she popped back in, handing over her prize. "Miss Luna needs to feel better, Winky knows this. Winky will take good care of her family."

"Thank you," Luna answered as she took a deep breath and gulped down the calming draught. "Hopefully this will work."

"We have a few minutes," Pansy added. "Winky, will you stay with us? You can help look after us, and maybe in a little while, you'll be able to get to your master and help make sure he is alright."

"Winky will do that, miss."

"Christ, I hope Dumbledore hurries," Sam sighed. "I hated living through this crap the last time you-know-who and his followers were running amok. It's even worse now that I'm too old for this sort of thing. I was hoping to retire in a few years, you know?"

"Come on, Sam, you don't look that old," Pansy teased. "I'm sure you've got plenty of time yet."

"Let's hope we all do," he muttered.

Before another word could be said, there was a deafening explosion.

* * *

Harry stepped through the floo right behind Alastor and came out in the lobby of the ministry of magic. He immediately noticed the silence and lifted his wand as he scanned the room. Alastor didn't seem to be too surprised by how empty it was on a weekend, but Harry soon spotted what his friend and mentor was looking at.

Behind a desk in the center of the room was a man slumped over in a pool of blood. If he didn't already know that the Death Eaters had arrived, Harry was sure of it now. They shouldn't have much of a head start, and hopefully that meant that Xeno wouldn't be in too bad a shape.

Dobby popped in next to him, the unusually loud sound letting Harry know that he was there. Sirius and Tonks were already through as well and they were splitting up to scan the rest of the lobby for any traps or other surprises.

"Can you tell where Xeno is Dobby?"

"Mister Xeno is down deep in the rooms where house-elves are blocked."

"Really? Someone actually blocked house-elves?"

"The Unspeakies do strange magic down there," Dobby answered. "They is not wanting house-elves, or any other wizards and witches, to interfere. From what Dobby has been told by other elves, we can move around once we are in their mystery rooms, but we cannot go in or out the usual way. And we must be brought by a master or mistress inside."

"So, you'll have to stick with me then. That will have to work. Stay out of sight for now. Once we get down there, I'll probably have you try to get Xeno clear from the Death Eaters. If you can pop some small amount, even just across a room, that could be a huge help. If they're taking him to the hall full of prophecies, then it's a really big room. If you can follow me to him, then you could grab him and get him over to the door leading out at least. That would put him out of the way of any fighting."

"Master Harry wouldn't have Dobby to watch over him though."

"I know you'll be fast," Harry said with a smile as he patted him on the shoulder. "I'll just have to take care of myself for a few seconds until my bodyguard can help me take out the trash. You know, I've never forgotten the look on his face when you blasted Lucius Malfoy down the hall when he tried to curse me three years ago. I have a feeling I'll be seeing something similar today."

"Dobby won't let you down."

"You never have." He leaned down and whispered. "Try to keep an eye on Parvati too, okay? She's my friend, and while I appreciate her wanting to help, I'd like to make sure she makes it home safe."

"What about the others, master Harry?"

"The others are adults, and I trust they can take care of themselves, but help out where you can."

"Dobby understands."

"Then follow me."

"Harry, you ready lad?" Alastor asked, with his magical eye facing the other direction over towards the lifts.

"Yeah."

"As for you, miss Patil," the old auror said as they all started walking across the empty lobby, "I expect you to be on your toes. Stick with Potter if you can and watch each other's backs. The rest of us have seen terrible things before. Do not freeze up, or else it may just be the last thing you do. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I imagine you might have wanted to stick next to Harry anyway," Moody grunted in a sort of half chuckle. "But don't do anything stupid."

There was a ding as a door opened and they stepped inside. Amelia held up her hand and stopped Tonks before she could join them though. "Not you, Tonks. One of us needs to go to the auror department and sound the emergency signal."

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm your boss and this is an order," Amelia said as Tonks scowled. "Look, you're the youngest of us, so you'll be the fastest. Try to get Gawain or Kingsley in to take charge, but Rufus will do in a pinch. Just make sure that whoever we've got, they summon every last one of us they can and tell them that whoever doesn't show will be personally answering to me. Got all that?"

"Yes, Madam Bones," Tonks muttered.

"Look, Tonks, just do that and then you can meet up with the rest of us," Amelia finished. "We're likely to need the help. Now move!"

A second ding was heard and Tonks went to a second lift. The door shut and the rest of them waited nervously as they headed for the ninth floor.

"Once we get there, we should split up," Harry suggested.

"That will be even more dangerous, lad."

"I know Alastor, but I've been in the Hall of Prophecies before."

"You have?" Amelia asked. "What in the name of Morgana were you doing in the Department of Mysteries?"

"I'm curious too," Moody added.

"Damn, I guess Dumbledore never told anyone," Harry sighed. "So, years and years ago, there was a prophecy made that a child would be born that would be able to stop the Dark Lord. Riddle thought it meant me, which is why he was after my family and why my parents went into hiding. But he never heard the whole thing, which I assume is why he's leading me there with a hostage. He wants that prophecy. Stupid bastard doesn't even realize it doesn't matter anymore."

"Why?" Alastor asked. "I don't know a lot about Divination, but real prophecies are supposed to be a big deal."

"Yeah, but they don't always come true, you know?" Harry replied as he shook his head. "The Hall of Prophecies is full of these orbs. From what I saw, more than half of them were dark. I was told that meant they either didn't come to pass or have been nullified in some way. And the one Riddle is so obsessed with is one of the dark ones."

"So..." Parvati began as she looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "You were this prophesized Chosen One? But now, you're not?"

"You're the one who takes Divination," Harry snorted. "How should I know?"

"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse," she frowned.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I think we should split up. I'm the only one they know will be coming. I'll head for Xeno and the orb. The rest of you can try to sneak up on the Death Eaters and curse them in the back while I distract them."

"That will leave you undefended," Sirius said. "I don't like it."

"Look, when I passed out, I had a vision."

"A vision?" Amelia scoffed. "Really?"

"Albus says they're real," Moody grumbled. "Says it has to do with Potter's scar and some sort of connection with Riddle."

"Yeah, I've had a few before," Harry shrugged. "Anyway, Riddle had his Death Eaters gathered around and he was giving them orders. He wants the orb more than anything else. Plus..."

"Plus what?" Sirius prodded as Harry had trailed off.

"Riddle told them not to kill me. He said he wants me to suffer first. So, if any of us are safe, or sort of safe anyway, it will be me. Besides, Dobby will protect me."

"Dobby will always protect master Harry!" the excited voice's elf responded, but they couldn't tell exactly where he was.

"See?" Harry smiled.

"I don't like it either," Amelia said. "But Potter has a point. If we can disillusion ourselves and sneak up on them, we should be able to take out some of the Death Eaters before they can attack us. How many of them did you see in this vision?"

"Ten or so. Maybe twelve at most."

"Alright, then we have some idea about what we're up against," Amelia nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "Let's get a few things straight then. Officially, my department has been tasked with capturing these fugitives. The only Death Eaters we still know about are Crouch, Crabbe, and the ones who were broken out of Azkaban. Crabbe would be the only problem, but let me worry about that. Crouch is still 'officially' dead. The ones who escaped are all wanted dead or alive.

"That means I want all of you to proceed with the utmost caution. But you should all be prepared to use lethal force if need be. We know none of them are likely to hold anything back."

"Not a problem for me, Amelia," Moody snorted. "I trust Black and Potter can handle themselves too."

"Parvati," Harry took her hand and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I..." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sod it!"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Harry's mind was dumbstruck, but his lips started to respond before Sirius let out a wolf whistle.

Parvati pulled back and smiled at him, then turned back to face the door. "If I die today, at least I got a chance to snog Harry."

Sirius laughed out loud at that while Harry's brain started to reboot.

"Don't distract the lad," Alastor growled. "Get your head in the game, Potter!"

"Right, right." Harry shook his head clear. "Right, so, the prophecy. They've got all these orbs, rows and rows of them. The one they're after is... not exactly in the middle of the room, but it's closer to that than one of the edges. If I head right for the orb, where I assume they'll have Xeno, then I will be a distraction. You can all flank them and get some of them in the back. We can at least start the fight by evening the odds some."

"They can do a lot short of killing you, Harry," Sirius said. "You and Xeno would be right in the middle of things when the curses start flying."

"That's where Dobby comes in. He's going to grab Xeno and get him out of there while I hand over the orb."

"You're going to give it to them?" Amelia asked.

"Sure," he shrugged. "It's just a dark piece of glass. There isn't even a record of what it said anymore. That will hopefully add to the distraction."

"You'll still be in the middle of everything," Sirius pointed out.

"Dobby will have my back. All we really have to do is grab Xeno and fight our way out of there."

"I wonder what you-know-who is up to," Amelia said with a frown. "I know Fudge is still denying his return, but if he wants this prophecy so bad, I would think he might come for it too."

"Good question," Alastor nodded. "We'll have to hope he's still overly confident in his forces."

" _Level nine, Department of Mysteries,_ " a voice said as the door opened.

* * *

Angus Crabbe looked on with glee as his blasting curse exploded into the bookstore. He could just imagine all the little snot-nosed Ravenclaws that used to look down on him when he was still at Hogwarts. He might not have been the brightest apple on the tree, but he still knew a few curses that could get the job done.

He turned and saw a nice looking teenage witch with blonde hair, probably a sixth or seventh year, and judging by the clothes she wore, almost certainly one of those little mudblood tarts. He was there to cause chaos, but a man had needs, and if he took a few moments to procure some fun for later in the evening, well would the Dark Lord really blame him for that?

" _Imperio!_ "

She turned to him and he let out a nasty grin. "Go wait for me by the Shrieking Shack. We'll have some fun once my work is done."

As the girl followed his directions, he turned back to the screaming voices in the village. The only question he had was which building he should aim for next.

Unfortunately, he saw Albus Dumbledore come blazing into the village. Angus held that lover of mudbloods and blood traitors responsible for the murder of his son- in his own common room, by Merlin- and he saw red.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

But the headmaster conjured a block of some fancy looking stone to block the killing curse, and Angus felt even more fury. He had another idea then.

" _Daemonis Ignis!_ "

He'd liked to see the old bastard try to block Fiendfyre. Angus just smiled as the cursed flames turned into a snake and flew straight at the headmaster. He lowered his wand and watched the fire roar towards its target.

But Albus Dumbledore was no slouch with a wand, and he had quickly summoned some sort of watery shield that turned the fire away.

And it headed straight back towards its caster, who panicked and tried to raise his wand to regain control of the spell.

Angus wasn't fast or strong enough though. The serpent roared as it consumed him.

* * *

"This doesn't look the same," Harry frowned.

"What do you mean?" Parvati asked.

"This isn't the way I came last time." They had traveled down a short hallway that ended with a single door. "There was a turn and then a long hallway."

"I'm guessing you were here last time with an Unspeakable accompanying you," Amelia said, which made Harry nod in agreement. "They have ways of getting around their department much quicker than uninvited guests."

"Which is what we are now," Alastor grumbled. "Those bloody researchers better not have anything down here that can get us killed. We've got enough to worry about."

"Only one way to find out," Sirius replied as he opened the door. "Oh bloody hell."

The door led to a barely-lit round room with a number of unmarked doors all situated evenly along its circular walls.

"Which one do we take?" Amelia asked.

"This one won't open," Harry said as he tried the closest handle.

"Neither will this one," Sirius added. He jumped as the door they had come through slammed shut behind Parvati, trapping them all inside. "Well, that's just great. Now what?"

And then the walls spun around, so they had no idea which door they had come through.

"Can this get any worse?" Sirius groaned.

"Dammit, Sirius, you just had to say that, didn't you?" Harry replied angrily. "This is just my luck."

"Alright, everyone, quiet down," Alastor said. "Let me get a good look at things and see if my eye can tell us which way to go."

They waited for several minutes as Alastor paced around the room, squatting over several times and peering at the door handles. Eventually he stopped. "I don't see any that lead us directly to what you've described, Harry. But this one does lead to a hallway, so it's maybe our best bet."

"This means they're probably going to have a big head start on us," Harry grimaced. "One of the escaped Death Eaters, Rookwood, used to work here, right? In my vision, Riddle told everyone to follow his lead."

"That makes sense," Amelia replied. "I don't know if the Unspeakables ever bothered to change any of their procedures or protections around this place. Knowing how the rest of the ministry is, I would guess they didn't."

She finished with a sigh as Moody nodded at her. "Aye, old Augustus was supposed to be locked up for life. That meant he wouldn't ever be able to come back, so why change anything? A bunch of lazy old men aren't going to do any more work than they have to."

"Okay. Let's see if we can find the right way and hopefully all make it out of here in one piece," Sirius said as they went through the door Moody had picked. The group marched on in silence for a few minutes until they came to a door along the wall on their left.

"Maybe this is it?" Parvati suggested.

"Dobby, can you sense anyone around here?" Harry asked.

"Yes, master Harry. Miss Luna's Xeno is in there."

"Can you tell exactly where?"

"No," the elf's voice once again answered, even as he remained invisible. "Too many strange magics are in this place. Dobby only knows because Dobby knows how mister Xeno's magic feels. But there are others with him."

"It sounds like what we were guessing," Harry nodded. "Alright, anybody have any better ideas, or should we go with my plan?"

"It's dangerous, lad, but other than that, I like it." Moody's eye spun around to each of them in turn. "We should decide who goes down each path before we head inside. We'll want to disillusion ourselves before we open the door as well. Patil, you stay nearest the door and prepare to run. You don't have the experience the rest of us do, and you've said you were going to help patch up any of us that need it. So, here's what I want you to do. While the rest of us go around, you stay on the closest path. After the opening blast, I want you to get back here to the door, do what you can for the hostage and get out as fast as you can. If the fighting heads your way, hide if you can. You won't do us any good if you get killed. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Amelia?"

"I'll follow your lead, Alastor. You've said my arse enough times that I trust you."

"Alright. Black, you can move faster if you shift forms. I want you to flank furthest around them, but be sure to be quiet. We can't blow this. I'll take the right side and Amelia can go left. Whenever Potter's got their attention, we'll blast as many of them as we can. No stunners either. Use whatever spell you've got that will do the most damage."

"Harry could get caught in the crossfire," Sirius protested.

"I can take care of myself. Just make sure that we start the fighting off on the right foot."

"Fine," Sirius growled.

"What should our signal be?" Amelia asked.

"That's up to you, Harry," Moody answered. "You'll be the one in the spotlight. When will you be ready for the shit to hit the fan?"

"I'll try to get them away from Xeno if I can. Maybe tell them to back off before I grab the prophecy. Once I've got it, I'll hand it over. Dobby, then you grab Xeno and get him out of the way, alright?"

"Dobby can do that."

"Good," Harry nodded. "Make it really loud when you pop him out of the way, okay?"

"Dobby will."

"Then that sound will be everyone's cue to let loose." Harry took a deep breath and looked over at Parvati and reached into the extended pocket for his cloak. "One last thing before we go in. This is my invisibility cloak. I know you can disillusion yourself, but you can use this to cover Xeno and hopefully the two of you can escape as fast as you can."

"I'll be careful with it, Harry."

"Thanks."

"Alright, we know the plan then," Alastor said. "Is everyone ready?"

* * *

"Oh no," Albus sighed as he saw the Death Eater had been killed by his own dark spell. Senseless death always appalled him, and he now had to try to gain control over the Fiendfyre before it could feast on anyone else.

That was much of the danger of the spell- it literally hungered for more destruction while it burned. His wand was a blur as he cast numerous spells, summoning water to put out any fires that might have started and then following up with something of his own design that was a sort of inverted bubblehead charm which would briefly remove all the oxygen from an area. He had to carefully guide the area of the spell, wanting to starve the flames of fuel without causing even more damage.

It seemed like it was working as the flames tried to roar once again only this time it was muffled, and he held the charm even longer as he watched the flames shrink down until they finally disappeared. He was sweating as he finally turned to the damaged building and hurried over to see if there was anyone he could save.

Thankfully, Minerva and Poppy were there as well and both witches were already sorting through the damage and checking over a few students who had been buried among the rubble. He noticed young miss Granger cradling one of her arms that was bent at a terrible angle, clearly broken.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

He turned as he saw a girl running up to him- one of the Patil twins, although without the school uniform, he wasn't sure which one. "What is it my dear?"

"There was a Death Eater-"

"I know, but he is no longer a danger to anyone. He should have known better than to cast such an uncontrollable spell."

"No, not that one. There was one in the Hog's Head, and he grabbed Luna Lovegood's father."

"Xenophilius? I wouldn't imagine the Death Eaters would have much reason to target him," Albus mused.

"No, sir, they were going for Luna. It's... I don't know the whole story, but Harry went after him. And my crazy sister went with him!"

"Oh my. Is there anyone who can tell me more?"

"Yes, sir, Pansy and Luna were there, and Susan Bones, and they're all waiting in the Hog's Head."

"I know the way." He ran off towards the bar and hoped that Aberforth would have some bit of good news. Alastor Moody's Patronus had said little other than there was a Death Eater attack and that he needed to bring the cavalry. When he had seen the attack in progress, he had hoped that things might be under control now, but apparently they were much, much worse.

And Harry Potter was once again in the middle of everything.

* * *

Harry slowly walked down the path he thought he remembered to where the orb he was looking for should be. He had glanced at a couple of the labels on the shelves to try to find his way, but all he could remember was that the prophecy the Death Eaters would be after was somewhere in the nineties.

After a few minutes, he knew he was close though- he saw Barty Crouch Junior and Bellatrix Lestrange standing over the bound form of Xeno Lovegood.

Now, he just had to hope this plan worked well enough to get them all out of here alive.

"Good of you to come, Potter," Crouch said. "I'm surprised you came alone though. Didn't your little whores want to come with you?"

"I don't put other people in danger when I can help it."

"Did little Harry come all by himself?" Bellatrix gleefully cackled. "That's so much better. I can play with you for a while before we take you to my master. This one wouldn't be nearly as much fun."

"Harry-" Xeno moaned out before Bellatrix hit him with a curse that let out a crack as his head rocked to the side.

"Leave him alone!"

"Oh, Harry, Harry," Bellatrix tutted. "That's not how this works. Maybe if you beg, I'll let you pick which of you I curse next."

"That's where you're wrong, Bella."

"Don't call me that!"

"Why not? It's what your sisters call you. I should know. I helped convince both of them to leave the country. After your last visit, Andi wasn't keen on sticking around. I'm just glad I talked Narcissa into leaving before you and your nasty little friends were freed."

"I'll kill you, Potter!"

"Stop, Bellatrix!" Crouch stepped in between the two of them. "The mission comes first. Or would you like to explain to the Dark Lord why you didn't follow his orders?"

"Fine, but get on with it, Barty."

"Now then," he nodded and turned back to face Harry. "Unlike some people, I can be reasonable. Come retrieve the prophecy my master requires and I'll let this fool go."

"That's why I'm here."

"Good. No tricks though, Potter, or I'll let Bellatrix have her fun with the both of you."

Harry nodded and stepped forward. He heard a couple of people step into the path behind him. He was near an aisle and he looked around for a moment and could see that it looked like there were a couple of Death Eaters surrounding him on all sides. That was just about what he expected though. It was almost time. He took a breath and looked down at Xeno, who thankfully seemed to be in one piece. He was shivering a bit, likely from Cruciatus exposure, but Harry didn't see any permanent damage.

"Take a step back," Harry said. "I'll get the prophecy, but both of you step away from Xeno."

"We're the ones in charge here, Potter," Crouch sneered.

"You can't get the prophecy without me. None of you can take it off the shelf. You want the orb so bad, then you will leave him alone."

"Or we could torture you both," Crouch replied.

"That won't get the orb though," Harry countered. "You've clearly got me outnumbered. Get away from Xeno or I don't take one more step."

"Potter-" Bellatrix was cut off by Crouch though.

"Fine. He doesn't matter to us anyway."

Harry nodded as they took a few steps back from Xeno and he dismissed the conjured ropes that had bound him.

"Harry, you can't-" Xeno muttered.

"Just hold on, okay. We'll get you out of here."

"Move, Potter!" Crouch yelled.

"Let me just find it," Harry replied, lighting his wand and searching the nearest shelves. "Let's see..."

He looked over the area twice, even after he had spotted the black orb with the correct tag. He took another deep breath and tried to steady himself for what was about to come. "Here it is."

Harry pulled the dark glass off the shelf and turned to face Crouch. He quickly walked by Xeno with the orb in his left hand, putting himself between Luna's father and the two nearest Death Eaters who were clearly leading this operation.

He was counting on Dobby, and that thought helped him clear his mind as he took the final step and reached out towards Crouch.

"What is the meaning of this?" Rookwood asked as Crouch grabbed the orb with a satisfied look.

And then everything exploded into action as Dobby grabbed onto Xeno and they disappeared with an incredibly loud crack. Curses rained down on the backs of the Death Eaters and Harry yelled out with his own banishing charm, blasting Bellatrix away from him and into one of the shelves on the other side of the aisle.

He followed that up by yelling out " _Protego!_ " and ducking as he heard debris crashing all around him.

A masked figure stepped forward and fired a curse at Harry that he barely dodged.

"You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

Dobby appeared at his side and the Death Eater's wand arm bent at an unnatural angle with an audible crack. Harry didn't hesitate in sending an explosive curse into the torso of his foe, and the man fell back into a pool of blood and bones.

Before Harry could start to try to fight his way free, he felt a body crash into his side.

* * *

Parvati ran as fast as she could. She was trying not to hyperventilate, but there had been so much blood. She had learned the blasting charm for a reason, but now, seeing its effects up close, it was much worse than she had imagined. The Death Eater was standing there, wand pointed at Harry one moment, and the next the top half of him was a spray of flesh, blood, and splinters of bone flying away from her.

It was a miracle that she hadn't vomited.

But some small part of her remembered the plan, so she ran for the door. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her voice was screaming out in her head, ' _Be okay, Harry, please, be okay!_ ' but all she could do at that moment was run for Luna's father and try to get him outside and away from all the chaos and screaming still going on behind her.

Then she saw Xeno, leaning against the wall, and she offered a prayer to all the gods and goddesses she could remember.

"Under here," she said as quietly as she could while throwing Harry's cloak over the both of them. "Can you stand up, mister Lovegood."

"I'll make it, but Harry-"

"He has help back in there," Parvati insisted as she pulled him towards the door. "It's my job to get the two of us out of this room."

"Alright."

She could tell he was weak, but he managed to stay on his feet as she opened the door. They shuffled outside and she closed it behind them. Parvati helped him stagger down the hall a bit, further away from the door before coming to a stop.

"I... I need a moment to rest," Xeno groaned.

"Just stay put, alright," she said as she thought about what she should do next. He wasn't moving very well, and trying to get them both back to that strange entrance room seemed unlikely. He might trip and that would make the cloak pointless, as well as making them both easy targets. Parvati would probably need to wait and hope for help.

There was a huge explosion that came from back in the Hall of Prophecies. Parvati winced but it jarred an idea loose.

"Come on, let's get to the other side of the hallway," she said as she pulled Xeno along with her. "We'll be a bit more out of the way."

He nodded and limped across the hall, his legs still quivering a bit.

Parvati removed the cloak and cast a disillusionment spell over him instead. The first time it didn't quite work right- his legs were still visible- so she started over and made sure to keep her focus despite the yelling she could still hear. That time, the spell was perfect as all of Xeno faded from sight.

"Try not to move, okay? We're going to wait here, and hope that one of our side comes out the door next." She heard him sliding down the wall, collapsing to the floor.

"What if it's one of theirs?"

Parvati gulped as she covered herself with the cloak again.

"Then I'll have to be ready."

She pointed her wand at the door and waited.

* * *

He was struggling to breathe as the Death Eater choked him. Harry wasn't sure who it was, but as they struggled the man's mask had been knocked loose and he saw a bit of blonde hair sticking out from the hood of his robe. He didn't recognize the face, but the look of pure rage on it was obvious enough.

Unfortunately, the Death Eater was much larger and stronger than Harry. Both their wands had been knocked loose as they collided, and now that physical difference was putting Harry in great risk. He knew the Dark Lord had ordered them not to kill him, but it looked like this bastard either didn't care about that order or was so caught up in the haze of battle that it no longer mattered.

Glass smashed over the back of the Death Eater's head and his hold on Harry was temporarily loosened.

Harry rolled, trying to get away from the larger man, but he merely turned the two of them on their sides as the Death Eater reached back for Harry's throat once again. Harry managed to get his left hand up to try to block his attacker, but his right arm was pinned across near his chest at an angle that he couldn't easily free it.

He remembered the extended pocket he'd kept his invisibility cloak and wriggled his arm, trying to get it low enough to reach down. The other man punched him in the side, but it was enough movement that let his arm finish sliding down. As he was choked again, he felt the handle of the little knife he used in Potions. Harry pulled back his left hand, letting the other man get a better grip on his throat, but then he jabbed his thumb into the Death Eater's right eye as hard as he could.

It got him a quick momentary cry of pain from the Death Eater and his throat was free again to gasp for breath, but it was all Harry needed. He pulled his right arm up and stabbed the man in the throat.

There was a second of gurgling before the Death Eater raised his hands, one trying to cover the wound, and the other went back to try to continue strangling Harry.

Harry responded by slashing at the man's face with the knife. He went near the eye, missing but causing a gash through his cheek. He tried again, this time gouging the Death Eater's left eye. He twisted and pulled the knife back out and the eye came with it.

That got the Death Eater to stop trying to choke Harry; instead he reached for the knife. But Harry was faster, and he again slashed for the man's throat. The Death Eater's left hand partially deflected the knife, but Harry still hit the back and side of his neck. There was a bit of blood, but not enough.

Harry was able to struggle free from the Death Eater though, and he used that extra bit of space to aim lower. He brought the knife down, stabbing into the man's stomach over and over. The Death Eater's response was too slow. By the time he got his free hand down to try to fight Harry off, he'd been stabbed four times. Harry ignored the weakening hand that was trying to stop him. He kept on stabbing, again and again.

The Death Eater gave one last ditch effort, throwing his larger body at Harry, tackling him onto his back. Harry's right arm and the knife were still free though. He stabbed the man in the side, once, twice, three times, and eventually he felt the man's resistance fading. Harry stabbed him one last time in the side and used the motion and force of the blow to roll them over.

The Death Eater slumped to the ground, one arm still feebly flailing at him. Now free, Harry leaned down and jabbed the knife into the man's throat again, the blade sliding all the way in. When he yanked it loose, there was one last spray of blood before the Death Eater collapsed.

"Get up, Potter!"

It was Moody's voice that had called to him, and Harry turned to see the old auror dueling against one of the Death Eaters who was on the defensive. Harry summoned his wand back to him, never more glad that he had mastered that spell wandlessly, and looked for the nearest enemy.

Alastor let out a cry of triumph as his foe was knocked to the ground, his mask sliding off.

"Jugson, you bastard," he growled. "I've waited a long damn time for this."

Harry saw him cast a number of nasty curses at the fallen Death Eater.

"That's right. Scream you fucking monster! Scream and beg me for mercy!"

"Alastor!" Harry yelled, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Look at me, you fucking piece of shit. I want you to know that it was me who sent you to hell. This is for my niece, you murdering filth. _Confringo!_ "

Moody's blasting curse tore apart the Death Eater.

But Harry realized that he'd heard another voice casting the same spell just as an explosion knocked the old man onto the ground. He threw up a shield charm to block the debris, and once it cleared, he saw Moody's wooden leg was gone, the clawed foot blown to splinters. There was a bit of blood leaking down from the stump near his knee.

"Karkaroff," Alastor growled, raising his wand and firing a curse. "Just like you to curse someone when their back is turned."

"You shouldn't be such a foolish old man to leave yourself exposed," Karkaroff sneered. "Your time is up, Mad-Eye!"

Neither of them had seen Harry though, who fired an explosive curse into the man who had forced him into the Triwizard Tournament. His aim was slightly off, but it was enough to blow Karkaroff's wand arm off at the shoulder and it took a chunk out of that shoulder and the top of his chest as well.

The Death Eater spun and fell, looking up at Harry for one moment before his eyes went blank.

"Dammit, Alastor, how the hell am I going to get you out of here now?" Harry grumbled as he tried to pull his mentor upright.

"Cover me for a moment, lad."

Harry nodded and scanned the surrounding area.

* * *

Barty was furious as he ran towards the door. His master was going to be even more furious, but he would at least get the prophecy orb back to him. He heard the din of battle behind him as he ducked and turned down another aisle, finally spotting his goal.

Everything had gone wrong and that blasted Potter was to blame once again. Barty should have known he would have brought allies with him, but how had he known so well what their plan was? They must have been disillusioned and waiting to spring the ambush, turning the Death Eaters' trap back around on them. It was incredibly frustrating, but he was going to fulfill the Dark Lord's primary order _or die trying._

He was his most loyal follower, after all.

Just as he reached the door, he stopped for a second. If Potter had help, then it was possible there would be others waiting outside. He cast a disillusionment spell on himself, checked his rear one last time, and opened the door.

He raised his wand and stepped out into the hallway but saw no one.

Barty had no idea how the others were doing, but at that moment, he didn't really care. It was just too bad that Rookwood wasn't with him. That would have made his way out of the building much easier- but he'd seen Augustus' head go flying off his body in that opening salvo. Amelia Bones had been there, and Barty had fired an exploding curse at her as he fled. He didn't think he'd scored a killing blow, but it had been enough to create a path for him away from the battle.

He started off down the hall, pausing for only a second as he thought he heard something. It had sounded like breathing. He began walking again, thinking that it must have been that fool Lovegood. He'd escaped their clutches somehow, so maybe he was hiding in the hallway and waiting for the others to help him flee.

Barty saw the way out, and clutched the orb tight to his chest as he carefully opened the door that would lead him back to the lifts.

Just before he left, he fired a blasting curse down the hall behind him and then closed the door.

* * *

Tonks had run the entire way and nearly knocked the door off its hinges when she entered the auror department. There was one guy on duty who was dozing at his desk, but she ignored him and headed straight for the department's floo.

"Come on, Kingsley! Dammit, I know you're home!" She was bouncing on her knees as she knelt in front of the fireplace. Just before she signed off to try Robards, a voice finally answered her call.

"Tonks, I didn't think you had weekend duty."

"No time! I need you to get here and call in everyone. We've got Death Eaters in the ministry. A bunch of them too, and a hostage situation. All down in the Department of Mysteries."

"Oh hell," Shacklebolt said as he grabbed his wand. "Step back, I'm coming through."

She scooted back out of the way, falling on her butt as she did before quickly climbing to her feet. "Mad-Eye and Amelia are down there already. We've got a rescue party, but we need everyone we can to help. Maybe a dozen of the Dark Lord's forces are here, including some of the ones who broke out of Azkaban."

"I understand. I'll call everyone in as fast as I can."

"Good, I'm going down there," Tonks said as she turned to leave.

"Wait! You can't go down there on your own. Wait for some back up."

"The hell with that," Tonks shouted. "I've got family down there, Kingsley. You get the others coming, but I'm not leaving my cousins down there without me."

"Black?" Shacklebolt asked.

"And Potter," she nodded.

"Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. "This is going to be a mess as soon as Fudge hears about it. Just... be careful, Tonks."

"I will," she answered as she ran off, needing to get back to take the lift down as fast as she could.

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Parvati groaned but tried to sit up. She'd attempted to shield against the curse that she heard and it looked like it was enough to save her from any serious damage. Her ankle felt a bit tender though; she must have rolled it when she had fallen.

"Xeno, is that you?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I think I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'll live. A bit of something hit my arm, but I don't think it's broken."

"What was that?" Parvati wondered.

"I think one of them got past us. I heard something from the other end of the hall."

"Damn. Well, let's just hope the others are alright."

* * *

Moody had conjured up a wooden peg leg and managed to stand as Harry helped him up.

"Will that last?" he asked.

"Long enough to get us out here, lad."

"Then let's move."

There was a crash down a nearby aisle. Moody nodded and raised his wand as Harry disillusioned himself and crept forward to see who was still standing.

He soon turned around a shelf and saw Sirius and Bellatrix taunting each other as they fired curses.

"I'm going to gut you, slowly, blood traitor!" She fired an explosive curse that Sirius shielded.

"Bella, you crazy bitch, you're the blood traitor!" He responded with a reductor curse that she deflected, knocking several prophecies off the nearest shelf. The din of voices from the orbs muddied together.

"How dare you! You're the one who turned his back on our family!"

"That's because our family was full of awful cunts like my mother. That bitch cursed me, her own son, and that's actually betraying her own blood. Then she got my little brother killed by that spawn of a squib whose cock you want to swallow. Joke's on you though, Bella- Harry told me Riddle's reborn snaky demonic body no longer has anything between his legs."

Sirius laughed as Bellatrix screamed in rage and fired a killing curse at him. He summoned an orb into the path and shielded as the glass exploded.

"Did Riddle ever tell you how he killed his own father and grandparents? That's a true blood traitor, that one. And you're the one who betrayed your own sister by killing her husband. That makes you a blood traitor as well."

"That filthy mudblood was nothing, and my sister was a fool to sully herself with scum."

They sent reductor curses at each other that collided and let out a crack that made Harry wince.

"I feel sorry for you, Bella. I still remember the girl you were, and the promise you had. Look at you now, nothing more than a raving mad-woman, your beauty faded, the prime of your life wasted first serving a monster and then years spent in Azkaban. You should have turned away from our family while you still had a chance at a life that might have meant something."

"It will mean something when the Dark Lord rules again," she sneered. "And it will mean even more when I kill you. _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Sirius barely leapt aside as the green light went just wide of his left arm.

Harry had a clear shot now and he sent an explosive curse at her. The witch was fast though, and she turned and brought up a shield just as the spell hit her. It was still enough to knock her off her feet and careening into another shelf full of prophecies.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled. "Time to get out of here!"

His godfather looked tired, bent over at the waist and catching his breath, but he glanced up, nodded, and shifted into Padfoot. The grim trotted over towards Harry.

" _Crucio!_ "

Harry didn't see the spell coming, but just as it would have hit, the huge black dog dove into the path and let out a terrible howl.

He looked up and saw Bellatrix had gotten to her feet and was grinning ear to ear as she held the torture curse on his godfather.

" _Confringo!_ "

Now that she wasn't standing too close to Sirius, Harry had no reason to hold anything back. He blasted the crazy bitch through the shelves she had crashed into, and judging by the sound, probably through a couple of others as well. There followed a nearly deafening sound of hundreds of glass orbs crashing to the ground and voices crying out as the records of untold prophecies were destroyed.

"Sirius?"

Padfoot looked up at him and whined, but struggled back onto all four legs and barked as it started walking down the aisle.

"Alastor?"

Harry caught Amelia Bones as she staggered around a corner and almost ran into them. She had blood running down from a gash on her left temple and her monocle was long gone, but at least she was still standing.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Where's Mad-Eye?"

"This way, Amelia," he grumbled. Moody was leaning against an empty shelf. "Any more of them still out there?"

"Greyback's here," she answered. "He nearly had me, but I banished him into the wall. I ran into Bellatrix then, but she got distracted by Black. When I looked back, Greyback was gone."

"Fucking hell," Moody muttered. "Anybody know what time it is?"

"It can't be later than four or five," Harry replied. "Can it?"

"We need to hurry," Moody said. "Tonight's a full moon."

"Let's move." Harry stepped forward and Padfoot walked alongside him. Moody and Amelia were following them and Harry was scanning for more enemies as well as trying to remember which way led to the door. In all the chaos, he'd gotten turned around too many times to count.

A roar made him turn just as he saw Fenrir Greyback smash into Moody, sending them both tumbling to the ground as well as knocking Amelia over. Sirius growled and leapt onto his back but he was knocked aside by the huge man who turned back to Alastor and raked one clawed hand across his face.

Harry was just about to curse him when he felt an explosion behind him.

As he turned, he saw Dobby had appeared and blocked the spell, but the little elf had been thrown across the aisle, smashing into a shelf and falling to the floor. The Death Eater was still standing behind them, and he turned his wand back to Harry.

" _Reducto!_ "

Harry was faster though, and his reductor curse hit his target right in the wand hand. The wand itself exploded, and it looked like it might have taken a couple of fingers along with it.

The Death Eater howled out in pain, but he had apparently brought another weapon as well, a long dagger in his left hand, and he charged at Harry.

" _Depulso!_ "

Harry knocked the man off his feet and then followed up by disarming him of the blade. He sent a blasting curse into the fallen Death Eater and then picked up the dagger.

He turned and saw Greyback was about to overpower Alastor, who was still fighting as best as he could even with the larger man on top of him. His wand was knocked out of his hand though, and Harry saw that he couldn't easily target Greyback without hitting his friend as well.

"Greyback!" Amelia had gotten back to her feet and fired a bonebreaker that yanked one of his arms out of his socket. The man growled and rose to his feet, clearly deciding to change prey.

Harry saw his chance and fired a cutting curse at him. It put a gash across the feral looking man's face, but he just growled in response. Harry tried another tactic and banished the dagger at the man's torso. He started to pull it free, seeming not even to notice the blood that rushed out when another blade came out from the other side.

Alastor was standing again, barely, and he had shoved a conjured sword through Greyback's right side. It was high enough to have torn through his lung, and judging by the wheeze he let out, even a werewolf near the full moon still felt that.

Harry let out a gasp as Greyback finally fell. Sirius shifted back into his human form and conjured a sword of his own. He stabbed Greyback, who was still moving, struggling to pull the blade from his back. He couldn't reach it, but he snarled at Sirius anyway, who stabbed him again.

"That's for Mooney, you bastard." Sirius stabbed him again and Greyback tried to growl in response but it mostly came out as a gurgled half-breath. He coughed up some blood and kept clawing for the blade in his back.

Sirius stepped a bit closer, and this time he slashed through Greyback's neck. It wasn't quite a clean decapitation as the sword got stuck in his spine, but the spray of blood was immense, and the light left the Death Eater's eyes.

"Dobby!"

With the fighting over, Harry raced over to check on the house-elf. "Dobby, please don't be dead."

"Let me see him, Potter," Amelia said as she knelt down by him. She muttered an incantation that Harry didn't recognize and let out a deep breath. "He's alive- just knocked unconscious. It looks like he's magically exhausted too. The protections on this place might have taken more out of him when he tried to apparate around the battlefield."

"I've got him," Harry said as he picked his little friend up and cradled him in his arms. "Alastor, are you alright?"

The old auror limped over to join them and Harry saw a couple of new scars across his face. His magical eye had been knocked out and the socket was empty behind it.

"Anyone see my eye?"

"Here it is," Sirius answered, holding up something covered in gore. "Looks like it's got a lot of Greyback all over it though."

"Bloody hell," Alastor muttered. "Give it here. I'll have to clean it later. I'm going to be relying on the rest of you some from here on out."

"And we don't know if any of the rest of the Death Eaters are still standing," Amelia said.

"Let's hurry and get out of here, then," Sirius said.

* * *

"Harry, are you alright?"

"Parvati?" he asked. She must have still been under the invisibility cloak, which proved true as she removed it and lowered her wand that had been pointing at them as they came out of what was left of the Hall of Prophecies.

"What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're covered in blood," she stated.

"Most of it isn't mine," he shrugged. "Is Xeno okay?"

"I'll live, Harry," he said. Amelia followed his voice over and canceled the disillusionment spell.

"Then it's time for us all to get out of here," Moody said as he turned and cast something that Harry didn't recognize at the door behind him. As he noticed his audience, he clarified, "just in case any of them are still alive."

They all started trudging down the hall. Parvati told them of someone making it past them invisibly earlier, and Harry assumed that it must have been Barty Crouch. It seemed at least one of the Death Eaters was going to follow Riddle's orders rather than sticking around for the battle. Since Harry and his comrades were all still alive, he was happy to trade off the useless orb and lone Death Eater survivor.

They got to the door and the round room once again just as an explosion rang out, far down the hall from where they had just come.

Bellatrix Lestrange was standing there, looking somehow even more stark raving mad than usual. Her right arm looked to be dislocated and she was limping even as she gave them a wicked smile and screamed out, " _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Harry slammed the door shut and heard it crack as the wall spun around once again.

"Bloody hell, that witch just won't die."

That was followed by another spell smashing into the door that was now clearly marked as the one that had led them to the Hall of Prophecies.

"We've got too many wounded," Sirius said. "We need to get into one of these rooms and try to blast Bella before she gets in here and starts firing off curses."

"Fine," Harry said. "Let's just open a door and go through then."

He yanked open the nearest door and they all started to go through it just as Bellatrix's cackle was heard behind them when she blasted open the door.

"Move!" Moody yelled as he tried to distract her with an explosive spell of his own, which she shielded.

Harry had rushed through and set Dobby down, hopefully out of the way when he felt someone bump into him and trip him down a set of stairs. Before he could get to his feet, he heard yet another blasting curse ring out.

" _Confringo!_ "

His ears were still ringing and his head was pounding a moment later when he felt an arm yank him to his feet.

"I'm not done with you yet, Potter!" Bellatrix gleefully cackled.

"Get away from my godson, you bitch!"

* * *

Tonks had tried several doors and was feeling more than a little frustrated. She was seriously tempted to grab one of those time turners and twist it back so that she could reach Sirius, Harry and the others, who even now could still be fighting for their lives. However, she'd heard the warning about time travel before and she knew that it could do a lot more harm than good.

That didn't mean it wasn't on her mind though, but she shook the thought away and headed back to the doorway she'd come through a few minutes prior.

This time everything was different. One of the unlabeled doors in that annoying round room was split nearly in half and another had been completely destroyed. It was through the empty doorway that she saw Sirius, Harry, and her evil aunt standing in front of an archway with a tattered black curtain.

* * *

Harry had lost his wand in that last explosion, and while he could now focus on what was happening, he couldn't easily summon it to him with Bella holding a dagger to his throat with one hand and her wand pressed against his face with the other. Sirius was still growling at her, but her threatening to harm Harry as well as using him as a human shield meant that the old dog couldn't do much at the moment.

He just had to hope that the others were okay. Harry saw Parvati was still alive at least, across the room and still standing on those stairs he'd been knocked down. She seemed to be trying to heal Amelia Bones, who was attempting to sit up.

Alastor was down on the ground about thirty feet away from Harry. He'd been sent flying by one of the blasting curses, but Harry thought he could see his mentor still breathing, even if he was now out of the fight.

That didn't leave them many options.

Bella was focused on Sirius though as they continued to shout insults at each other. Harry smiled as he saw Tonks come in through the empty doorway just before she disappeared. He watched closely, and a moment later he thought he spotted where she was- there was a distinct little shimmer in the air, and he assumed it was from her movement as the disillusionment spell did have that one drawback.

Harry motioned to his right, hoping she would take the hint and flank around them. If he could just give her an opening, she might be able to get the drop on Bellatrix. It was the best Harry could hope for at that moment.

He saw a shimmer again moving to his right and gulped as he knew this could hurt. Hopefully he could twist away from the blade at least.

"I'll kill all of you filth and blood traitors!" Bellatrix was still ranting.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He waited another moment and saw his chance- Bellatrix briefly waved the dagger at Sirius as she continued yelling at him. Harry took the opportunity and threw an elbow back into her side and tried to twist free.

Tonks had been waiting for just such a moment and she fired a bone breaker at the same time. It caught Bellatrix in the side and she was knocked off her feet with a gasp.

Harry rolled away and climbed back to his feet, summoning his wand as he stood. He fired a disarming charm at his former captor before he saw the damage that Tonks had done as one of her aunt's ribs was sticking through her robes and blood was pooling around her chest.

"That was for my dad," Tonks said as she stepped forward. "Go to hell, aunt Bella. _Diffindo!_ "

Her anger must have powered the spell as Bellatrix gave only a brief gurgle before the light left her eyes.

"Tonks, you are officially my favorite cousin," Harry gasped as he felt Sirius run up to hug him.

"I was afraid it was going to take an army to finally kill her," Sirius chuckled when he pulled back. "The crazy bitch just didn't know when to quit. I think, in a weird way, I'm almost proud of her for that. The girl I grew up with so long ago would have felt that way, for her determination if nothing else."

"She was certainly determined," Harry agreed with a nod. "Are you alright, Tonks?"

"I-" she had been staring at the dead body and she shook herself before turning to them. "Yeah, I think so. Or I will be."

"Good, let's check on the others and get the bloody hell out of here," Harry said.

* * *

Pansy watched as the headmaster, McGonagall, and another wizard she didn't recognize went through the floo to the ministry. Madam Pomfrey and professor Flitwick had taken charge of the chaos in the village, which had somehow not managed to include any casualties.

She wondered with a smirk if Granger would still feel like Harry was too ruthless now that a Death Eater attack had broken her arm. The bitch was too lucky if you asked Pansy. Granger hadn't had her entire childhood ruined by one of the monsters, nor had her mother killed by one. That sort of thing tended to change your opinion about whether or not any of these bastards deserved even a hint of mercy.

Susan Bones went next through the floo- apparently, without her aunt there to stop her, the Hufflepuff girl had decided to come along to try to help with the reinforcements. As much as Pansy still had some nasty feelings towards the busty girl, she could admit that any help against Death Eaters would be a good thing. Besides, Harry clearly wasn't interested in her, so maybe Pansy should give her a break.

She thought she felt a little twinge of something just before she reached the fireplace.

Then all of a sudden she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head as she fell into Luna. She never heard her friend screaming her name, nor felt her fingers trying to find a pulse.

* * *

"You know, there is one good thing about all of this," Amelia said as the lift began taking them back up to the lobby. She'd finally run into a few more aurors on the path to the Department of Mysteries. She'd ordered them to cordon off the entire area for the time being until she could come back and personally direct the investigation of what had happened. They were waiting for an Unspeakable to arrive as well. She imagined they would be horrified by what had happened to the Hall of Prophecies, but she was alive and not in too bad a shape, so all things considered, today counted as a victory.

"What one good thing?" Tonks asked.

"Lots more dead Death Eaters," Alastor snorted as he leaned against the wall. He was on his second conjured peg leg, hoping this one would last till they could get to St. Mungo's. Getting something more permanent crafted was going to delay him for any more fighting for a few days, but he felt too relieved at finally putting down Jugson to care. The Lestranges and others were a bonus.

"That too," Amelia said with a dry chuckle. "But I was referring to the fact that you're all going to be rich."

"More rich in my case," Sirius added. "Did anyone tally up just who all we got today? I couldn't recognize some of them that were still wearing their masks."

"You got Rudolphus in the opening salvo," Alastor answered. "At the same time, miss Patil got Dolohov before fleeing to get Lovegood taken care of. Good job, lass."

"Thanks," she said quietly. "Can we not officially say that I did that though?"

"Why? I already said that I would make sure none of you were penalized for today's actions," Amelia clarified. "Besides, he was wanted, dead or alive."

"It's not that," Parvati replied with a sigh. "I'm still a minor, and my parents... They come from more traditional families. I don't want them to have that money and keep it from me."

"Why would they do that?" Tonks asked.

"Because I expect them to be very angry with me in a year or two. Once I come of age and finish my education, they will be arranging a marriage for me and I have no intention of going along with their plans. Could we say Harry got that one instead?"

"Why Harry?" Amelia wondered.

"I told her that I will help her if that comes to pass," Harry replied. "If it means running away from her family, she'll need support. Monetary or otherwise, but if I could put that reward away in a vault for her, she'd be in a lot better shape."

"Do you trust Harry that much?" Amelia asked.

"I do," Parvati said with a smile. "He's a good friend. Hopefully, he might even be more than that someday."

"But he's got a girlfriend," Tonks said.

"Yeah, but Harry probably needs another girl to help look after him," Parvati teased. "See all the trouble he got into today? I have faith that I'll talk Pansy into sharing him one of these days."

"I suppose we can say that Harry was responsible for Dolohov then," Amelia said. "After all, he is responsible for you being here today. As long as you're sure that's what you want to do."

Parvati nodded.

"What about the others? I know I put down Rookwood," Amelia added.

"I got Mulciber and Jugson," Moody answered before looking down at Dobby, once again cradled in Harry's arms. "Dobby helped Potter take down Travers and Gibbon. Harry got Rowle and Karkaroff by himself. We all worked together to get Greyback. And Tonks finished off Bellatrix."

"I suggest we let one of you take the credit for Greyback too," Amelia said. "I won't feel right about accepting the bounty for Rookwood as is. The money would be coming from my department and I don't want to be accused of corruption when I've been trying to fight it for months now. I'll probably donate the reward to St. Mungo's."

"We should give Potter credit for that one then," Alastor said, patting his protege on the arm. "I don't need the reward and Black would just waste it on cheap booze and women anyway."

"Hey!" Sirius yelped before starting to grin. "The booze wouldn't be cheap."

"Harry's had far too much placed on his shoulders," Alastor continued, ignoring the joke. "You did well today, son. You deserve a reward. As far as we know, Riddle's almost out of followers now. We're in much better shape than we ever have been since Riddle first rose to power."

"We all made it out alive. As long as I can get Xeno back to Luna safely, that's what matters the most to me." Harry smiled over at Xeno who nodded at him thankfully as he leaned against Sirius. He was still a bit shaky and tired looking though. They could all probably do with a trip to the healers.

The lift stopped, announcing their arrival at the lobby, and they were met with silence.

Harry tapped Parvati on the shoulder. "Would you hold onto Dobby for a minute?"

"Sure."

"I don't see anyone out there," Moody grumbled. "My eye would be handy, but for now this will have to do. _Homenum Revelio!_ "

Harry felt a wave of magic pass him by and move towards the seemingly empty lobby.

"No results," Alastor said.

"I'll take a look anyway," Harry added. "Make sure we've got a clear path to the floos, just in case Crouch left us any surprises as he escaped."

"Be careful," Parvati said.

Harry nodded and stepped out, looking everywhere and trying out his own revealing charms. He got no responses as he crept towards his destination, a row of fireplaces across the room. Everything seemed to be clear, so he turned and motioned for the others to come out as well.

His scar burned for a second just as he heard the cold voice hiss behind him.

"Harry Potter."

He turned with his wand raised as he saw Voldemort had apparated in and stood staring at him with those blood red eyes.

"Once again you attempt to disturb my plans."

" _Confringo!_ "

The Dark Lord proved up to his reputation, as he casually deflected the spell and continued to speak. "I think you've been enough of a distraction, Harry. Today, you will die. But first, I want you to know that the world will fall before my feet. All those you care about will suffer, and you will be unable to do anything more to help them."

Harry had kept casting, firing explosive and reductor charms at Voldemort who blocked them all. There was a noise off to his side as he heard a number of people coming through the floos, and he thought for a moment that he heard the flash from a camera.

"Goodbye Potter. _Avada Kedavra!_ "

He saw the green light coming towards him too fast for him to dodge. In that last half second, he heard Parvati's scream and he felt something odd tugging at him. He thought of Pansy just before the spell struck his chest and his body fell to the floor.


	84. A Brush with Death

* * *

Her last brief thought was of Harry... and then nothingness was all around her for what somehow felt like an both an eternity and only a few seconds.

But Pansy's awareness began to change. She couldn't see or hear anything, but she felt a presence that was both warm and comforting. Then came a memory of a smiling face that she hadn't seen since she was a small girl. The sound of a voice singing a French lullaby. She could feel a pull trying to accept her, but she could not... _she would not_ leave him.

The presence accepted her choice, and she was resolved to find her way back to Harry.

She just wasn't sure how she was supposed to do that.

* * *

Harry had known terrible pain before, and yet he awoke to find that dying didn't hurt nearly as much as he would have expected it to. He climbed to his feet and saw that he was still wearing the same clothes he had been earlier that day, although thankfully he was no longer covered in blood.

He looked around and saw that he was still in the lobby of the ministry building, but that all color had faded away and there were no other people around him. Looking over at the fountain, he could see the bubbling water seemed to be stuck, unable to move. He was different though- so he walked over to it and tried to stick his hand in... but it waved right through the surface without making contact.

"Weird," he muttered. "If this is the afterlife... it's more boring than I thought it would be."

Weren't there supposed to be other people in Heaven?

Or Hell, for that matter? He had killed a lot of people after all, and while Harry couldn't remember most of the ten commandments that he'd briefly heard about many years ago, he was pretty sure that 'Thou shalt not kill' was one of the biggest of them.

Not that he'd been much of a believer in anything during his short life. He'd occasionally mused that someone had it out for him, whether that be a cosmic power like fate, an unfriendly deity, or just some really awful luck. Other than that, all he'd ever really believed in was-

 _Pansy_.

He believed in her and their love, and he wished more than anything that he could be back with her. It felt like a dagger to the heart and he leant over and tried not to hyperventilate. What could he do now?

**"Be at peace, Harry Potter."**

The voice that spoke was like nothing he'd ever heard before, although he wasn't sure if it was truly sound that his ears experienced or something that went directly into his brain. Did he even have a brain anymore? His body seemed to be intangible when he tried to touch the water. Was he a spirit?

"Who said that?"

**"Are you truly ready for an answer, mortal?"**

'Oh shit,' Harry thought. That couldn't be a good thing.

"I don't know," he replied. "I wasn't ready to die today. I don't guess most people really are ready to die. Maybe someone old with a terminal disease, maybe they've accepted what has happened and are somewhat prepared to move on. I'm still only fifteen. I want to go back, to have a chance to live my life with Pansy."

**"And what would you give for a chance like that?"**

Almost immediately, Harry began to say 'anything,' only to force himself not to speak. He didn't want to make some sort of deal with the devil that ruined everything he wanted. It wouldn't matter if he got back to her only for her to suffer some terrible fate.

**"Do not fear me, Harry Potter."**

"Who are you?" he asked the voice and an overwhelming amount of pressure forced him to his knees. His head was pounding and he couldn't keep his eyes open- the image of the ministry had been replaced by something indescribably dark. He imagined it was how space might have looked to the astronauts, only with a million times more existential dread at the idea of being so incredibly tiny in the greater scheme of things.

"Sorry about that."

He was sure he actually heard this new voice and he sat up, one eye peeking open and seeing a rather distinguished looking older gentleman in a fancy three piece suit. He had grey hair and he was smiling but the light somehow didn't reach his eyes.

And they were a very familiar shade of green.

"Can I help you up, Harry?"

The older man reached out a hand and Harry took it as he was pulled back to his feet.

"As for who I am, that's not a question easily answered. I have taken this form to make communicating with you easier." He waved a hand behind him and conjured himself a chair, sat down and then looked back at Harry and nodded at another chair that appeared a few feet in front of him. "Why don't we sit down? We have a lot to discuss."

"Thanks. What exactly do we have to discuss?"

"Let me begin by answering your original question. I am a representation of Death."

"A representation?"

"As a human being, you are only capable of interacting with Death on a certain level. Why do you think it felt so strange when I took this form? You got just a tiny taste of the true vastness of reality. I would guess it wasn't too pleasant."

"Yeah, it felt pretty awful there for a second."

"I'm sure," the old man grinned. "I suppose if I was feeling more theatrical, I could have gone with the old skeletal figure holding a scythe, but we have too much to do to bother with all that. Plus, I still don't exactly understand the fascination with the scythe. It was a tool, not a weapon, and beyond that, the entire fearful notion of 'reaping souls' has always made me chuckle at the silliness of it."

"Death chuckles," Harry said with an incredulous look.

"I'm translating here. Don't take everything too literally or we'll never get anything done. Now, why do you think I've chosen to make this appearance before you today, mister Potter?"

"I would guess it has to do with Voldemort," Harry replied with a shrug.

"That fool?" Death scoffed. "Please, give me a little more credit than that, Harry. Tom Riddle is insignificant in the larger scheme of things."

"Really?"

"If he had half a brain, he could have used all sorts of nasty things from the normal world and left behind a smouldering wreckage instead of a planet full of life. His disdain for 'muggles' as he calls them limits him greatly. But instead, he chose a form of madness in his quest to chase immortality.

"No, Riddle is not why I am here meeting with you. Have you ever heard of the Peverell brothers?"

"No."

"I shouldn't be surprised," Death said with a smile. "Things would be so very different if you had grown up in the magical world. But I assume that we would have never met in this way, so it's all for the best. The Peverell brothers are the main characters in a popular children's story in the magical world. It is said that they defeated Death by using their magic to make a bridge over a river that would have killed them otherwise. Supposedly, Death was angered by this and confronted them, where he tricked them into taking gifts from him that would inevitably lead to their doom. It's rather annoying really."

"Annoying? Why?"

"Because of how it makes Death out to be evil, a villain who wants to ensnare everyone. Can you not see why this might vex me?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so. Most people don't think of death as being a good thing," Harry replied.

"Most people are governed by fear, and death is unknowable to the mortal world. For the most part," he said with a strange look on his face. "But beyond that, it is also disappointing to see how the truth has been perverted into such... Never mind, no need for me to go off on that old rant." Death stopped and sighed. "It's certainly not your fault, after all, and mister Potter, I would like to see the two of us be able to converse pleasantly. Let me get to the crux of the story. Each of the three brothers received a magical item from Death. The first brother received the Elder Wand, said to be the most powerful wand ever created, unable to be overcome in battle. The second brother received the Resurrection Stone, an item capable of calling back those who had died. The third brother received Death's own invisibility cloak, as he wanted merely to escape from Death and live the rest of his life in peace. It is a morality tale about not wanting too much power. The first brother's arrogance leads to him boasting after defeating a rival in a duel, and his throat is slit in the night. The second brother is overcome by despair after he summons the ghost of his lost love and he commits suicide. Are you with me so far?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "The idea is we shouldn't be too arrogant about thinking we can defeat death. We all die in the end."

"And yet, another part of the story is the mythology that has grown around it," Death continued. "There is an idea that if someone could unite all three of these items, the so-called Deathly Hallows, that person could become the Master of Death itself. Does that seem likely to you, Harry?"

He felt like wilting under the old man's gaze, which had become much less friendly during the last few minutes. The answer seemed obvious, but he hoped there wasn't a trick here that he wasn't seeing.

"Um, no, it doesn't seem like a mortal could have power over Death itself."

"A fair answer," the old man nodded. "A cosmic force cannot be enslaved to the whims of a simple creature like a human. However, at the same time, the story gets the nature of Death so completely wrong. Death is not cruel. Death is not evil. Death, like Life or Time or any other massive idea that you cannot possibly understand... Death merely is.

"But that's not all. The story does get a few things right," he admitted. "And those three items do all exist."

"Really?"

"Indeed," the old man grinned at Harry's surprise. "You have personally used one of them and, though you do not realize it, you have witnessed a second. Care to take a guess?"

"I... my cloak?" Harry wondered. "I haven't seen anything like a stone that can summon the dead, and my wand was made by Ollivander, so it must be my cloak."

"Correct. And your professor Slughorn has mentioned the Resurrection Stone to you, although you may not remember it. He himself would have been shocked to realize that he had seen it many years ago without realizing it. But we'll get back to that later. As for the Elder Wand, it lies in the hands of Albus Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore? But... if he has an unbeatable wand, then why didn't he defeat Riddle all those years ago?"

"That is a good question," Death mused. "However, I do not have all the answers today, Harry. What I do have is knowledge for you to gain, and potentially, a _bargain_."

"What sort of bargain?" Harry asked, not liking the tone of that last word.

"We'll get to that later. Let us begin with another piece of the puzzle. The story suggests that two of these magical items are cursed, with only Death's cloak being safe for a mortal to use. And yet, this is not true. Only one of them is actually cursed. Can you guess which one?"

"I don't know... the wand maybe, but the headmaster doesn't seem cursed, and he's lived a really long time. The stone I guess?"

"Yes, the stone. People like to think that the Elder Wand was cursed, that all who wielded it became violent, dangerous, and prone to arrogance. Hah!" the old man snorted. "Mankind has always had plenty of violence and arrogance without any of my influence. No, the wand can be safely used, but many wizards over the years have been tempted by their own desires and greed to want more and more power. That leads them to their doom, not the Elder Wand.

"On the other hand, drawing spirits back from the afterlife is something that mortals should never do. The Resurrection Stone is cursed. That's why the story has the second brother commit suicide. The stone causes everyone who uses it to succumb to its lure, and they all are drawn to their deaths. Using it is to call to Death itself, and that folly means that a mortal will not be able to resist. No matter how benign the intent, even if you merely wished to speak with your parents, for instance, you would not really speak with them. The apparitions that you would contact would tell you to join them, using whatever means necessary to convince you that your death would be not only necessary, but a good thing. Maybe that by dying, you would spare others pain. Or that you could save the life of someone you love.

"I must stress this to you, mister Potter. The Resurrection Stone must never be used. Once you gain control of it, I would suggest hiding it where no one may ever find it."

"Gain control of it? But, I'm dead, right?"

"That remains to be seen," the old man chuckled. "You are... close to Death. Obviously," he grinned as he motioned to the two of them. "But you do not have to truly cross over into the afterlife today. First though, let me reveal our other guest."

Harry heard a whimper from some tiny voice and he saw the old man stand up. He followed as they walked over past the fountain towards the lifts where he saw it. A hideous deformed thing that reminded him of the slimy form that Riddle had taken before his rebirth in the graveyard. And it was trying to crawl towards the lifts.

"You're not going anywhere," the old man said as he strode over towards the thing. He waved his left hand and a table appeared before the thing was lifted up, floating over and landing on top of the table. "Do you know what a horcrux is, mister Potter?"

"That's... is that thing what was in my scar?"

"A horcrux is a gamble. The ultimate gamble, in fact. And when mortals gamble with Death, they always lose."

"What do you mean?"

"A horcrux could work to create immortality. Hypothetically. But once it fails, the consequences are... dire."

"How dire?" Harry asked.

"You now have proof that there is an afterlife. No matter what you may have believed before, you must see that dying is not the end, correct? In fact, there is not one afterlife, but many. An almost endless amount of possibilities. Heaven would be the one most recognizable to someone from England like yourself. Reincarnation is another possibility that I believe you may have heard of.

"But for one that has torn their very soul apart, there is nothing. Utter and complete oblivion."

"That- yeah, that's pretty dire," Harry said with a gulp.

"Indeed. And that is all that lies before this fool Tom Riddle. But before this little piece fades away into nothingness, I thought you might want to take a look. But," the old man grabbed Harry's hand and forced him to look at his face. "Only a look, mister Potter. Do not touch this abomination, alright? It took the correct circumstances to separate the two of you without a tremendous amount of pain and suffering. We don't want this little parasite leeching off of you any longer."

"Right," Harry agreed. "What should I be looking for, exactly?"

"I believe that you've learned a bit of what wizards call Legilimency," Death replied. "This little slice has answers that you need. Answers about where the other pieces are. As a piece of the whole, it is still connected to the others for the moment. By gazing into it, you will be able to see where the others are right now. When you go back, that could be very useful knowledge to have. Not to mention, much better than relying on guesswork and luck to see you through.

"Oh, and one other thing," the old man was grinning widely now. "I believe your girlfriend would be quite disappointed if you lost the ability to speak to snakes. As I said before, Death is not cruel."

"Yeah, um, thanks," Harry said with a blush. "Do I need my wand?"

"You don't even truly need your wand in the mortal world," the old man scoffed. "It might be helpful, but you are no longer restricted by things like that here. Merely gaze into this thing's mind and take what you need."

"Alright." Harry leaned over and peered into the bloodshot eyes of the thing that was unable to wriggle away. Knowledge seemed to rush into him and his head buzzed with the strain as if something was trying to force its way free of confinement, but after a moment the sensation settled down and he saw visions of several items. A ring in a ruined shack. A cup sitting on a shelf in a vault. A tiara in an enormous room stuffed with old junk.

And finally a locket being stared at sadly by a miserable looking house-elf- one that he recognized in fact. Kreacher. He even sort of recognized the locket that sat inside a glass cabinet in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place.

Well, that one should be easy enough to deal with.

"I've got it," Harry said as he straightened up.

"Are you sure?"

"All four pieces," he nodded. "I know where they are."

"Good, but let's check the other bit as well." Suddenly a snake was laying on the table next to the remains of Riddle's sliver of soul, which let out a little moan.

" _Hello,"_ Harry hissed, hoping that it worked.

 _"Hello, sssspeaker. What are you doing here?_ "

" _I'm not exactly sure,_ " Harry admitted with a shrug.

"Success!" the old man shouted with a laugh. "See, Death isn't cruel. Now, you've got almost everything you need to deal with Riddle when you go back."

"So, I'm not dead then? I can just go back and-"

"Not quite yet, mister Potter." The old man held up his hand and with a wave the snake and table disappeared. The horcrux, on the other hand, dissolved before his very eyes and Harry could still hear an echo of its last pitiful wail. "I know you wouldn't have any inclination to move on when you've got a life planned with your chosen partner. But we need to discuss a few things before you go."

"Do we have time?" Harry asked before clarifying. "I mean, is Riddle killing other people while we sit here and talk?"

"Nothing to worry about there, mister Potter. We are not constrained by time here. Think of us as being trapped in a moment in between moments, if you will. When you return, it will be but a few seconds after you were hit by the killing curse.

"Now, one last thing about Tom Riddle. Keep in mind that at his core, he is nothing more than a coward and a thief. No matter what amount of power he may have gained over the years, the inner being is a coward and a thief. He is completely terrified of meeting me, and as you've seen by the folly of his horcruxes, with good reason. He is also afraid of you, Harry. He is afraid that there is something about you that continues to stymie him. That is why he so desperately wanted to gain the prophecy.

"But he is also a thief. Every one of those items you saw were things he stole from others, even murdering his own family in the process of gaining possession of one of them. Just as he also stole your blood as a part of the ritual that gave him a new physical form. Keep this in mind, Harry."

"I will."

"Good. Next, I want to call attention to something I don't think you've noticed yet. Let me show you something."

The old man waved his hand and Harry's eyes burned with pain. He shut them tight and rubbed at them for a moment before the feeling went away.

"That hurt."

"I apologize, but my power is not exact when it tries to duplicate the magic of humans. Try looking at yourself now."

Harry opened his eyes and saw a faint glow that surrounded his entire body. As well, he saw two strands of light that stretched out into the distance. Both of them were green, although one seemed more solid and a bit darker than the other.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Those are the bonds that tie you to Pansy and Dobby." The old man sighed. "They are the next thing I wanted to make you aware of before you return to the land of the living.

"The lighter line is your bond with Dobby. It is fairly standard between a house-elf and a family member it serves, only in this case we have the added complication of not only his immense sense of duty to protect you but also the fact that you are, at the moment, the only member of the Potter family. For the most part, this bond is a good thing, but if you died today, Dobby would not be able to live without you. He would see himself as a failure and he would give up on life."

"But what about Pansy?"

"That is where things get much, much more complicated. You see, Pansy used old magic to tie herself to you. One could even say that she manipulated the very nature of magic itself. I can understand her desire to flee from her father, but unfortunately, that has led to her very essence being tied to yours. If you die, she dies. There is no way to free her from this bond."

"Then I need to do everything I can to live a very, very long life," Harry replied.

The old man chuckled and began to smile again. "I thought you might say something like that. Would you change the course of your life to insure that she lives?"

"Yes. I want to spend my life with her."

"Even if it meant that you gave up the chance at adventure?"

"I think I've had enough adventure these last few years," Harry snorted.

"I can see why you would think so." The old man closed his eyes and sighed. He sat in silence for a moment before continuing. "This is where we get to the bargain I have to offer you. I can help you, but my help will require a price."

"What do you mean?"

"I am a representation of Death itself Harry. If I were to take form in the mortal world, almost anything would be possible. Both good and bad. But let me explain something else first. Close your eyes for a moment. Hopefully this won't feel too unpleasant for you."

Harry did as the old man asked and he felt something shift around him. There was a sense of pressure that felt like it did when the old man first appeared, only not quite as overwhelming.

"Alright now you can open them."

What Harry saw was mind-blowing. The entire Milky Way galaxy lay stretched out before him, yet it all looked tiny. Hundreds if not thousands of other galaxies surrounded him on all sides. Even down, he realized, as Harry was standing- or floating maybe- in the middle of the cosmos.

"Do you have any idea how boring it can get being Death?"

Harry looked up and saw the old man sigh again.

"All I have to do is watch over life as it exists and wait for everything to die and cross over. It can be incredibly tedious. For example, in your galaxy right now there exists some form of life on seven hundred and thirteen planets. Let me show you one of them."

The image of the galaxy zoomed in as if under some great magnifying lens and suddenly they stood on the surface of a planet that was obviously not Earth. The reddish sky made that clear enough. A small lizard-like creature was crawling along the muddy ground.

"On this planet, far away from Earth, this is the most developed creature that has evolved so far. Now, maybe in a few million years, it could become something interesting, but so far it is as simple in nature as a fish living deep in the sea. True, it is an example of the beauty and glory of life beginning anew on this planet. But I have witnessed that so very, very many times, Harry, that it no longer matters to me.

"Humans, on the other hand, are quite fascinating." The view around them shifted again and Harry got a slight headache from the sensation. He looked and saw that they were on Earth again, judging by the sight before him of three young men playing instruments in a garage. "In many ways, this is just as simple. A human being is still a creature that is defined by biological needs for food, water, air to breathe, etcetera. But unlike many other living things, you humans have evolved to the point where you come up with so many fun ways to pass the time. All of the arts spent searching for meaning- music, literature, painting, countless others, not to mention your philosophic musings- as well as being ways to entertain yourselves, of course. Humans have imagination, and a few of them are truly spectacular in the ideas they've come up with. Compared to that little fellow we saw a moment ago, you humans are glorious."

"Thanks. I guess we entertain you in a way too?"

"Indeed." The old man turned to him with a smile before looking back at the people in the garage and chuckling. "Not necessarily these three, mind you, but maybe in a few years they could be doing something wonderful. Unfortunately, of all seven hundred and thirteen planets with life, humans are currently the only ones in your galaxy that are capable of keeping my attention for more than a few brief moments. Oh, how I miss the Vorlons," he sighed before smiling again. "But that does mean that you matter more to me than some of the others. And thus, we get to the bargain."

The view shifted again, and this time they were back in the lobby of the ministry, sitting down in a couple of comfortable chairs.

"Within a few months, you should be able to gain possession of all three of the items known as the Deathly Hallows. When doing so, you will not become the mythical Master of Death. However, if you agree to my proposal, you could become my... avatar of sorts."

"Avatar?"

"You would grant me a way to interact with the mortal world more freely than I currently have."

"Why would I want to do that?" Harry asked before gulping and adding, "I mean, um, no offense."

"That's quite alright, mister Potter," the old man chuckled again. "It takes a lot more than that to offend Death. The reason is simple. Humans are currently doing so much damage to their ecosystem that they are almost certainly bound to become extinct, or close to it, in the relatively near future.

"You see, this is why I am so frustrated by this erroneous notion that Death wants to extinguish all life. If everything died, I would have absolutely nothing to do. Tedium is one of the worst parts of the cosmos, Harry. I adore life. Life gives meaning to Death, and vice versa. Therefore, I want to see you humans continue to thrive for as long as possible. Or at least for the next forty or fifty thousand years anyway- by then I suppose the beings on Kepler-442b should have at least have started using tools and developing sapience."

"So, you want to help us just so you don't get bored?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Um, can you explain this bargain a bit before I decide?" Harry asked, hopefully without sounding disrespectful.

"The bargain is simple. I will make sure that you and those you love are under my protection, and thus you will be assured of enjoying a long life. I could even help you with Riddle, although I don't think you'll need it. You should have enough clues to put everything together and deal with him by yourself.

"In exchange, you will allow me to use you as a... I suppose as a bridge of sorts- a conduit into the mortal world. I will do what I must to make sure that humanity thrives as much as possible. There will be those I will need to remove as well as those I will need to protect in order to help things along for the best possible outcome. You will be the catalyst that allows me to do what is necessary."

"You're going to use me to kill people?"

"Some people need to be killed," Death answered. "Don't you agree? The Death Eaters killed, raped, and tortured hundreds of witches and wizards. Your entire magical society in the United Kingdom has been greatly weakened by all that damage. Isn't it better to kill one serial killer in order to protect his dozen victims?"

"Yeah, I can see that."

"I know, Harry," the old man looked at him with a soft smile, and this time there was a sad little twinkle in his eyes. "Because of all your experiences, you are very well suited to my request. You have seen death and pain, and you understand the necessity of removing those who would cause more of it from the world."

Harry sat back and thought for a moment. "If I become your avatar, what will that mean for me personally? Will you use my body? Try to control me?"

"It is possible that I may need to do so from time to time, but I will do my best to make that a rare occasion. There is one specific time coming fairly soon that I will need to channel power through your body, but it is several years away."

"Can you see the future then?" Harry wondered.

"Not exactly," the old man replied. "It would be more precise to say that I experience Time much, much differently than you do."

"Will it cause me any problems in my personal life?"

"It should not. The greatest danger is the curse upon the Resurrection Stone. If you manage to deal with that safely, then I don't foresee any other problems. But you must take specific care of the stone, and I would further recommend that you keep it far away from the Lovegoods. They are what some would call 'true believers' and your friend Luna would be sorely tempted to call her mother back."

"I can understand that," Harry nodded. "But you won't help me with Riddle?"

"I can step in if need be, but I believe you can handle him by yourself. You will need to destroy his pieces before you finish the body. And I won't be able to help you directly until you have gained possession of all three items. There should be a good opportunity for that coming up in the summer. You'll know it when it happens."

"Okay." Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He imagined what he would do when he got back, and the plan came together with a brilliant clarity unlike anything he had experienced before. He stood up and looked back at the old man.

"I'll do it."

"Excellent, mister Potter." The old man smiled again and stood as well before offering his hand. "Do we have a bargain?"

"We do." Harry shook his hand and felt an immense sense of relief wash over him.

"Then good luck, and I will hopefully see you again in a few months."

* * *

When Albus stepped through the floo and appeared in the lobby of the ministry, his worst fears came true. There was Voldemort himself, casually batting aside the curses Harry was throwing at him as he taunted him and strode forward.

Dumbledore saw that he wasn't the only one who had arrived though, with a crowd gathering to watch, yet none of them seemed to want to draw their wands and do anything to help. One of them was actually taking pictures, and if he hadn't already been disgusted by the Daily Prophet and their priorities, Albus would have been horrified.

Instead, he pushed through the crowd and took aim just as he saw the green light flying from no more than twenty feet straight at Harry.

He tried to conjure a slab of marble to block the path of the spell, but he was too late. Harry had already fallen.

"Ah, Dumbledore, it seems that I may have a chance to rid the world of my two greatest foes in one fell swoop. Excellent. Come and face your end!"

Albus already had his wand in motion as he animated the statues from the fountain and had them charge towards his former student.

Riddle destroyed them with a powerful blasting curse before turning back to face him, with a spell of his own as the Dark Lord went on the offensive.

" _Avada Ke-_ "

" _Diffindo!_ "

But at the same time, a miracle occurred. Harry Potter literally rose from the dead and fired a cutting curse at Riddle's back. Tom was fast as he spun to dodge, but it still cut off a few fingers from his right hand.

He snarled as he raised his wand and conjured new digits to heal his wound.

"You should go now while you still can, Tom," Harry said calmly. "I believe Barty has an orb to deliver to you."

"We'll finish this soon enough, Potter!"

Voldemort apparated away, and Albus breathed out a sigh of relief.

Before the crowd could move towards him, Harry let out a wave of magic that shoved them all back a few feet as he stepped forward and kneeled down to look at the bloody fingers he had removed. Dumbledore's eyebrows raised in confusion as Harry pulled an empty vial out and scooped up some of the blood.

* * *

Luna had been terrified for Pansy when she had fallen, and her tears had come back with a fury. If she lost her father and her best friends today, she didn't know what she would do. Hadn't her mother's death been enough? Must she lose everyone she loved?

But then Pansy's eyes fluttered and she gasped for breath.

"It's alright, sweetie," she said as she sat up with a smile. "Let's go get our guys."

Luna felt Pansy's hand wipe her face before she kissed her on the cheek and stood up. She ran through the floo, and Luna could hardly believe it. All she could do was to follow after her best friend.

When she arrived at the other side, she saw Harry kneeling down and looking at something as Pansy shoved her way through the crowd that was watching him.

"Harry!"

He stood up and turned as she ran towards him, catching her when Pansy leapt into his arms. Her legs went around his waist, his hands went under her bum, and they immediately began snogging like there was no tomorrow, completely ignoring their audience.

The photographer kept on taking pictures.

Luna smiled in relief before looking around and then saw the group of walking wounded coming out of one of the lifts. Her father was leaning against Sirius Black and/or Stubby Boardman, who also seemed to be in pain. She got closer and noticed that Susan was also heading their way even as she sighed while briefly looking over towards Harry and Pansy.

They were still oblivious to everyone, even as Dumbledore tried to get their attention and the rest of the throng then moved forwards and yelled out questions.

"Daddy!" Luna smiled when she got close enough to hug him. She felt a tremor and backed up. "Are you alright?"

"I am now, sweetheart." He grimaced after a moment. "A visit to the healers would probably be for the best though."

The voices were getting louder behind them and Luna turned to see Harry and Pansy pushing forward to join them, walking hand in hand and both with huge smiles on their faces. Harry let go as he stepped in front of Parvati, who was still holding Dobby's unconscious form.

"Thanks for all your help today," he said. "I'll take him from here."

"To St. Mungo's?" Pansy asked as she looked over the others while Harry cradled their little friend. Sirius nodded and Tonks let out a bang from her wand and stepped forward to clear a path to the floos across the lobby.

"Are you sure you're alright, lad?" Alastor asked as they tromped through the crowd, most of whom were still shouting questions.

"Never better."

Luna wondered just what Harry's grin meant even as they made it to the nearest fireplace and Sirius went through first.

* * *

The trip to St. Mungo's was very simple and peaceful compared to everything else that had happened that day. More than anything, Harry felt calm. He could see the steps he would need to take. There had been some wounds that day, but nothing too permanent other than a new slash on Alastor's forehead, an addition to his vast collection of scars.

Harry knew that was a price the legendary auror would gladly pay for such a large victory.

Amelia had apparently been in good enough shape to stay behind and take charge of things at the ministry. Understandably, she didn't trust Fudge to not screw everything up once again. Tonks had told one of the healers that they would need someone to go to the ministry to take a look at her just in case. Harry guessed that meant she must be a pretty good boss for one of her troops to respect her that much.

Luna was more attached to her father than usual, staying by his side as they were shown into a private room, with Sirius next door and Moody just past that down the hall. Apparently, spell damage was more easily treated when there was less contamination from other possible injuries. The magic would be less likely to interfere with other things in close proximity. That was something he hadn't considered before. It made him think that he would like to pick Madam Pomfrey's brain once he was back at Hogwarts.

The healer was a middle-aged woman with light brown hair that was up in a bun, and she had to ask Luna for some space so that she could take a look at Xeno. Luckily, other than a few charms to clean up some superficial wounds, all that was prescribed was a couple of potions for pain relief and plenty of bed rest.

"Excuse me," Harry said, still carrying Dobby around. "Is there someone who can take a look at my friend here?"

"He's a house-elf," the healer replied, making Harry scowl. "Is he yours?"

"Yes."

"Hold on a moment." She cast a couple of spells, waving her wand over Dobby's unconscious form, and then nodded. "You have a strong bond with him, mister Potter. He will be fine after some rest."

"But-"

"As your house-elf, he draws strength and magic from you. Knowing what I do about you, I would think he'll be up and around very shortly. Just give it a bit of time."

"Alright."

Once the healer walked out and went next door to check on Sirius, Winky popped in quietly. "The healer lady was correct, mister Harry. Dobby will be alright." She snapped her fingers and a blanket appeared. "If you want to let him rest here, Winky will make sure Dobby doesn't overwork himself again. Dobby should know that working too hard is as bad as not working at all. Dobby might not be able to work for his family for a day... or even longer!"

She gasped at the terrible thought and Harry stifled a grin.

Pansy took the blanket and helped Harry settle Dobby into one of the chairs beside the bed.

"Thank you, Winky. I will greatly appreciate your help. If you ladies will excuse me for a moment, I'm going to check on Sirius and Alastor."

"Tell them thank you for me," Xeno croaked out. "I owe you all a debt for today."

"Well, you're partially responsible for bringing Luna into the world," Harry grinned. "So, you don't owe me anything."

Xeno chuckled and nodded slightly. "She does make the world much more wonderful, doesn't she?"

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Want me to come with you?" Pansy asked.

"I won't be long. Why don't you stay with Luna? She's had a rough day."

Harry was soon opening the door to the nearest room and he heard laughing as Sirius told a very dirty joke about a randy widow and a centaur to the healer, who was shaking her head even as she cleaned a cut on his left arm with her wand.

"You are incorrigible, mister Black," she playfully scolded the old dog. "Aren't you supposed to be a good influence on mister Potter?"

"I like to think we are bad influences on each other, actually," Harry interjected, causing Sirius to bark out a laugh. "I can probably keep him in line, if you need me to."

"The main thing you'll need to do is make sure he doesn't take this second dose for at least an hour," she replied as she sat a potion vial on the table next to Sirius' bed. "Other than that, and his roguish behavior, I believe he'll make a full recovery."

"I don't know," Sirius teased. "I might need a sponge bath later."

"Then you'll have to conjure a sponge and do it yourself," she responded with a grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take a look at Alastor again. With how often he's been in here over the years, you would think he might fancy me."

"See you later Esther." Sirius waved as she left.

"Do you know her?"

"A little bit," Sirius replied. "She's been working here for at least twenty years. When I was first working out all the enchantments on my motorcycle, I might have had a bit of an issue with the flight controls, and I might have ended up here once or twice. Esther was the one who fixed up a rather nasty scrape I had back in seventy-nine."

"Oh. Small world I guess." Harry thought for a moment before raising an eyebrow at his godfather. "Aren't you engaged to be married one of these days? What would the lovely miss Nott have to say about you flirting with the healer? A woman nearly old enough to be your mother, I may add."

"If Kathryn were here, I would have been asking her for the sponge bath," Sirius snorted before he got a far off look in his eyes. He sighed before turning back to Harry. "Merlin, I'm glad to be alright after everything today. And how are you alive, anyway? You got hit with the killing curse. Again!"

"Old Tom never learns his lessons," Harry scoffed. "That's a sign of insanity, but I think we already knew that about him."

"Harry-"

"I'm fine, really. We were both hit with Unforgivables today, and I know for a fact that the Cruciatus hurts a lot worse."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, Sirius." Harry grinned. "Maybe I should go see if I can contact Kathryn and have her keep an eye on you. I think Andi and Tonks were right- someone clearly needs to."

"I... I'd like that, actually."

"Really?"

"In spite of everything, somehow I'm actually looking forward to getting married," Sirius said with a small smile. "Maybe have a couple of little Sirius juniors running around someday, you know? In fact, after today, I think I might not want to wait much longer."

"Wow," Harry replied. "That's not what I thought you'd say."

"Besides, you've seen her, Harry. She's smoking hot."

"Okay, now that sounds more like the Sirius I know." They both laughed, but Harry reached over and picked up the vial. "I think I'll give this to your fiancee if I can get in contact with her. You should have a few minutes to come up with a particularly heroic story to tell her. I imagine you'll want to make yourself look good."

"I won't have to make anything up this time."

"Yeah, I guess not. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Harry."

"You too, Sirius."

On his way out, he heard Alastor and the healer talking from the next room. He went downstairs and found a floo he could use. Harry felt kind of odd summoning his godfather's intended, especially as she looked upset when he told her they were at St. Mungo's. She came through quickly, and he tried to explain that everything was okay, but she wasn't certain until they made it back up to Sirius' room.

He was happy to see that she really cared for the old dog. A moment later, after handing over the potion, he left as Sirius began his tale of derring and heroism.

He knocked next door and heard Alastor call out for him to come inside.

"How are you doing?" Harry said as he stepped inside.

"I've had worse," he chuckled grimly. "You're looking particularly healthy after everything that happened today. That's especially strange since I saw you take a killing curse to the chest from up-close. Most people don't get back up from that sort of thing."

"That's true," Harry grinned. "But I thought everyone knew the story from when I was little. I am famous for surviving it once before."

"I was never sure if that was true or not," Moody grumbled.

"I'm not either," Harry admitted with a shrug. "I was too young to remember it properly."

"So, what happened today, then? Another bloody miracle?"

"Maybe so."

"They'll be looking at you for even more of them then, Harry."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "That probably will suck."

"Hah! Oh, I definitely think it will suck for you, lad. You'll have sycophants cozying up to you even worse, I'd bet. Did you see the photographer that showed up just before your little resurrection? Don't be surprised if you're front page news tomorrow. And it won't be the last time either."

"Come on, Alastor. Give me a little credit. I'm sure I'll do something so that they'll all turn on me one of these days."

"The public is fickle, that's true. I think that's why it is pretty much only bastards that go into politics. Someone with more ideals would be disgusted by too much of the mess they'd have to wade into." He reached over and took a long drink from a glass of water. "Fill that most of the way up for me, would you Harry?"

"Sure."

One charm later and he handed the glass back to Moody who had summoned his coat over and pulled the still bloody, viscera-covered magical eye out of one of his many pockets. He dunked it in the water and set it aside.

"I won't feel right until I can get that properly cleaned and back in place."

"I guess you've gotten used to it over the years."

"It's almost like breathing now," Moody agreed. "I've only got one question though. Why did you let Riddle go? I could tell that you didn't want to kill him when you got back up. I know you're not the type of fool who would show mercy to a monster like that."

"No, you're right. Let's just say that I wouldn't have been able to truly kill him today, so I wanted to wait until it would be permanent."

"Right," Alastor nodded. "Say no more then."

"Want me to do anything else for you?"

"I'll be alright for now. I might need your help springing me later though. I won't feel right sleeping somewhere so unguarded as this place."

"I'll see what I can do," Harry said with a grin.

"Alastor," Dumbledore said as he opened the door. "Oh, and Harry as well. I'd like to speak with both of you, if I may."

"I'll go first then. Give the boy a chance to go be with his friends," Moody replied.

"Can it wait until tomorrow, professor?" Harry asked. "I've got people to take care of, and I've had a pretty long day." He frowned as he thought for a moment. "I missed lunch too."

"As you wish, Harry," Albus chuckled. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright after everything that has happened . Perhaps tomorrow afternoon then?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Between the headmaster and his former Defense professor, Harry definitely felt like he was being dismissed as he left the room.

He peeked next door, but seeing as Kathryn was leaning over and kissing Sirius, Harry decided to leave them be and went to see Xeno and Dobby. His house-elf was still resting in the chair and Winky was watching sternly over both of her charges.

"Where are the girls?" he asked as Xeno saw him enter.

"They went to get some tea. I asked for some as well, but mostly I was hoping it might help calm their nerves. Luna's had a rough day. Did she tell you that Pansy collapsed just before they joined us at the ministry today? She was very worried over her."

"They didn't tell me, but I'm not surprised."

"You already knew," Xeno stated. "Did you cross over then? What did you see? Was it your parents? Or maybe the rumored angelic being known as the Almighty Whale?"

"The Almighty Whale?"

"Oh yes, it is said to swallow all who die, drinking you in as if you were water before purifying your soul and sending you out through its blowhole on towards your final destination."

"Um, no, sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't see anything like that." Harry should have known he'd never be surprised when talking to Xeno. It made him smile. Where did the man come up with these things he wondered. "I didn't see my parents either."

"Alas, I suppose I won't find out any answers for some time yet," Xeno sighed before going silent. He looked over at the wall before closing his eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Harry, I..." Xeno opened his eyes again and turned back around. "I want you to promise me something, please. If anything happens to me, if something like today... if I don't survive this war, please take care of Luna for me. I would hate to leave her all alone, and today's events brought that all too close to happening."

"Xeno..." Harry thought for a moment about how to best reassure the man.

"You know, when Pansy and I talk about Luna, we call her our girl. None of us has siblings, so I can't exactly say that she's like a sister, but she's more than just a best friend. Regardless, I can promise you this- no matter what happens, she will always have a place by our side. Any Potter family home will have room for her, if she needs it or if she's just visiting. I'd never turn away the godmother of my future children, after all.

"However, you have to promise me something. You have to promise me that you will take care of yourself and live a long, happy life. Because someday, Luna will meet someone amazing and she'll need her father to walk her down the aisle. I'd offer to do it if I had to, but it wouldn't be quite the same. And I imagine Pansy will be her bridesmaid, so she'll be busy too."

He hadn't heard the door open as he was speaking but he soon felt a pair of arms wrapping around him as Luna hugged him from behind.

"I think I can agree to that, Harry," Xeno said with a smile.

* * *

Within a couple of hours, Harry, Pansy and Luna found themselves back at Hogwarts. Dinner was already underway, and thankfully they found room to sit down together as Harry started piling a plate full of food.

"Hungry, are you?" Pansy teased.

Harry just shrugged and passed the roasted potatoes over to her.

"Everything is different now," Luna said in that dreamy tone she often used, looking around the Great Hall at everyone enjoying their meal. "None of them really know it, but everything changed today. Harry is different. You're different too, but not as much."

"What do you mean, sweetie?"

"I don't know how to explain it."

"I understand," Harry said. "But I'm starving, so it will have to wait."

"Hey Harry," Parvati said as she hurried over to join them. "Are you really alright?"

"Yeah. I didn't see you at St. Mungo's."

"I didn't have anything that needed treatment, so I used the floo to go back to Hogsmeade. I knew my sister would be worried to death over me. Plus, if you didn't hear yet, there was a Death Eater attack in the village this afternoon. Luckily, no one was killed, but the headmaster had to stop Fiendfyre from raging out of control."

"It was probably meant to slow down any response to what was going on in the ministry," Pansy said as Harry was digging into his food. "Was your sister alright?"

"Yes, she wasn't hurt thankfully. The worst damage was to the bookstore. Several students and the owner were injured by a blasting curse. Hermione broke her arm."

Harry looked up and scanned the table, seeing her towards the teachers and speaking to Neville.

"It looks like she's alright."

"Madam Pomfrey was there almost as soon as it happened," Parvati explained. "She and professor Flitwick stayed to look after everything in the village when the headmaster followed us to the ministry."

"He got there right in time too," Harry chuckled. "He almost missed my most recent miracle."

"Harry, are you... I mean, I saw you get hit. How are you, you know?"

"Not dead?" he finished her thought.

"Yeah, that," she said with a grimace.

"Maybe it's a miracle," Pansy suggested. "He's been known to pull one of them out of his arse a time or two before. As the wonder babe, then as the protector of the school from those soul-sucking demons. I guess you're up to three of them, Harry. You know, I think you'd be qualified to become a Saint in the Catholic Church."

"Saint Harry," Luna giggled. "I don't know if I could handle that. I know too much about Harry's private life."

"Maybe you really are the Chosen One," Parvati said with a dreamy sigh. "I know I'd choose you."

"Keep it in your pants, Patil," Pansy snorted.

"If I must." She turned to Harry, who was still eating. "No deeper thoughts from you?"

"Too hungry," he said between bites. "Apparently coming back from the dead takes a lot out of you. I feel like I could eat a horse."

"Just don't let your manners slip," Luna pointed out. "We wouldn't want you to annoy Pansy, now would we?"

"Certainly not."

"You're really okay?" Parvati asked once again, reaching over and grabbing Harry's arm, as if touching him would reassure her that he was really there.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Can you tell me about it? Like, did you see anything?"

"There's not much I can say."

"That's too bad." Parvati let go of his arm and stood up. "I guess I'll talk to you later then."

"Thanks for everything today," Harry said. "I owe you one."'

"Well, I probably owed you my life for the dementors, so I think we can say we're even," she grinned. "I'm just glad you're alright."

She winked at him and turned to go back to Lavender. As much as Harry liked her, telling Parvati about what he'd really experienced when he was briefly dead- or almost dead, maybe- would probably mean that everyone in the school would soon know.

His brush with Death would just have to remain a mystery for the time being.

He would tell Pansy, of course, but he didn't think he should say anything to anyone else. He had specifically been warned about Luna's potential reaction to the Resurrection Stone being confirmed as real, and he definitely didn't want anything bad to happen to her. It could be too tempting for her to use it.

Not that he was sure when he would see it himself, but he was fairly certain that it would all come to pass soon enough. Death had said it would be a few months. Harry could wait that long.

* * *

After dinner, Luna had retired to her dorm but she had also informed them that she would be making use of Winky's help in order to spend the night with them. Pansy felt similarly, and Harry agreed that they could all use some extra comfort in knowing that the horrible day was finally coming to an end.

Plus, Pansy was going to be crampy and cranky, so sex was off the table anyway. Harry might have been slightly annoyed otherwise.

When Luna appeared, she was already changed and ready for bed.

"I hope you guys don't mind if I sleep with you tonight," she said. "I don't want to be alone."

"I understand sweetie," Pansy smiled. "There are much worse things than having someone extra to cuddle with, and it has been a long day. It's just too bad that Dobby is still worn out. Otherwise, you could experience an amazing breakfast in bed."

"Don't tempt him," Harry smirked. "I had to order him to rest all night and he looked like he wanted to cry."

"Where does he sleep when you're here at school?" Luna wondered.

"I have no idea," Harry shrugged. "He's been happy apparently, and from what I've seen, house-elves don't like it when we fuss over them too much. They think that's their job to watch over us and not vice versa."

"Yeah, Winky is like that too."

"Considering he saved my life today, probably at least twice, I'm willing to let him do whatever he wants. As long as he's healthy and happy. And once he gets some rest," Harry looked around, knowing that Dobby was almost certainly listening in, "I'm sure Dobby will be capable of taking such good care of us again."

"Dobby has done so much for us over the years," Pansy agreed. "There's a reason I trusted him to watch over your back today, even more than people like Sirius and Moody. That reminds me of something I was wondering though- how useful was Parvati at the ministry?"

"Very."

"Why don't you tell us the story while you and I get ready for bed?" Pansy suggested. "We need to change and brush our teeth and everything."

"I already did," Luna said. "But I'd like to hear about everything too."

"Okay."

Pansy led the way into the bathroom, grabbing sleepwear on the way. Luna pouted a tiny bit when she was told that she wouldn't be allowed to watch them change, but Pansy went to the sink first as Harry began to talk.

"We had a plan to try to start things off by attacking them before the Death Eaters could try to curse us. They had a hostage, but only I could grab the prophecy orb. I used that as leverage. Dobby and I went in to rescue Xeno first, and the others were all disillusioned and surrounded them. While I distracted the Death Eaters with the orb, Dobby grabbed Xeno and got him out of the way right when everyone blasted the nearest bad guy with the nastiest curse possible. In that first blow, we got four of them immediately.

"Parvati took out Dolohov." Harry turned to Luna and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He was the one who had tried to kidnap you when Xeno got in the way. I thought you should know- he isn't out there anymore."

"Thanks, Harry."

"You're welcome."

"I wonder how many of them are left," Pansy said as she finished washing her face and reached for her toothbrush. "There can't be too many, can there?"

"The only one I know of is Barty Crouch Junior," Harry answered. "He and Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to be leading things today. I gave him the orb and he ran off with it while the others started trying to kill us. All of the others went down during the fighting at one point or another."

"Your dramatic presentation is once again lacking," Luna sighed. "Come on, Harry. Start the story over and make it exciting this time."

"I'll do my best," he chuckled.

* * *

Several minutes had passed while Harry told a more thorough (and more entertaining version) of the battle. Then Luna was shooed out of the bathroom while Harry changed out of his clothes and got ready for bed.

Pansy quietly opened the door and placed a finger in front of her lips.

Harry nodded and cast a silencing charm at the door before turning back to finish brushing his teeth.

"She was more tired than either of us," Pansy said. "I imagine she'll be all snuggly, even in her sleep. I can sleep in the middle, if that will make you more comfortable."

"I don't mind," Harry shrugged. "At least this time she won't surprise me by waking up with her boobs pressed up against my back."

"Poor Harry, getting molested in his sleep by a naked blonde," Pansy snorted as she looked at him in the mirror. "You must have been so traumatized. Sirius would be so disappointed in you."

"Only in that I didn't immediately try for a threesome," Harry scoffed. He rinsed his face off over the sink.

"Yeah, probably," Pansy chuckled as she stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and leaning into his back. "You died today, Harry. I felt it too, or something like it. I... I think I felt my mother. Just for a moment, it was like I knew she was there, and...

"She was happy for me, Harry. She didn't blame me for what happened, she didn't make me feel guilty, she just..." Pansy sighed and let go of him, wiping at her eyes. "She just wanted me to know that she wanted me to be happy. It was such a relief.

"Then, I just had to figure out how to get back to you." Pansy waited while Harry turned around so she could look him in the eye. "What happened to you?"

"I didn't see my parents, if that's what you mean," he replied. "Part of it would be really hard to explain. I'll tell you tomorrow, once I've wrapped my brain around it. Plus, it's kind of a long story, and..."

"And what?" she prodded.

"I don't want Luna to hear about it."

"Why?"

"That's part of the long story. I promise I'll tell you, but the important part is that I came back, and everything is going to be okay."

"Everything? Even though we've still got a madman like Riddle out there?"

"The war is already over. Tom just doesn't realize it yet."

"Really?" Pansy asked, seeing the calm look on Harry's face.

"Trust me," he smiled reassuringly.

"I do. And you are right- the important part is that you came back to me."

"Of course," he grinned. "I wouldn't come back for the dead for just anyone, you know."

"Well, I suppose that deserves some sort of reward then," Pansy smirked and pushed Harry back up against the sink, then reached over to grab his wand and cast a cushioning charm on the floor. "I wouldn't want you to think I don't appreciate your miraculous return."

She sunk to her knees before him and pulled his pants down.

"Oh god yes!" Harry moaned triumphantly as she took him in her mouth. "This day just got so much better. Maybe I should come back from the dead more often."

Pansy stopped for a moment and looked up at him. "You know this will be a lot harder if you keep trying to make me laugh."

"Shutting up now!"

"Good boy."

Harry closed his eyes as well as his mouth and relaxed, enjoying the sensations. Pansy was amazing.

* * *

Several minutes later, he was smiling lazily as he leaned against the wall while Pansy rinsed her face off and reached for the towel.

"We can have a more thorough victory celebration in a few days," she said when she finished drying herself.

"I'll be looking forward to it," he said as she pulled him down for a kiss.

"Ready for bed?"

"I think so, but I should probably tell you something first. I don't want you to hear it from anyone else." He sighed, knowing she might get mad, but he didn't want to lie to her. "When we were riding in the lift going down to rescue Luna's dad, Parvati all of a sudden grabbed me and kissed me."

"I see," she said quietly.

"She said that if she was going to die today, that she didn't want to do so without kissing me first."

"I suppose I couldn't have taken my displeasure out on her if she were dead. Why are you telling me this now?"

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything while you were in the middle of an awesome blowjob. I'm not that crazy."

Pansy snorted and leaned over to hug him.

"You're not mad?" Harry crossed his fingers, hoping for the best.

"Compared to everything else that happened today, I suppose it doesn't really matter." Harry exhaled as she sighed against his chest. "Who was with you at the time?"

"Alastor, Amelia Bones, and Sirius. Oh, and Dobby, of course."

"Okay," she said before looking up at him. "If word of this gets out, I will have to do something though. We can't have every girl brave enough to start grabbing you trying to kiss my boyfriend all of the time."

"So, you'll protect my virtue?"

"What little of it there is left," she scoffed before smirking at him. "Sirius might think it was a funny story though."

"Yeah, that's why I didn't want you to hear it from someone else."

"Let's just not make a big deal about it. Compared to death, and battles, and Dark Lords, jealousy seems kind of pointless at the moment."

"I love you."

"I know."

Harry sighed and relaxed as they held onto each other. It had been one of the most overwhelming days of his life, but everything was back to how it should have been. Still, it was a good thing they still had Sunday left of the weekend. He was pretty sure they would all be sleeping in. Maybe even Dobby.


	85. A Modest Proposal

* * *

"They're staring, you know," Luna said as she tore into her mountain of pancakes and waffles the next day at breakfast. Harry was kind of amazed by it, especially the way she had thrown in a layer of fruit right in the middle and yet it hadn't toppled over.

"I'm kind of used to it by now," he shrugged.

"It is a pretty striking photo," Pansy added, as she flipped back to the cover of the Daily Prophet.

_**The Boy Who Lived... Again!** _

There in all his dying and resurrecting glory was Harry Potter, front and center as he stood up and blasted the Dark Lord with a cutter just moments after being hit by the killing curse. For once, she was actually planning on keeping the paper, despite how she usually felt about it. It still made her chuckle to think that Harry mostly kept up his subscription to give Hedwig something to do.

Pansy looked up and saw the blatant gawking from those who had their own copies. She didn't bother to contain her snort. Even some of the teachers were staring, although Slughorn looked happy and rather relieved. She supposed he was one of the very few that might have an idea of why Harry's newest miracle had occurred.

That's assuming she was correct about thinking it had to do with this supposed 'accidental' horcrux that tied his scar to Riddle. She still wasn't sure she could believe that anyone could accidentally do something like that. Pansy sighed as she thought about everything- she supposed getting Harry alone so he could tell her everything was something she would need to do sooner rather than later.

However, even with all that going on, she was in a positively wonderful mood that morning. Considering it was not yet ten o'clock on a Sunday, that was rather strange. She usually preferred sleeping in on the weekends, but they had gone to bed somewhat early the night before, and neither of them had wanted Dobby to strain himself making breakfast in bed for them.

Saving Harry's life meant he got a day off. Even if he didn't want it, necessarily, but Harry needed to be sure that he was completely better after the strain from the day before. Poor Dobby must be bored out of his mind, she thought. Maybe taking care of his fish family would keep him occupied for a little while.

"So, what are we going to do today?" she asked as Harry and Luna continued to eat, seemingly impervious to everyone else in the Great Hall.

"I've got to meet the headmaster this afternoon," he replied between bites. "He wants to talk about what happened yesterday, I guess."

"That's probably a good guess, Harry," Luna said before grinning. "But you will tell me if he wants to talk about his role in the conspiracy to overthrow the citrus industry I hope? Why else would they serve pumpkin juice at breakfast year round? It isn't even good as a Halloween themed rarity. Most non-insane people would prefer orange juice. And as someone who is an expert on insanity, I believe I should know all about this topic."

"Fair enough," Harry chuckled. "I'll try to remember and ask him, although the house-elves might be more help. They have been putting more fruit out for us ever since I was entered into that tournament last year."

"Right, so I guess Pansy and I will have the afternoon all to ourselves then. We can talk about shoes and boys and hairdos."

"Really?" Harry looked over at Luna, thoroughly confused.

"Of course not, don't be silly. It was a joke," Luna scoffed. "I don't even like wearing shoes most of the time. Pansy is only interested in one boy. And... actually, I suppose we could talk about hair. I'm not sure there's all that much to discuss on the subject though."

"It's nice out, we could go for a walk after we eat," Pansy piped up. "You both could probably use the exercise after those enormous breakfasts you're eating."

"I think she just called us fat," Harry whispered to Luna, who giggled in response. "A walk does sound nice though. Between OWLs coming up and Angie's training schedule for the quidditch final, I might not have enough free time in the near future."

* * *

Shortly after lunch, Harry left the two grinning girls and climbed up the stairs to go meet Dumbledore. The headmaster was already waiting for him, and Harry was not surprised to see that he also had his pensieve out. What was a bit of a shock was seeing Moody waiting as well.

"Ah, Harry, welcome and thank you for coming. Alastor and I have been reviewing his memory of the battle yesterday. I am terribly sorry that you had to get involved in such a thing," Dumbledore said with a somber look on his face. "At the same time, I am very pleased to see that you all were able to survive without too many permanent injuries."

"This old mug of mine apparently doesn't count," Alastor chuckled.

"I think it gives you character," Harry said with a grin.

"Maybe I should try using that line."

"I would be interested in seeing that," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"No way, Albus," Moody grunted in return. "I still remember 1963. You are a terrible wingman."

"Ah, well, I believe we should get to the point anyway, before we traumatize young mister Potter. I have a couple of questions for you, Harry, if you wouldn't mind indulging me for a little while."

"Sure."

"Excellent. I believe we will start with the prophecy orb itself. I couldn't tell from Alastor's memory, but I assume you gave them the correct orb that once held the prophecy about you and Voldemort?"

"Yeah. It was just a dark piece of glass, so I didn't see any harm in it."

"It may be possible for Tom to discover a way to retrieve the recording from the darkened orb, but I don't suppose I can blame you."

"He can't actually do that, can he?" Moody asked.

"Not that I'm aware. I would classify it as fairly unlikely, but I wouldn't rule anything out with Tom." Albus sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. "This could actually benefit us."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"If he devotes much time and effort to discovering a way to unravel the prophecy, it would be less time for Tom to build up an army and cause more destruction."

"I'd take it, but I won't count on it," Alastor replied. "We should assume he'll strike again soon. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

"Yes, you always have said that," Dumbledore nodded. "As a 'semi-retired' auror, I believe it would be best for you to help Amelia stay ready in case of any more attacks. Meanwhile, I will hope for the best and think on how we may be able to use this to our advantage. I believe I will have a specific project to work on over the summer.

"But now, back to you, Harry. May I ask why you were willing to be the bait, so to speak, when the fighting first broke out?"

"Someone needed to and the prophecy was leverage I could use that no one else could. Plus, it gave us a chance to turn the trap around on them, which worked pretty well."

"And your house-elf Dobby was also instrumental in the rescue of Xenophilius," Dumbledore nodded. "I saw that he was wounded in the battle. I hope he was able to recover from his wounds."

"He seemed fine this morning, but I asked him to take the day off for rest." Harry grinned for a moment. "Dobby tried to argue with me, but I threatened to sic Winky on him if he didn't listen to me."

"Winky- I believe she was the former house-elf of the Crouch family."

"She was," Harry agreed. "Luna talked to her when she was so depressed last year, so now she is bonded to the Lovegoods."

"Excellent," Dumbledore smiled. "I am very pleased to hear that she has a family again. I hope that is working out well for all of them."

"As far as I know."

"Good." Dumbledore stroked his beard for a moment as he sat back in his chair. "Next, from what we have seen, it appears that young Barty Crouch succeeded in escaping with the orb. However, he appears to have been the only Death Eater to escape. I believe Tom may almost be out of followers. Hopefully, that will be good news, but we must also be wary of the fact that it may also make him desperate. Desperate men can do shocking things at times, and that doesn't take into account both the madness and power that Voldemort possesses. You in particular should be careful during the summer, Harry. He could go after you once again since you do seem to be a constant thorn in his side."

"I will. I'm sure I could talk Pansy into taking a long vacation if we need to."

"It might be for the best, and I hope you enjoy the summer. I believe you deserve the break after everything you've been through lately. Not to mention your upcoming exams."

"Yeah, and I've got to help win the quidditch cup too or Angelina might kill me."

Alastor snorted at that while Dumbledore merely grinned.

"There are many who have treated the quidditch matches as some of the most important parts of their years at Hogwarts. I believe miss Johnson may be interested in a career in the field, so captaining a championship team would look good for her. I'm almost certain it helped your former colleague mister Wood as he got started. May I ask, have you ever considered it, Harry? You are quite skilled on a broom."

"Eh," he shrugged. "I like flying, but the obsessive nature of my captains have sometimes made practicing a chore. I assumed that professional teams would be even worse about that sort of thing, and I doubt I would want to spend ten hours a day on a broom in the hopes that I somehow get an extra two percent better or something."

"Minerva might be disappointed to hear that, but I'll let you tell her yourself," Dumbledore replied. "If you hadn't heard, there will be a career counseling meeting between all fifth years and their heads of house in a couple of weeks. It should help you to consider which NEWT level studies would be most important for the future. As well, it can give you some insight into which of your OWL exams one might wish to prioritize studying.

"But onto the last thing I wanted to speak with you about," Dumbledore straightened up and looked more serious. "Your miraculous survival of yet another killing curse."

When he said nothing else, Harry decided to break the silence.

"What about it?"

"It was quite remarkable. Would you like to know more about why and how that happened?"

"I apparently had an 'accidental horcrux' in my scar," Harry shrugged.

"How did you know that?"

"Professor Slughorn told me last fall."

"I see," Dumbledore sat back with a sigh. "I had hoped not to burden you with that knowledge while you are still so young. It may all be for the best now, as I would have to assume that you are no longer carrying that weight on your shoulders. Normally, I would not want this information to spread to other ears, but I have been reminded that I am not alone in my fight against the Dark Arts, and I suppose that I can trust Alastor on this above almost anyone else. But you should be aware also, Harry, after everything that you've done. It is my belief that Tom created several of the terrible things, and I have been working on tracking down information on what they may have been. That is what I plan on spending my summer working on."

"I would offer to help, but it might be better for me to concentrate on tracking down Riddle and Junior before they get up to causing much more chaos," Alastor suggested. "I never was as skilled with all that esoteric stuff like you Albus. You might want to think about getting in touch with a cursebreaker though, if there are any you can trust."

"I will consider it," Dumbledore nodded. "First, I want the two of you to know some things in case anything happens to me. It is my belief that Tom created seven of them, counting your scar, accidental though it may have been. For some good news though, three have already been destroyed. The cursed diary from your second year, the snake that you killed in the graveyard, and now the scar. That leaves four more before Tom will be once again mortal.

"I would like to show the both of you a couple of memories that may help us determine what exactly Tom may have used to create his horcruxes. If you will both join me in the pensieve, I will explain further."

* * *

The next couple of hours sped by as Harry listened to Dumbledore lecture about the maternal origins of Tom Riddle, from the inbred Gaunts, as well as his penchant for thievery which Harry had already been clued in on. Then it was time to watch the young Tom Riddle manipulate an old woman into showing off a treasured family heirloom before he murdered her and framed a pitiful house-elf. That last bit actually might have angered Harry the most, as he was very fond of the creatures. Not only for Dobby's sake, but Winky's as well.

Through it all, he remained silent. He wasn't sure why exactly, but for some reason he just knew that he shouldn't say a word about his own knowledge of where the surviving horcruxes remained.

But when Dumbledore mentioned that he believed he had a lead for the ring, Harry knew that there was something odd about it. Something that he should have figured out already.

Yet he kept his own council and waited.

Once he was finally dismissed, Harry returned to his quarters.

He smiled and tip-toed across the room when he found Pansy and Luna napping on the couch together. Pansy had been on the far end, her head resting where the arm met the back cushion, with her legs stretched out. Luna was half on top of her, head in her lap and an arm around her waist as she used his girlfriend as a pillow.

He really wished he could remember where the camera was.

Harry sneaked into the bedroom and silenced the door. Once he found his mirror, he called Sirius.

"Harry?" his godfather eventually answered, his hair messier than usual. "Please don't tell me we already have another emergency."

"No, nothing like that. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Yes- I mean, no, of course not," Sirius said as he yelped. and then nearly dropped the mirror. "It's just that-"

"You have saved my honor, Harry!" a gleeful voice called out before the giggling face of Kathryn Nott appeared in the mirror. "Sirius might have taken advantage of me if you hadn't called. And we can't have that, now can we?"

"Certainly not," Harry answered with a grin. "I could probably come over if you need help keeping him in line."

"That's alright. I'm getting the hang of it," she said before whispering conspiratorially, "I've started practicing already, and we should have a lot more opportunities for me to work on him."

"Oh?"

"I've decided that he may be worth marrying after all," Kathryn sighed then lifted her chin. "Even if he isn't good enough for me, in truth."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"We know!" Harry and Kathryn both said in response before beginning to laugh.

"I'm not sure why I'm marrying you," Sirius said with a frown as he wrestled the mirror away from her.

"As I recall-" Harry began.

"Don't you dare-"

"What did he say?" Kathryn asked, peeking over Sirius' shoulder.

"Don't answer that!"

"I don't know. I think it would be bad manners to refuse a lady's request," Harry teased. Sirius pouted, and Harry could practically hear the dog's whine if he had been Padfoot at the time. That clinched it for him. "He said that you are smoking hot."

"Did he now?" Kathryn grinned.

"You're the worst Harry," Sirius groaned as she giggled behind him. "Well, good news, we've moved the wedding up. It's next weekend!"

"What? Really?"

"That battle yesterday made me sick of waiting," Sirius answered.

"And strangely, I seem to have fallen for your godfather," Kathryn added. "Do you think something's wrong with me, Harry?"

"Well..." he thought for a moment before smirking. "I don't think he would stoop to using a love potion, but you might want to check to be sure."

"I wouldn't do that! I'm just naturally charming," Sirius argued.

"You do have your moments," Kathryn said.

"I think I see why this is so fun now," Harry smiled. "It's usually Pansy and Luna teaming up to tag-team tease me."

"We should talk more often then," Kathryn grinned.

"Right, enough of this now," Sirius said as he stood up and pulled away from his soon-to-be wife. "Did you call me for a reason? Or is it just pick on Sirius day?"

"Can't it be both?" As his godfather started to growl, Harry raised a hand in surrender. "I wanted to ask you about doing me a favor, but it can wait. If the wedding is going to be in a week, do you already have a honeymoon planned?"

"I do actually," Sirius replied. "But I'm not telling either of you since you have been taking the piss out of me."

"Fine," Harry shrugged. "When will you be back?"

"It will be a couple of weeks."

"Two weeks? Oh good, I knew I was marrying you for a reason," Kathryn teased.

"You know what this means, Harry?"

"What?"

"Next Sunday will be the wedding."

"I'll be there."

"I know," Sirius said with a smirk. "But your presence will also be required next Friday evening."

"Why?"

"For the bachelor party. You should prepare to get incredibly drunk."

"Sirius! He's not old enough to get seriously drunk yet."

"When you're with Sirius Black, you can't help but get seriously drunk."

"Oh no," Harry groaned. "You actually set him up for a pun? What is wrong with you?"

"I can't help it," Kathryn giggled. "He brings out the worst in me. Try to keep him from doing anything too terribly embarrassing, won't you Harry? Somewhat embarrassing is fine, just keep it from being anything that would make me want to stop the wedding."

"I'll see what I can do," he agreed.

"Thanks."

"I'll let you two go then. Have fun, and I'll see you soon."

Harry put the mirror away and sat down on the bed with a smile. After all Sirius had been through, he deserved some happiness.

He'd have to try to remember to bring a camera though, as embarrassing Sirius would definitely be on the agenda for next weekend. Harry might have to deliver any photos later though. He'd have to remember and find out when Kathryn's birthday was.

The camera idea made him think of getting a picture of the girls out on the couch, and Harry broke down and realized he needed the help.

"Dobby?"

"Master Harry sir! Dobby knew you would not make him suffer so! Dobby is more than ready to help." The elf was practically jumping for joy at finally being called. Harry shook his head before he replied.

"Are you sure you feel alright? I don't want you to aggravate any injuries from the battle."

"Master Harry shouldn't be so silly," Dobby laughed. "Dobby has a powerful master, which means Dobby's magic is powerful, and Dobby has healed powerfully. Now, what can Dobby do?"

"Alright, alright. I still want you to let me know if you need anything, okay? You did save my life yesterday."

"Then Dobby requests that master Harry give Dobby something to do."

"Fine, be that way," Harry grinned. "I was hoping you knew where the camera was. I want to get a picture of the girls before I have to wake them in time for dinner."

Dobby's fingers were snapping and he was already holding the camera before Harry had finished his sentence.

"Can't Dobby have something harder to do? Please?"

Harry could only shake his head in amusement. "Okay. Do you remember that cheesecake that Pansy liked so much? It was white chocolate raspberry."

"Oh yes. Miss Pansy loved it so much she made those noises she usually only makes when master Harry is in the bedroom with her."

"Um, yeah, right," Harry blushed. Dobby didn't usually mention that sort of thing. Maybe it was payback for making him take part of the day off? "Anyway, I was wondering if you could make some of that for tonight. I'd like to have a treat for... you know, actually, maybe we should do a picnic. It has been pretty warm today, so... Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. Do you think you could have that made and placed into a basket for us by about nine o'clock?"

"Of course sir," Dobby grinned. "That will be a piece of cake for Dobby. A piece of cheesecake!"

Harry chuckled and thanked him as Dobby smiled and left to get to work.

He was pleased when he went back out to find the two girls still dozing away. Harry made sure he had the frame lined up just right before he snapped a couple of pictures and the girls woke up with the sound.

"What?" Luna murmured as she drowsily sat up. "What time is it?"

Harry had tucked the camera behind his back as they opened their eyes. He felt Dobby take it from him and he promised that he would have to do something nice for the little guy later.

"It's almost dinner, so I'm afraid nap time is over."

"What did Dumbledore want?" Pansy asked after yawning.

"Nothing too important," Harry shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you later, but why don't we go eat first?"

* * *

Pansy had been wondering about Harry's pleasantly calm demeanor all day long. The stares from most of the room had felt bothersome even to her when they went to dinner, and yet he barely seemed to notice as they made small talk and ate. Luna was unflappable as always of course. She mulled this over as she mostly listened to the two of them.

After their meal, Harry whispered to her that he had something special planned for later that evening. She wasn't sure how much later he might mean, but she'd had a nice long nap that afternoon. They did have classes the next day though.

They walked Luna to the Ravenclaw tower once she'd had enough dessert and then slowly made their way back towards their quarters hand in hand. He didn't have much to say, but she imagined that he would want to wait for privacy before they got into discussing anything important. When the Fat Lady's portrait swung open to let them into the Gryffindor common room, they were met by more stares as the room went quiet.

Pansy was about to get annoyed, but Harry just tugged her along to their rooms. As the door shut behind them, he merely pulled her over to the couch with a smile on his face.

"How can that not bother you?" she practically shrieked.

"They just can't help themselves," Harry grinned. "They're all blinded by your beauty. How can I blame them for that?"

She snorted but sat down and tried to relax. "You know that isn't why they're staring."

"Yeah, but who cares? I think I'd like to be done worrying over other people."

"Are you going to tell me exactly what happened yesterday? If I felt a presence that almost certainly had to be my mother, then you must have seen... something."

"Oh, I did," he nodded. "I'm just waiting for Dobby to have something ready."

"Dobby was ready while master Harry was still eating," the elf said as he appeared and set down a picnic basket on the table in front of them. "Dobby also thought a drink would be needed and gathered a blanket. Master Harry doesn't always remember everything, but that's what Dobby is for!"

"You're the best, Dobby," Harry chuckled as the elf blushed and reached out his hands.

"Isn't it a little late for a picnic?" Pansy asked.

"We have magic, so I don't think we'll have any problems. Besides, you had a nice little nap this afternoon. If anyone should be worried about staying up too late, it's me. But we also have History in the morning."

"You know, we might want to pay attention in that class at some point. We do have our OWLs coming up."

"I don't think I'm physically capable of staying awake when listening to Binns' voice."

"You're incorrigible," she scoffed. "But you might have a point. Still, we could try reading the text while in the class to prepare."

"One more nap won't make that much difference."

"Alright," she stood up and grabbed Dobby's hand. Harry checked his pocket and took hold as well.

They popped out onto a clear area of the grounds south of the castle. The water from the lake gently lapping against the shore was the only sound they could hear. Harry cast a notice-me-not charm so they wouldn't be disturbed and then conjured some small blue flames that he guided into a bowl and then began setting up their picnic area.

"You're getting some extra boyfriend points tonight," she said, making him laugh. "Are you wanting a reward some time soon? Because you might want to think about that. I've got a couple of ideas."

"I'm sure you do. Your creativity is one of the things I love about you." Harry sat on the blanket spread on the ground and beckoned for her to join him. He reached into the basket and pulled out two plates.

"Is that cheesecake?"

"Yeah, that white chocolate raspberry kind that you liked so much. Did you know that Dobby went to spy on that restaurant so that he could learn how to make it properly? I think I might have encouraged his sneaky side too much."

"Nonsense. You can never be too sneaky," she said as she sat down beside him and took her first bite. Pansy moaned happily- Dobby had done a marvelous job yet again. "And if this is the result of Dobby's efforts, then we should encourage him even more."

"I'm glad you approve."

"Are you trying to butter me up?" Pansy asked before shuddering again when she took another bite.

"Not really. But I did have something to ask you."

"What?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go shopping once we finish the term here."

"Of course I want to go shopping," she replied.

"I meant for something specific," he said as he set his plate aside. Harry pulled something out of a pocket and looked at her seriously, even as his smile remained. "It's said that a brush with death can make you reconsider things in your life. Well, that sort of happened for me, although it didn't really change that much, now that I think about it. I've just decided that I don't like waiting. So, this summer, I think we should start visiting jewelry stores."

"For?" she asked, not trying to jump to conclusions, no matter how much part of her wanted to.

"I'd like to have a ring that I can put in a box like this," he answered, showing what was in his hand. "That way I can properly propose that we get married as soon as possible. But, I also realize that you have much better taste than me- and if you're going to be wearing a ring for decades and decades to come, then I want to make sure that we get the perfect one. I don't trust myself to do that. I lucked out in finding the perfect girl; I doubt I could find the perfect ring too."

"We don't have to go to that much trouble," she replied, even as she also started trying to picture the ring she wanted.

"You deserve it. You'll only be getting the one engagement ring, so I want it to be amazing."

"Amazing might cost a lot."

"That's fine. I don't know if you've heard, but I'm kind of rich. Once those bounties roll in for the Death Eaters I killed, we'll be even more rich. I think we can afford to splurge a bit for something like this."

Pansy decided not to control herself anymore, other than very briefly setting her unfinished cheesecake out of the way before launching herself at him. They fell back onto the blanket as she proceeded to try to snog his lights out.

When she finally came up for air, sitting astride him, Pansy looked down and smiled at Harry's neck. She might have left a mark or two on him, and she wasn't planning on letting him heal it before showing off her handiwork to the rest of the school tomorrow. Anyone that might not approve could piss off.

"I love you," she said with a sigh. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Alright. You'll need to get off me if you want me to be able to think properly."

"Of course," she giggled. "My poor Harry can only think with one head at a time. I guess we might want to finish the cheesecake first too."

"Yeah, and I'm curious about what drinks Dobby picked out."

Pansy began eating again while Harry checked the basket.

"Hmm," he muttered. "Dobby must have been reading my mind."

"Why?"

"We're celebrating, apparently," Harry answered as he pulled a couple of long stemmed glasses out and then a bottle.

"Is that champagne?" she asked, unable to tell for certain in the dim light.

"It is."

"Where did Dobby get that?" Pansy asked. "Did you plan that far out?"

"No, but I won't turn it down."

"Well, you did sort of ask me to marry you," she said with a smirk. "I guess a celebration is in order."

"I propose a toast then," Harry said just before the loud pop of the cork. He poured them each a glass, barely managing not to spill anything. "To the woman worth coming back from the dead for."

"Harry-" he cut her off with a kiss before passing over the champagne.

"To you, my love." He raised his glass and she couldn't help but grin.

"Fine, to me."

They clinked their glasses together and each took a drink of bubbly.

"This is good," she said. "I think this is the same type we had at the Delacours for New Year's."

"I wonder if that's where he got it from."

"Maybe." Pansy took another drink and stretched her legs out on the blanket. "So, talk Harry. I've waited long enough."

"Okay." He took another drink and then set the glass off to the side before laying back and looking up at the stars. Pansy followed his lead and lay next to him.

"It's a nice night. Not many clouds, so we've got a great view." He hummed to himself for a moment. "I think that's a good place to start. We view our lives... really, the only way we can I suppose. It's not like you can easily detach yourself, but I saw something far beyond me when I died. At least, I think I died. Or pretty close to it, anyway."

"What was it?" she whispered as she curled up next to him, noticing Harry still staring up into the sky.

"Everything, for a moment anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw something practically infinite," he muttered before turning to look at her for a moment. "Sorry if that sounds strange, but it was a pretty strange experience. I met Death."

"Death?"

"Well, he said it was like a manifestation of Death that a mortal would be able to understand."

"He?"

"Yeah, he took the form of a rather wealthy looking older man. He wore this nicely tailored suit. And he told me a lot of things. Do you remember when Slughorn told us about the horcruxes? And how I guessed that I had one- an accidental one, supposedly- that tied me to him through my scar? Well, that turned out to be true, only it isn't anymore. The little slice of Riddle that was feeding off of me is now gone."

"That's a relief."

"Yeah, he said that what happened was one of the simpler ways of separating what he called the parasite from me. You remember what I told you about how Riddle had looked like this little practically skeletal baby-thing before he got a body back? That's pretty much what it looked like, only more pitiful in a way."

"Pitiful? Please don't tell me you pity that monster."

"Not really," Harry said even as he cocked his head to the side and scanned the stars above him. "I mean, he is a crazy, evil bastard who deserves to die, but I found out just how badly he screwed up. The horcruxes were a terrible mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"There is an afterlife, so that means you're stuck with me in this world and the next."

Pansy giggled and reached over to take his hand in hers. "I think I can manage. I haven't gotten sick of you yet."

"I'd hope not." He smiled for a second and then looked back up. "Anyway, on the other hand, Riddle is out of luck. Apparently, tearing your soul into little pieces in order to try to become immortal means that as those pieces are destroyed in life, they also get destroyed in death. The soul isn't meant to be mangled like that. When what's left of Tom Riddle finally dies, all he'll face is oblivion. And the sad thing, for him anyway, is that he's doomed himself."

"We've still got to get rid of those things before he can be killed though."

"It won't be a problem. I sort of performed Legilimency on the piece that was in my scar. Death told me that I should take what knowledge I wanted from it before it dissolved into nothingness. During that brief moment, it still had some connection to the other pieces, so I got a sort of vision of where each of them are."

"So, we can destroy them and then anyone will be able to kill him. You won't have to do everything, right?"

"I won't necessarily have to, but I think I might end up doing it anyway."

"Why?" Pansy whined. "Why does it always have to be you? For fuck's sake, Harry, let Moody and Sirius and even Dumbledore do shit like this. Riddle isn't your fault and he shouldn't be our fucking problem."

"Don't worry sweetheart," he said with a reassuring tone before kissing the top of her head. "I'll be fine."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, I've got Death on my side, for one thing."

"What?!"

"Oh yeah, I've still got a lot more to tell you. Did you know that Death can get bored?"

Pansy started to laugh but Harry was apparently serious. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, he specifically wants to help me so that he can keep us humans around for a long time. Apparently, we entertain him. Oh, and have you heard of the Deathly Hallows?"

"From the children's story?"

"Yeah. The story got some parts of it wrong, and he was pretty annoyed by how Death comes off as this evil jerk trying to trick the brothers into dying, but the three items are all real."

"No way."

"Yep. Here, wait just a second." Harry sat up and pulled his invisibility cloak out of the extended pocket he always kept it in and handed it over. "You are now holding in your hand Death's own cloak from the story. It has been passed down through my family for centuries and it has never worn out."

"But then-"

"I should be gathering the other two some time this summer, according to him anyway. I guess that means something is going to happen to the headmaster." Harry scratched his chin.

"What about him?"

"Oh, he's got the Elder Wand. Death said that I should have all of them within a few months. I wonder if that means that I'll steal it from Dumbledore. I don't think I would kill him for it, but if Riddle somehow did, then he would try to take it, and I'm pretty sure I won't be trying to get in the middle of a fight between those two. Hmm. I guess we'll see soon enough."

"So, if you gather all three, will you be the legendary Master of Death?"

"No, that's just something humans made up. Mortals couldn't be allowed that much power over such an important cosmic force like Death. But, he did sort of hint that I might want to hold onto the wand. The stone, on the other hand, I will be keeping away from everyone. Even you."

"Why?"

"Because it is cursed. Anyone who uses it is driven to cause their own deaths. That part in the story about the second brother killing himself- that's pretty much what it does to everyone. We aren't supposed to try to contact the other side like that. Oh, and I need you to promise me something- you cannot mention this to Luna."

"You think she would want to contact her mother."

"Death pretty much told me so. He warned me about it- he called the Lovegoods 'true believers' in the stories about the Deathly Hallows. I'm not going to let Luna kill herself."

"Yeah, okay, I promise. Luna means too much to me to risk it."

"She is our girl," Harry chuckled. "And I did promise Xeno I would take care of her if I needed to. Now that I think of it, it might be smart for me to think about using the Fidelius charm. We did learn about it last year from Flitwick. Although... I don't remember why exactly. Were we researching it because my parents had used it?"

Pansy shook her head. "I don't remember either. But let's stay focused. What else about Death?"

"Oh right, so yeah, Death and I made a bargain. He will look out for us and I will become a conduit for him to interact with the mortal world. He made it sound like humans were doomed otherwise."

"Why would we be doomed?"

"Pollution and things like that," Harry answered as he closed his eyes. "I'm not sure what all he's going to do, but he made it sound like there would be some big things- really powerful things- that would be necessary to save us. Did I mention that we entertain him? He showed me that there are something like seven hundred worlds in our galaxy right now with life on them, but none of them are at the same level of evolution as us. I think some have come before us, and some will definitely come after, but for now, Death is invested in keeping us around."

"So that he won't get bored," Pansy snorted. "That still sounds crazy."

"Apparently eternity can get really tedious if you don't have ways to amuse yourself. We happen to be one of those ways for Death. Since he was offering his help, I wasn't going to argue with him. I just hope he was right.

"You know, he made it seem like Riddle was no big deal," Harry said as he lay back down. "He said that in the greater scheme of things, there were much bigger problems. I think that's why he wanted me to deal with him on my own. Like... like I'm supposed to deal with him because he wasn't worth Death's time. Although, he did say he would step in if he needs to, but..."

"But you think you can do it on your own," Pansy sighed, placing her hand on top of Harry's chest. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Trust me, everything's going to be alright." Harry glanced over at her with a smile. "Besides, I'm going to make Sirius help with at least part of it. And I guess you could too, if you want."

"What do you mean?"

"Destroying the horcruxes," Harry replied as he looked back up at the stars. "Three of them should be fairly easy. We'll need to wait a little while though. Sirius is getting married next weekend."

"Next weekend? Why that soon? I thought it was going to be this summer."

"After the battle, he didn't want to wait anymore." Harry chuckled to himself. "And he has somehow tricked Kathryn Nott into falling for him. The wedding is going to be next Sunday. I assume you'll be my date."

"Of course. Are you going to be part of the wedding itself?"

"No. They're going with a smaller ceremony. After what just happened, I don't think we want me being there to screw up things for the happy couple. If the press found out I was there, they'd probably swarm the place. Plus, he and Lupin are still pals, so Lupin's going to be his best man."

"Do you mind that?"

"Not really. It might have been fun to be more involved under different circumstances, but I think this will be for the best." Harry closed his eyes and thought for a moment before chuckling. "I do have to warn you that I will be busy next Friday night as my presence is required for the bachelor party."

"Oh my... with Sirius, that could be..."

"Yeah, I'm hoping he won't try to get me so drunk that I have to spend the rest of the weekend vomiting. If I'm lucky, my wonderful girlfriend might take care of me when I get home."

"We'll see," Pansy said with a smirk. "But, shouldn't that be your wonderful fiancee now?"

"Well, when I sort of asked, you didn't sort of answer."

"Too late to take it back, Harry," she laughed. "You're going to be spending an awful lot of money buying me an astoundingly gorgeous ring, and then you're going to have to come up with an amazing proposal to convince me to keep you."

"Challenge accepted," he chuckled.

And with that they both relaxed under the stars and set their worries aside. They had much better things to think about.

* * *

It was the next day as Potions ended that Pansy found herself splitting away from Harry before lunch. She told him that she would meet him in the Great Hall in a bit. But first, she had something to take care of in the bathroom- and she made sure that Lavender wasn't going with Parvati.

Once she had seen they were definitely alone, she charmed the door for privacy and waited for Parvati to finish her business. Pansy was washing her hands at the sinks and watching in the mirror.

"Did you tell anyone?" she asked just before Parvati could turn the water on.

"What?"

"At the ministry the other day- you kissed Harry. Did you tell anyone?"

Parvati flinched and stared at her hands for a moment. When she looked up, Pansy already knew the answer.

"I... I might have mentioned it to my sister when I got back," Parvati admitted. "She was really worried about me, and she's known how I've felt about him for a long time. Padma still thinks I'm crazy, so I sort of wanted to just... I don't know."

"I understand, I think," Pansy said. "Is that all?"

"Well..." Parvati finished washing and started drying her hands before finally grimacing as she looked in the mirror. "I might have also said something to Lavender."

Pansy laughed.

"I know," Parvati groaned. "She's my best friend, but now the whole school's going to know. I'm sorry."

"You know, I'm not actually that mad," Pansy said with a smirk. "You did help save Luna's dad, and Harry told me about how you even killed one of the Death Eaters. But telling Lavender, that's going to cost you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, once I hear about it going around, then I'll have to confront you, obviously. It will be very public. I can't let other girls think they can just snog Harry whenever they feel like it. You're just going to have to deal with my anger. If you're lucky though, I might be able to subtly warn you when it's coming. How's your numbing charm?"

"Good. Why?"

"You might want to start practice numbing your left cheek. I'm right handed."

"Huh?" Parvati's eyes flashed with recognition after a second of thought. "Oh. Yeah, I got it. Thanks for not being too mad at me."

"I'm in too good a mood to let anything screw that up."

"As much as I might not have enjoyed watching you two snog like that in the middle of the ministry's lobby, it was infinitely preferable to seeing Harry hit by that curse. That was the worst thing I'd ever felt; if I was ever around the dementors again, I think it might be what they made me relive. Even worse, it came right as we all thought we'd won and survived the battle and everything." Parvati sighed. "I'm glad everything turned out okay."

"Me too," Pansy agreed. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What is Arithmancy like? It's not what I imagined Harry or you would be interested in. I've heard it was really stuffy and filled with maths, and honestly it sounded like the sort of thing Hermione would adore. I think I'd rather claw my eyes out than take a class like that."

"It is pretty dry at times, but I've always been pretty good with numbers," Pansy shrugged. "I think Harry would tell you that it's his least favorite of the electives we've taken, but Care of Magical Creatures hasn't been the same ever since he accidentally killed that dragon. Hagrid's never completely forgiven him for that."

"Hagrid is mental."

"I think we all know that," Pansy snorted. "Do you actually like Divination? I've heard it's rather... silly."

Parvati giggled in reply. "Professor Trelawney does have her moments, but there are parts of it I really like. I mean, I know that horoscopes can be really open-ended, but with something like predicting the weather- that's really useful. Just imagine wearing a cute outfit to Hogsmeade, not knowing that it was going to be pouring rain later that day, and then your favorite blouse got soaked and the wrong sort of boys were staring at you. Yuck!"

"But I'm sure you wouldn't mind if it was a little see through around... say, Harry?"

"Of course not!" Parvati stuck her nose in the air. "We all know that Harry is a gentleman."

"A gentleman that you would happily let stare at your boobs," Pansy chuckled.

They were both still grinning as they went to lunch.

Unfortunately, the rumor was already making the rounds later that afternoon, so Pansy gave Parvati a glare as they left the last class of the day. Professor Watts already had them going over things they would need to learn for the OWLs, which were just over a month away.

Pansy could tell that a lot of people were shocked by how loud the slap was when they got down to dinner that evening. She'd seen Parvati slip into the restroom after Defense, so she had to assume she was prepared.

She didn't bother saying anything. Pansy figured the little brief bit of violence was enough of a message.

And she might have rather possessively taken hold of Harry's arm for the next couple of days, just in case. There were still a number of girls eyeing Harry even more than usual. The next morning's paper had already dubbed him the Chosen One on the front page. That one third year girl Vane was practically salivating while watching him at meals.

Luna helped out by sitting on Harry's other side so they had a small buffer zone.

Pansy had a feeling that she might have to make a couple more displays to get some of the fans to leave them be. She doubted Harry would mind, but she was still considering how far she might need to go.

* * *

The mail started to pour in almost immediately. Harry was once again beloved, now loudly dubbed the Chosen One. While there were people who were merely encouraging, those who thanked him for saving them all once again quickly started to grate on him. He hadn't done anything to try to save the world, he was merely trying to help the people he cared about. The public seemed to want to make him into something much more grandiose, and Harry found it fairly annoying.

But that was nothing compared to the people who wrote in asking him what he would do next. Or how he would stop 'you-know-who' for good.

Or why he hadn't already done so- there were actually two different arseholes who sent in letters asking precisely that. Pansy started to rant about useless fucking ingrates, but Harry merely sighed and chucked the parchment onto the fire.

He'd learned his lessons about the fickle public, so he was going to try to mostly ignore it.

* * *

"Welcome, everyone, to our last meeting," Harry began and immediately the groans started. He grinned in response. "I suppose I should be proud that you all seem to have enjoyed this little gathering of ours. Unfortunately, a number of us have some very big exams coming up, so I don't really think we can spend too much more time here."

"But you-know-who is still out there," someone piped up from the rear of the room.

"Call him Tom Riddle," Harry said with a slight grimace. "He is still out there, but he's had a big loss recently. You might have heard something about it- I believe the paper may have had a story or two in the last few issues."

There was a lot of laughter at that, some of it still a touch nervous as everyone seemed to be even more awed than usual by Harry. The people in that room had gotten to know him a bit better over the course of the year though, and Pansy was thankful that most of the girls there seemed to have realized that he was taken. Even Susan Bones had gotten the message, so Pansy had to assume that it would be rude for her to sneer at the girl as much as she used to.

"Now, I have it on good authority-" Harry gestured towards the rear of the room, where Watts was once again watching and he nodded in return. "For those of us who have these big exams coming up, the Patronus is known as a very advanced spell. Some of you have learned it, and most of the rest of you have been getting closer. If you can conjure one, I am fairly certain that it will help improve your score in Defense. I was thinking we could work on it a bit more tonight, and if any of you are wanting to continue later, just remember to have a partner in case you wear yourselves out."

"Aren't you worried about Riddle though? He tried to kill you," Neville said.

"Yeah, and he's tried before a few times too. You'd think he might have learned a lesson by now," Harry answered with a small smirk. "I'm still here."

"It looks like the Prophet finally got something right for once," Fred said.

"Yeah, Harry really must be the Chosen One," George added with a grin. "I believe in you anyway, mate."

"I've been called worse things before," Harry shrugged. "But we aren't here to discuss the paper. Let's work on the Patronus. Everyone should have at least one partner to watch you as you cast, just in case you push too hard. I'll go around the room and try to offer advice where I can. Any other questions before we begin?"

"Do you think you'll run this again next year?" Susan asked, clearly hopeful.

"I'd like to think there won't be any reason for me to need to do so," Harry replied with a smile. "We'll just have to see how things go between now and next fall. Right then, everyone, remember to use your most powerful positive feelings and let's see what everybody's got."

Cries of _Expecto Patronum_ were soon ringing out all across the room.

* * *

A few days later, Pansy was once again sitting on her couch with Luna. Depeche Mode's Violator was playing in the background- ever since she'd told the story about the little blue dress that she'd teased Harry with starting three summers ago, and hence, why Blue Dress was his favorite song on the album, it had become one of Luna's favorites as well.

The two of them had been working on a couple of assignments, Charms for Pansy and Potions for Luna, while taking only the occasional break for bouts of girl talk.

"It's too bad that Harry decided to cancel Surviving Death Eaters 101," Luna said as she pushed her parchment aside. "I understand why he did, but I'll miss it. It was a lot of fun. I suppose we won't need to worry as much with all the Death Eaters dead. Or almost all of them, anyway."

"The girls in Slytherin who needed to fight last winter probably got the most out of all the training," Pansy added.

"Unfortunately so," Luna agreed. "Although, I think Harry might have needed the group more than any of us."

"What do you mean?"

"It pushed him to really think about everything that needed to happen. Between keeping his friends alive and safe, to knowing just how far the good guys might need to go in order to fight fire with fire, and building up a larger group that can fight off the dementors if the need arises- they are still out there somewhere, remember? Harry's had all of that on his mind; he's been shouldering the burden admirably, but I hope that he won't need to do it anymore. I don't want my best friend to have to be the Chosen One. I'd rather he just have normal things to worry about. Like ways to surprise his girlfriend."

"You know something," Pansy said, her eyes lighting up as she noticed Luna's change of tone. "What is he planning?"

"I had to help him with a potion," she answered with a dreamy grin. "Believe me, you don't want this spoiled. You'll love it."

"I don't like surprises."

"First of all, stop pouting, that won't work on me," Luna replied. "Secondly, I know you've liked some of Harry's surprises before. Such as how he got rid of your father for you."

"I was worried at the time."

"Which made it that much better once you found out," Luna added. "And as I recall, it also helped you perform the role of the surprised daughter even better."

"Fine," Pansy sighed.

Luna yawned. "I thought he might be home by now."

"You don't have to stay up all night with me, sweetie."

"I don't mind," Luna shrugged. "I'm kind of looking forward to seeing one of Dobby's breakfasts."

"Alright, but you might have to take the other bedroom tonight. I'm hoping Harry will be functional enough for us to have some fun before we go to sleep."

"Lucky you," Luna teased.

"Let's hope so," Pansy replied with a smirk. "But if not, then Harry might not be the most pleasant person to wake up with tomorrow."

"Don't you already have a potion for him?"

"And a sobering charm will probably be leaving my wand as soon as he shows up."

"Can I come eat breakfast in bed with you once we're all awake?" Luna asked.

"I suppose we should get dressed first and make sure Harry is capable of taking in solid food."

"Don't go to any trouble on my account," Luna said. "I won't mind at all if neither of you is dressed."

"Of course," Pansy snorted.

"Besides, it might be fun to feed Harry if he's still feeling bad. It could be like a sick little kid." Luna got a gleeful expression. "That could be good practice for my role as Aunty Luna someday. Just imagine little Harry junior pouting as he says his tummy feels bad. 'Aunty Luna's got medicine for you, so open up.' He'll love me, of course, so it won't be any trouble at all."

"Maybe not. What if he says, 'medicine tastes yucky. I don't wanna.' Then he'll go back to pouting and you'll have to work harder."

"All Aunty Luna medicines will taste yummy though."

"Luna, tiramisu isn't actually a medicine."

"Hush you heathen," Luna scolded. "It always makes me feel better."

"That's because you have a sweet tooth the size of Hagrid," Pansy snorted. Before the conversation could continue, Dobby and Harry appeared. The elf had a camera in his other hand and he disappeared with it as Harry fell over.

"Honey, I'm home!" he giggled.

"Oh dear, it does look pretty serious," Luna sighed.

"Pretty serious?" Harry laughed again. "I don't think he's pretty at all. Girls are pretty, not Sirius."

"This is bad," Pansy groaned. "He would never think puns like that were funny normally." She looked down at her very inebriated boyfriend, who was still giggling to himself as he rolled around on the floor. One of the nice things about Harry was that he was at least a happy drunk. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Strippers," Harry snorted. "Bad then good."

"Oh, are strippers fun?" Luna asked. "I haven't seen that before, but I'd like to someday."

"Lupin had this one come out, she was sooo fat," Harry chuckled. "Sirius looked like he was going to cry while she danced for him. But then- then the real one came out and she was this really hot blonde."

"I'm liking where this is going," Luna said as Pansy got up, shaking her head and considering if she should cast the sobering charm on him yet. She could always see if Harry admitted anything that she could hold over his head, which was pretty tempting. Pansy decided to wait for a moment; curiosity got the better of her.

"Sirius was really happy then," Harry continued. "He said, 'this is what I'm looking forward to. Why do you think I planned for a two week honeymoon?' And I said, 'why?' And he said, he said because he was panning on shagging for two weeks straight. That sounds like fun to me. Do you think I could get Pansy to do that on our honeymoon?"

"What did this hot blonde stripper look like, Harry?" Luna asked. "I want you to paint me a vivid picture."

"Oh, you know. She was like, kinda tall... but that might have been the heels," Harry frowned for a moment. "I wasn't really standing up, you know? And I was sort of looking up at her, so it was hard to tell for sure. And she had big boobs, but..."

"But what?"

"I don't think they were real."

"Fake boobies?" Luna asked. "How would someone do that?"

"No, I mean like she'd had a boob job," Harry answered.

"Harry, I know what a blow job is, and I know what a hand job is," Luna lectured. "I can imagine what a boob job would be, but I don't see how that means that her boobies were fake."

"No, um... a boob job is another way of saying a breast um... what is it called?" Harry scratched his head for a moment. "I mean, some people get a surgery to make their boobs bigger. You know, like in the muggle world. Do witches have a way of doing something like that?"

"A surgery," Luna scowled. "That doesn't sound very fun. And yes, there are a couple of ways to do something like that with magic. Why do you ask?"

Harry shrugged. Pansy was watching him carefully for an answer.

"What were we talking about?" he asked before rubbing his head. "And why haven't either of you cast a, a... a non-drunky spell at me yet?"

"You're kind of funny like that," Luna said with a smile. "I think I like drunk Harry. You're much better than my father. Daddy tends to get rather maudlin. That's why we keep the house alcohol free usually. He's so much more funny on mushrooms."

"Mushrooms are good on pizza," Harry said.

"Not those types of mushrooms."

"Right, right," Harry nodded. "Pansy, will you fix me up now?"

"I don't know, will you make it worth my while?"

"Of course." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned. "I'm more than ready for that."

"I'll let you two enjoy yourselves then," Luna said as she got up. "Don't forget his hangover potion before breakfast."

"I won't, sweetie," Pansy replied. "Now, what am I going to do with you?"

"I've got a lot of good ideas. They involve us taking all these pesky clothes off though."

"Maybe I'm not in the mood for something like that." Harry's face fell and Pansy stifled a smirk. "You did just tell me that you spent the night ogling other women."

"I'm not the one that decided to go to a strip club," Harry protested. "Besides, none of them were as hot as you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, remember that time, um... it was after the dragon," Harry smiled brightly. "You did the sexy stripping that evening. Remember that? That was like the best night of my life. One of them, anyway."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Yeah, you should really do that again some time."

"You want me to strip for you?" Pansy asked with a grin. "I thought you liked taking my clothes off."

"That's fun too," he nodded before reaching up to grab his head. "I... ugh, I think I might need to go to the bathroom. I probably had too much to drink tonight."

"I can tell," Pansy snorted.

"That's not my fault either," Harry groaned. "Tonks was there."

"Really? I thought this was going to be an all guys sort of thing." Pansy took pity on him then and used her wand as she didn't want to have to deal with him vomiting in the middle of the room.

"Thanks," he said as the sobering charm washed over him. "She looked like a guy when we first got there, so I didn't recognize her, but then I turned around and it was back to good old pink haired little Nymmie. Sirius called her that, and I think she was seriously considering hexing him in front of all the muggles. But then she mostly ignored him and started talking to me a lot. And then she introduced me to jelly shots.

"And we had a lot of them."

"How many is a lot?"

"I was too drunk to count by then," Harry replied as he crawled over to the couch and put his head in her lap. "I love you, you know?"

"I know."

"I think my head should feel better soon, and then I'm hoping to show you just how much in the bedroom."

"It's almost two, Harry." Pansy yawned and he cracked open one of his eyes at her. "You're lucky I waited up for you."

He yawned as well. It was apparently contagious. "I guess we could always have fun tomorrow. Just don't make me try to stand up yet."

She giggled and played with his hair for a moment. "Please tell me you got some pictures of Sirius acting like a fool."

"Of course," Harry grinned without opening his eyes. "Evidence and more reasons to take the piss out of him were the main reasons I went."

"Good boy," she teased, scratching behind his ears. Harry made a softly grumbling happy sound, something like a purr while Pansy yawned again. It was really late, and she was more than ready for bed. Fun could wait till tomorrow as far as she was concerned. Now she just needed to convince Harry of the same thing.

She took a moment to relax and enjoy the quiet, but she had to look down again when she heard Harry start to snore. "Dobby, please tell me you're still up."

"Dobby is here miss."

"Thank you," she exhaled. "Help me get Harry into bed please."

"Miss doesn't usually need help with that," Dobby replied.

"You're such a joker sometimes," Pansy smirked once the elf floated him up from off her lap. "Will you mind making breakfast for Luna tomorrow too?"

"No, but Dobby thinks that Winky might want to help. Dobby and Winky tries not to fight when our families do things together."

"Thanks. With the wedding only another day away, I believe Harry and I will have plenty for you to do over the weekend anyway."

"Miss Pansy says the nicest things."


	86. Not Bad for One Night

* * *

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Sirius and Kathryn Black leaned together and proceeded to do just that as people began to clap all around them. Pansy was smiling and enjoying herself. She hadn't been to a wedding in several years. Even then, she had mostly been forced to behave more 'properly' than a child might have liked, but it was still usually a lot more fun than her parents would have allowed otherwise. When they had been busy socializing with the other adults, she had been able to be free to do what she liked, within reason. And one of those things was watching when people danced.

She was pretty sure that Harry had never been to one before, and she was going to do all she could to make sure that he had a blast that day. Plus, she was very much looking forward to taking him out on the dance floor. As soon as the newlywed Blacks' first dance was out of the way, Pansy was going to be in Harry's arms and enjoying the way they moved together.

Harry was clapping and cheering as loudly as anyone else as he stood next to her. She leaned in close to ask him, "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Because Sirius deserves this," he answered quietly with a grin. "After all the shit he's been through, and after all he's done to help us, he deserves a happy ending more than almost anyone else I can think of."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Pansy admitted in a low voice as everyone watched the newly wed couple make their way down the aisle before sighing. "They look really happy. I love a good wedding."

"Really?"

"I went to a few when I was younger, and they were some of the rare occasions I could avoid my parents and have fun. Plus, it might have fueled my love of dancing."

"Well, I guess I know what we'll be doing soon enough," Harry replied as they followed the crowd over to the reception area.

They were eventually seated at a table with Andromeda and Tonks, and a meal featuring roast lamb was enjoyed by all. Tonks spent the time between bites telling tales of the bachelor party- Pansy laughed along while Andi rolled her eyes at her daughter's attempts at horrifying her. Harry tried to remember everything Nym was saying because the latter half of the evening had been kind of a drunken blur for him. He was glad that Pansy had been ready and willing to restore his health afterwards. He'd still woken up with a bit of a headache the next day, but it wasn't nearly as bad as his first hangover had been.

Pansy was also quite pleased that Narcissa hadn't been there. She hadn't asked if Sirius hadn't invited her or if she had decided not to come on her own. From what she knew, Andi had been much closer to Sirius than her sister, so maybe that was the deciding factory. Regardless, Pansy wasn't going to ask in case it caused anything awkward.

And speaking of awkward- only a couple of tables over, the Nott family was sitting during the meal. This included Theodore, who had tried to slip her a love potion the year before. He'd paid for it with his memories, as Harry had obliviated him of several years, and he hadn't returned to Hogwarts since.

Harry still felt like glaring at him, and Pansy whispered to him that they shouldn't draw any attention, making him nod and do his best to ignore their former classmate. She just hoped they wouldn't have to interact with the bride's family anymore than absolutely necessary.

Before long, the meal was over and the new couple took to the dance floor, opening with a Weird Sisters tune which Pansy found passable. She immediately started thinking of what songs she might like played at her own wedding and trying to narrow things down to one single song for an official beginning as Mrs. Potter. It was harder than she might have thought, but she was also basking in the much more real idea of marrying Harry. The complications and dangers standing in their way had mostly been dealt with. Seeing clear to their future instead of worrying over the present was a new and wonderful feeling.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked, noticing her grin.

"Which song we should dance to," Pansy answered quietly. "There are a lot of good possibilities."

"True."

"It's nice, you know?"

"What?"

"Thinking about things like that instead of worrying about Death Eaters."

"Yeah," Harry agreed with a smile. "Less than eight months till you're of age. There won't be anything in our way anymore by then."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," she said with a smirk.

"I've never been more sure of anything else in my life."

"Sweet talker," Pansy teased as the clapping once again began, the first dance coming to an end.

"Shall we?" Harry offered her his arm as another song came on.

"We shall."

* * *

Things progressed nicely for the next couple of hours. Miraculously, they avoided any close encounters with the Nott family. Harry had caught Theodore gawking at Pansy again and he had glared at him until he looked away.

In one way, Harry couldn't blame him though. Pansy looked like she had been poured into her little black dress. She had claimed that it was a rather simple outfit really, but all Harry could see was that she was looking really sexy. Her eyes betrayed her, and he knew that she knew she was teasing him. They would doubtless have some fun once they went home that night.

Before they could leave though, Harry had separated to talk with Sirius briefly. That left Pansy standing alone when Andi came back around to speak with her.

"My daughter hasn't said much about what happened at the ministry to me," she began. "I believe she has had some trouble getting past the fact that she had to kill someone. The fact that it was my sister added an obvious complication. She hasn't been quite herself when we've been alone. Has she said anything to you or Harry?"

"No. At least, not that I know of as far as Harry goes. She seemed alright to me, but I don't know Tonks as well as you do."

"She isn't listening," Andi snorted. "You should call her Nymphadora."

"I'll leave that to Harry and Sirius so that I can watch her try to hex them for it," Pansy responded with a grin.

"I will admit that can be fairly amusing."

"Yeah." Pansy thought for a moment. "From what I've heard, she was really angry when she killed Bellatrix. She said something about it being for Ted and told her to go to Hell. I think... maybe she isn't sure about how you feel about Bellatrix. She might be worried that a part of you mourns your sister, even in spite of everything that happened."

"She shouldn't worry about that," Andi said with a frown. "I lost my sister a long time ago. When she killed Ted, that washed away any good memories that might have remained from childhood. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I remember the story about your father's death. I would think that him killing your mother would have made you hate him, no matter how you might have felt about him previously. Am I wrong?"

"Only in that you assume that I ever liked that bastard," Pansy scoffed. "There were no good feelings to wash away in my case."

"I am sorry. I did not realize he had been that awful," Andi sighed and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, I can relate. Neither of my parents were ever very caring people. I didn't miss much when I left behind the Black family. It's actually nicer now than it might have ever been before. Even Cissy has become so much more relaxed and open. Now, we just have to hope that Sirius doesn't screw up his marriage. He's been known for making some pretty big mistakes before."

"Harry thinks this will work. He believes that the age difference is actually a good thing."

"You mean because Sirius still acts like an immature young man?" Andi said with a grin. Harry took that moment to rejoin them.

"I think that he needs to stay young, or maybe, to be young again. After Azkaban, we should be glad that he isn't a broken, broody mess."

"I hope you're right, Harry," Andi replied. "I'd like to see my cousin heal after all that he's been through, especially lately. Maybe Kathryn can help him with that. We all deserve a break from the fighting."

"Today has been nice for that," Pansy added.

"Indeed. I suppose we'll see soon enough if they are matched well for the long run, and whether or not Sirius will ever grow up."

"I think he's planning on it, sooner or later," Harry said. "I'm looking forward to seeing him become a father one of these days."

"Why?"

"So I can see everything he does right or wrong and, hopefully, learn from his mistakes. I figure he'll get started on having kids before I do, out of fear if nothing else."

That made Andi chuckle. "Yes, he's told me that he can't let you two begin another generation of Potters before he has some little brats of his own. And as someone who has raised Nymphadora, let me promise you that at some point, no matter how much you may love them, they will be little brats. So think about that before the two of you plan on making any of those little Potters."

"I'm not in that much of a hurry," Pansy said.

"But can you imagine anything cuter than a little Pansy junior? She'll be adorable," Harry teased.

"And she already has her father wrapped around her little finger, several years before her birth," Pansy smirked.

"Would you prefer a daughter?" Andi asked.

"I'd like to have both, but yeah," Harry admitted. "I hope she takes after her mum, so she'll be a perfect little angel."

"I don't know how you can possibly say that with a straight face," Pansy rolled her eyes. "If she takes after me, she'll be a nightmare. Even worse when I consider how much you spoil me."

"You love that I spoil you."

"I don't think I'll love it when you spoil our children rotten."

"Well, I won't spoil them completely rotten then," Harry shrugged. "That's probably the best I can promise."

"Sirius is right," Andi said with a fond little smile. "You two really are like a married couple already. How long have you been together now?"

"Almost three years," Harry replied with a grin. "I got lucky that day we met."

"I have to admit, I didn't do too badly either by ending up with you," Pansy agreed. "It could have been much worse, especially if my parents had their way."

"That I can definitely understand," Andi nodded. "I know very well the awful business of arranged marriages. I'll gladly take the years I had with Ted over anything my parents would have approved of. I shudder to think of what could have been- they did set both of my sisters up with Death Eaters, mind you."

"Yeah, yuck," Harry said.

"Yuck indeed," Andi smiled. "I'll give you two my blessing as long as I am invited to the wedding, and as long as the bride isn't already pregnant."

"No worry there," Pansy replied. "Harry has already promised me a very long honeymoon, and we'll be enjoying that without any extra passengers."

"Good idea. Wish Ted and I had thought of that," Andi laughed.

* * *

Luna looked over at him as Harry sat down the next day for dinner. He'd had this huge grin on his face all day.

"Man, I love weddings."

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled. "You see, Pansy loves weddings. That means she was in a really good mood when we went to Sirius' the other day."

"Where is she?" Luna wondered. It was really rare to see one of them at meal times without the other.

"Still studying in the library," Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. "Apparently, we've got these 'important' tests coming up and she wants to do really well on them. I think you've rubbed off on her, actually. She's turning into a bloody Ravenclaw. Study, study, study, but we've still got more than a month to go."

"Are you going to actually bother with preparing at all?" Luna asked as Harry just continued to smile lazily. "Or are you just going to 'wing it' like usual?"

"I'll crack open a book or two someday," he shrugged. "I doubt it matters that much for me. It's not like I'm worried about some career that I want. Not only do I have my family inheritance that I haven't put a dent in yet, but I should be having another small fortune coming in from the ministry one of these days due to all the wanted Death Eaters I dealt with when we rescued your dad. Plus, there's still all the rendered basilisk parts that Dobby put in stasis a couple of... no, I guess it's been almost three years now. Huh," Harry scratched his head for a moment. "Pansy has talked about selling all of it, but I haven't bothered yet, and she wants to do some research about anything we might want first."

"Then, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"I'm thinking I'd like to be a full-time husband and lover," Harry said with a smirk. "I'm planning on staying very busy with those roles."

"As long as Pansy doesn't get sick of you," Luna teased. "I suppose that could take some time, as you are pretty cute."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. But I think you might want to take up a hobby or something for when Pansy wants you to get out of her hair for a while."

"Eh, maybe," Harry replied. "I'll have enough time for thinking about things like that later. Honestly, the only part about the OWLs that I've really put much thought into is that next year I will finally be able to drop some of my classes. NEWT level students only have to take four or five classes, so I really only need to worry about passing a few of the exams."

"Let me see if I can predict the ones that you want to drop- Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy-"

"Three for three so far."

"Right, what about Arithmancy?" Luna wondered.

"Probably. Supposedly it gets a lot more interesting in the last couple of years, but..." Harry trailed off and shrugged.

"I would have said Potions too, but I know you get along well with professor Slughorn."

"Yeah, he's a good teacher and Pansy really likes the class." Harry stopped and sighed. "If you had told me a few years ago that I would have been continuing that class into my sixth year, I would have said you were crazy. That's one I'll put some effort into studying for."

"What others?"

"I'm not worried about Defense or Runes. They're my strongest classes. I do well in Charms too. Those four classes would arguably be enough, but I'm sure I'll be forced to work on Transfiguration too."

"So you're really only thinking about half of your exams," Luna pointed out. "I hope you don't regret that someday."

"Alright, mum," Harry scoffed. "Pansy said almost the exact same thing last week."

"She has a point."

"Fine, fine. I'll put forth a bit more effort just so I don't hear the two of you nag at me for the next month."

"Good boy." Luna patted him on the head like a pet; Harry was tempted to scowl at her, but he just couldn't. She was too damn cute for her own good. "I might be tempted to talk Pansy into rewarding your good behavior."

"I won't turn down that offer," Harry chuckled.

"Also, you'll have more time soon. The last quidditch match is on Saturday, so your practices will be over soon."

"Ugh, yeah," Harry groaned. "That just means that Angelina will probably have us out on the pitch every night this week."

"Doesn't she have her NEWTs coming up as well?"

"She does, but I know she's hoping to go professional, so that last match will be sort of like a final exam for her as well."

"You shouldn't catch the snitch too early then," Luna suggested. "Give her and your other teammates a chance to show off their skills for a little while before you win."

"I like how much faith you have in me," Harry laughed.

"I wonder if Cho Chang is planning on trying to flirt with you again," Luna pondered. "She did a couple of years ago, and I had so much fun that day. Pansy, Parvati, and Lavender were all basically screaming at her. It was a fun bonding experience."

"I'm happy for you, but I really hope she doesn't do any of that this time. I'd hate to have to stop Pansy from murdering her."

"That could put a damper on your love life, I suppose."

* * *

It was a few days later, and Pansy was so bored.

"Why won't he just catch the damn snitch already?" she moaned. "This sucks. Gryffindor has already got the stupid cup wrapped up."

"It might be my fault," Luna admitted. "I suggested that Harry might not want to try to win too quickly."

"Why?"

"See that man down in front?" Luna pointed him out and Pansy nodded. "He's a scout for Falmouth Falcons. I heard there was someone from the Appleby Arrows here as well. Several of the players, including Harry's captain, are hoping to make a career out of quidditch."

"So?"

"So, if Harry ended the match too soon, they wouldn't have as much of a chance to make a good impression on the scouts."

"Oh." Pansy sighed. "I should be really cross with you, sweetie."

"Do you really not care that your house is losing so badly?" Parvati asked. "I thought this was supposed to be a big deal to most people."

"I like Harry more than anyone in my house," Luna said before quickly leaning forward to smile at Parvati. "Although your sister is quite lovely, and there are a few others who are nicer to me now, especially after being in Harry's group this year. But, for quidditch, I'll always cheer for Harry."

"I'm surprised that Ron is doing so well today," Parvati added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lavender asked, obviously slightly affronted.

"Look, I know you think he's cute," Parvati said, trying not to snicker at Pansy's gagging sounds. "But he was all nerves in the first couple of matches. He's stopped almost everything today. I think that's the reason we're winning by so much. Ravenclaw's keeper is having a really off day, in comparison."

There was a loud cheer as Angelina scored another goal, putting Gryffindor now ahead by a score of two hundred ten to twenty.

"Harry thinks that was enough," Luna said as things quieted back down.

"He's seen the snitch!" Parvati squealed as she stood up and screamed for Harry to catch it. The others were soon on their feet as well. Cho was chasing after him, but he had a headstart as well as a faster broom, and soon he was diving down towards the ground. The snitch took a sharp turn no more than fifteen feet from the ground, but Harry rolled over on his Firebolt and pulled up a second later with the little golden ball in his outstretched left hand.

"Gryffindor wins!"

* * *

Harry hadn't taken long getting clean and changed after the match. Pansy had been waiting for him outside the locker room, and they walked hand in hand back up to the Gryffindor tower.

It had been simple and just... nice. There she was with her boyfriend, and there was nothing else to worry about for once.

Well, other than the OWLs, but Harry had a point that neither of them really needed to worry about applying for some sort of job after Hogwarts. They certainly wouldn't need the money, unless they started buying a bunch of ridiculously frivolous and expensive things.

On the other hand, she was starting to think that maybe she would like to do something other than shagging their way around the world. Harry would be disappointed by that thought, but then he was her single-minded goofball. After all the stresses they'd had for the last few years, she knew it was the best way for him to relax and unburden some of the pressure. And it was pretty damn fun too.

Luna had only congratulated Harry for a few minutes before splitting off to go back to her dorm. She had a headache and didn't feel up to a party that afternoon. Pansy was disappointed by this as she wasn't really interested in spending her time celebrating quidditch other than hoping Harry would feel up to shagging her silly. That was clearly the best part of the sport.

The Weasley Twins had been leading the procession upstairs, carrying the trophy between them. Usually, it would have been the captain, but Pansy had seen Angelina Johnson talking to one of the quidditch scouts after the match.

There was a roar of noise as the Fat Lady's portrait opened up. Pansy found herself dragged along into the crowd, but she couldn't help but grin at Harry's happy face. He'd been so... mellow ever since that day at the ministry. It was hard not to believe in his overwhelming confidence that everything was going to be okay.

Despite her added focus for the upcoming exams, he was keeping her from stressing out just by being himself. It made her love him even a bit more, although that was slightly undone by how lackadaisical he'd been about his own studies.

Soon enough, being engulfed with Harry in the middle of things got old, so Pansy pulled him in for a kiss, gave him a wink, and then playfully shoved him away when she saw Ron coming over to talk. He and Harry had started occasionally speaking again recently, but she wanted no part of his old friend. Knowing that they wouldn't be close again was enough to keep her from complaining too much. That was probably the fault of her stupid charming boyfriend too. She badly needed a reason to get catty so she could feel more like herself.

"Can you believe that?" Pansy turned to see Parvati had come over to talk to her.

"Believe what?"

She followed the other girl's finger and saw that Lavender was practically clinging to the side of Weasley. Pansy snorted loudly, not worried about anyone hearing her disgust before turning to her friend. "Is that new?"

"Sort of," Parvati sighed. "You've missed out on some gossip recently because you're always off in your own little world with Harry."

"Can you blame me?"

"No." Parvati frowned and muttered 'lucky bitch' before looking back across the room at her best friend. "Anyway, as I was going to say, with the OWLs barreling down on us, some people have been breaking up into little groups to study. For example, notice Neville and Hermione over there."

Pansy looked over and saw the two of them at a small table in a corner reading a book together. "Huh. That's about two years later than it was supposed to happen. Now, I'm not sure if I should care anymore."

"I don't know if they're doing anything other than studying, but I did see Hermione blush one time, so maybe..." Parvati shrugged. "I heard that Neville said something about wanting to be an auror like his parents, so maybe he's just hoping she'll help him get his grades up high enough.

"Sadly, Lavender decided to take this opportunity to start hanging out with Ron."

"Why Ron?"

"It was actually him that made the first move, believe it or not. He needed help in Divination. I know a lot of people think she's just a bimbo, but Lavender really knows that subject pretty well. She's got the second highest marks in our year."

"Who has the highest?" Pansy wondered.

"I do," Parvati smirked. "But anyway, Lavender and Ron have been studying together a lot the last couple of weeks. She's also decent in Potions, and I think we all know that he has always struggled with that class. On the other hand, she could really use the help in Transfiguration, and he's pretty good at it. So, I guess it's working out for them; I just thought she would have told me before if they were snogging."

"I don't think I want to know any more. Any other little groups forming that might be more amusing?"

"Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, meh," Parvati shrugged. "I do have a request, actually. I'd like to borrow Harry for awhile."

"I'm sure you do," Pansy snorted.

"I mean for our classes," Parvati replied before starting to grin. "Although, I wouldn't mind borrowing him for other things too. But first, I'd like his help for Defense and Charms. He's great at both of them, and I want to do well on our exams. I'm not worried as much as some people, but I just hate the way I know my parents will gush over Padma if she gets like ten OWLs and I don't."

"Sibling rivalry, huh? I wouldn't know much about that, but okay. On two conditions."

"Name them."

"First, that you help me make my idiot boyfriend start taking the OWLs a little more seriously. He hasn't opened a book all week. Admittedly, part of that is quidditch's fault, or rather Johnson's," Pansy grumbled as she saw the team captain come in and squeeze Harry before kissing his cheek and yelling about how she had a try out for some team.

"What's the second thing?" Parvati asked.

"Oh, that you keep it in your pants. I've been in a good mood lately, but that doesn't mean it's time for a threesome."

"Just remember me when you decide that it is," Parvati grinned.

"Still completely shameless, Patil."

"You know it."

* * *

She was standing outside Slughorn's office and feeling more nervous than she had in awhile. Pansy wasn't sure what she was supposed to say for that career counseling. 'Hi, I'm marrying a rich guy, and we're probably going to live in the muggle world, so I'm really not caring too much about trying to get a job in the magical world.'

Yeah, she could just imagine the crestfallen look on Old Sluggy's face when she told him that the Chosen One couldn't wait to leave this place behind. She wouldn't be surprised if it made him cry. She picked at a loose string on her blouse and tried to come up with anything else that could keep her from blurting something like that out.

But she really wasn't thinking of any possible careers. Pansy had a few random ideas about ways they could use magic to make a bunch of money in the regular world, doing things that would otherwise take a lot more time and money than normal people could expend, but that was even moreso something that she didn't think an old man would want to hear about.

It wasn't even so much that he was a pureblood. Most witches and wizards tended to just ignore everything other than their little corner of the world- even the ones that didn't grow up in the magical world- and that was definitely something she was not willing to do. There was too much fun to be had everywhere else.

"Come in Pansy."

Crap she thought, trying to get herself to calm down as she stepped into Slughorn's office.

"Professor, how are you today?"

That was a decent, non-freaked out opening, she hoped.

"I am doing quite well," he answered with a smile as he waved to a chair in front of his desk. "Please, don't look so concerned my dear. I assure you, today's little meeting doesn't have to be anything to worry over."

"Thank you," Pansy said as she sat down and tried to think of what to say.

"I imagine you aren't stressing over what sort of career your future might hold as much as most of the students who have come through that door over the years."

"I... huh?"

Yeah, really eloquent. She tried to not look quite as confused as she was feeling.

"I am more perceptive than people often give me credit for," Slughorn said with a smile. "It is obvious that you will be the future Mrs. Potter one of these days, and that in itself means that you wouldn't necessarily need to work. Although, I must admit, I always thought you would be interested in being more than a housewife."

"No, I am... I mean, I don't plan on just being a housewife, but-"

"But you aren't certain what you might want to do after graduating Hogwarts," he finished.

"Yes."

Slughorn chuckled. "Well, of course you don't know! You're still a teenager. Do you have any idea how rare it is to find someone who knows what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they're only fifteen or sixteen years old? Even those people who claim to have it all figured out almost always turn out to be wrong. Why, when I was your age, I was convinced that I was going to run St. Mungo's and revolutionize the way we heal people. Hah!"

He continued to laugh to himself for a moment with a wistful look in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, it turned out that while I did come up with a few improvements on medicinal potions over the years, becoming a healer wasn't for me. It was more than a decade after I'd graduated here before I came back to teach."

"I see."

"Yes, so a long time ago, I realized the better question to ask in these meetings wasn't what do you want to do, but what do you already enjoy doing. Whatever a student is already good at is a wise place to consider future options. On that topic, which classes do you want to continue into your NEWT studies?"

"I hadn't really thought of it like that before," Pansy admitted, sitting back in her chair and thinking for a moment. "I'm pretty sure that Harry and I will keep most, if not all, of our classes the same for the next couple of years. For his part, that means Defense, Runes, and Charms will all be obvious choices."

"For your own sake, are you sure you want to continue all three of those classes?"

"Probably," she replied, looking down and frowning. Would she want to take those classes if it weren't for Harry? Charms and Runes were both really useful, so likely yes. And Defense seemed so very necessary, although maybe not as much for the future.

"What do you think of your other options?"

"I'd very much like to continue your class."

"While it isn't necessary to kiss up, I do appreciate that," Sluggy chuckled. His good mood was helping to ease hers. "Do you think Harry will as well?"

"I believe so."

"Well, let's look at your other classes and eliminate any that you have no interest in," he suggested.

"History-" she began as he chuckled again.

"No surprise there. NEWT History has been a very small group ever since I was a student. Between you and me," Slughorn got a conspiratorial little smirk on his face, "I believe most people don't enjoy the way Binns drones on about everything. I may have taken a nap or two in the class when I was younger."

"I may have as well," Pansy grinned. "I'm ready to be done with Herbology and Astronomy as well."

"I see," Slughorn answered as he picked up a piece of parchment, looking it over for a moment. "That leaves you with Transfiguration, Arthmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures still to decide upon. Personally, unless you are specifically thinking of working with animals, I would recommend dropping the last of them. Both of the other two have a number of uses for the future you should consider. For that reason, I would prioritize your time focusing on six classes for the OWLs then: Potions, Charms, Defense, Runes, Arithmancy, and Transfiguration. The only unfortunate part of that plan is it means you will be trying to score well on all of the hardest exams. However, I have faith in you my dear."

"Thank you," Pansy said, feeling a slight blush escape. "I was pretty worried, but you've given me something to think about."

"I am happy to be of service," he grinned. "You might want to give Harry some of this advice as well. Just don't tell Minerva I said that. She would be cross with me for trying to interfere with one of her students. She gets territorial sometimes, you see."

"Harry can be discreet, especially when I remind him."

"I'm sure it helps to have someone a bit more cunning to help temper his impetuous behavior."

"You can say that again," Pansy agreed and they both chuckled for a moment. She should have known better than to worry. Old Sluggy could be a bit much sometimes, but he was definitely good at teaching. And compared to her first couple of years, he was an absolutely marvelous head of Slytherin.

* * *

"So, I think I might have made McGonagall cry," Harry said completely without preamble as he sat down on the couch next to her later that afternoon.

"Really? It went that badly?"

"Not for me," he teased. "She was very disappointed that I wasn't keen to become an auror, or at least a quidditch player. It got even worse when I told her I planned on being a full time husband. She seemed to find my lack of ambition quite scandalous."

"I can imagine," Pansy snorted.

"But then it got worse," Harry said with a smirk.

"How so?"

"First, I told her I wasn't interested in remaining a prefect next year. It's been a rather annoying waste of time, and with Hermione and I no longer being friends, it's been bloody awkward as well this term."

"It would cut into your time even worse when we get to NEWT studies, which are supposed to be much harder."

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. "Then, to cap it all off, I told her I didn't want to be named quidditch captain next year. I almost felt bad when I saw the look on her face."

"Okay, now that does surprise me," Pansy replied, sitting up a bit to get a better look at him. "Why don't you want to be the captain?"

"I really don't care that much about quidditch. Playing the games is fun, but all the practice isn't. And having to be in charge of all that crap? No thank you. I think McGonagall was most displeased because that only leaves Katie Bell and Ron as having any experience, and Ron's only got the one year of playing on the team. Katie should be fine though- besides, she will be the senior member of the team, so it really should be hers anyway."

"Hmm, I hadn't really thought of it that way. Did she say anything else about your lack of interest in having a career?"

"Oh, plenty," Harry grinned. "None of it was going to change my mind, though. She even brought out the fact that I had been so close to Alastor and that I should have followed his lead. She thought I could easily rise to the head of the aurors with all my skills."

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I told her that as much as I appreciated his abilities and all the help he's been, I very much did not want to follow in his footsteps. I like having all of my limbs, thank you very much, and I've already been in more than my share of dangerous situations."

"Besides, who in their right mind would want to work for the ministry?" Pansy added.

"Yeah, that too," Harry snorted. "They still haven't thrown Fudge's useless arse out."

"We have to eat in awhile, let's not ruin our appetites by talking about all the morons out there," Pansy said. "Instead, let me tell you about my chat with Sluggy. He actually brought up a couple of really good points even though I admitted to not having any idea what I wanted to do in the future."

* * *

And so, the next couple of weeks went on quietly as more and more time was spent preparing for the OWLs. Pansy dragged Harry to the library on occasion, and Parvati joined the two of them in an empty classroom for spell practice every other night. Parvati was doing a lot better in Defense, thanks to Harry's help, and she had finally produced a fully corporeal Patronus of her own- a tiger. She had even managed to do so without too much wistful staring at Harry.

Sirius had returned from his honeymoon though, and that meant it was time for Harry to contact him about the horcruxes, which in turn led to Harry dragging Pansy through the halls late one night, both of them hidden under his cloak.

They stopped in front of that odd disappearing room they'd found when they first met, and Harry paced up and down until the door showed up and then he ushered them both inside.

"What the hell is this place?"

"I'm not sure what it's called," Harry answered.

"The elves call this the come and go room," Dobby replied as he revealed himself. "Elves be putting lost things in the lost things' room."

"That's a lot of lost things," Pansy uttered quietly, her eyes wide at the cavernous hall. It seemed to be at least twice as large as the Great Hall. "If there's a horcrux hidden here, then how on Earth are we going to find it in all this mess?"

"Dobby is good at cleaning up messes," the house-elf said with pride. "Dobby can be cleanings this place for so much time. It will be fun, miss Pansy!"

"I'm sure it would," Harry said with a small grin. "You can feel free to clean this place up later if you want. I'm sure there are more than a few things that would still be useful or that might be worth something. But that's not why we're here.

"Follow me."

Harry strode off down one aisle and Pansy could do nothing but follow him lest she become lost in all the clutter.

"Harry, how the hell are we going to find it?"

"Have you ever had a really, really clear memory? Like you could picture every last detail of something. It's sort of like that, only more so. Plus," he stopped and turned down a different row of junk, much of it on shelves and piles of old, abandoned, school trunks. "There's a certain something... I don't know, _foul_ I guess to this type of magic. Like something rotten, maybe."

"Can we smell it?"

"Not exactly but..." Pansy saw him shrug as he kept on walking. "You'll know it when we get close enough. It's hard to put into words."

"Is it safe for us to get near this thing?" she asked. "Also, what exactly are we looking for?"

"The lost diadem of Ravenclaw."

"You're kidding."

"Unfortunately, no," Harry shook his head. "It's too bad really, but we couldn't bring Luna along. I think she'd be heartbroken by the end of the night."

"Because we have to destroy it, right?"

"Yep."

"Is there no other way?" Pansy wondered. "I mean, this is a priceless artifact we're talking about."

"Yeah, and old Tom was an egomaniac, which is why he chose those sorts of things as his trophies. He deserves oblivion just for that. Stupid bastard," Harry muttered just as he stopped and turned another corner. "We're getting close now. Stay behind me, just in case."

Pansy looked over his shoulder and saw Harry looking at a dusty old table with a tarnished tiara sitting on top of a pile of books. He reached out and quickly put it into a bag that he'd brought along.

"That was it?"

"Yeah, couldn't you tell?"

"I didn't notice any... what did you call it? Foulness?"

"Huh." Harry scrunched up his face for a moment. "Maybe it's something I could feel because I'd been exposed to them before."

"From your scar, you mean?"

"And the diary too."

"Dobby remembers the nasty diary, and Dobby could tell this was nasty in the same way," the house-elf added.

"Okay, that does make me think it was because you hadn't been around one of those things before," Harry said.

"I was around your scar though."

"Yeah, I don't know what the deal was with the scar," Harry replied. "Maybe I should have asked Death more questions. I really wasn't focused on all of the underlying mysteries. I got the information of what and where they were, and that it was it. Destruction and finishing all this nonsense with Riddle so that we can do more important things, like take you on that really long honeymoon. I'm a man with priorities, after all."

Pansy chuckled at his silliness. "Alright, mister priorities. Now what?"

"Get the mirror out and we call Sirius."

Pansy nodded and reached into the purse she had brought with her. One moment later they were talking to Harry's godfather, who looked somewhat annoyed at being kept up so late. He was ready and waiting for them though, and a moment later, Dobby popped them over to Grimmauld Place. Sirius was standing in the drawing room with a glass of firewhisky in his hand.

"You know, I'm missing out on sleep with my fabulous new wife for this, whatever this is," he grumbled.

"Yeah, like you didn't already _sleep_ with her," Harry scoffed. "You can get some rest soon enough. Did you get the cup from Bellatrix's vault?"

"I did," Sirius replied as he opened up a drawer from the desk he was near. He pulled out the golden chalice and set it down where they could see it. "Do you know what I think this is?"

"It's Hufflepuff's cup," Harry answered. "Unfortunately, Riddle sliced off a piece of what was left of his soul and stuck it inside, so the cup has to go."

"You're shitting me!"

"Nope, and it doesn't get any better." He pulled out the diadem from the bag and set it next to the cup. "The diadem of Ravenclaw. And one more to go."

Harry strode across the room and opened a glass case. He picked up a locket and they were all startled by the loud arrival of Kreacher who let out a shriek.

"No! Master Regulus' locket! Nasty half-blood can't be taking master Regulus' locket!"

"Kreacher!" Sirius bellowed, trying to get the house-elf's attention as he was beating on Harry's legs. "Stop Kreacher! I order you to stop!"

The old elf stopped, collapsed on the ground and began to bawl.

"What do you mean master Regulus' locket?" Sirius asked.

"Master Regulus gave Kreacher the order to destroy the locket, but Kreacher has failed. No matter what Kreacher did, Kreacher couldn't destroy it. Now, nasty-half blood is takings it away!"

"Kreacher," Harry knelt down next to the elf, "I am going to destroy it."

"Nasty half-blood means it? Nasty half-blood wouldn't lie to poor old Kreacher?"

"Master Harry is the greatest of wizards!" Dobby protested, and Pansy had to hold him back from attacking the other elf. "Master Harry wouldn't lie about this. It is part of the great Harry Potter sir's quest to stop the nasty Dark Lord!"

"Is it true?" Kreacher said, looking hopeful for the first time in more than fifteen years. "Please, let it be true. Let Kreacher finally finish master Regulus' last order."

"What do you mean, his last order?" Sirius asked. "What did my brother do?"

* * *

And thus began the sad tale of the end of Regulus' Black. The pureblood son who lived up to his parents' wishes, who believed in all the talk of pureblood supremacy, and who was recruited into the ranks of the Death Eaters at seventeen.

Within a year, he'd learned one of Riddle's secrets, and his horror and disgust had led to him dying as a hero.

There was a cave, and despite all the protections on it, house-elves were once again overlooked. Kreacher had been sent along with the Dark Lord long ago, only to return with Regulus.

Kreacher took them once again, and told them his tale of the locket, and the one Sirius' younger brother had replaced. Sirius transfigured a stone from the rocky island into a cat and then used the Imperius curse to force it to drink all of the poison from the basin.

The fake locket was pulled out and they all returned to Grimmauld Place. Sirius read the note inside it before taking a seat behind the old desk and weeping for his long lost brother. He was downing the firewhisky even faster then, and Harry worried about what this would do to him.

"Sirius?"

He looked up at Harry, tears still running down his cheeks. He grunted out something unintelligent.

"We're going to avenge him. Tonight. Your brother didn't die in vain." Harry placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for an acknowledgement. Sirius took another swig of firewhisky and stood up, a little too quickly, judging by his near stumble.

"Damn right he didn't. Let's do this." He clapped his hands together and looked back to Harry. "So, how do we destroy these things?"

"Dobby?" Harry turned to the little elf. "Bring the box please."

With just a snap, there was a wooden box in Harry's hand. The lid opened up to reveal it was lined with some sort of metal and there was a broken off fang that was nearly a foot long, with some hideous looking liquid oozing out the end of it.

"Three years ago," Harry began as he stepped over to the desk where all three of the founders' items now sat, "I was nearly killed by a basilisk. This is the fang that snapped off in my arm, yet when Riddle's shade was gloating over how I was going to die down there, I pulled it out and stabbed that damned diary of his. It was strong enough to get the job done then, so I assume it should work fine now. Let's find out."

And with no further delay, Harry drove the fang into the diadem. A bit of the metal seemed to melt and there was a black mist that started to rise out of it, only to almost instantly be scattered as if a breeze had blown it away.

"That wasn't too bad," Pansy said. "Somehow, I was expecting more."

"Would you like to do the honors next?" Harry asked. "Just be careful not to touch it near the pointy end."

"Shouldn't we maybe... be using gloves or something?" Sirius asked.

"Basilisk venom will eat through pretty much anything," Harry replied. "Including gloves. Dobby had to find a box lined with lead so that it wouldn't eat through that too. Thankfully, the venom only comes out at the tip of the fang."

"Okay," Pansy nodded. "It's a good thing I'm not friends with any Hufflepuffs. I think they'd all cry if they saw me do this."

She swiftly brought the fang down into the cup and then stood back as a similar hazy mist leaked out for a moment.

"My turn," Sirius said, stepping closer.

"Be careful," Harry warned.

"I know."

"You're the one who has been drinking," Harry pointed out.

"I need to do this." Sirius stood up straight and looked down at Kreacher. "For my brother."

He carefully took the fang from Pansy and stabbed the point right into the S on the locket. Nothing happened for a moment, but they could all see the venom dripping out and after a moment, it burned through the surface. This time, the mist seeped out through the hole that had been burned into it and it let out a sharp whistling sound for a couple of seconds before fading and disappearing.

"That was-" Pansy began with a frown.

"Kind of anti-climactic," Sirius finished.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Much better than the opposite, I'd say," Harry replied. Kreacher began hopping around the room, proclaiming to all that his master's last order had been done- Regulus Black could now rest, knowing that his work was finished.

Harry took the fang back and placed it once again into the box that Dobby had found for him.

Meanwhile, Sirius sat down behind the desk again with the fake locket in his hand. "Poor Reggie," he moaned. He poured himself another glass and took a long drink.

"Sirius?" Harry said quietly. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I was wrong about him." He shook his head sadly and turned the replacement locket over in his hands. "I thought Reggie had just gotten over his head and been killed. Maybe for not following orders properly or some other nonsense. From everything I've heard, Riddle killed people for less, even his own followers. But I never thought... I never thought it was something like this. How could I have been so wrong about my own brother?"

"I'm sorry," Harry replied. "But at least now you know the truth. Now you know that he did more than almost anyone to try to stop Riddle. It won't bring him back, but we all know the truth. Regulus was a hero."

"Yeah." Sirius closed his eyes and chuckled bitterly. "My brother was a hero. I wish I had known, I wish... I wish he would have come to me. Maybe I could have helped him. Maybe- I don't know..."

"Yeah." Harry patted him again and helped him to his feet. He pulled Sirius into a hug and said nothing when the older man choked on a couple of sobs. After a moment, he regained control and stood tall, wiping away at his face. Harry hated what he had to say next, but it was necessary.

"You can't tell anyone, Sirius."

"What?"

"Until Riddle is gone for good," Harry continued. "We can't let anyone know about the horcruxes until Riddle is dead. For real this time. Not even your wife."

"I wouldn't want to trouble Kathryn about any of this shit anyway," Sirius snorted. "Don't worry about that. Is this all of them?"

"There's one more, but it'll be a lot more difficult to get access to it," Harry answered. "Still, six down, one to go. We got half of them tonight. I'd definitely call that progress."

"Not bad for a night's work," Sirius nodded. "Kreacher, I order you not to tell anyone about this."

"Yes, master," the elf obeyed, for once not adding any snide tones or insults.

"Are you going to be okay?" Harry asked.

Sirius took a deep breath and finished his firewhisky. "I'm good, Harry. We're actually winning this damn war." He chuckled for a moment. "If you had been around last time, you would understand how unreal it feels to be able to say that.

"But I think that's enough for tonight. You two need to get back to the school, and I need to get my back to my lovely wife."

"I think we'll all be sleeping in tomorrow," Pansy said.

"That's what the weekends are for," Sirius replied.

"Let me know if you need anything," Harry added. "You know, like to talk about this or... whatever."

"Hah!" Sirius barked out a laugh. "Don't be such a worrying old woman, Harry. I'll be fine. I'm sure Kathryn can distract me from any sort of brooding. Have you seen the arse on her? Merlin, I think Azkaban was worth it if this is my reward."

"I actually haven't been checking out your new wife." Harry rolled his eyes. "But I've got a girl of my own with a perfect tight little arse. If I'm lucky, I might even get to-"

"That's enough," Pansy snorted. "You two are worse together somehow."

"Now you know how I feel," Harry replied with a grin. "I caught you telling Luna about sitting on my face the other night, remember?"

Sirius laughed loudly.

"Oh, you love that and we all know it," Pansy scoffed with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"And now Luna knows all about it too," Harry muttered.

"Thanks for that, you guys," Sirius wheezed, trying to stop himself from laughing. "Go on now. I'll talk to you later."

"Good night, Sirius."

* * *

It had been the year before that Harry had first discovered _Ye Olde Guide to Buggery, Revised Third Edition_ amongst the many, many books Pansy had stolen from her father's library. He had wondered slightly at why she might have taken that one in particular, although it was possible that she had merely grabbed everything from what he remembered her jokingly referring to as 'the filthy sex magic' section. That was supported by the fact that he also found a revised fourth edition as well, that one written by an Alphard Black. Harry thought he remembered that name from Sirius' family tree- he was sure his godfather would get a kick out of seeing the book, if he hadn't already.

Regardless, it was an interesting little tome with a number of things that he had been thinking about for quite awhile. Harry had chuckled at a couple of the spells it contained, especially one of them that had been updated and tweaked over and over again. The basic incantation was Lubrico, but later spellcasters had added secondary descriptors for flavor- literally flavor, as they included things like Latin phrases for honey, cinnamon, mint, and countless others.

Harry had settled on mint before he had first tried it out. Once he was sure the spell worked and that the taste wasn't too strong, he used it on Pansy back in April and they had a very interesting night. Harry had been smart enough to do so on a Friday, and she had been glad because she would not have enjoyed trying to go to class the next day. It hadn't been quite as much fun as he had hoped though, although some part of that was his own worry about being too rough with her, so slow and easy had been the way to go. He later realized that it got a lot better when she had reached down to start playing with herself at the same time. When she'd had an orgasm, being inside her tight little arse went from great to beyond amazing.

All of that led to the last Saturday of May. The OWLs were just over a week away, and despite all the studying he had been nagged into doing, Harry was sort of looking forward to them. But he was looking forward to that night much, much more.

He'd talked Pansy into taking a nap earlier that evening because he needed to make use of the so-called come and go room. Harry knew that the two of them wouldn't want to be discovered, so he had decided to go late at night. Filch and the prefects may have patrolled the halls to catch people out after hours, but no one did it all night long.

Dobby had popped him over about twenty minutes before, and so he was now looking at himself in the mirror of what he was thinking of as his office. He'd dressed up a bit, although not trying to look too flashy but rather distinguished, and the potion Luna had helped him with was finally going to come into play.

As he downed a mouthful of it and smiled briefly at the fact that it didn't taste completely awful for once, Harry then stood back to watch as his face began to change. His glamour spells were pretty good, but they were visual illusions and this went to the next level. His face slowly aged as he went from somewhat boyish to fully mature in a matter of moments. He started to worry that he'd taken too much when he got a bit of grey in his hair at his temples, but it then stopped. Harry grinned widely at seeing himself now looking roughly forty years old or so. He straightened his tie and waited for a sound from the main section of the room.

"Harry? Where are you and what exactly are we doing?" Pansy's voice was his cue for the fun to begin. Her eyes went wide as she saw him come out and stand behind his desk of what was clearly designed to look like the Defense classroom that Alastor had used the year before.

"How many times have you been told that it's professor or sir?" He asked in a slightly disappointed tone. "One would think calling a professor by their given name would be considered quite _improper_." He let the last word linger for a moment as he looked her over. Harry had to stifle a grin at Pansy's far too small, tight, and slutty version of a school uniform- maybe he was better at coming up with ideas like this than he'd given himself credit for, but now he needed to focus and try to remain in character. "Then again, you have always had trouble behaving properly in my class, miss. Come in and sit down."

"Yes sir," she purred, not bothering to hide her smirk as she sauntered down to the front of the room, taking the seat directly in front of his desk. Bless her, she could be such a wonderful actress. Pansy took things slightly further as she slowly crossed her legs, deliberately flashing him a hint of things to come.

"You know this is the third assignment you've neglected to turn in on time, young lady," he said with a small frown as he sat down behind his desk. "Nothing I've said seems to get through to you, so perhaps it's time for a different tack. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Professor Potter, sir, I'm so sorry. I know I need to make up for the missed work. Maybe..." She got a rather feral look and smirked slightly. "Maybe I could do some _extra credit_?"

"You've fallen quite far behind," he replied. "It's going to take a lot of work to make up for your poor grades."

"Sir, can't I do _something_?"

Damn, Harry loved the faux concerned look in her eye. Pansy was awesome.

"At this rate, you're going to fail my class, I'm afraid," he countered.

"But... I'd be in so much trouble with my parents," she pouted. "I'll do whatever it takes to bring my grades up." She paused to bat her eyelashes. " _Anything at all._ "

Yep, she was officially the best.

Harry leaned back in his seat and peered at her over his glasses while stroking his chin. "Anything, you say? Well..." He stood up and beckoned her over to him. "Why don't you show me whatever you think will... most impress me."

She hopped out of her chair and was quickly around the side of his desk before reaching up to grab his tie with a smile on her face. "I think you'll be impressed soon enough."

"You do have confidence, don't you?" he teased.

She grinned in response before kissing his neck and then slowly sliding down to her knees in front of him. Her hands made quick work of the belt and then his pants were undone and pushed down as well. She gave him one last flirty look as she wrapped her hand around his cock and stroked it up and down twice before licking the tip.

"Just give me a chance _professor_ ," she said before leaning down to lick all the way up the shaft and then opening her mouth wide as she shoved as much of him inside as she could easily fit. He felt her cough just a smidge and held back a grin as she ignored it and went to work on showing off her skills. Even in his role as the disappointed professor, he couldn't help but be impressed.

To be fair, she'd had plenty of practice and knew how to make him squirm in all the best ways. But even then, when she paused and pulled back to suck on one of his balls while she continued to stroke him, Harry nearly lost it. A moment later, his composure failed when she looked up to wink at him before sliding her lips back up and over his crown just as he started to come.

"Oh fuck!" he gasped. She just kept on sucking, as if she wanted to drain him of every last drop. When she finally stopped and let him go, Harry couldn't help but fall back into his chair. He was very glad to have remembered to cast cushioning charms over the entire area.

Pansy just grinned up at him and then exaggerated as she swallowed. He chuckled as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well, professor, how did I do?"

There was that damn smirk again, and as much fun as he'd already had, Harry planned to make the most of this night, and they'd only just begun. "Better than I had expected, I have to admit. However, such a naughty girl is going to have to do a lot more than that to pass my class."

She smiled and pushed out her lip in an affectation of innocence, completely ignoring what she'd just done. "What do you mean, sir? I'm not _that naughty_."

Harry stood up and pulled her back to her feet as he slid his right hand up her thigh and under her skirt. "Really?"

He spun her around and pushed her down over his desk and lifted her skirt high enough to reveal her thong. Harry had to shake himself for a second to keep up the act, but he really, really loved that tight little arse of hers. "If you weren't a naughty little slut, then why would you wear something like this to a private meeting with your teacher?"

"I-"

He cut off any response by bringing his hand down for a nice sharp little spank.

"Oh!" she let out a pleased little gasp and leaned forward just a bit more. "You're right, sir. I've been so naughty, you're just going to have to punish me."

"That's what I thought," he grunted as he smacked her ass again. Pansy squeaked and moaned as his hand came down again, her rump reddened by the sting. He could only handle a couple more because she was just too enticing; he hooked his thumbs through the thong and yanked it down.

"Look how wet you already are." He stroked up and down her moist slit as she trembled just slightly, and that made it even hotter. He lapped at the juice leaking from her folds, enjoying her soft moans even more, before standing up and stepping behind her. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "You're my naughty little slut aren't you?"

"Yes," she murmured before groaning as he thrust inside her.

"Yes what?" he asked.

"Yes, _sir_ ," she moaned while he sucked at the side of her neck. Harry didn't waste any time in building up his speed, and judging by the way she was rocking back against him, Pansy was certainly ready for more.

"Say it."

"Yes, I'm your naughty little slut. Fuck me... fuck me harder. Please."

Harry reached around and ripped at her blouse, tearing off buttons as his hands groped for her breasts. She had helped by not wearing a bra, and if he weren't in such a haze of desire he might have noticed it before. He was just barely in control enough to voice his thought as he circled around one of her nipples with his thumb. "Look at you, my sweet little slut. No bra- you must have wanted me to get a peek of these tits, didn't you?"

"Yes," she groaned. "Yes, professor, I wanted you to see me. I wanted you to want me. I'm your naughty little girl, so keep... ah, keep punishing me."

Harry chuckled and grunted. She was really too good at this. It was going to make him come again too quickly if he let her rile him up. But first, he wanted to drive her over the edge. He sped up and slid the other hand down to play with her clit while he kept pounding into her.

She moaned in appreciation at his efforts. He could tell she was getting close.

"Cum for me, you naughty little slut."

"Ah!"

She began to squeeze him as she screamed out in pleasure. Harry tried to focus on anything else, anything at all, and he was barely able to stave off his own orgasm.

"Oh god yes," Pansy purred happily. "Thank you, professor."

Harry chuckled darkly as he leaned back slightly and slowed down. "You must be enjoying this punishment too much. I think we'll need to try something else."

He opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out his wand. He reached down with his left hand to pry the cheeks of that perfect little bum apart and aimed his wand at the tight pink rosette that he couldn't wait to feel engulf him.

" _Lubrico!_ "

"Oh professor!" she gasped before letting out a giggle as he wiggle a finger inside, testing out the spell. "Looks like I'm not the only naughty one."

"That's right," he replied a moment later as he slowly pushed his cock inside. For a moment, their grunts were in harmony as they both got used to the new sensation. "Fuck, I love your tight little arse. It's fucking... perfect."

He groaned as he slid in a bit deeper and Pansy responded with a moan. "Oh, fuck."

Harry could only agree as he slowly built up the pace. Remembering what happened last time, he took inspiration from the scene they'd been playing, as well as knowing how much she liked being told what to do. "Give me your hand."

She braced herself and reached over her shoulder. Harry sucked on her fingers, getting them nice and wet. "I want you to reach down and play with that sweet little pussy of yours. Let's see if you can make yourself come before I fill your... ah, tight little arse."

He watched her hand disappear and kissed right behind her ear, waiting for her to begin. When he could tell she had started playing with herself, he sucked hard at her neck, knowing it would leave a mark and hopefully spurring her on to become even more aroused. Judging by the moans and what he could feel of her hand's movement, it was working. He took that opportunity to thrust that much harder and deeper inside her.

Harry wasn't joking when he called her bum perfect. He loved looking at it. He loved kissing it, squeezing it, spanking it, and even tasting it. But all of that paled in comparison to actually fucking it. He was in heaven, and then it got even better.

Pansy had taken his challenge to heart and was furiously rubbing herself as he continued to plow into her. She grunted and moaned and finally let out a scream. "Yes!"

When she began to come, all sorts of muscles were contracting and that perfect little butthole of hers squeezed him mercilessly.

"Oh, fuck! Yes! Take it, ahh... you love when I fuck your arse, my naughty little slut! Ah!"

"Fuck yes!" she screamed, throwing her head back.

Harry was quickly spent inside her, but he leaned forward to kiss and suckle at her throat again. He could feel the end of her orgasm stretching even longer as she reached up with her left hand and held his face close against her neck. He took the cue and continued, kissing with his mouth, his hands caressing her breasts, and slowly thrusting inside her arse a few more times while his arousal still remained. She moaned happily as she finished with her fingers and then let out a sigh. He heard her breathing deeply and he nuzzled against her. Even when his softening cock slid out, he kept on leaning against her, catching his breath as well.

"That was... amazing," she purred, pulling his mouth up to kiss her. He saw her grinning as she looked at him over her shoulder. "How did I do, professor?"

"I think that performance was definitely worth an Outstanding."

She laughed and they slowly stood up. Harry stepped back and sat in the chair behind the desk. Pansy turned around and climbed onto his lap, still grinning. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "So, Luna's help- an aging potion?"

"Yeah. She's better at potions than me, and I wanted to make sure and take just the right dose."

"Well done. I'd never really thought of it before, but you do make a hot older man."

Harry laughed as she kissed on his neck, soon starting to suck at it. It looked like Pansy was determined to leave her mark on him as well.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I do," she answered, then looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye. "How much longer will it last?"

Harry checked his watch. "Another hour or so."

"Well, let's not waste any more time," she said, climbing off his lap and then sitting on his desk, her legs spread wide. She reached for his wand and cast a cleaning charm on him and then curled her index finger at him with a smirk. "Come here, professor. You've got to make sure that I enjoy myself so much that I won't be tempted to say anything to your superiors about... taking advantage of your naive, innocent, young students."

"We wouldn't want that," Harry replied as he got to his feet. She grinned and nodded at him as she pointed down. He smiled as he knelt before her, her legs going over his shoulders and pulling him in. "I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

"I hope so." She leaned back with lidded eyes and looked amused as she continued. "Is it true that you're a parselmouth, sir?"

"It is," he replied with a grin. "Want me to prove it?"

His tongue began to slither and vibrate against her juicy opening as he delighted in her taste, and the only response she could manage was, "Yes, oh yes!"


	87. A Summer Surrounded by Witches

* * *

"I can't believe you won the house cup again," Pansy grumbled as the train leaving Hogwarts pulled away from the station. "You know, I heard from all the older Slytherins about how we'd won for several years in a row, but then I get here and we've been shut out."

"Yeah, but you remember how much of a cheating scumbag Snape was, right?"

"True," Pansy admitted. "Still, you would think the Ravenclaws would win more often. They are the house with all the smart little nerdy types. No offense, Luna."

"None taken," she replied without losing her relaxed, dreamy smile.

"They did win last year," Harry pointed out. "And this year, well-"

"Professor Watts loved you and gave you a huge bonus for teaching several people the Patronus charm," Luna said, kicking off her shoes and conjuring a couple of pillows to make herself more comfy for the long ride. "That was fair, really. The last time Hogwarts had multiple NEWT students able to conjure a Patronus was in 1980. We've never had multiple OWL level students succeed in casting it."

"Really?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, Watts was telling us all about it in our final period with him. He was hoping that next year might see similar results. He had me demonstrate for the class. I suppose that will help me once it's time for my own Defense exams. How were they, overall?"

"Not that bad," Harry shrugged. "Arithmancy and Transfiguration were both kind of tough. I think we both nailed most of them."

"You fell asleep during the History exam," Pansy reminded him. "I will be shocked if you passed it."

"Who cares? I think that just shows that I learned the important part from that class- how and when to get in a nice little nap."

Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "I hate to agree with this goofball that I love, but they weren't really as bad as the teachers had made them out to be all year long. I think I might have passed all eleven of them that we took. Hopefully."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Luna said with a grin. "So, what are we doing this summer?"

"I've got a little project that Dobby and I have started," Harry said.

"Is this about whatever 'studying' he was helping you with the last few weeks?" Pansy wondered.

"Yep. It's not until next year that we officially learn to apparate," he replied. "However, Dobby has been using his magic to transport us all over the place for years. I asked him to teach me how to do it."

"But house-elves don't technically apparate," Luna said. "Can humans even learn to use magic the same way?"

"I didn't really think of it like that," Harry admitted with a frown. "But I have learned some things about magic with him in the past, and it seems to work well enough. Only the first couple of times were that hard, after that, it was pretty easy. It's really all about willpower."

"You've already learned it?" Pansy asked.

"Well, I've really only gone back and forth between a couple of places," Harry said. "We sneaked down to the Shrieking Shack and then he popped me back home before having me practice going between the two places. I've now gone between both of them back and forth four times."

"Anywhere else?" Luna asked.

"No, Dobby wanted to make sure that I didn't get lost."

"We should experiment then," she replied as she stood up and held out her hand. "Take me to my home."

"Now?'

"Why not?"

"Um, okay," Harry shrugged, standing up and turning to look at Pansy. "We should be back in a minute."

And with a pop, they were gone. She sighed and called for Dobby. "Will you go make sure the two of them don't have any problems?"

"Of course, miss," Dobby replied before he too popped away.

Pansy sat back and waited. She turned her head when the door slid open revealing Parvati.

"Where's Harry?" she asked. "I assumed he and Luna would be in here with you."

"They're trying an experiment," Pansy grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"You might want to take a step back," Pansy replied. "Just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

A pop was her answer as Harry and Luna reappeared standing in the middle of the compartment. Parvati let out a little shriek and toppled over back into the hallway.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Did you just apparate?" Parvati asked.

"Um, kinda," he shrugged.

"We aren't supposed to learn that until next year. And you aren't even sixteen yet!" Parvati came inside and sat down on one of the bench seats, making use of one of Luna's cushions and chuckling wearily. "You don't do anything normal, do you Harry?"

"Not really," he said as he sat down opposite her. "I don't see what the big deal is though. It's not that hard to learn. I mean, I did it accidentally when I was a kid once. I think the adults don't want teenagers to have the freedom to move around without them knowing about it. That's why they wait until you come of age before allowing you to do it 'legally.' Think about how silly that is though. If you learn it while underage, what are they going to do if they catch you breaking that stupid law? Throw you in Azkaban? I don't think any decent parents would stand for that sort of thing."

"They could fine you," Luna suggested.

"Nope, not legally," Harry countered. "They could fine your parents."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Luna nodded. "It usually amounts to the same thing as most of us won't have our own money other than what our parents might allow us."

"That could be a problem for me one of these days," Parvati said. "I hope it won't come to it, but I'm not sure how much time I might have before my parents start trying to arrange something for me. They said that they'd wait until after school was over, but..."

"But what?" Pansy asked.

"It might not have been smart of me to help when Harry rushed off to the ministry," she replied with a sigh. "I've gotten a few more looks from some people around school. I'm sure my parents would be proud of a heroic daughter. At the same time, it worries me that other people might become more interested in me too. Some men like that sort of thing- someone fiery and adventurous. I've heard my grandparents talk about when they met. I take after my grandmother's personality, and my grandfather chose her because of it. When I was little, sometimes it seemed sweet to me. But then I got older and I figured some things out, and now I'm not so sure."

"What changed your mind?" Luna wondered.

"I learned their ages, for one," Parvati sighed. "My grandmother was seventeen when they wed. My grandfather was thirty five. I've seen that they seem really happy together, but it just sort of creeps me out. I know for a fact that he was fairly rich, and a rich guy picking out a teenage bride for himself... well, it's worried me that something like that could happen to me. On top of that, I know that my parents expect me to marry an Indian guy."

"And Harry isn't Indian," Pansy teased.

"None of the guys here are," Parvati replied with a frown.

"I'm sorry," Pansy said, losing the sarcasm from her voice. "I can definitely relate. My father was a monster. He would have only approved of me marrying some vile little son of a Death Eater. I'd have rather died."

"I guess it could be worse," Parvati laughed. "Let's talk about something else. Something not so awful."

"Alright. Why did you come looking for us? Or was that just Harry?" Pansy couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Padma is talking with some of her Ravenclaw friends, and it was just so boring in there."

"What about Lavender?" Harry asked.

"She's busy with Ron. They're officially dating now."

"Oh. Hmm." Harry thought for a moment. "I guess that could maybe work."

"Yeah, it's all new and exciting, so they're happy now," Parvati replied. "I love Lavender, but I don't know if either of them is mature enough for anything long term. I expect it to end in screaming and tears."

"Well, maybe that will happen over the summer so we won't have to witness it."

"If only we can be that lucky, Harry," Parvati giggled. "I don't know how much they might be able to see each other. That could be a problem."

"I agree," Luna piped up. "Lavender is sixteen and pretty hot. I've heard that she lives in the muggle world, and I imagine plenty of muggle boys would be interested in her. That could lead to trouble, especially if she doesn't see Ron all summer."

"With what I've seen of the Weasleys, I doubt Ron's mum would let him out of her sight long enough for him to spend much time with her," Harry agreed.

"That doesn't mean Lavender would cheat on him. She's not that much of a tramp," Parvati said, defending her best friend.

"I'm not saying she is." Harry raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying, she might decide not to sit around all summer and waste her time. I could see her break up with him in that case. It would really suck to have to be away from your boyfriend or girlfriend all summer long. Hell, Pansy and I miss Luna when we won't see her every day anymore."

"That's very sweet," Luna said. "Speaking of which, daddy wrote to me of a planned excursion to Australia next month. It's winter there, did you realize that? That means that some of the nasty beasties that might want to kill us will be either dormant or at least less active.

"We'll be gone for two weeks, but we should be back in time for your birthday."

"Well, I hope you have fun, sweetie," Pansy said. "But we should plan on doing a few things before you go."

"I'm sure we could come up with something fun to do," Luna answered with a smile.

"Lucky you," Parvati grumbled. "I'm leaving for India in a week. I don't think I'll be back until the end of August. It sucks."

"Don't you like your family?" Harry asked.

"It's not that so much. It's just that... I like my home. Here in England. I get to go back and enjoy my bedroom and all the things I don't take to school. But I only get to do that for a few days before I have to pack up again."

"I think I get it," Harry nodded.

"Maybe we could invite you along," Pansy suggested. "We could all go out to see a movie, eat in a restaurant somewhere. Something like that. Would your parents be okay with that?"

"I think so," Parvati answered. "I'd need a little bit of notice before hand."

"I'll figure something out when we get home. I'll contact Luna then and Harry can send you a message with Hedwig."

"She'd like that," Harry added. "I worry about her sometimes. Who knows what she gets up to when she's bored?"

"She might meet a violent owl from the wrong side of the tracks," Luna said. "He'd be all rough around the edges, with a cockney accent. If you looked at him wrong, he'd be the type of bird to go for the talons first and ask questions later."

"Hedwig doesn't need a ruffian for a boyfriend. She's a classy bird," Pansy said in a snooty voice, sticking her nose up in the air. "Harry only associates with the most elegant and refined of females, regardless of the species."

"It amazes me that you can say that with a straight face," Luna giggled. "I don't think I've ever felt elegant or refined. And I know most of your dirty little secrets."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Pansy replied.

"Oh really?"

"Really." Pansy winked at Luna. "But if you can wait until we can speak in private, I've got a new one to tell you."

"Color me intrigued," Luna grinned.

"Oh no," Harry groaned. He gave Parvati a pleading look. "Please don't leave me alone with them."

All three girls giggled, and Harry hoped that he hadn't just made things worse for himself.

* * *

The next day came and Pansy left their flat to go downstairs. The door to the Brightwells' was open, so she announced herself.

"Anybody home?"

Ruby Brightwell appeared from around a corner. "Oh, Pansy dear, it's lovely to see you again. Did you just get back? Come in, come in."

"Yeah, last night." She followed Ruby back towards their kitchen and dining area. "We've officially survived another long year at Hogwarts."

"That means you must have just taken all of your OWLs," Ruby said with a nod. "I remember when our Simon had to take them. He studied for months and stressed himself so badly that it looked like he'd lost a stone since Christmas when he got back home for the summer. Silly boy. I suppose it was worth it in the end. He did pass all ten of his exams, five of them with Outstandings."

"That's really good," Pansy said, not having to fake being impressed.

"He was a Ravenclaw, you know," Ruby replied with a grin. "I've always been proud of that boy. It was nice to rub it in my stupid bloody aunt's face too. She's an awful woman who always treated me like I was some sort of pitiful moron just because I'm a squib. I might not have magic, but my son damn sure does, and he did better than she ever did as a student."

"How is he doing?"

"Very well," Ruby replied as she motioned to the Daily Prophet laying spread out on the dining room table. "No cover story today, but he's on page four."

Pansy looked at the paper's headline and frowned. "I can't believe they still haven't removed Fudge from office. I know it says there's an emergency meeting today, but it's been two months since that buffoon was exposed. A real emergency meeting should have happened that day. Stupid bloody arseholes."

Ruby laughed. "That's one of the reasons that I don't miss magical society. There were some nice things about it, but I'm much happier living here. Mortie opened up the shop this morning, so you and I can catch up a bit. Would you like some tea?"

"Of course," Pansy said with a smile. "Do you mind if I use your phone first?"

"Make yourself at home," Ruby said as she filled her teapot.

"Our friends Vanessa and Steven were expecting a baby," Pansy explained. "It was due a few weeks ago, so I'm hoping to get to see their little girl soon."

"Oh, I just love babies!" Ruby giggled. "That reminds me that I need to pester Simon some more about settling down with that nice girl of his. Remind me to tell you all about her."

"I will. I'll be back in a minute," Pansy said as she went into the other room. She found the phone and quickly dialed the number, realizing for a moment that it was the only phone number she actually knew.

"Hello?" a weary voice answered after several rings.

"Vanessa? It's Pansy. How are you?"

"Exhausted," she replied. "This parenting thing is bloody hard. I would take being enormous again if it meant I got a decent night's sleep."

"I'm sorry," Pansy said, not really knowing any better way to console her.

"It's alright," Vanessa answered. "Did you just get back from school?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to come around sometime soon to see the little one."

"Not today. I'm a mess, this place is a mess, and since Steven's off, I'm hoping to get in a nap or two while I can. Maybe we could meet up sometime next week."

"Okay," Pansy said. "I don't want you to worry too much about it, but I'm sure Harry would agree that we would love to meet her. Whenever you feel up to having some company, let us know."

"I'll check with Steven's schedule and get back with you."

"Sounds good, and congratulations, by the way. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," Vanessa said as her voice clearly perked up a bit. "As much as I might moan about everything, I'm really glad to have a little girl. She's got Steven's eyes." A crying infant was heard in the background. "And there she goes, spoiling the moment."

"Maybe she knew we were talking about her," Pansy suggested with an unseen grin.

"Probably just wants to nurse again," Vanessa grumbled. "I've got to go, but I'll talk to you again soon."

"Okay, take care."

After Vanessa said her goodbye, Pansy returned to the kitchen where Ruby was pouring two cups of tea.

"How was your friend?"

"Tired and a bit cranky."

"That is the way it goes with a newborn," Ruby replied with a smile. "Simon was a very needy baby. Always wanted to be held, even when he didn't need to be fed or burped or anything like that. I was glad Mortie was really good with him. We both carried Simon around so much those first couple of years, I swear I think we've never been so strong. And the added definition in Mortie's shoulders was something I enjoyed."

Pansy joined Ruby in giggling. "I'm sure."

"So, unfortunately, I feel like I have to ask- are you and Harry alright? I haven't heard anything else since that cover story, but, well it was pretty shocking. And you-know-who hasn't been heard of since then either, apparently."

"Yeah, I'm glad about that," Pansy nodded. "We're doing okay, really. Harry's been changed a bit ever since that happened. Like, he's more relaxed. He seems to be absolutely convinced that everything will work out alright. Plus, from what I've heard, it seems like the Dark Lord is almost out of followers. That's a huge relief too. I think, for now, we're going to focus on just having a fun summer. Let the adults worry about things for a change."

"That's a good idea," Ruby agreed before she took a sip of tea. "I haven't been pleased about the stories they've been writing about Harry- calling him the Chosen One and all that rubbish. The boy isn't even sixteen yet; it's shameful that they should all look to him as a savior. I had to give my son an earful when he told me that he might write one of those pieces of trash." She chuckled for a moment. "Simon later told me that it was like a howler going off in his ear. He should have known better though. I didn't raise him to be a foolish busy body."

"Harry would appreciate that," Pansy grinned. "I find those damn articles annoying too. He seems like he's been able to ignore them for the most part, but I have noticed that he doesn't do anything more than glance through the Prophet. I think he's looking to see if there are any attacks, but he says he mostly keeps his subscription so that Hedwig, his owl, will have something to do. He doesn't want her to get bored."

"Well, are the two of you planning on any trips over the summer? I know you have access to different forms of travel, and I heard there were some pretty large bounties on those terrorists. The paper said that Harry might have defeated half of them."

"I think it was five," Pansy said with a frown. "I'll have to ask again to make sure, but unfortunately, that's another thing that the ministry is dragging its heels on. No decent new minister, and no pay out for all of Harry's hard work either. I've told Harry we should write to our lawyer Sam. He ought to be able to light a fire under their lazy arses."

Ruby laughed along with her. It was really nice to be home.

* * *

"Argh!"

Padma heard her sister's frustrated growling and decided to investigate her bedroom. They had shared one when they were younger, but Hogwarts served as the catalyst to help them both decide that they wanted more space at home, just as they had grown used to not being constantly together while at school. She sometimes missed that closeness, but she also knew that she and Parvati had increasingly different views of life.

She found her sister had thrown half her wardrobe onto her bed and was still sorting through things. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know what to wear," Parvati grumbled. "I really need to pick just the right outfit. For one thing, I can't wear anything that would stand out among muggles, but I also have to walk a very fine line. I need something that might turn Harry's head, but not too much, so I don't anger Pansy. But it also needs to say that I belong with them- that I fit in with their little clique like a natural. Getting everything just right is turning out to be even harder than I had thought."

"Sis, are you okay? I mean, why are you still so hung up on Harry? There are other guys out there, you know."

"Like a certain mister Goldstein?" Parvati teased.

"Please, that was nothing more than a little silliness," Padma snorted. "He could hardly handle more than a peck, but at least I learned a valuable lesson. Don't try dating among your fellow prefects. I'm really happy that Hermione was willing to swap sometimes. Did you notice that she and Harry weren't as close this last term?"

"Of course I did. I think everyone did."

"What happened there?"

"I don't know," Parvati shrugged. "I guess I could just take it as a good thing. One less girl that he'll be spending time with."

"Yes, but why? Why Harry?"

"Why anyone at all?" Parvati scoffed as she threw down the blouse she'd been examining. "You know what our parents are planning for us once we're done with school. Find some nice men from back in India for us to marry. I hate it!"

"It turned out alright for them," Padma said quietly as she stepped over to her sister and wrapped an arm around Parvati's shoulder. "Dad's parents turned out really well. Think of how happy Gran Amala always is. We could end up like that."

"Yeah, or we could end up miserable."

"I don't think mother would allow that. She loves us; she wouldn't let anyone awful get past her."

"I don't care," Parvati growled. "It's not what I want."

"So, what's your big plan? Try to talk Harry and Pansy into taking you along as what- some sort of second girlfriend? Even if they did decide to do that, how long do you think it would last? You're my sister, and I love you, but you really need to stop being obsessed with Harry."

"I love him," Parvati insisted.

"I think it's just a crush, and when it doesn't work out well, you'll end up _feeling crushed_." Padma felt her sister pull away and watched as she stalked back over to her closet. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Thank you, but I don't need that sort of looking out."

Padma waited for a moment, but Parvati refused to turn back around or saying anything else. Wanting to be supportive, she tried again. "Then, what do you need, sis?"

"Nothing."

She could really be so stubborn. It was frustrating at times. Padma decided to try a different approach. "Want me to help you find the right outfit?"

"Yes!" she cried out even as she started to laugh.

Padma chuckled as she got to work. Parvati really had _a lot_ of clothes to go through.

* * *

Pansy and Luna were sitting on the couch waiting for Parvati to arrive while Harry had gone downstairs to look through the Brightwells' muggle paper. Earlier suggestions of them going to see a movie meant he was going to try to track down the local listings for what might be playing, as well as when.

Dobby brought their guest into the living room with a small pop and Parvati was soon looking around.

"Be it ever so humble, welcome to our home," Pansy stated as she stood up.

"It's not quite as grand as I expected," Parvati replied. "I guess there is no rumored Potter Manor then?"

"I don't know if any of the Potter family homes were grand enough to count as a manor. Harry does have access to a couple of other properties, but neither of us wanted to live out in the middle of the country."

The door opened and Harry returned with a smile as he carried a section of the paper. "I didn't want to be too presumptuous, so I figured we could bring this with us. Ruby didn't mind, although I am supposed to tell you that we are expected for dinner on Tuesday evening."

"Who's Ruby?" Parvati asked.

"Our downstairs neighbor who occasionally likes to mother us a bit," Pansy answered as she took the paper from Harry and stuffed it into her purse. She might never match Harry's love of runes, but she now knew those used in creating spacial extensions like the back of her hand, and all of her purses were enchanted. "What are we going to do first?"

"I was thinking we might want to walk around a bit first, maybe show our lovely guests some muggle shopping before lunch," Harry suggested. "Then a movie in the afternoon."

"Taking three girls shopping?" Pansy smirked. "You are feeling brave, aren't you?"

"I'm hoping that hunger will win out and save me," Harry smirked right back at her.

"I should have had a bigger breakfast," Parvati added with a grin. "So, where are we going exactly, and how are we going to get there?"

"Church Street?" Pansy looked at Harry.

"Works for me," he shrugged. "As for how, I was thinking that I could take us all."

"You haven't tried that many people before."

"First time for everything."

"Fine," Pansy huffed. Having experienced it after the train ride, she knew Harry could handle popping them around just as well as Dobby now. She just hoped there wasn't a limit to his power, although this was the same boy who had conjured a Patronus at thirteen, so she probably shouldn't doubt him.

"Before we go," Luna said as she stood up and pulled a small bag out of her pocket that she handed to Harry. "Daddy insisted that he pay for today's outing. You, and Parvati too, helped save his life after all. Please don't argue about it, either."

"Thanks," Harry replied as he handed the money over to Pansy and then grabbed his wand. "It wasn't necessary, but I don't want to be insulting either. Now, before we go, I'm going to place a notice-me-not charm on each of us. We don't want our sudden arrival to startle anyone."

"It's too bad we won't all fit under your invisibility cloak," Luna said as she watched Harry cast the spell.

"You just like cuddling," Pansy snorted.

"Yes, I do," Luna replied dreamily. "Between my favorite wizard and two pretty girls, who could blame me?"

Pansy chuckled in response. Harry might not have looked Parvati and her outfit over, but Luna definitely had. There was nothing too revealing about her skirt and blouse combo, but she did look pretty nice, and she'd also had the good sense of not wearing anything too odd and obviously magical. Pansy had the feeling Parvati was going to fit in just fine.

Harry didn't say anything about Luna's comment, and Parvati was too busy smiling at Harry as he placed the charm on her. Pansy knew that the day was going to be plenty of fun. She even had a movie picked out that should provoke some interesting responses from the other two girls.

A moment later, Harry had finished their preparations, and the group left the flat with a pop.

* * *

It wasn't even one yet, and she was already having a blast. In spite of Harry's moans, Pansy had insisted that he pull out the chairs for all three girls when they were shown to a table at the Italian restaurant they had chosen for lunch.

"I need some guy friends," he grumbled as he finally took a seat.

"I could take polyjuice," Luna offered without looking up from her menu. Pansy glanced over and saw that she was checking the desserts. She held back a snort when she realized that there would be plenty of tiramisu served before the end of the meal.

"That wouldn't be quite the same," Harry replied.

"I'd prefer to turn into another girl if I did that anyway," Luna said before setting the menu aside and grinning at Pansy. "We could be twins!" She turned to Parvati with a smile. "What would you say have been the most fun things about having an identical twin sister?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Parvati answered with a frown. "Padma and I were never the type to play up that sort of thing like the Weasley boys do. We took to wearing our hair differently when we were pretty young because we were bothered when people couldn't tell us apart. But, I guess I do like having someone whose clothes I can always borrow because I know they'll be a perfect fit."

"I doubt that's what Luna would be doing," Harry snorted.

"What do you mean?" Parvati asked.

Harry looked around and lowered his voice slightly before responding. "I'm saying that Luna is a pervert."

Parvati looked surprised as Pansy started to giggle. Luna just shrugged and replied, "Guilty as charged."

"Oh," Parvati blushed.

"Be careful," Harry warned as Parvati looked questioningly at him. "These two love teasing people, so if they think you're an easy target, they will never stop. Believe me, I speak from experience."

"We wouldn't want to pick on our guest like that," Pansy disagreed. "Parvati is my friend, you know. Besides, I strongly doubt that she could ever be as fun to tease as you are."

"It must be your lucky day," Harry said to Parvati, who grinned slightly.

"Well, thank you for that," she nodded at Pansy. "Now, will someone help me with this menu? I've never really had Italian food before."

"I can do that," Harry replied with a grin. "We'll have to take you out again some time. I'd like to have an expert's opinion about Indian restaurants."

"Harry loves curry," Pansy added.

"I could do that." Parvati frowned for a moment. "Probably not this summer, though."

"You leave in a few days, right?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah. My parents are really looking forward to it."

"But you're not?" Luna wondered. "At least you won't have to worry about Tom Riddle causing any problems while you're gone."

"I don't think any of us need to worry about that too much," Harry suggested. "There haven't been any sightings since that day at the ministry. I think he might have crawled under a rock to lick his wounds. Either that or Dumbledore is correct in that he's trying to get the record of the prophecy out of the blackened orb."

"He can't do that though, can he?" Parvati asked.

"The headmaster said that he wasn't aware of any way to do it, but he also wouldn't put anything past Riddle. Coming back from the dead, or near dead or whatever he was, wasn't supposed to be possible either. Either way, I'm going to enjoy the peace and quiet for as long as I can. In fact, I'm hoping that Dumbledore will solve one of my problems this summer without any of my help."

"What's that?" Luna asked.

"It's a secret for now," Harry answered. "But I'll tell you someday. Whenever this is all over."

"Okay."

"Right then, come here Harry," Parvati beckoned him closer. "Help me pick something to eat."

"What are you in the mood for?"

"I'm not sure. Nothing with beef, definitely."

"Well, there are plenty of things you can get with chicken, pork, or seafood sometimes," he suggested. "I think there's a few options without any meat too."

"Fettuccine alfredo is always good," Pansy added.

"Yeah, it's a little bland though, especially if you're used to spicy food."

"Not everyone wants to burn their tongues when they eat, Harry," Pansy teased.

"I eat plenty of spicy food," Parvati said. "Something bland, as you say, might be different enough that I like it."

"Well, let's get the salads out, at least." Pansy waved their waitress over.

"Ooh, and some fresh bread too," Luna grinned before pointing to a bottle on the table. "If they're going to give us olive oil, then I'm going to need some bread to soak in it."

"Sounds good to me," Harry agreed. "Do you need a minute more, Parvati?"

"No, I think I've decided."

"Good, I'm starving."

* * *

"I have a confession to make," Parvati said while they waited for Harry and Luna to finish in the bathrooms after the movie had ended.

"What's that?" Pansy asked.

"I've had Italian before," Parvati admitted with a small grin. "I just wanted Harry to lean over and help me with the menu. It was like I could pretend, just for a moment, that we were on a date." Parvati sighed, then continued "I'm sorry."

"That's actually kind of cute," Pansy replied.

"Really?"

"I've known about your feelings for him for a long time, you know? After all this time, I don't think you would try to push things too far, and I know that Harry wouldn't let you if you did try. Besides, I know very well how lovable he is, so I can hardly blame you for that."

"That's... surprisingly mellow," Parvati frowned.

"Harry and I are going to be together no matter what. He did come back from the dead for me," Pansy smirked. "Most of my insecurities and worries have been worn away by now. Harry has helped with that a lot. He can be very persuasive about things when he wants to. Plus, you're my friend, and you haven't bothered me the way some girls who've eyed Harry up at school. Like Chang- for some reason that bitch just really annoys me. I've loved seeing Harry humiliate her when they've met on the pitch."

Pansy started to laugh and Parvati joined her. "Remember when Lavender and the three of us were all screaming for Harry to knock her off her broom?"

"Yes, Luna said it was a fun bonding experience," Pansy answered with a smile. "That was when I was first starting to get to know her, and I was quick to realize how much fun she could be. Plus, she drove Granger nuts, and that always amused me."

"You never liked Hermione, did you?"

"No."

"Do you know what happened between her and Harry?"

"I do, but it was a private argument," Pansy said. "It's probably better if we leave it at that."

"I noticed she was kind of sad this last term, when she was around in the dorm. We were never close, and she was always too busy studying to spend much time with me and Lav, but it was obvious that something was bothering her."

Pansy gave her a look as the doors to the restrooms opened at almost the exact same time as Harry and Luna came out.

"That was kind of a weird movie," Parvati said.

"You didn't like it?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't say that, it's just not quite what I expected of a vampire movie."

"I loved it," Luna said. "I think they made a mistake though."

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Pansy asked.

"Look at this." She led them over to the poster for From Dusk till Dawn. "Notice something missing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Salma Hayek!" Luna threw up her hands in disgust. "She was obviously the best part of the movie. That dance she did was so hot! I've never wanted to be a snake so much in my life."

Harry lost it at that point, laughing loudly even as a few people stared over at them.

"Oh Luna," Pansy chuckled fondly.

"Would you ever consider doing a dance like that?" Luna asked. "Harry is a parselmouth, so he could help with getting you a snake."

"Despite where I was sorted, believe it or not, I'm not that fond of snakes."

"Ah," Luna pouted. "What about the part where she poured the bottle of alcohol down her leg? I'd like to see that, and I bet Harry would agree with me, right?" She nudged him in the side as he tried to stop laughing before she grinned at Pansy again. "Ooh, are you flexible enough to lick your leg like that? Please say yes!"

"I see what Harry meant," Parvati said. "You are a pervert."

"Oh please, I'm just saying what everyone was thinking when they watched that part of the movie."

"Sorry, Luna," Parvati shook her head. "I wasn't thinking that."

"No, you were probably thinking how much fun it would be if you were playing the dancer and Harry was the guy sucking on your toes," Pansy teased, getting a blush in response. "Not that I can blame you. Did I ever mention how Harry likes to-"

"No, no, no," Harry interjected, clamping his hand over her mouth. "We are not turning this into yet another day of 'all the girls tease Harry.' Maybe I should tell them about some of the things you like?"

Pansy glared at him as he removed his hand. "Fine. What did you all think of the rest of the movie?"

"It was too violent for my tastes," Parvati replied, clearly happy for the change of subject.

"I didn't mind that, but I wish they had focused more on the sexy side of things for vampires," Luna said. "There's nothing wrong with some bloodshed, but usually with vampires, I expect that to involve some erotic biting. It should be a metaphor for sex, and even better if there's actual sex too."

"What if the vampires don't have sex?" Harry wondered.

"Then those are sucky vampires," Luna huffed. "Who would want to live forever if you couldn't have sex?"

"Yeah, not me," Harry agreed.

"Exactly. And I think all movies would be better with more sex scenes."

"Really?" Harry looked over at Luna. "What about movies for little kids?"

"Okay, maybe not all movies, but most of them anyway. What's the point of having gorgeous actors and actresses if we aren't going to see their naked bodies?"

"Well, what about today? Harry asked. "You clearly liked the dancing scene, even though the lady didn't get naked. I think revealing, skimpy clothes like that can make someone look even hotter."

"Yes, but it still would have been better if she'd ended up topless," Luna insisted. "The world always needs more boobies."

"I think most of the people at Hogwarts would look at you a lot differently if they saw this side of you, Luna," Parvati said. "I imagine the girls in your year, and your dorm especially, would be surprised."

"Why do you think I don't act like this normally?" Luna replied. "Harry and Pansy don't judge me. That's part of why I love them so much. Plus, I wouldn't want my dorm mates to act weird about being undressed in front of me. That would make things too awkward."

"Do you... um."

"What?"

"Do you ever think of any of them like that?" Parvati asked.

"Not really," Luna shrugged. "They're usually pretty bitchy. And none of them are that attractive either."

"Have they bothered you anymore?" Harry asked with a frown. "I could always come around and threaten to murder them again, if you want."

"That might be nice," Luna said with a little smile. "I don't think any of them need the warning, but I appreciate knowing you care."

"Of course," Harry grinned back. "You're our girl."

"Okay, so now that we're done with the movie, what are we going to do next?" Luna wondered.

"When do you have to be back home?"

"Oh, whenever," Luna shrugged. "Daddy knows I'm fine with you, so he isn't worried. I could probably spend the night, as long as we let him know."

"What about you, Parvati?"

"I'll have to be home in time for dinner," she frowned. "So, we've got until six or so."

"That's a couple of hours still," Harry said as he looked at his watch. "Who wants ice cream?"

"Ooh, me, me!" Luna grinned.

"Well, thankfully, I saw a place nearby that will only be a short trip," Harry replied. "And it will give us all a little time to walk, if we need to build up our appetites."

That short trip was spent mostly talking about the recent OWL exams, as Luna was curious about what she would need to look forward to for the coming school year. Harry moaned about the professors wanting them to write longer and longer essays, which Parvati agreed with while Pansy teased him about how lazy he could be. He countered with the fact that learning magic shouldn't involve nearly so much paperwork as it made things boring. Luna grinned at them both, having heard this argument before, and although she was the brainy Ravenclaw of the group, she had to admit that Harry had a point. She would prefer it if some of the class had more focus on the practical applications over the theory- that was one of the reasons she had found Harry's club so useful.

Once they had their ice cream cones, the group found a table in the corner, and Harry cast the ever so useful notice-me-not charm. He didn't want them getting any funny looks if the topics continued to include the magical world.

"Overall, OWL year really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be," he said, finishing a thought he'd had before they went inside. "Well, not the actual schooling part anyway. Some of the other stuff was pretty stressful."

"How do you think you did, Parvati?"

"Okay, I guess," she shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I did well in a few classes. I know I did better in things like Defense and Charms in part thanks to being in Harry's group. Divination went well too. Some of the others, maybe not so much. I know I don't want to take Potions anymore for one thing. Slughorn was an infinitely better teacher than Snape, but I still didn't like the class very much."

"I'm going to have to keep taking it next year," Harry sighed.

"Really? Why?"

"It's her fault," he said as he pointed to Pansy. "It's one of her favorite classes, so we're both going to keep taking it."

"Oh, you like the class too," she teased. "And dear old Sluggy would be heartbroken if you weren't there anymore."

"Yeah, probably."

"What other classes do you think you'll take next year?" Parvati asked.

"Defense, Runes, Charms, Transfiguration," Harry listed off.

"That sounds like the order in which you prefer the classes too," Luna added with a grin before going back to her ice cream.

"Yeah, you know me so well." Harry licked his cone and thought for a moment. "It's too bad about Care of Magical Creatures, though. I liked the class pretty well, but Hagrid never forgave me for killing that dragon back in the tournament."

"He's a bloody maniac," Pansy snorted. "They should have never put teenagers up against nesting mother dragons in the first place, and I'll take a hundred dead dragons if it means you didn't get roasted."

"Yeah."

"What about Arithmancy?" Luna asked.

"We're still in discussions about that," Pansy answered. "Sluggy suggested keeping it up, and from what I've looked into it, they do get into some interesting stuff in the NEWT years. But, we don't know for sure how our grades will be, and it was one of the hardest tests. Plus, Harry couldn't coast on the written part for once," she added, smirking at her boyfriend who rolled his eyes. "He also thinks five classes is plenty, but I might be able to talk him into making it six."

"That is a lot less than ten," he admitted with a sigh. "I still think we could learn a lot about the subject just reading the books. You two should be glad you never took it. Some of Vector's assignments were bloody hard."

"You know the thing I'm looking forward to most?" Luna said. "Only one more year of History with Binns. I like naps as much as the next person, but they really aren't very comfortable when you have to be sitting in a class."

"I could not agree more," Pansy chuckled. "How's your ice cream?"

"Wonderful," Luna said before pulling her cone a little closer. "But you can't have any. It's not my fault that you didn't pick the obvious best flavor."

"I think cookie dough is pretty good too," Harry said. "But I prefer cookies and cream."

"You're entitled to be wrong if you want," Luna replied with a smile. "Am I the only one who thinks it's funny that Pansy had to pick the one green flavor?"

"Mint chocolate chip is delicious."

"If you say so," Parvati said while sticking out her tongue in disgust. "I don't believe in mixing mint and chocolate. That's always seemed like a weird combination to me."

"What did you get again?" Pansy asked. "Fudge ripple or something?"

"Vanilla fudge ripple."

"Mixing vanilla and chocolate is yummy," Luna added. "I like mint with chocolate too. Oh, and peanut butter with chocolate!"

"Luna, I think you'd eat anything with chocolate," Harry laughed.

"No, not meat or meat dishes," she disagreed with a grimace. "That's where I draw the line."

"I would say I'd have to remember that, but I don't think I would ever try to cook something with both meat and chocolate at the same time."

"You never know," Luna shrugged as she looked around the rest of the store. "Have you ever noticed how sexually suggestive ice cream cones are?"

Harry snorted, thankful that he didn't have a mouthful at the time of her comment. "You mean because of all the licking?"

"Oh yes, licking is good," Luna grinned.

"From what I've heard from Seamus and Dean, all guys think about that when they see girls eating ice cream cones."

Pansy took a long lick, swirling her tongue around her cone and batting her eyelashes at him. "I have no idea what you mean."

Harry just shook his head and smiled. "That seems kind of silly to me though."

"Why?" Parvati asked.

"I would think that guys licking something would be just as sexually suggestive as girls, if not more so." Harry leaned back and licked at his own cone even as all three girls looked at him. "And I am pretty good at licking, if I do say so myself."

"From what I've heard, you're right," Luna giggled. "I'd let you lick my ice cream."

"I think we all would let Harry have a lick or two," Pansy added with a smirk.

"Oh, you could too!" Luna thought to herself for a moment and then a massive smile spread across her face. "Or even better, I could lick your and Harry's ice cream cones. At the same time, even. Well, maybe. That might take getting into just the right position. My tongue is only so long, sadly."

They all laughed but Luna continued her thoughts.

"Ooh, or you know what I bet you would like Harry? If two girls licked your ice cream at the same time."

"For some reason, I don't think we're talking about ice cream cones anymore," he said with a grin.

"Whatever else could I be referencing?" Luna asked in a completely deadpan tone.

"No comment."

"What might you be thinking about all this licking, Parvati?" Luna asked.

"I think I could guess," Pansy teased.

Parvati started to blush but had her mouthful at the moment. Harry patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. "Now you have some idea what I often have to deal with between these two. Although, to be fair, Luna does occasionally team up to tease Pansy with me."

"You two never pick on me together," Luna said. "You should do that some time. It could be fun."

"I think we haven't just because we're both so fond of you," Pansy replied with a smile.

"Well, we're fond of Harry, but that doesn't stop us from messing with him."

'Yeah, but Harry is the guy and us girls have to stick together."

"I suppose that is true," Luna frowned. "Maybe Parvati can be on Harry's side then? They could be team Gryffindor, and we could be team Awesome. Because we're both so awesome, clearly."

"Clearly," Harry said with a chuckle.

"I would be happy to be on Harry's team," Parvati smiled. "And just remember, with Harry on our side, we proud Gryffindors have won the quidditch cup every year, as well as the house cup four out of five times. I'd say that makes us pretty awesome too."

"Yeah, we must be the most awesome table in England right now," Harry laughed.

"It's nice to see you in such a good mood," Luna said. "I could tell how hard some of the last year was on you."

"Thanks, Luna." Harry sat back and enjoyed another bite of his quickly diminishing cone. "It's easy to be in a good mood when you're surrounded by pretty girls."

"I could not agree more," Luna giggled before turning to Parvati. "It's too bad your sister isn't here."

"Down girl," Pansy teased.

"What? Twins are hot." Luna frowned for a moment. "I miss Hestia and Flora. They were the best part of Potions class, if you ask me. I sat behind them every year. You know, I probably would have gotten better grades if I hadn't been day dreaming so much."

"Maybe that's why you're not in the Slug Club," Parvati giggled.

"I regret nothing," Luna replied with her chin held proudly in the air.

"Speaking of the Carrows," Pansy cut in. "I heard they've settled in pretty well at Beauxbatons. Did Sirius say anything to you about them recently?"

"Not much," Harry shrugged. "He mentioned trying to set up a house in France, but the Delacours were insisting that it wasn't necessary. With Gabrielle starting school next year, I think they like the idea of having Flora and Hestia around to help keep an eye on her."

"With Gabrielle, that's probably a good idea," Pansy laughed. She turned to Parvati. "Have you met Harry's most insistent fan girl? Remember the second task, when Harry rescued Fleur's little sister?"

"Oh, yeah," Parvati nodded. "He got extra points for heroism, as I recall."

"She's been obsessed with Harry ever since, and it's bloody hilarious," Pansy snorted. "You should have seen the way she was fawning all over him at the New Year's Eve party. And Harry couldn't be rude to her either because she was only ten, not to mention being an adorable tiny Veela."

"I'm kinda surprised you find that so funny," Parvati said.

"If you had seen her proclaim to Harry that he needed all the practice he could get for when she eventually was old enough to be his lover, you would understand," Pansy giggled. "Not to mention her little strut, or the way she kept trying to swipe glasses of champagne when her parents weren't looking. I love that girl. She's a riot."

"It sounds like another fun party I missed out on," Luna pouted. "You'll have to invite me to something one of these days."

"I'm sure we'll be going to France again someday." Pansy reached out and squeezed her hand. "We'll take you with us next time."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"You know, we don't have any trips planned yet," Harry said. "Maybe I should talk to Sirius, see if he wants some company whenever he goes to check on the girls. I wouldn't mind seeing Flora and Hestia again. I don't know how much they might have heard about all the Death Eaters that have been taken out."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to hear about that," Pansy agreed.

"Why do you say that?" Parvati wondered.

"We daughters of Death Eaters stick together," Pansy replied. "They were terrible people, so it should come as no surprise that they were also terrible parents. The Carrow girls were very happy when they found out that Harry had killed their parents in the fight at the graveyard a year ago."

"Oh, I guess there's still some gossip out there that I hadn't heard yet," Parvati said. "I think it's because you Slytherins don't often let people know too many of your secrets. Not that I can blame anyone when it comes to Death Eaters."

"Speaking of which, the ministry still hasn't paid out the rewards for all those bastards you guys dealt with a couple of months ago," Pansy frowned. "I think we need to sic Sam on them."

"Who's Sam?" Parvati asked.

"Our lawyer, Sam McKenzie," Pansy answered.

"I'll give them another month," Harry shrugged.

"Why?"

"Because I thought I'd give Sam a present for my birthday- I haven't had him threaten to sue anyone for awhile, and I don't want him to get out of practice at it."

"You know Harry," Parvati began, "most people receive presents on their birthdays, not the other way around."

"I like to spread the love," he grinned. "And don't forget, it's your money too that they're screwing us about."

"Yes, but I won't see any of it for a couple of years anyway," she shrugged. "I haven't been thinking too much about it, to be honest."

"Fair enough."

"So, Parvati, I heard you're going to India soon," Luna piped up.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Well, the closest I've ever been was Kathmandu-"

"Where's that?" Harry interrupted.

"Nepal," Luna said before turning back to Parvati. "However, I'd like to visit India someday. What can you tell me about it?"

"What do you want to know?"

"For starters, how many naga have you met?"

Harry had never heard of nagas before, but over the next couple of hours, he learned quite a lot about them. He also found out why Parvati had been one of the few people who hadn't been bothered by the rumors of him being the heir of Slytherin back in their second year- parseltongue being a much sought after gift in India, with the snake speakers being very well respected there.

There might have been a few teasing remarks about how that ability could lead to other uses as well that Pansy confirmed, much to Harry's chagrin when Parvati blushed and asked if he needed another girlfriend.

* * *

Another week had gone by before Vanessa called to let Pansy know that they would be up for visitors that evening. Harry had to calm her down a bit, reminding her that new parents wouldn't necessarily want their guests to be too well dressed when meeting a baby. She was still thrilled, and Harry was grinning as well when they knocked on their friends' door.

Steven answered it shortly thereafter, and the smile on his face was promising. "She's just been changed, so hopefully she'll be in a good mood for your visit. We'll keep our fingers crossed, anyway."

Pansy's delight was obvious as she practically bounced past him and down the hall. Harry grinned as he followed along with Steven. "I think you can tell that she's excited about this. We're both only children, and she never really had a chance to be around a baby before."

"Yeah, I can tell," Steven chuckled. "She'd know how boring it can be sometimes otherwise."

Vanessa looked up as they all arrived at the living room, where she was in a recliner with a tiny face peeking out of a blanket. "Meet Grace Elizabeth Frost."

"Oh my god, she's adorable," Pansy cooed as she stepped closer, bending down to look at the infant. "It's very nice to meet you, Grace, and your mum was right, you do have your dad's eyes."

"That might change," Steven replied as he sat down on the couch. "Supposedly a lot of babies have blue eyes when they're born but they darken later."

"We'll see," Vanessa sighed. "I think it's just proof that she's going to be a daddy's girl. She does seem to like you more."

"That's because a lot of the time when I'm holding her, you've already let her nurse," he chuckled.

"Speaking of which, I don't think she'll need to feed again for a bit," Vanessa said as she looked up at Pansy. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Can I?"

Vanessa nodded and lifted Grace up slightly. "Be sure to cradle her head with one hand; little ones like this can't hold their heads up yet. Gracie, this is my friend Pansy."

Pansy took the baby carefully into her arms and smiled deliriously before sitting down on the end of the couch closest to her friend. "She's amazing."

"Let's just hope she continues her good mood for a while," Steven said. "Don't be surprised if she starts to fuss. The nice calm times like this never last too long."

"I guess she doesn't sleep very well at night?" Harry asked.

"She sleeps fine for awhile, but then it's time to get fed or changed," Steven answered. "Then, back to sleep for a couple of hours, and do it all over again. We're getting used to sleeping in shifts, and usually one of us can take care of everything while the other gets a bit more rest."

"Yesterday evening, I was sitting here nursing her and dozed off for a bit," Vanessa said. "You wouldn't think I could sleep through feeding a baby, but it worked out okay. She just happily kept on suckling for awhile until it was time to change boobs. That was when she woke me up.

"Unfortunately, I think she got her pipes from Steven, because when she wants you to do something, she lets you know- loudly."

Pansy giggled while she looked at little Gracie. "I think she likes me then. She hasn't protested about this strange new lady holding her. She might even be smiling a bit."

"Be careful," Vanessa replied. "Sometimes when she gets that happy little look on her face, it means she's about to burp. Here." She handed a piece of cloth to Pansy. "Hold that under her chin, just in case. You'll thank me later."

"Come over here, Harry," Pansy grinned. "Look how precious she is."

"She's very cute," he agreed before turning to Vanessa. "If she stays in a good mood, can I hold her too?"

"Sure, if you think you can get Pansy to share," Vanessa laughed.

"Just scoot closer," Pansy replied. "You can say hello too, while I hold her. Look at those chubby little fists."

"She likes to wave one around while she sucks on the fingers of her other hand," Steven said. "Watch out or she might hit you accidentally. Gracie isn't too graceful yet."

"She can learn that as she gets older," Pansy said, waving off his concern. "You can accidentally bop me in the face if you want, Gracie. You're so adorable, I probably won't even swear if you do."

"As long as she doesn't get you in the eye, you should be okay," Steven said. "That happened to me a couple of nights ago, and it definitely woke me right up."

"Your daddy is not going to convince me that you are anything other than perfect," Pansy whispered to Grace, who waved her tiny left fist at her and made a small gurgling noise. "See, you know what I'm talking about, don't you Grace?"

"Harry, if you place your finger in her hand, she'll probably hold onto it. She won't start grabbing things on her own for awhile-"

"Thank god," Vanessa muttered, cutting off her husband.

"But she will grasp your finger as a sort of reflex," Steven finished. "It's pretty neat learning all these things about how she's going to develop. You never really think about how simple we all start out- so small and curious."

He held his hand out, stretching out his index finger and when the wobbly little fist got closer, Grace bumped up against him and after a moment, she began to squeeze his finger in her hand.

"Do you feel that?" Harry asked Pansy in a quiet voice.

"She's so cute, I know," she beamed in response.

"No, not that." He shook his head as his girlfriend scowled at him. "I mean, I know she's cute, but there's something else. Can't you feel it? She's magical."

"We've got two new baby converts," Vanessa laughed. "You two need to finish school before you have any of your own. Don't let us be a bad influence on you."

"That's not-" Harry looked over at Pansy who was staring at Grace, studying her little face. He took his free hand and placed it behind the one Pansy was using to hold up the little girl's head, not knowing how he could show her what he sensed. He closed his eyes for a moment and just focused on what he felt, and when Pansy gasped, he knew that he had somehow managed to convey that same truth he had instantly known about the baby- she was a muggleborn witch. "You see it now, right?"

"Oh my god," Pansy whispered.

"We have to tell them," Harry immediately said.

"But- what about the laws?"

"Fuck 'em," Harry replied.

"Harry! Not in front of the baby!" Pansy reacted by pulling Gracie away from him with a frown.

"Sorry."

"What are you guys talking about?" Vanessa asked, her expression clearly worried about whatever her friends were talking about.

"Harry, you know how much trouble this could cause," Pansy stated.

"What are they going to do? Arrest me? The ministry can't even fire their own traitorous head idiot without discussing it for more than two months. I'd like to see any of them stupid enough to go up against their precious 'Chosen One.' The public would crucify them.

"Besides, I won't leave our friends in the dark for eleven years just because stupid people are stupid. Just imagine how much stress they could have when strange things happen because no one is willing to tell them the truth."

"What truth?" Vanessa asked as she got up and stepped over to take her daughter back into her arms.

Pansy reluctantly handed her over even as she glared at Harry. "Fine, but if you get in trouble, I'm leaving it to Sam to fix things."

Harry nodded and looked at Vanessa, who was starting to fret. "The truth is that magic is real." He pulled out his wand and lifted their coffee table three feet in the air as Vanessa gasped. "I am a wizard, Pansy is a witch, and your daughter is one too."

"Magic? But- but how?"

Harry shrugged and used his wand to conjure a rose that he then set down on top of the coffee table. "I'm not sure how it happens, but it tends to run in families. Magical people mostly stay hidden from the rest of the world, so normally you wouldn't find out about any of this until Grace turned eleven. Then, they would send you a letter saying that she was invited to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, where they would teach her how to do magic. Cast spells, make potions, fly on brooms, all that sort of thing."

"Fly on brooms?" Steven laughed nervously. "Really?"

"Mine can go almost three hundred kilometers per hour," Harry replied.

"You're shitting me!"

"Nope."

"And Harry flies like a maniac on it too," Pansy added.

"But how is Gracie magical?" Vanessa asked. "Steven and I can't do anything like that."

"There are several theories of how muggleborns come to exist," Pansy answered, before starting to clarify. "Magical people refer to non-magicals as muggles, hence a child born from muggles is called a muggleborn."

"They have a special word for normal people?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, magical people can be pretty weird," Harry shrugged. "That's a much longer conversation."

"But you two seem so... so normal," Vanessa said.

"Well, I grew up in the regular world," Harry replied. "I didn't find out about magic until I was eleven, like what would have happened to you guys with Grace. Before then, I did things like somehow turning a mean teacher's hair blue at school- or teleporting onto the roof of the school. You know, come to think of it, a lot of my accidental magic had to do with school- you'd think the ministry would have to obliviate stuff like that all the time."

"Anyway, as I was about to say, there are four main theories for how and why sometimes a magical child can be born to two parents who don't have any magical abilities," Pansy interjected. "The first is that it just randomly happens sometimes. The second is that somewhere they had magical ancestry, often in the form of a squib. A squib is a child who can't do magic born into a magical family. We have some evidence that might be true-"

"We do?" Harry asked.

"Yes, remember the Brightwells? They're both squibs but their son is a wizard."

"Oh, yeah, I hadn't thought of it like that. I guess I never classified him in my head as a muggleborn."

"Well, his family would have known about magic, so I can see why. Anyway, the next theory is that the child was conceived in a place with strong magic and that somehow influenced things. That might be the case here," Pansy finished.

"Really?" Vanessa asked.

"You told me that you went to the Skorrid Mountain Inn in Wales and you were pretty sure that she was conceived there."

"You told her that?" Steven asked with a confused expression.

"Oh, shush, this is interesting," his wife waved him off. "Keep going."

"Yes, so I looked it up, and that inn does have a real ghost that lives there. Usually, muggles can't interact with them, so for the most part ghost stories are just thought of as rumors and superstition, but-"

"Wait, ghosts are real too?" Steven wondered.

"Yes, but they won't usually haunt people or anything like that," Harry said. "We have a few at our school that sort of watched out for the kids a bit."

"What about Myrtle?" Pansy giggled. "I don't think what she did qualifies as 'watching out for the kids' exactly."

"Myrtle is... unique," Harry grimaced.

"I'll say," Pansy snorted. "Moaning Myrtle is the ghost of a girl who died at Hogwarts decades ago and who has remained there ever since. She also might have a bit of a crush on Harry."

"Just because I was decent to her," he shrugged. "Silly me, I should have been more of a jerk."

"What's so bad about this Myrtle?" Steven asked.

"Myrtle was fourteen when she died," Harry replied. "She's been stuck as a hormonal teenager even into her afterlife. As we found out rather intimately."

"How intimately?" Vanessa asked.

"Apparently, ghosts can masturbate," Pansy snorted which made Vanessa laugh. "And Myrtle is a bit of a voyeur. I'll tell you the rest some other time." Pansy grinned as Vanessa nodded at her. "Anyway, I believe that may be why your daughter is magical. There would have been magic in the environment, so it's the best explanation I have, unless you want to dig into your genealogy."

"Wow," Vanessa said as she sat back down, holding Grace a little closer.

"Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in," Harry said. "That's why I wanted to let you know now, so that we can help you get used to it. As she gets older, Grace will start having bouts of what is called 'accidental magic.' From what I've heard, it mostly happens during times of stress. Hopefully, we'll be able to help you guys out and explain things when you have questions."

"Why would that be a problem?" Vanessa asked.

"There are laws that keep the magical world hidden. Technically, we're breaking the law by telling you all of this."

"But, I thought you said-"

"You would eventually find out anyway, but not for a long time." Harry shook his head. "I think that's a dumb law personally. My childhood would have been a lot better if I had known the truth. Well, maybe not a lot better, but..."

"So, you two have been going to this Hogwarts since you were eleven?" Vanessa asked. "How long does it take to learn magic?"

"Oh, um..." Harry looked over at Pansy who rolled her eyes at him.

"You were the one that wanted to tell them everything, so this is on your head. Go on," she waved at him.

"So, we're actually not as old as you guys think." Harry used his wand to cancel the glamour charms he regularly used on himself and Pansy. "We're only sixteen."

"Ahem," Pansy grumbled.

"Okay, technically only Pansy is sixteen. But my birthday is at the end of the month."

"Then... were you guys only fourteen when we met?" Vanessa paled as she asked. "Have you really lived on your own since then?"

"Well, we do have Dobby to look after us, so not really."

"Who's Dobby?"

"I can introduce you," Harry said. "Just don't freak out when you meet him. Dobby is what is called a house-elf. He takes care of us."

"House-elves are like magical servants, usually," Pansy added. "They tend to be sort of like a butler or a maid, only Dobby is more... um, how do I put it?"

"Dobby is part cook, part bodyguard, part friend, and part... I know I'm leaving something out here," Harry said with a frown. "Basically, Dobby is a lot of things to us. Anyway, like we said, he's a house-elf, and what that means is that he's about three feet tall with really big eyes and ears. Oh, and no hair. Would you like to meet him?"

"Yes," Vanessa said as Steven nodded.

"Okay, hold on. Dobby?"

Dobby popped into their living room and Vanessa still gasped even with the warning.

"Master Harry is being too careless with the rules, but Dobby will take care of things if Dobby needs to."

"I know you will, but let me introduce you to Steven, Vanessa, and little Gracie Frost. They're our friends."

"Yes, and Dobby can see that little miss is a witch," Dobby grinned. "She'll grow up to be a powerful witch, just like miss Pansy."

"It's nice to meet you, Dobby," Vanessa said.

"Oh, miss is too kind to Dobby, but then miss is friends with the great Harry Potter sir, so Dobby should have known." The little elf looked around the house for a second before turning to Harry. "Can Dobby please help master Harry's friends?"

"Um, yeah if you want to, I guess," Harry shrugged.

"Excellent!"

Dobby vanished with a pop.

"What was that all about?" Steven asked.

"Dobby literally lives to clean things," Harry chuckled. "He'll have this place tidy in no time. He would get upset if you asked him not to clean something messy. He got mad at me this spring when I made him take a day off."

"That only tells a very small part of that story, but we don't have a week to go through everything," Pansy said.

"You said there were four ways," Vanessa interrupted, drawing their attention. "Four ways you knew of for a witch to be born to non-magical parents. You only told us three though. What's the fourth?"

"Oh," Pansy sighed. "You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"The fourth way would be for a woman to have been raped by a wizard and not realize that she was carrying his child."

Vanessa gasped at Pansy's explanation. "Does that happen very often?"

"Officially, no. Unofficially, it's possible but not talked about."

"But how could someone get away with that?" Vanessa asked.

"There's a memory charm that can erase your memories," Pansy replied. "There are some people who will use it pretty much without regard to any muggles they might come across."

"Yeah, parts of the magical world are pretty messed up," Harry added. "That's one of the reasons we're lucky to have Dobby watching our backs."

"That... could that have happened to us?" Steven asked in a soft voice. "Is it possible that Grace isn't my daughter?"

"We can find out for sure," Harry answered after a moment of thought.

"Harry?" Pansy asked. "How?"

"Dobby?" When the elf reappeared, cleaning rag in hand, Harry smiled at him. "Can you get me the book on blood magic from my trunk please?"

"Of course!"

As he disappeared, Pansy looked at him with a tired expression. "Really? Blood magic? You're just completely ignoring the laws today, aren't you?"

"This one isn't illegal, as far as I know," Harry shrugged.

"Is blood magic what it sounds like?" Vanessa asked.

"It is a form of magic that uses blood for a variety of purposes, many of them that are frowned upon if not actually illegal."

"Because they can be dangerous!" Pansy scowled at him.

"Only some of them," Harry scoffed. "This one is so simple that a second year could cast it. Don't worry so much."

Dobby showed up and handed Harry a book. "Thank you, Dobby. Give me just a moment." He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He read the spell again and nodded before setting the book aside and looking at Steven. "I'll need to make a little cut to access your blood. Don't worry, I can heal it afterwards, but the blood is a key part of the spell. Okay?"

"Yeah, do it."

Steven held out his hand and Harry took out a small knife and nicked it with his left hand while holding his wand in the right. " _Invenio familio!_ "

A single drop of blood floated up out of the back of Steven's hand before flying across the room and landing directly on Gracie's forehead. He exhaled in relief. "I assume that's what it was supposed to do?"

"Yep," Harry nodded with a smile. "Gracie is absolutely your daughter."

"Now that the drama is over," Pansy turned back to Vanessa with a smile. "We can tell you guys all sorts of things about magic."

"I thought you could get in trouble for this though," Vanessa replied.

"Harry's probably right," she shrugged. "If you ever meet anyone with a wand that's pointed at you, just tell them you know Harry Potter. They'll probably be so startled that you can explain things to them."

"Yeah, you could probably just tell them that I'm Gracie's godfather and they would leave you alone."

"Um, no offense Harry, but Richie is actually Grace's godfather."

"Oh, that's fine, I just meant you could say that if you ever need to."

"Why?"

"Because in the magical world, I'm kind of a big deal," he smirked.

"That's putting it mildly," Pansy giggled. "Can I tell them?"

"Sure," Harry replied. "Luna always says I suck at telling stories anyway."

"Goodie," Pansy grinned. "So, it all starts with a baby with beautiful green eyes and a magical forehead."

Harry snorted as his girlfriend launched into a very snarky retelling of the myth of the boy-who-lived. He had a feeling they were going to be spending a lot of that summer bringing their friends into the know on all things magical. He sat back and smiled- for once he was looking forward to this new adventure that should be fun instead of life-threatening.

He might have to make another set of charmed mirrors though. Harry was determined to get Pansy to another beach as soon as possible. A summer spent without her in a bikini would be too sad to contemplate.

Whatever the Dark Lord might be up to would just have to wait for these much more important things.


	88. Finding the Right Ring

* * *

Harry stood back and let Pansy do her thing. If he hadn't thought she would be offended, he might have brought along a book to read. What did he know about jewelry anyway? Rings fit on your fingers and they're made of metal, sometimes with decorative stones.

Yeah, he wasn't feeling too useful while they shopped for an engagement ring for his soon to be fiancee.

Pansy was too excited to care about that though, even as they were on their fourth different store of the day. The previous day they'd gone to five different ones before deciding to head to London for a greater selection, or at least that had been the plan. It seemed to Harry that nothing was exactly what she wanted.

When the salesperson went to return yet another selection, Harry crept up closer to Pansy. "Sweetheart, I just wanted to remind you that we're supposed to be meeting your uncle Malcolm for dinner this evening."

"I know, but we've got another hour, so I'm going to keep looking for now."

"Okay."

Harry squeezed her hand as the salesman returned with another diamond ring for her to look over. He felt a little bad for the guy, who was obviously really trying to get a commission. Pansy could be quite picky at times, but Harry thought she had good reason to be.

He tried to relax and think about their last visit to the Frosts. Vanessa was having a much better summer lately as Dobby had been given practically free reign to go over and help the new parents with tidying up the place. She still groaned about how Gracie only slept for a couple of hours at a time, but Dobby now had another fan.

One night when they were alone, Harry had asked if it would be possible to find a house-elf who could look after their friends full time. However, Dobby had told him that until Grace was older, her magic would not be powerful enough to properly bond with an elf of her own. Since her parents were non-magical, Dobby's volunteer work would just have to do for the time being.

That was fine with Dobby anyway. Neither Harry nor Pansy were too slovenly even at their worst, and this summer had been wonderfully mellow compared to the previous year. Without having to play bodyguard or magical chauffeur, Dobby had more free time than usual- which would have been terrible if not for the new little witch for him to help look after.

Two more rings were eventually viewed, scrutinized, and rejected before Pansy thanked the man for his time and they left the jewelers.

"Maybe the third day will be the charm," Pansy offered, trying to smile. "I didn't think this would be so bloody hard."

Harry chuckled and shrugged. "As long as you end up happy."

"That's why I love you," Pansy said fondly as she leaned against him while they walked past a couple of other stores looking for a quiet place to disappear so they could pop back home. "You pamper me like a princess, and I do appreciate it."

"I'm hoping you'll show me some of that appreciation later," Harry replied with a grin. "Besides, Mortie always says that keeping the missus happy makes for a much happier life, and considering how adorable those two are, I think we could do much worse as an example."

"Ruby is pretty wonderfully sassy," Pansy agreed. "Speaking of whom, we're supposed to join them for dinner next Thursday. Ruby's got a new recipe she wants us to try out. Apparently, Mortie loved it but she doesn't trust his judgment."

"She's a good cook, so I'm sure I'll be able to handle that."

"I am fairly certain that she's going to make plenty so that there will be leftovers for us to take to Vanessa. She hasn't been feeling up to cooking very much lately, as you might expect."

"Dobby won't like that," Harry snorted.

"Well, he has had to deal with Ruby taking some of his share of the cooking duties before, so hopefully he'll be just as gracious this time."

"Have you heard from Luna lately?" Harry asked.

"I'm supposed to call her in the morning." Pansy steered Harry down a hall and into a corner near a couple of restrooms. They looked around and then she embraced Harry as a way to show that she was ready to leave. It wasn't technically necessary for her to do that, but neither of them were going to say anything as they enjoyed a quick pop back home. She kissed his cheek when they returned to the living room of their flat. "She's something like ten hours ahead of us, so after breakfast, hopefully she and Xeno will have just finished dinner."

"Knowing Luna, she wouldn't mind if you interrupted."

"Yes, but I don't want to wake her up. Evening time for them should mean they'll be done with whatever creatures they might be searching for too."

"Unless they're nocturnal," Harry pointed out.

"No, she said they were done hunting those down since their body clocks had grown used to the time change."

"Huh, that's smart."

"Our girl is a Ravenclaw for a reason," Pansy agreed.

"That she is." Harry sat down on the couch for a moment. "Should we change before we go to Malcolm's?"

"Why would we need to?"

"I just meant because we're dressed all... you know, muggle-y."

"I sincerely doubt he would care about that." Pansy shook her head and smiled. "The last time I went to his house, he was much more relaxed than you might expect for an old pureblood. He's more like a farmer that way. That is what he does, sort of."

"I don't think I ever asked before."

"He grows a number of plants, both magical and otherwise, that are used as ingredients for potions. Remember how tan he is? He spends a lot of time outdoors. I wonder if that's yet another reason for why he wasn't closer with the rest of my family. My parents and grandparents all preferred the indoors and more urban lifestyles."

"Ah. And so do we, it seems," Harry said. "I guess that explains why Malcolm and Sprout are friendly then."

"Yes." Pansy kicked off her shoes, but turned back to him. "However, I am going to change. I want to wear something a bit more comfortable for dinner. You should freshen up in the bathroom before I need it."

"Yes mistress," Harry bowed his head with a grin.

"It's not my fault that we have to share a bathroom here," she replied from the other room.

"You mean it's my fault?"

"Of course it is." Harry could see the smirk on her face even with his back turned.

"I guess that's something I'll have to consider for when we need to find the right house to live in once we're done with everything."

"It's never too early to start planning for the future," came her voice from the bedroom. Harry nodded even as he looked at himself in the mirror. It hadn't been all that long ago that he wasn't sure he would have made it to a happily ever after- but now it felt almost in his grasp.

He decided then that he would go ahead and re-read the book on blood magic, in spite of Pansy's warnings about it. The jigsaw pieces had almost fallen into place- he just needed the headmaster to do whatever it would be that led to the Resurrection Stone.

But he kept those thoughts to himself as they went to dinner with her uncle Malcolm. The man was far too pleasant and uninvolved for Harry to bring up things like dark lords. Instead that night, they spoke of school, OWL exams, and simple things like their friends, all of which Malcolm absorbed with a happy look on his face all night long.

Harry guessed that maybe the older man had been more lonely than he might have first noticed. It had been years since he'd become a widower though, and Harry really felt for him about that. He couldn't imagine anything worse than losing Pansy.

Speaking of whom, Pansy also brought up their recent failures at ring shopping, which made Malcolm smile widely. He'd known that Harry cared for his niece, but he was still pleasantly surprised by the idea of them marrying.

He also helped them with the problem of finding the right ring by suggesting they try Paris. It was where her mother's rings had come from, and Pansy loved the idea of taking a little vacation. It had been several months since they'd seen their friends that now lived in France, and they could give Flora and Hestia a more complete story of all that had happened with the Death Eaters. He knew they would be pleased to hear about how well all of that had gone.

By the time they got home that night, Pansy was reminding him about how much fun it would be to see the Delacour sisters too. She really liked Fleur, and she just knew that Gabrielle would be delighted to see Harry. He pouted slightly at that but ended the conversation by dragging Pansy into the bedroom.

* * *

Pansy packed a bag with a couple of outfits for each of them while fretting over what Harry wanted to attempt. Intellectually, she understood that Harry's trips back and forth from their flat to the Shrieking Shack had been more than two hundred miles, but the idea of him just grabbing her and popping straight to France still worried her. She gave in when Dobby promised to go with them and 'make sure that master Harry didn't do anything wrong.'

Harry rolled his eyes at her worry, but he had no problem with Dobby coming along. The little guy deserved a vacation too, and he had admitted to Harry that he was looking forward to learning more about French cuisine so he could surprise his miss Pansy.

That thought made Harry wonder how often there were invisible house-elves sneaking into restaurants to learn new recipes and cooking techniques. Then again, from what little he knew about house-elves, Dobby was quite likely one of a kind. Winky was lovely in her own way, but she was much more timid and reserved.

Maybe it was Harry's fault though? How many wizards took their house-elves along as back up when they went into battle? Well, hopefully, that was almost over.

It was a Saturday morning when they landed, notice-me-not charm already in place. Harry chose to head to the cemetery where Pansy's mum had been buried, as that should be plenty out of the way comparatively.

Pansy said a few words to her before they left. It had been a couple of years, and the emotional upheaval from the last time they had been there was long forgotten. Now, she could merely inform Dahlia's headstone that they were off to find the perfect ring. After the brush with death, Pansy was certain that somewhere her mum was very happy for her.

And then they headed for Paris.

* * *

Once again, Harry was merely nodding along and looking interested while Pansy shopped. They went into store number four shortly after lunch, and he was worried that it was going to be another very long day.

Pansy was still happy and excited though, so he relaxed and made the best of it. They would find the perfect ring one of these days.

"Ooh! I like that one," she grinned, pulling on his arm to have him take a look. "The diamond isn't quite right, but I like the design otherwise."

As a salesman came over, Pansy switched to French. "Is it possible to get something like this but with a different diamond?"

"Certainly, mademoiselle."

"Good, let me see what other sizes and shapes would work with this type of ring." She followed the salesman over to a display case and peered into it at a number of different stones. "I like the round cut, but I was thinking of a slightly bigger stone."

"With this type of setting, we can do anything from half a carat up to two carats," the salesman replied before looking Harry over. He probably should have used a glamour charm, but after everything had come out with Steven and Vanessa, he hadn't seen the need to bother anymore. They did dress up for the occasion, though. However, most teenagers didn't buy expensive diamond rings, and now he was getting plenty of disbelief. "The price goes up, of course, with the larger size of stone also requiring a more expensive foundation."

"I should probably have a second opinion," Pansy said with a frown. She turned to Harry with a smile. "Do you think Apolline would be able to help?"

"She's bound to know more about diamonds than I do," Harry replied.

"We were going to visit them tomorrow," Pansy agreed. She then turned back to the salesman. "I need to make a phone call, but I will be back in a few minutes."

"Certainly, mademoiselle."

She pulled Harry outside of the store and dug around through her purse. "I need to find somewhere private for a moment."

"Looking for the mirror?" he asked. At her nod, he glanced up and down the street they were on. "We should just find a shop with a restroom."

"Good idea."

They had to walk for a couple of minutes, and once they did, Harry waited patiently outside. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, but he smiled to himself at the fact that Pansy had finally (hopefully) found something she liked. It had only taken a baker's dozen stores across three cities in two countries, but they were making progress.

"Harry, it is good to see you." Apolline Delacour walked out of the store with a grin on her face as Pansy followed behind her. "I have been called in for my expertise in the finer things of life."

"Yeah, we definitely needed you," he replied as he kissed the back of her hand. "It's wonderful to see you again. How are the girls?"

"Mine or our guests?" she laughed. "All of them are doing well, although Gabrielle is particularly excited to hear that you have come back to our wonderful country. She starts at Beauxbatons soon, and I believe she will be thrilled to tell you all about it. We went shopping for her uniforms and supplies last week. I'm sure she will want to model the outfit for you."

"Um, yeah," he nodded, not knowing how to properly respond.

"Don't worry too much," Apolline giggled. "I will help Pansy to protect you from my daughter as much as need be."

"Thanks."

"Excellent, now then, I believe we have some diamonds for me to appraise." She turned back to Pansy with a smile. "Lead on, my dear."

"Thank you so much for the help," Pansy said as they walked back towards the jewelers.

"It is my pleasure, I assure you. Henri hasn't taken me shopping for something like this in far too long. Now that you've reminded me, I'll have to make sure he rectifies this error. If only Fleur were with us."

"Where is she?"

"Working," Apolline turned up her nose as she spoke. "I have no idea why she would want to do something so horrid. I would have hoped she would have seen the benefit of marrying well."

She broke out into laughter again and Pansy joined her.

"But to be serious, she and Izaak are working together. They do custom enchantments, and there is plenty of business for that sort of thing."

When they reached the store, Harry stepped to the front and opened the door for them. Pansy led Apolline over to the ring she had liked and the older woman immediately busied herself with harassing the clerk to bring out better stones to help her choose from. When they had a moment of privacy, she turned back to Harry. "How much of a budget are we working with today?"

"I have forty thousand francs," he whispered.

"You are going all out then," she grinned in response.

"I only get to marry her once."

"Good boy, Harry." She patted his hand and turned back to the returning salesman. "Now then, Pansy told me she wanted a round brilliant cut diamond, and we are looking for something in the range of a carat and a half, maybe up to two, but we want something of high quality, first and foremost."

Harry smirked and watched the witch do her work. Apolline was clearly in her element, and Pansy seemed to be taking notes on how she behaved. He should have known that she would see something of a role model in Apolline- she was elegant but could be snobby if the mood struck her, and Pansy's upper class roots strongly approved.

All he was really there for was paying the bill anyway.

* * *

It was later that night, and they had just finished dinner. Pansy was walking beside him and they were taking in the sights of Paris as the sun began to set. He had the ring in his inner pocket of the suit jacket he was wearing.

"So, when are you going to propose?" Pansy asked, clearly excited.

"Don't you want it to be a surprise?"

"Only if it's a surprise that happens very, very soon."

Harry snorted at her response and led them off to the side of the walkway that led towards the Arc de Triomphe. The crowd around them was pretty thick, and he didn't want to get too bogged down in it. He pulled her to stand in front of him for a moment and then clandestinely cast a mild repulsion spell to push people away from them for a moment.

"Never let it be said that I didn't make you happy," he grinned as they now had plenty of room. He got down on one knee and smiled up at her as she began to bounce on her heels. "Pansy, will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" She stuck her hand out as he removed the ring from its box. "Gimme!"

He slid the engagement ring onto her finger as a few people nearby clapped. She pulled him up to his feet and kissed him deeply. Pansy pulled back and sighed before leaning against his chest. Harry looked down and saw that she had placed her left hand right in front of her face and she was staring at her ring.

"You're like a kid with a Christmas present," he chuckled.

"The best Christmas present ever, you mean," she corrected him.

"Better than when I got rid of your father, then?"

She scrunched up her face in thought for a moment then looked up at him with a smile. "Yes. That was for the past, and _this_ " she waved her hand at him, "this is for the future. And we're going to have a lot more future to help us forget all the awful parts of the past."

"I'll drink to that," Harry laughed.

"Speaking of which, Apolline told me that she was going to send over a bottle of champagne tonight. I sent Dobby off with her so that he could take it back to our hotel room. Now that we've got something to celebrate, I suppose we could head back there. I might have even packed a little surprise of my own."

"Ooh, so I get a present too?"

"You have been a very good boy today," she whispered in his ear. "I think you'll enjoy the gift wrapping too."

"I really love you."

"Of course you do," Pansy smirked. "Now take me back to our room."

* * *

Apolline was waiting for them when they arrived the next evening, her eyes sparkling with delight. Pansy made a note in her head to ask her about how incredibly at ease she was at playing the hostess- it seemed like that was bound to become useful knowledge someday.

However, for the moment, she was grinning like an excited schoolgirl as she welcomed Pansy with a hug and asked to see the engagement ring.

"You did help me pick it out just the other day," Pansy said.

"Yes, and one always likes to see the fruits of their labors come to bloom," Apolline agreed with a smile. "It looks wonderful, as I'm sure you know. So, where did he decide to propose?"

"In front of the Arc de Triomphe."

"And why there?" she asked as she turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Because it was the most triumphant moment of my life," he answered. "Getting to this point has made everything that we've been through over the last few years feel worth it. Plus," he turned to tease Pansy with a smirk, "someone couldn't wait for me to hand over her ring as fast as possible."

"Well, it is my ring, so it belonged on my finger, instead of in your pocket," she snootily turned up her nose at him.

"And you should never keep a woman waiting, Harry," Apolline added with a grin. "I am very happy for you both, and I believe we have several girls waiting to congratulate you this evening."

"Even Gabrielle?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

"My youngest has been told to be on her best behavior," Apolline responded before snorting. "But knowing Gabrielle..." she sighed. "We shall see how that goes. As a warning, Pansy my dear, pray for sons."

Both women laughed as Apolline led them past the entry hallway towards the smaller dining room. "I know Sirius has been hoping to visit soon, but the girls have kept busy this summer. I believe they have not had too much difficulty in adapting to Beauxbatons. Monsieur Black really doesn't need to concern himself too much, at least not on my account. Compared to my own daughters, Flora and Hestia are delightfully easy to deal with."

A moment later, they entered to see a table practically groaning with food. Flora, Hestia, and Gabrielle all sat waiting for them, although Gabrielle was quick to get up and hurry over, offering hugs and kisses on the cheek in greeting. "Oh, it is so wonderful to see you both."

"Bonjour, Gabrielle," Pansy replied. "Why the uniform?"

Gabrielle was wearing her new school uniform, and she twirled around in it in response. "I just got it ze other day. Doesn't it look just marvelous?" She turned to Harry with a lecherous smile. "Don't I look nice, 'arry?"

"Um, very nice, yes," he blushed.

Pansy chuckled but couldn't help but notice that Apolline had been right the year before about her daughter going through puberty early. At least she still had roughly an inch on Gabrielle, who had just turned eleven the month before. It seemed Pansy was doomed to be surrounded by leggy blondes, but to be fair, hopefully she could turn out to be good friends with her just as she had with her big sister. Speaking of which, she asked, "Fleur won't be joining us?"

"My eldest is supposed to be here, only I was warned that they might be a bit late," Apolline replied as she sat down at the end of the table. Gabrielle had already grabbed onto Harry's arm and led the two of them over to empty places where they could sit next to her. Pansy saw Hestia trying to hold back her laughter while Flora merely nodded hello. "She and Isaak have been hard at work at their shop lately, and with all the teenagers out of school, it is likely to be their busiest season. We don't have to wait for them, nor my husband, so please, everyone help yourselves."

"Merci," Harry replied even as Gabrielle began suggesting foods that he should try while his girlfriend held in a laugh- no fiancee, he was going to have to get used to that, and he would have smiled if not for the fact that she was once again enjoying his discomfort at his biggest fan's behavior. If not for the fact that he was wanting to enjoy their time in France without getting into any arguments, he might have tried to tease her back by being even a hint more encouraging towards Gabrielle. But he quickly decided that idea could come back to bite him in some unpleasant way. Instead, he went for a much more neutral topic of conversation. "Where is Henri, by the way?"

"Papa is in Geneva," Gabrielle replied happily. "Always so busy with work."

"You should be glad of that, my angel," Apolline said. "Your father might not have allowed you to 'show off' your uniform to dear Harry."

"Oh, please," Gabrielle waved her mother off. "We all know zat papa is wrapped around my leetle finger."

"Yes, and that's also why I'm dreading you going to Beauxbatons this fall," her mother said as she rolled her eyes before turning to the Carrows, who were seated opposite Pansy and Harry. "Girls, please do what you can to keep Gabrielle's behavior in check. Or, at least write to me and let me know how awful she behaves."

"Maman! I would never do something inappropriate," Gabrielle disputed her mother, who snorted while the other girls all giggled. She turned to Harry with a blinding smile. "Do not let 'er color your view of me, mon amor. I assure you, I will be ze most sophisticated of all ze girls in my year. Refined, even."

Harry had felt a little tingle when she had smiled like that and he chuckled at her protestations. "Your allure is starting to come in, Gabrielle. Now, while I know you wouldn't do anything inappropriate," again he heard the giggles around him, which she clearly tried to ignore despite frowning, "I think we should all be more concerned that the people around you won't be able to handle such a refined young woman. You will have to help them."

"I suppose I will 'ave to learn to deal with so many uncultured boys soon," she nodded before grinning at him again. "Such a pity zey can't be more like you."

"You never know," Pansy interjected. "Maybe you will find someone like Harry. I would recommend that you be very thorough when you meet the boys at school. You might just find a diamond in the rough, and believe it or not, Harry himself was once quite rough around the edges."

"That's true," he agreed. "Pansy is responsible for a lot of the ways I've improved over the last few years."

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked.

"I'm much more self-confident, for one," he replied.

"Zen I will 'ave to zank you, Pansy," Gabrielle giggled. "You 'ave done marvelous work, as 'arry is tres magnifique!"

"He is, isn't he?" Hestia added, setting off another round of giggles.

Flora snorted and shook her head. "I think you've got a long night ahead of you, Harry."

"Well, compared to dementors and basilisks, I think being teased by pretty girls isn't so bad," he shrugged. "Remind me to tell you some about the last year, because much of it was really stressful."

"We've heard some of what has happened through the papers," Apolline stated. "But let's not talk of such things while we eat. Instead, why don't we hear about how you proposed?"

"I'll have to tell the tale," Pansy piped up. "I don't trust Harry to do it properly. Besides, he might skip the beginning."

"You mean back at school that night?" he asked with a frown. "I wouldn't have skipped that."

"Then you're getting better," she said, patting the back of his hand. "But allow me..."

And so Harry relaxed and ate while the ladies all cooed and laughed as Pansy told of how they had become engaged. All in all, it really wasn't too bad, but it would have been nice if there had been at least one other guy there. He was going to have to see about contacting Sirius soon. Maybe they could do a double date of sorts- with the new Mrs. Black and the soon to be Mrs. Potter. He smiled and relaxed at that thought.

* * *

They were back in England a week later, and staying up late one night when Pansy walked out onto the little balcony on the rear of their flat. "Harry, come out here, it's a lovely night."

"Very lovely," he said, stepping behind her and slipping one hand down to cup her bum.

"I meant the weather," she snorted.

"And I meant the girl out in the weather."

"I'm glad we don't have to go back to school any time soon," she replied as she leaned against him. Harry noted happily that she didn't actually mind where his hand went. "I dislike having to get used to mornings again when September rolls back around."

"Yeah, I'm a night owl by now too. I think it's because of all the wonderful nights I've spent with you."

She giggled. "For some reason, your charm still works on me. I would think I might have built up some immunity over time."

"Perish the thought," Harry whispered into her ear as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You know something?"

"Hmm?"

"We've never been over to that little park back there," Pansy said as she pointed down the hill. "Want to go?"

"Now?"

"Sure."

"I guess I could pull out the trusty old notice-me-not charm."

"Yes, and you could even pop us right over there," Pansy agreed.

"I thought you said it was a nice night," Harry chuckled.

"I don't want to get my feet, or my shoes, wet traipsing through that little creek that's in the way."

"Alright, princess," Harry replied as he grabbed her a little closer and popped them over to the park. Pansy immediately took his hand and pulled him over to the swings. "Want me to push you?"

"I think I'd rather you just sit with me and relax," she answered as she began to swing back and forth, slowly getting a bit higher. "I don't always need you to pamper me that much. Not that I want you to stop any time soon."

"Of course not," Harry said as he joined her on the nearest swing.

"You know, your birthday is coming up soon."

"Yeah."

"That was a hint, Harry," Pansy groaned. "What do you want to do for your birthday?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "As long as you're there, I'm sure I'll have fun."

"Harry, I would have thought you would have figured this out by now, but I love you. I want your birthday to be special," Pansy sighed. "I do still have some polyjuice, and I'm almost positive I've got a few hairs from Fleur left over."

"Uhhh," Harry muttered, "I think Fleur is..."

"What? A sexy goddess?" Pansy laughed.

"A lovely woman," Harry finished. "But I'd much rather spend my birthday with you."

"Even in bed?" Pansy said, still laughing under her breath.

"Especially in bed," Harry insisted. "Damn woman, hasn't my never-ending libido proven itself by now?"

"A girl likes to know that she's appreciated," Pansy teased.

"I'll _appreciate you_ until you can't walk straight."

"That's not a very good threat."

"Then I'll call Sirius and brag for an hour or two," Harry added. "Kathryn likes it when I do that."

"Really? Why?"

"Because he puts all his efforts into proving himself to his new wife," Harry said with a laugh. "She told me all about it a couple of nights ago. Sirius was out with Lupin that night. Remember when I tried to call him on the mirror?"

"No."

"Oh, you were in the bath probably. Anyway, she told me that after a very affectionate night with Sirius recently that he had admitted that he wasn't going to let me beat him at being an awesome lover after drunkenly muttering something once. She finagled the story out of him; apparently my godfather can be rather jealous of us."

"With good reason. We have a fabulous sex life."

"That we do," Harry laughed. "Hence why I'm not too worried about whatever type of celebrating we might do for my birthday. As long as it involves you, me, and plenty of time in bed together, I'm pretty sure it will be a good day.

"Although..." Harry thought for a moment and turned to grin at her with the expression that Pansy recognized as his thinking-about-sex face. "I did almost die a couple of months ago. It seems likely that I might need a check up with the sexiest nurse in the world to make sure I'm doing well."

"Any excuse to see me in a sexy outfit," Pansy giggled. "We don't necessarily have to wait for your birthday, you know?"

"Which just does to show why I love you," Harry agreed with a smile. "We should go clothes shopping for my birthday."

"Really?"

"Yes, for more outfits that you wouldn't wear in public."

Pansy laughed in response. "You're incorrigible. Have I told you that before?"

"Maybe a time or two," Harry admitted with a smile.

"What am I going to do with you, Harry?"

"Hopefully, fun things in the bedroom."

Both of them chuckled for a moment as they continued swinging in the park, with only a couple of lamp posts illuminating the area. There was a soft breeze blowing as well, and Harry leapt off the swing. He turned and walked over in front of Pansy.

"You know, if you were wearing a skirt right now, I would totally be trying to catch a peek."

"If we were young, little Pansy would have been very angry about that."

"Little Harry wouldn't have been able to help himself," Harry grinned.

"Did you ever do that with any of the little muggle girls when you were in primary school?"

"No, I would have been too worried about getting caught. Especially with how the Dursleys would have responded. That wouldn't have been pleasant. Also, I never really got much of a chance to develop little crushes on any of the girls. Never really got to talk to any of them much, so other than maybe thinking one was pretty..." Harry shrugged and looked around the mostly empty park. "Besides, I found the right girl to perv off on eventually, so everything worked out in the end."

"I guess so."

Pansy was slowing her swing when a bright light burst into the area. She and Harry both turned to see a glowing phoenix that began to talk.

"Harry, I need your help." It was the headmaster's voice, although he sounded tired. "Come to Little Hangleton. The cemetery where Tom captured you. Two miles roughly east of there, hidden away in a thick little wooded area. Please... hurry."

The phoenix disappeared and Harry turned back to look at Pansy. "I guess our relaxing night just got a lot more complicated. I assume you're coming with me?"

"You'd have to be crazy to think I'd let you go on your own."

"Yeah, thought so," Harry replied. "Dobby!"

The little elf appeared with a large grin. "What can Dobby do sir?"

"Get my cloak, we've got something possibly dangerous to deal with. Oh, and the box with the basilisk fang would be a good idea too." Dobby returned after only a few seconds, box in one hand and cloak in the other. "I think we should all go under the cloak until we see exactly what's going on."

"Good idea," Pansy said as she got off the swing and came over to stand with him. "Dobby, can you get my favorite purse please?"

"Of course, miss."

"It has my wand in it," Pansy added.

Harry nodded. "Better safe than sorry. Everyone ready?"

With a pop, they were gone.

* * *

With only Harry having been there before, he was the one who took them all to the graveyard. From there, Dobby searched out for more magic and he then popped them much closer to the headmaster's location. Sure enough, it was thick with trees ahead of them and they had a slow time getting through the brush before they came out into a small clearing with a dilapidated shack, door wide open.

"Do you sense anyone else, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"No, master Harry. Only the old head wizardy mister Albus."

"Alright. Let's be careful anyway," Harry added as they crept forward, covering them all with the cloak again as they approached the building. "Can't be too careful for traps and whatever. Pansy, you keep an eye on the surroundings, I'll deal with whatever is going on with Dumbledore, and Dobby, you keep us all safe."

"Yes, master Harry!"

"Okay," Pansy agreed. "But if anything bad is happening, I'll be cursing first and asking questions later."

"I understand, but hopefully you won't need to."

It was only a minute later before they had entered the shack, and there lying on the floor and groaning was the headmaster. He had his wand in his left hand as his right was turning black. Harry noticed the reason why almost immediately, there was a very familiar ring that he had put on one of his fingers. Off to one side, the sorting hat lay on the floor.

The ring called to him, and a flash of external insight came rushing into him. A presence was ready, and it was time for Harry to accept the bargain that had been set before him.

Unfortunately for Albus Dumbledore, he was standing in the way of Death, and Harry knew that would not be allowed.

_"Stupefy!"_

He knocked the headmaster unconscious with the spell and then summoned the wand into his hand, where it now belonged. A thrum of power surged into him. It was time to reunite the Hallows.

Looking around, Harry didn't see any reason to remain cloaked, so he pulled it off and looped it over his left arm, next to the wand he held as well.

"What are you doing?" Pansy asked in a worried voice.

"What I must, and what I want."

"Harry?"

"The stone is in the ring. Everything has come full circle."

"But it looks like the ring has cursed Dumbledore. Be careful, dammit!"

"I know." Harry put his own wand back into his pocket and turned to Dobby. "I need the fang now, Dobby."

The elf opened it and held it out before him. Harry carefully removed the fang and knelt down by the prone form of the headmaster. He leaned over him and delicately touched the tip of the fang to the ring. It only took a couple of drops of venom oozing out onto it before a hiss was heard and the band of the ring fell away, leaving only the stone.

Harry turned back to Dobby and replaced the fang in its box. He then picked up the stone...

...and everything changed. He remembered the vast cosmos, the terrifying moment that Death had tried to help him understand, and Harry had to press his hands up to his head to keep from crying out in pain. Something immense that was all around him shifted, and a weight settled deep into his very core. He closed his eyes, trying not to see, but they had glimpsed the headmaster, his life force straining against the curse that was ready to drain him.

He fell backwards and glanced up at Pansy, who was like a beacon of warmth burning in the darkness.

Harry didn't know it, but at that moment, his eyes were actually glowing. Pansy saw though, and she gasped as he looked at her. "Harry, please, tell me you're alright."

He blinked, then again, and slowly everything faded back into his normal perceptions. Harry took a deep breath, hoping that sort of thing wouldn't happen again anytime soon. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said as he got back to his feet.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." He smiled at her and placed the stone into one of his pockets. "Dobby, hold onto the cloak please."

"Dobby lives to serve the Great Master!" The elf bounced over and accepted the cloak, looking with even more reverence than usual at Harry. "Master Harry sir is now truly the most powerful wizard of all time!"

"If you say so," Harry chuckled. "As long as I'm powerful enough to do what needs to be done, I think we'll be okay."

"What are we going to do about the headmaster?" Pansy asked.

"He could be a problem," Harry admitted as he turned back to Dumbledore. "I know he wouldn't approve of some of the things I've done."

"Should we kill him?"

"The curse on his hand might do that without our help."

"I just don't want him to cause any more problems for you. The senile old bastard has done enough of that already."

"I guess he did," Harry sighed. In that moment, he felt so very weary as he now knew that he held the headmaster's fate in his hands. And the worst part was, he knew this was a feeling he would have to deal with at times in the future as well. He closed his eyes and thought back to everything he knew of Albus Dumbledore, and despite it all, he wasn't sure what he should do. But a voice reminded him of his childhood, and of the man who was responsible for abandoning him in the hell of Privet Drive.

And a second voice laughed, a voice full of irony and sarcasm, a voice that suggested a fate worse than death.

"Harry?"

"You might want to get under the cloak."

"Why?"

"Just in case," he replied. "There's no reason for him to see you or Dobby. I can handle this on my own."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Harry said. "But I do need one thing from you."

"What?"

"A certain vial that I believe you keep in your purse."

"Alright." Pansy dug through it for a moment and handed it over. "Don't you still have yours?"

"Not with me, but I don't think we'll need it anyway." Harry kissed her and placed the cloak over her while Dobby stood beside her. "I hope this night doesn't have any more surprises."

Harry now used the Elder Wand, and he could feel its power humming in his hand. First he lifted Dumbledore up and floated him over to a very worn chair, then summoned ropes to bind him to it. Once he was certain that he was secure, Harry awoke the headmaster.

"Harry, what's going... on?" Albus recognized the wand pointed at him, and then saw the anger in the young man before him. "There's so much I need to tell you. The ring-"

"Isn't a concern for you anymore."

"Harry, you need to know-"

"None of your secrets matter anymore, Dumbledore. The curse in your hand will likely kill you, do you realize that? But that doesn't really matter to me. It was almost fifteen years ago that you decided to play god with my life. Somehow, you got Hagrid to my parents' home and had him kidnap me on your orders from my godfather. You damned both Sirius and I to hell with that action, and whatever else you may have done, I cannot forgive you for stealing my childhood from me. And now, I am going to repay you."

"Harry, the horcruxes, you have to understand, Voldemort-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure this is the part where I'm supposed to understand all of your plots and excuses, and how everything had to happen this way, and blah blah blah." Harry shook his head and chuckled. "Your part of the story is over, Albus. Your old friend Sluggy told me enough- things that you kept from me. For my own good, I suppose you would say. But once again, it doesn't matter. Do you recognize this?"

Harry held up the vial and Albus stared at it.

"I do not," he admitted with a ragged breath.

"It's clear, so it wouldn't give you much of a clue," Harry replied. "It was a present from dear old Sluggy. He gave it to me last year. This is the draught of living death. He meant for me to use it on Riddle, you see, but I have a better target."

"Why? If you hate me so much, why not just let me die?"

"Because there are fates worse than death. This potion won't let you die, at least not too quickly, so you'll stay trapped in a sleep while the last of your life slowly ebbs away from you. Meanwhile, the world will wonder, what happened to Albus Dumbledore? The great hero disappearing right when they need him most, to protect them from the evil Dark Lord. They won't like that I'll bet. They'll see your abandonment as a betrayal. Just like how I see your abandonment of me with the Dursleys as a betrayal."

"Please, Harry, forgive me..."

"No."

"At least let me tell you what I've uncovered about the other horcruxes. Please," the old man gasped in pain. "This is too important for a grudge."

"It's poetic, really," Harry said with a small grin. "You stole my innocence, so I will steal your reputation. And better yet," he paused to chuckle for a second, "I won't give you the satisfaction of knowing how things will turn out. Goodbye, Dumbledore."

"Harry-"

 _"Imperio!"_ Harry yelled out, and the headmaster's eyes dimmed as the curse took hold. He stepped closer and opened the vial. "Open your damn mouth, and swallow this."

Dumbledore was unable to resist, and he then fell into a slumber so deep he may as well have been dead.

Harry exhaled a deep breath and his shoulders sagged. "Fucking bastard," he muttered.

"Are you okay?" Pansy asked as she pulled off the cloak.

"I think so."

"He deserved it, Harry," she said as she stepped over and embraced him. "He's a fucking headmaster of a school. He had no right to steal you from Sirius. You both suffered so much because this old bastard stuck his nose where it didn't belong. Fuck him. You did the right thing. I'm glad you didn't let him get away with it."

"Really?"

"He hurt you. That means I hated him." She pulled Harry's face down and kissed him deeply. When she leaned back, she could see that it had helped relieve some of his stress. "Besides, even if he thought this blood protection nonsense was so important, why didn't he at least come around every now and then to check on you? Was the great Albus Dumbledore too fucking busy to make sure you didn't have to grow up in a fucking cupboard? Fucking stupid evil old man. We should bury him in a deep, dark tomb and leave him to rot."

Harry sighed and then looked down at her. "I'm glad I haven't gotten on your bad side."

"My bad side is reserved for people that screw with the people I love," Pansy replied. "And that is pretty much just you and Luna. And Dobby of course."

Harry couldn't help but snort. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. They relaxed and just held one another for a moment. The last horcrux was gone. All three Hallows were in his possession- although he would need to do something about the ring soon- and Harry now had Death itself on his side. Riddle was foolish to think he could triumph over Death; his end was in sight.

"Should we leave him here?"

Pansy's question brought Harry's mind back to the moment, and he realized he hadn't decided on that very thing. "I don't know. Dobby, did you sense any protections around this shack?"

"There is a spell to keep muggles away, master Harry."

"But magical people could find it, then."

"Yes."

"Then we can't leave him here. We need..."

"We need a place where no one would find him."

"Yes, and I think I know just where to put him."

* * *

It was two hours later, and after showering and making love, Harry was still having trouble falling asleep. He could feel Pansy's soft breath against his chest, and there was even a tiny bit of drool, which made him smile even as he thought of everything else.

What exactly would Death ask of him in the future? What would being the conduit of some vast cosmic force mean?

And not to mention how soon would he need to deal with Riddle, although that was something he now saw more as inevitable than anything else. When you've been touched by something practically infinite, one bloodthirsty egomaniac really wasn't that impressive anymore.

He'd already dealt with the Resurrection Stone while Pansy had been in the shower. He went to the little cottage nestled deep in the Whinfell forest that he had inherited from a cousin of his father. It had a number of spells to keep it safe from muggles and nicely hidden too. It was the best place at the moment- remote and almost unknown- so Harry used it as the hiding place for the stone. And for one last piece of protection, he cast the Fidelius spell, hiding the secret away in his very soul, so that no one would realize just what was hidden high up on a shelf in the kitchen of that little cottage.

It would be many, many years later before Harry realized that he'd cast the spell once before.

Once he was done with Riddle, Harry was thinking of storing the Elder Wand away as well. He'd need to consider precisely where he would want to put it, although that wasn't too pressing of a need.

A soft little snore brought his mind back to the present, and he smiled at the girl once again sleeping in his arms. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her freshly-shampooed hair.

* * *

Meanwhile, more than one hundred miles away, Albus Dumbledore lay on a rocky isle in the middle of a cave where once upon a time, Regulus Black had died trying to stop Tom Riddle. He would remain there for months, possibly years, as the withering curse tried to end his life while the potion attempted to keep him dormant. It was a far cry from any of the fates he would have wanted or even possibly expected to have. But as T. S. Eliot once said:

_'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.'_


	89. A Nice Relaxing Summer

* * *

"Happy birthday!" Luna shouted out as she waited for him to blow out the candles. Pansy was grinning at her exuberance. You wouldn't think it was half past midnight with the way their best friend was carrying on. "Now make a wish, and make it a good one!"

"I'm glad you're here," Harry replied as he closed his eyes and blew out the candles.

"What did you wish for? No, don't tell me," Luna grumbled. "That's always so tempting, to want to know what someone's birthday wish is, but then you can't or it won't come true. Ooh! I know, why don't Pansy and I think up some extra wishes that you could enjoy this year? That way, maybe we'll give you some ideas for next year if they aren't what you've already wished."

"I'm pretty happy already," he shrugged. "But feel free."

"You have seemed very content lately," Pansy added. "I guess things have been going pretty well."

"For the most part," Harry agreed. "The ministry still hasn't paid us the rewards, but that just means that I get to turn Sam loose."

"Bureaucracy is the death of any achievement," Luna said. "Einstein said that, and he was known for being rather intelligent. Far be it from me to argue with genius."

"He would have been a little Ravenclaw like you," Harry chuckled. He leaned back on the couch and waited as Dobby served up the pieces of birthday cake. Luna and Pansy were sitting on either side of him; as the birthday boy, the center of attention was reserved for him.

"Speaking of my favorite girl," Pansy smiled as she looked past Harry after starting to eat. "How long are you staying, sweetie?"

"Daddy is busy with the next issue of the Quibbler. I doubt he would have even noticed if I had just left, at least not for the next couple of days. But since I was feeling thoughtful, he is fine with me staying until next weekend. That is, assuming it won't be a problem for either of you."

"We'd love to have you," Pansy grinned. "That will give us plenty of time to do all sorts of things. Other than celebrating with Harry, I don't have anything planned."

"Sounds good to me," Harry nodded before taking another bite. "Did you bring your swimsuit? I've been thinking of going to the beach again soon."

"You just want to see me in my bikini again," Pansy snorted.

"I can't say that I blame him for that," Luna teased in response. "Also, I did pack mine because I was hoping we could go swimming again. That was really fun last time. But we shouldn't spend all our time at the beach. I'd like to see a movie too-"

"Oh, and I've been really wanting to take you out dancing with us some night," Pansy interjected. "That would be a blast."

"I'll have to be careful then," Harry said.

"Why?"

"Because one of us will need to make sure that neither of you have too much to drink."

"I do want to introduce her to the White Russian," Pansy nodded with a smirk. "Good thinking."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"It's an alcoholic drink, and I just know that you'll love it. But we'll have to be careful so that we don't have too much. Harry and I have learned that lesson the hard way before, and trust me, you'll thank us if you don't wake up with a hangover. No matter how much fun the night before might have been."

"I'll rely on your wisdom then."

"Good idea, sweetie," Pansy replied. She turned to look at Harry. "Are you sure you don't want to have any sort of party?"

"We're having a party," Harry argued.

"I meant with more people."

"I'm fine with just us," he shrugged. "Last year was really the only sort of traditional birthday party I've ever had, and it was fun, but it's not something I need to have happen all the time. Besides, just think about everyone we're missing."

"Oh, yeah..."

"That is a rather depressing thought," Luna added. "Mr. Tonks is gone, Mrs. Tonks, Flora, and Hestia have all left the country. Then we have Hermione who foolishly thought her morals were more important than your friendship. Silly girl."

"I don't blame her," Harry sighed.

"Well, I do," Luna replied. "I think she already regrets not having you around anymore- at least, judging by the face I saw her making at the leaving feast. What about Sirius though?"

"From what I gather, he and Kathryn are still in the honeymoon phase," Harry laughed.

"She hasn't gotten sick of him yet," Pansy giggled. "I think you and Sirius rub off on each other that way."

"How so?" Luna wondered.

"I swear, every time those two have been talking, later on Harry is somehow even more horny. Which doesn't seem like it should be possible, really."

"He's given me a couple of good ideas," Harry said before grinning at Pansy. "Ideas you've enjoyed too, so don't knock it."

"Ooh, you'll have to tell me all about them later," Luna said as she finished her first serving of cake. "We don't want to tease Harry too much on his big day though. Tomorrow, on the other hand, it's open season."

Harry just shook his head and kept eating cake. By now, their girl talk only twinged what was left of his sense of shame. After everything they'd been through together, not to mention a bit of exhibitionism, it wasn't the same.

As long as they weren't broadcasting anything to other people. That would be a different story.

"I assume I'll be bunking with Hedwig tonight while you two _celebrate_ ," Luna smiled as Dobby handed her a second piece of cake. "Normally I wouldn't mind, but could you put up a silencing charm before you go to bed? I'm still a bit tired from the recent trip."

"Sure thing."

"Good. I'll be saying goodnight after this," she pointed down to her plate. "Kudos to you, Dobby, on baking a wonderful birthday cake."

"Thank you, miss Luna," he said before taking a bite as well. Dobby knew that his family was different, but he had to wonder how many elves would be able to eat with their humans like this. It was one of the reasons he took such good care of them- they appreciated it more than most of the nasty wizards and witches he'd had the displeasure of meeting.

Of course, that was in part due to the type of people Lucius Malfoy had interacted with, but Dobby was still much more content now than he'd ever been. As he would have said, 'just like the great master Harry Potter sir' and that was one of the things that had made the summer so much fun for him. Plus, getting to help take care of the new witch miss Gracie for master Harry sir's muggle friends made him even happier. Babies were so wonderfully messy!

As his humans finished eating and went to bed, Dobby put the rest of the cake away in the refrigerator. He was glad of miss Luna's asking for a silencing charm. It would save Dobby the trouble of having to cast his own when his master and soon to be mistress were being so noisy.

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning to the patter of rain falling outside. Although, once he checked his watch, he noticed that it was only barely morning. He smiled anyway; the still quietly snoring girl next to him had stayed up late for some rather thorough celebration.

They were being slightly poor hosts though. He kissed Pansy on the forehead and carefully extricated himself from the bed while doing his best not to wake her. He pulled on some shorts and grabbed a shirt as he left to check on Luna.

When he got out into the living room, he found her sitting on the couch, remote in hand, flipping through channels on the telly.

"Good morning, Harry, and happy birthday!"

"Thanks, but you already told me last night."

"You're worth telling it to again," Luna replied as she patted the couch next to her. "I guess you kept Pansy up too late, huh?"

"We kept each other up too late. Don't blame it all on me."

Luna giggled at him and looked back over to the music video that had just come on for Supergrass' _Caught by the Fuzz_ and she turned up the volume a bit. Once the song was finished, she glanced at Harry and said, "I think you would look good with sideburns."

"Thanks, but all questions about my appearance are to be run past Pansy."

"I'll mention it to her." Luna grinned and shook her head for a moment. "You know, it's kind of funny to see how you defer to her about things like this. I guess it will be good practice for keeping the missus happy, as they say."

"I like keeping her happy," Harry shrugged. "Besides, maybe it goes back to living with the Dursleys, but I've never really had much cause to care about what I looked like. Pansy was the first reason I had, so..."

"I wonder what you would have been like if you had been raised by decent people instead of heartless bastards," Luna mused. "Your self-worth would definitely be better, but I suppose that I should just be glad that I love how you turned out anyway. You're a very sweet guy."

"Thanks. So, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, swimming is out unless we plan on traveling somewhere pretty far from here."

"What's stopping us from doing just that?" Harry asked. "I learned to apparate for a reason, you know."

"Do you know of any good beaches then? Or at least, one that we could reach easily enough?"

"I know of one really, _really_ great beach," Harry responded with a grin. "Have you ever been to France?"

"Oui," Luna replied before scrunching her face up in thought. "Not in a few years, so my French may be rusty, but language charms are a wonderful thing. Did you know I've learned nine different languages that way?"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what with all the traveling your dad does."

"Yep," Luna smiled. "I learned Swedish the old fashioned way- my maternal grandmother."

"Ah," Harry nodded. "Well, you're far ahead of me then. But, with us all speaking the french tongue, I know just the place to go."

"Now we just need to wake up Pansy." Luna got a far off look in her eyes for a moment. "Do you mind if I have the honors?"

"Help yourself."

"Be right back." Luna hopped up from the couch and scurried into the other room. There were a few quiet moments before he heard the giggling start. Harry wondered only for a moment about how she might have chosen to wake up Pansy. When she yawned while walking into the living room with a hastily thrown on bathrobe, he realized that a day of lounging would be a good idea after last night's enthusiasm. He wasn't feeling too energetic either.

"I need a shower before we go anywhere," Pansy said as Dobby appeared and gave her a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Dobby."

"Miss Pansy is most welcome."

"I already had one, so the only question is whether Harry is going to share one with you," Luna said with a grin. "I vote for yes."

"Thanks, Luna. I vote yes too."

"Ah, so this is when you two decide to team up against me," Pansy snorted. "I guess it is your birthday."

"Exactly," Luna nodded. "We need to keep the birthday boy happy. Especially since he's taking us to the beach later."

"Which beach?" Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice is one of my favorite places," Harry replied.

"And how are we going to get there?"

"I figured I would apparate us," he shrugged.

"You do realize that it's like eight hundred miles away," Pansy said.

"Is that supposed to matter?" Harry wondered. "I mean, I've done up to three hundred miles before, and regular people go from Hogwarts to London all the time. If I'm supposedly a powerful wizard, shouldn't I be able to travel further than that? Is there even a limit?"

"You really don't know much about apparating, do you?" Luna asked.

"Considering I learned it from Dobby, I'm going with no. Or at least, not whatever wizards might teach."

"Then... you know, I think we should just see what you're capable of," Luna replied with a thoughtful look. "This could be a breakthrough for magical research."

"What do you mean?" Pansy asked.

"I mean that if Harry isn't told what the limits are, he might not instinctively restrict himself. Maybe he can do more that way, and maybe others could as well."

"So, we're going to hope that Harry can just do whatever he wants and pray that we all don't get splinched somewhere over France?" Pansy said with a frown.

"Sounds good to me," Luna grinned.

"Sure, why not?" Harry added.

"It's too early for this," Pansy moaned while rubbing her face. "Dobby, will you come with us and make sure that Harry doesn't screw something up?"

"Of course, miss."

"Okay." She took another swig of her coffee and set down the empty cup. "Shower time then." At Harry's hopeful grin, she rolled her eyes but held out her hand. "Come on, you insatiable lust monster."

"Be careful not to slip in the water," Luna chimed in as they headed for the bathroom.

* * *

Somehow Pansy was able to talk them into a slightly less dangerous plan. Harry first apparated them to her mother's grave once again. While it too was in France, it was much closer than the Mediterranean coast, and Luna wanted to pay her respects, thanking Dahlia for helping to bring her best friend into the world. Harry watched the girls with a smile and when they were finished he took a moment to focus before transporting the three of them from there straight to Nice.

It was a warm sunny day, which was such a nice change compared to the drizzly grey they'd left behind in England. What made it even nicer for Harry was watching the girls remove the sundresses covering their swimsuits when they arrived at the beach.

He had really tried not to notice Luna that way in the past, but after she had kissed them both for her birthday, he had put away most of his 'big brother' feelings towards her. It was hard not to after seeing how hot it was when she snogged Pansy into astonishment.

Now, he could see the differences between the two bikini clad girls and he wondered for a moment which one other people would find more attractive. Pansy's feelings about how everyone loved leggy blondes were well known to him, and he had to admit that Luna was taller, and therefore leggier, than his girlfriend, but Harry thought Pansy's legs were exquisite, so maybe length wasn't everything. At the same time, Luna also had somewhat larger breasts- they weren't huge by any means, but she did have his petite girlfriend beat, which she had grumbled to him about as well on one occasion.

Regardless of those things, Harry honestly found Pansy to be incredibly sexy, much more so than Luna. He wasn't sure if it was a matter of tastes or personality or what, but no one had ever turned him on like Pansy. Not even when she had polyjuiced herself into Fleur.

He must have been staring a bit too much as the girls were giggling at him once Harry realized they were talking to him.

"You like what you see, Harry?" Luna grinned.

"It is his birthday, so I suppose he should get some enjoyment," Pansy teased.

"Well, if you insist," Harry smiled in response. "You two could always snog again, if you really felt like it."

Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes. "We are not going to put on a little show for you, especially not in public."

"Awww," Luna whined and Harry nodded in agreement with her.

"However," Pansy said as she pulled a bottle of sunscreen out of the beach bag she'd brought with them, "I do need to be properly protected from a sunburn. So, get to work Harry, and maybe I'll reward you later."

"Oh, so I get the show then," Luna said with a smile. "I like your birthday more already Harry."

"Me too."

"I am surrounded by perverts," Pansy scoffed even as she sat down in front of Harry and pulled her hair up into a simple little bun on the top of her head. She let out a little pleased moan when he kissed the back of her neck before starting to slather her shoulders with sunscreen. "I will allow it though since this tends to make me feel so good."

"Lucky you," Luna replied. "I suppose I'll have to do myself again. Poor, sad, lonely, little Luna."

Harry had never seen her stick her bottom lip out so far or somehow make her eyes so big with fake tears. Pansy started to giggle. "I'll tell you what, sweetie. Harry and I will help you out once he's done with me."

"Really?" her eyes got big and bright.

"Sure."

"I think I love the beach," Luna sighed happily.

"Now you see how I feel," Harry chuckled.

"Be careful, Harry," Luna said as he finished with Pansy's arms. "We want to make very sure that Pansy's breasts don't get sunburned. That would be a terrible tragedy. Be sure that they get a good coat."

"I saw that," Pansy said with a smirk.

"What?"

"You licked your lips."

"So did Harry."

"I thought she was talking about me, actually," he said. "I think it's like an automatic response at this point for me."

"I don't think I've really made it a secret that I find you appealing," Luna shrugged. "It's just too bad that you didn't want to go to a nude beach. That would be an even better show."

"I don't want a bunch of gross jerks staring at my wife," Harry said.

"She's not your wife yet," Luna replied.

"Close enough," he shrugged. "I don't think I'd want to see some guy perving off on you either."

"That's sweet, but you know, it would have been a lot of fun for Pansy and me to have to rub some sunscreen on that bum of yours too. Couldn't have it getting burnt either."

"Really?"

"Hmm... interesting," Luna said.

"What?" Pansy asked.

"I'm starting to really see just how far some of Harry's issues go."

"My issues?"

"Yes, you really don't have a proper amount of self-worth. What makes that even more fascinating is that you are confident about a lot of other things. However, you really don't seem cognizant of how attractive you are. It's an odd conundrum. Your ability to throw yourself into dangerous situations and shrug off most types of pain and suffering are similar; those things suggest how little value you see in yourself. It's almost like your self-esteem is bipolar."

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. 'I'm not the most analytical person. I guess I probably do have some stuff deep down from the pre-Pansy years that hasn't gone away."

"We'll work on making you better, Harry," Luna said. "Pansy's already done a lot of good, I think, and you've both got me to keep you healthy and sane."

"That's why you're our girl," Pansy grinned.

"Yes, I am."

"Let me get up," Harry said, now moving around to do Pansy's legs. He turned to smile at Luna. "I really like this part."

"You've told me a time or two," she smiled back at him. "Not that I blame you."

Pansy pulled out a pair of sunglasses and lay back, stretching out and relaxing. "This is one of the best parts of summer. It sort of makes me not want to go back to Hogwarts."

"We could always get started on our honeymoon early," Harry suggested.

"That sounds like fun," Luna said. "Unfortunately, I've got the OWLs this year. You'll have to write me if you do decide to shag your way around the world. With lots of details, preferably."

"I'm not sure if I want to write out all of our sexual escapades," Pansy sighed as Harry kept rubbing her legs. His hands always felt so damn good.

"Don't look at me," Harry added. "I'll be much more interested in having more of those escapades than trying to describe them."

"Boo," Luna moaned. "I'll just have to make up my own fantasies then. Have either of you ever heard of mud wrestling?"

"That sounds messy," Pansy said.

"Exactly!"

"I think oil wresting might be more fun," Harry suggested. "You'd still get all sticky but you wouldn't be covered in anything that kept me from seeing the good stuff."

"What do you mean _you_? I'm imagining all three of us like that," Luna said with her mouth wide open and her eyes staring into the distance. "Do you think it could be flavored? Then we could lick each other clean."

"Settle down, sweetie," Pansy giggled. "We're not leaving the beach any time soon, and you're both going to feel frustrated if you keep going."

"Yeah, um..." Harry looked around and cast the notice-me-not charm so that he could adjust his erection, then canceled the spell. "Let's talk about something else."

"Oh, fine, if we must," Luna sighed. "So, what do you two plan on doing for the rest of this summer? Anything special other than hanging out with me?"

"I suppose I might get around to stopping Riddle one of these days," Harry shrugged.

"Really?" Luna asked.

"Well, I had Hedwig take a letter to Sam last night, so he's going to start harassing the ministry into coughing up the reward money. With all the 'Chosen One' hubbub still going strong in the paper, and I assume the public as well, he's also going to make sure they don't try to screw me over on dealing with old Tom himself. If that bozo Fudge hadn't been thrown out on his arse, I wouldn't have been surprised if some idiot tried to arrest me for stopping a Dark Lord. Call me a cynic if you will."

"You're a cynic," Luna giggled. "Completely understandable though."

"I still think they should arrest Fudge for treason," Pansy growled. "His refusal to even allow any sort of investigation could have doomed us all. If not for Harry and Moody, we'd all be pretty much doomed."

"That reminds me, I'm going to need to get in touch with Alastor fairly soon," Harry said.

"Why?" Luna asked.

"That's a very long and complicated story," he shook his head. "We'll save it for another time. There's a cute part though that I know you'll like."

"Okay." Luna watched as Harry finished up with Pansy's feet. "Goodie, my turn!"

For the next ten minutes, the three of them received more than a few stares and whispers as Luna moaned indecently while Harry and Pansy covered her in sunscreen. While his girlfriend was giggling, Harry just tried to make sure that Luna wouldn't get a sunburn and that he wouldn't get even more aroused. It would be hard to fault him though as he watched Luna become practically orgasmic as Pansy worked on her legs.

Once the show was over, they all sat back in lounge chairs with Pansy in the middle. She sighed happily. "I love this place."

"Me too," Harry chuckled.

"So, did you pick this beach in particular for any reason?" Luna asked.

"I did, actually," Harry admitted.

"Do tell."

"A couple of reasons. First, there are a number of beautiful beaches here, but several of them are rocky, which isn't the best thing if you want to enjoy swimming in the sea. Secondly, I have fond memories of the last time we came here."

"I bet," Pansy smirked.

"And?" Luna prodded for more.

"We may have ended our vacation here by christening the beach. Right over there," Harry pointed closer to the shore and off to their left.

"How was it?"

"Wonderful, even if we did have to get up really early."

"Why?"

"Harry wanted to do it at sunrise," Pansy snorted. "Never let it be said that girls are the only ones who are romantics."

"I would have picked sunset, but I didn't know of any way to get rid of the crowd."

"That could be problematic," Luna nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Notice-me-not charms can only do so much. What about the sand though? I would think that would get _everywhere_." Luna shivered with disgust. "I don't think that would feel very good."

"We took a large beach towel," Pansy explained. "That was enough to keep the most important parts sand free, but we still went directly back to the shower and thoroughly rinsed off afterwards."

"I see. I think I'd like to try that someday." Luna looked around at the people. "Maybe not here though. I'd prefer somewhere a little more private."

"Really?" Harry looked surprised. "I'd think you'd be up for the exhibitionism."

"It would depend on who I was with and what we were doing." She smiled at each of them in turn, and Harry tried not to notice Pansy's blush.

"Besides, I like being a voyeur more than the idea of being the one putting on a show. You two might have something to do with that."

"Glad to help, sweetie," Pansy teased.

"Much appreciated," Luna replied. "So, are we going to sit around talking about sex all day, or are we actually going to get in the water?"

"What do you think, Harry?"

He turned to his girlfriend and looked her over, not even trying to be discreet about it. "I wouldn't mind sitting here for a while. The view is perfect."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I don't think he's going to be very helpful, Luna."

"Hey, I'm on vacation," he protested.

"Well, I'd like to soak up some sun before we cool off in the sea," Pansy suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Luna added. She stretched out her legs and lay back with a grin. "And Harry's right, you know? The view is quite wonderful."

"You're teaming up with him?"

"It's his birthday," Luna responded. "That means that I'll be extra nice to him today. Plus, you're yummy and you know it."

"I couldn't agree more," Harry said. "I just hope we don't run into the Delacours today."

"Why?"

"They don't live too far from here," Pansy explained. "And we first saw them, although we didn't know who they were at the time, here in Nice a couple of years ago. Plus, Harry's afraid of Gabrielle."

"I'm afraid of her propositioning me," Harry clarified. "Other than that, I like her. But I don't see the need for a little French mistress, nor do I see what she thinks is so 'romantic' about that whole idea. And I really don't need all of that from an eleven year old."

"She is very precocious," Pansy laughed. "Plus, Veela grow up quickly, so you'd better watch out for her. She's already started a growth spurt; she was almost as tall as me last time we saw her." She turned to Luna with a giddy smile. "Gabrielle has loudly proclaimed that once she's old enough, Harry will be the one who 'makes her a woman.' She said this in front of both of her parents and her big sister, mind you, and it was hilarious. She claims that he's too much man for any one woman to handle. I would almost take offense to that, but I just can't get enough of how funny she is. The way Harry doesn't know how to react around her makes me laugh too."

"I think I'd like to get to know her," Luna replied.

"We could all tease Harry until he turns blue in the face," Pansy suggested as he groaned.

"Not today though," Luna shook her head. "Birthday boys don't get teased like that."

"Hallelujah," Harry sighed.

"But birthday boys do get teased by their girlfriends just enough to get them all riled up for a good shagging later," Luna added. "We can do a late dinner afterwards, and I happen to know a wonderful little bistro in Paris that makes absolutely delicious flan."

"Sounds yummy."

"Tell me when you're ready to go get wet," Luna said to Pansy. "We'll race to the water."

"Just the two of us?"

"Harry gets to watch," Luna grinned.

"Sometimes, it's good to be me."

* * *

Luna was still with them a few days later when they were sitting down to a reasonably early breakfast and Hedwig flew in with the day's paper.

"Looks like Tom decided to remind people what an arsehole he is," Harry sighed as he looked at the headline story proclaiming that one had died in an overnight raid on several shops stretched across both Diagon and Knockturn Alley. He skimmed the story.

"Who died?" Pansy asked.

"Mr. Burke from Borgin and Burke's."

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Pansy scoffed. "He was a business associate of my father."

"Good riddance then," Harry agreed. "That's one of the things I never really got about the Death Eaters. Riddle is known for torturing and occasionally even killing his own followers. Who would want to sign up for something like that?"

"Most people are stupid sheep," Pansy reminded him.

"Let's not be so grumpy at the breakfast table," Luna said. "This is why I don't believe in reading that rubbish. Daddy's work tends to be uplifting, or at least hopeful. Did I tell you that we're doing another story on Atlantis next month?"

"No."

"Well, we're going down to Gibraltar in a couple of weeks." Luna got an excited look. "You know, the Straight of Gibraltar is supposedly the Pillars of Hercules, beyond which is where Atlantis lies. That's why it's now known as the Atlantic Ocean. But anyway, we're going there to do a few new studies on the area, take some magical scans for hints of anything really old and maybe even do a dive or two. We can do more than muggles in that way. Even with scuba gear, gillyweed and a couple of charms allow us to go even deeper and stay down there longer without worries. It's going to be so much fun!"

"I'm glad you're looking forward to it," Harry chuckled.

"Thanks."

Pansy had taken over flipping through the Daily Prophet. "You know what's even worse about this? We're going to get another round of idiots writing to you now."

"I know," he sighed.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Postmaster Dobby has arrived!" the elf gleefully announced with an overflowing bag slung over one shoulder.

"That's what I mean," Harry said with a wave. "Just put them in the box, Dobby. I might look through them later."

"Ever since the big story with Harry's front page miracle, he's had a barrage of morons writing to their Chosen One," Pansy grumbled. "Some of them are particularly galling. The short version is that it seems most of the country is convinced that Harry will once again save them all from the big bad Dark Lord that they're too afraid of even using his made up nickname for himself, let alone picking up their damn wands and fighting back against the Death Eaters. Useless fucking bastards."

"To be fair, there aren't many Death Eaters left for them to fight back against," Harry shrugged.

"It's the principle of the thing," Pansy scowled.

"Alright, alright, none of that now," Luna interjected. "I'll ask Harry to climb under the table to put a smile back on your face if need be."

"I'll do it too," Harry agreed.

"Fine," Pansy sighed. "What are we going to do today then?"

"We could go see a movie," Luna suggested.

"What about dancing?" Harry asked.

"Dancing?"

"Good idea, Harry," Pansy grinned at Luna. "I've been wanting to take you out to a club with us for quite some time now."

"You'll have to teach me how first."

"That won't be any problem," Pansy smirked. "Besides, I can use Harry as my lovely assistant."

"Cool," Harry chuckled. "I've never been the lovely assistant before."

"Why don't you start by getting the stereo ready? Get Substance by New Order out too."

"As you wish."

He got up and began carrying out his tasks. Luna giggled as Pansy flushed for just a second. "If you ever tell a guy you really like something, be warned that he might just use that to torment you for years to come."

"I can't really see you as Buttercup," Luna replied. "But I am all in favor of getting Harry dressed up as the Dread Pirate Roberts."

"Maybe some other time."

"Just be sure to let me see when he's all gussied up."

Pansy moved past her teasing as well, determined to get the day off to a good start.

"Okay, so we'll do a crash course in dancing this morning, have a light lunch, then go see a movie." She was taking charge now, and Harry and Luna shared a smile as Pansy planned out the rest of their day. His friend was about to discover that her outfit for that night was going to be something that Pansy would carefully select as well. "Then, we'll stop for a meal, come back here to get changed and then we'll go out for the night. Harry, I've got an important job for you tonight- make sure none of us drinks too much. Especially our girl."

"I can do that."

"Good. Now sweetie, finish eating and we'll go look through your clothes."

* * *

"I like it when you do that," Luna's words were starting to slur. She giggled, practically draped over Harry's shoulders when they made it home late that night. "You know, it feels reeeeeally good. Like you're squeezing me in a great big hug."

"Harry's good at that," Pansy laughed. "And other things too."

"Okay, for the record, I tried," he said. He would have thrown up his arms in defeat, but that would have left Luna to collapse onto the floor. "Neither of you were listening when I said to stop drinking."

"We were fun having!" Luna persisted.

"Yeah, what she said."

"Oh, but now we can have different funsies," Luna added. She pressed herself up against Harry's side. "I might be needing some help getting out of these clothes and getting to bed."

"I bet Harry could help you with that too," Pansy giggled. "Those are some of the other things he's good at."

"I know; you've told me all about them," the blonde replied. "But you have to come too. Get it? Come too!"

Harry scooped the blonde up into his arms. "Luna, whenever that sort of thing might happen, let's hope that you aren't drunk for one thing. You deserve to actually remember something like that, you know? For another, I will be casting a sobering charm before I put you to bed."

"Oh, poo! That's no fun."

"You'll thank me in the morning."

"He's got a point, sweetie. I don't want you to feel yucky when you wake up."

"But what about all the ravishing?"

"You'll just have to dream about it tonight," Pansy replied as Luna continued to pout even as she turned back the covers.

"What about getting me out of these clothes?" Luna grinned up at them as Harry sat her down.

"Dobby?"

"Of course, master!" With a snap of his fingers, Luna's outfit was switched with a set of pyjamas.

"House-elves are meanies," Luna murmured as she closed her eyes and rubbed her face against her pillow, rolling onto her side. "Remind me to tell you about the pirates."

"I promise," Pansy said sweetly as she tucked her in, kissing Luna on the forehead. "Goodnight."

"G'night."

Harry flipped off the light as they exited the guest bedroom. "What was that about pirates?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh."

Pansy sighed. "What are we going to do about her?"

"Hope that she doesn't need to puke in the middle of the night?" Harry suggested.

"Oh no, we should-"

"Don't worry," he interrupted. "Remember that alarm spell you taught me for when Sirius was injured? The one parents use for their small children? I already cast it while you were getting her settled."

"Good thinking."

* * *

In the end, they lucked out as Luna slept through the night. The next day, however...

"My tummy doesn't feel good," she moaned as she groggily crept out of her bed room.

"Don't worry, we were anticipating that," Pansy answered as she helped her friend over to the table for breakfast. "Drink this first- slowly."

"Thanks," Luna sighed as she closed her eyes and put her head in her hands.

"Next comes some toast, water, and a couple of pills for your headache."

"Not a potion?" Luna asked.

"The potion would work faster, but it tastes awful," Pansy explained. "It's better not to risk it when you feel nauseous."

"Okay." Luna peeked open one eye and looked around the room. "Where's Harry?"

"I'm letting him sleep in. After last night, he could use the extra rest."

"I'm glad one of us ended the night having fun," Luna grumbled. "Next time, I'll have to remember that there really is such a thing as too many White Russians."

"Yeah, that's the one thing about alcohol- learning your limits usually means you have to suffer a bit."

"That's no fun."

"I know. Believe me, the first time Harry and I had hangovers was awful."

"Did someone say my name?" he yawned as he stumbled into the living room and sat down on the couch. "No puking?"

"Not yet," Pansy replied.

"That's good," he nodded. "Dobby isn't making his usual big breakfast?"

"I asked him to go easy in case of a sick little Luna."

"Hey! I'm not little any more," she argued.

"It's meant as a term of affection." Pansy set a plate in front of her. "Try a little toast and see how you feel then."

"Thanks."

A rustle of feathers announced the arrival of Hedwig with the day's paper. She glared around the room at the lack of bacon, barked angrily and flew off to sleep.

"She's mad at you," Pansy said.

"She'll get over it, I hope." Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and started to skim the Daily Prophet. "Doesn't look like anything important today. That's a relief. I think we all deserve a nice calm day."

"Sounds good to me," Luna murmured, leaning her head against Pansy's shoulder.

Dobby arrived with a pop in the little cap he'd made specifically for his job as the postman. "Dobby has some of the usual for master Harry but also important letters. It's good news, Dobby thinks!"

"Let me see what you've got," Harry said, accepting three letters that included a matching set written to he and Pansy. "I think we might have gotten our OWL results."

"Really?" she sat up straight and Luna grumbled at being jostled. "Let's see how we did then!"

Harry chuckled and looked at Luna. "Remember the argument about whether Hermione or I would make a better Hufflepuff? Well, for the record, Pansy would easily make a better Ravenclaw than me."

"Tease all you want," Pansy replied. "One of us has to be brilliant, and if you're going to be too lazy to do it, then I'll have to pick up the slack, just to try to keep you out of trouble if nothing else." She looked at the letter and tore it open, her eyes speeding over the parchment before looking up with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Well, open yours! I want to know how you did."

"Alright," Harry shrugged. He started reading, noticing a second note after the list of the exams. Harry paused after a moment, seeing the curious expressions on both girls' faces. "Not bad over all. I passed nine out of eleven."

"Why must you always be like this?" Luna said with a glare, snatching it out of his hands. "We wanted details, you bozo!"

She read quickly as Pansy was clearly waiting. "Harry did better than I expected, considering how much we had to nag at him to study at all."

"Yes mum," he muttered, as Luna playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"I'll start with the best," Luna continued. "Three Outstandings- in Defense, Charms, and Runes. Harry Exceeded Expectations in Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. He got Acceptables in Arithmancy and Herbology. Unfortunately, he only scored a Poor in Astronomy-"

"To be fair, most nights in that class, I was thinking about doing other things much more fun than looking at little dots of light through a telescope," he interjected.

"I'll bet," Luna scoffed. "I can't really fault your thinking there, but we all know you could have done better, so don't even bother arguing. Last, and definitely least, is his History of Magic grade... which was a Troll."

"Seriously, Harry?" Pansy rolled her eyes.

"I consider it a protest against how completely fucking useless that class is for any purposes other than nap time," Harry grinned unrepentantly.

"Okay, enough about him. How did you do?" Luna asked Pansy.

"For the record, this is proof that I'm the smart one in this relationship," Pansy teased. "I passed all eleven OWLs. Four Outstandings- Charms, Defense, Potions, and Transfiguration. I got Exceeded Expectations in Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Runes. Acceptables in the others."

"You win!" Luna clapped.

"I knew you would," Harry added with a kiss to her cheek, ignoring Pansy's smirk. "You know this means we'll have to figure out what we're going to keep taking for the next couple of years."

"Charms, Defense, Potions, Runes, and Transfiguration," Pansy quickly listed off. "I'll be nice and let you get away with officially cutting our classes in half."

"Yay!" Harry laughed.

"You had already decided?" Luna asked.

"Yes, I was just waiting to make sure we'd done well enough on the tests. Arithmancy was the only maybe, but I don't think I really enjoy the class enough, and Harry probably doesn't want to keep going either."

"Not really," he admitted.

"But what about Magical Creatures?"

"Hagrid never forgave Harry for killing the dragon, so he was... well, not really mean about it, but-"

"I went from his favorite student to someone that he could barely look in the eye without frowning," Harry finished her statement. "It made the class a lot less fun. Plus, after the fiasco of those blast-ended skrewts in fourth year, I really don't want to see what he might come up with in the future."

"Oh," Luna frowned. "Well, I'm planning on taking it all through my NEWTs."

"We'll trust you to be the expert on it for the future then," Pansy said with a smile.

"I can do that. Oh, but I forgot about Harry's note!"

"What note?" Pansy asked.

"Our wonderful Chosen One got a special little note from Griselda Marchbanks," Luna giggled. "She might be his oldest fan. Apparently, Harry got the highest score in Runes since Percy Weasley four years ago, not to mention the highest grade in Defense in twenty years. She encourages him to continue his studies in both subjects, as he has the potential to achieve a mastery in either- or both. There's some more in there about how he 'has the chance to not only live up to but surpass his legend as the boy-who-lived' in the future. She expects great things from our Harry."

"No pressure," Harry snorted.

"It's no wonder why you're tired of all the expectations from our society," Luna sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"Thanks, sweetie." He opened the second letter and started to smile as he read. "Want some even better news?"

"What?" Pansy asked.

"We are no longer rich." Harry laughed before he continued. "We are now filthy stinking rich!"

"Huh?" Luna asked.

"The rewards from the ministry finally came in for all the Death Eaters," he explained. "I'll have to set aside Parvati's share of course. I'd write to her about this, but I don't think I want to wear Hedwig out by making her fly halfway across the world. I guess I'll wait until she's supposed to be back."

"You might want to be a bit circumspect about what you write," Luna suggested. "You are wanting to keep this from her parents, correct?"

"Yeah, good idea," Harry nodded.

"Now we won't have to worry about wasting away a fortune on our honeymoon," Pansy said. "We should start thinking about where we'll want to go. I'd like to go to Africa, for one. I want to see elephants in the wild."

"That was one of the places I already had in mind," Harry replied.

"Good."

As he set the papers aside and took a drink of tea, Harry sighed. "I guess this means I need to get in contact with Sam about setting up a meeting with Madam Bones."

"What for?"

"I figure I'll have to deal with Riddle one of these days, but I want to make sure the idiots in the ministry don't try to give me any hassle about it," he explained. "The three month long hold up on the reward money hasn't impressed me with anything other than reinforcing my distrust of them."

"It's probably no surprise that they finally got their acts together shortly after Bones replaced Fudge," Pansy said. "She's bound to be less useless than he was."

"A drunk hobo would have been better than Fudge," Luna added.

"True."

"So Harry, you're going to save the world from the Dark Lord again?" Luna asked.

"Might as well," he shrugged. "I wouldn't want him to bother you or Pansy."

"Now that is a good reason to be a hero- keeping your girlfriend happy," Luna giggled.

"Exactly."


	90. Summer's Glorious End

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Pansy asked as she grabbed her purse before walking over to him. She pulled him down for a kiss. "I really don't mind."

"Don't worry about it," Harry answered. "Have fun with Luna. Sam and I can take care of business and then hopefully I'll join you soon enough."

"Try not to take too long. Remember that Luna's making dinner for us tonight."

"I remember," Harry nodded. "I am curious to see what Swedish food is like."

"She was excited to be using one of her grandmother's recipes for something called raggmunk." Pansy stepped back, straightened her clothes for a second, and then smirked. "Don't get in trouble at the ministry."

"Don't have too much fun without me," Harry countered with a grin.

"Winky?"

The little house-elf responded to Pansy's call and popped in looking very excited. "Winky can't be takings too long. Miss Luna is in Winky's kitchen, makings a mess!"

"I'm ready to go," Pansy said. "See you later, Harry."

"Bye."

Harry waited while they disappeared before Dobby took the two of them off to Sam McKenzie's office.

* * *

It was only ten minutes later when he was walking through the ministry with his lawyer at his side. Harry had spent a lot of time talking things over with Sam over the last couple of weeks, but he felt it was all too prudent to have something in writing before some bureaucrat tried to make his life more annoying. After seeing Fudge blunder his way through too many dumb mistakes and outright abuses like throwing Hagrid in Azkaban with neither proof nor trial, Harry wasn't willing to leave anything up to chance if he could help it.

Unfortunately, he was also noticing all the stares from the people they passed. Mutterings about his legend had only grown worse since he'd been seen rising from the dead, on the front of the Daily Prophet no less, and the more it happened, the more Harry wished that damn camera man hadn't been there that day.

"Try not to glare," Sam whispered.

"I am trying," Harry replied quietly.

"Try harder," Sam chuckled softly. "It's much better to have the public on your side, no matter how annoyed you might be feeling."

"You know, you damn Slytherins are too insightful sometimes."

"That's what you pay me for though," Sam laughed. They were finally at the lifts that would lead deeper into the ministry of magic. Harry was glad to have the help on another level though, as he had no idea where Amelia Bones' new office was. Or her old office or anything else for that matter- and he had no desire to spend any more time in the heart of the bumbling government than absolutely necessary.

After a short ride, they went down a hallway before coming to an office. There was a secretary at a large desk and a guard in front of an ornate doorway. Sam stepped inside with a smile. "It looks like Amelia's settled in nicely."

"Mr. McKenzie," the young woman said from behind the desk. "Your appointment isn't for another five minutes."

"Better early than late for such an important meeting," he replied with a grin. "There's no need for putting on airs, Cecilia. How are your parents doing?"

"As well as can be expected, all things considered." She nodded towards Harry. "Like a lot of people, they're hoping your client can pull another miracle out of his hat and stop you-know-who before he kills too many more people."

Sam clapped Harry on the shoulder before he could muster an annoyed response. He tried to relax because he knew that Sam could handle people better than he would- that was what he paid him for- but this shit was getting so damn annoying.

"Send them in, Cecilia," a voice said over some sort of intercom, or at least that's what Harry assumed it was. They might have had a spell for that too.

"At once Madam Minister."

"Thanks, Ceci," Sam smiled. "Let's go, Harry."

The guard opened the door and closed it behind once they'd gone inside.

"Nice new digs, Amelia," Sam whistled. "The big chair suits you."

"Yes, congratulations, Minister Bones," Harry added.

"Thank you both," she replied as she motioned to the chairs in front of her desk. "But let's get down to business, shall we? I doubt the two of you are here for something as simple as a meet and greet."

"That is true," Sam said as he sat down. "We do have important business to discuss."

"Alright, let me have it."

"With the Dark Lord back, and with the ministry officially recognizing that fact, things have changed a lot since Fudge was in charge."

"Obviously," she snorted.

"Indeed," Sam nodded. "I saw the official bounty placed on his head. Fifty thousand galleons? You're not messing around Amelia."

"Of course not. Anyone that can kill that bastard deserves it."

"I agree, but..." Sam opened his briefcase and pulled out a couple of papers. "Unfortunately, we have recent evidence that the ministry isn't as well run as we would like. Now, I hope that with someone competent in charge things will change greatly. However, Harry still had to wait more than three months for the rewards for the Death Eaters he dealt with during your battle in the Department of Mysteries. And that was after the last couple of years where disavowing everything having to do with the truth was the norm. I know that isn't your fault, but it still leads us to have concerns."

"I can understand that," Amelia replied.

"The whole damn country seems to expect me to fix things," Harry scowled. "As if it was my responsibility to save them- _yet again_ , mind you. Now, I don't think you would try to screw me over. But I have a lot less faith in most of the rest of the people that work here. Between Fudge, Umbridge, Bagman, and even Crouch, I haven't seen much that has impressed me from the ministry."

"You're worried that someone would try to create problems afterwards?" Amelia asked, looking for clarification.

"Yes, but even if it isn't me. I'd be equally annoyed if Alastor kills Riddle only for someone to try to arrest him for murder or something."

"He speaks highly of you, you know," Amelia said with a small grin. "Is there any chance you might think of becoming an auror someday, Harry?"

"No way," he shook his head. "I have all the respect in the world for him, but I don't want to end up like Alastor. I've done enough already."

"That's a pity."

"If I may," Sam interjected, sliding the papers across the desk. "This outlines our concerns, and we would like to have something in writing absolving Harry of any wrongdoing when it comes to possibly having to kill Tom Riddle. Once again, I do not mean to question you personally, Amelia, but there are others that I do not trust as much. Plus, who knows what some fool may try to do after your term in office ends? Harry doesn't deserve any fallout from protecting himself, nor for potentially putting an end to a mass murdering terrorist."

"I agree. Let me look this over, and I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you," Sam replied.

"Yes, thank you," Harry added. He sat back and waited as the new minister read things over. A few moments later, she set the papers aside and called for her secretary to schedule an appointment with the new head of her old department. Amelia was going to have something written up, and after a brief discussion, she agreed to let Sam know as soon as possible when it could be official that whoever might end up dealing with Riddle would have protection from any future legal entanglements.

* * *

Pansy awoke a little too early. There was barely any light sneaking in through the thick curtains, which she assumed meant that it was probably right about sunrise. They'd had a late night, watching a horror movie about ghosts called The Fog with Luna. Like usual, they'd all had a blast together.

But, she also remembered that part of the reason they decided on watching a horror movie was that it had been a dark and stormy night. With them scheduled to join Luna and Xenophilius in shopping at Diagon Alley for the upcoming school year, Pansy really was hoping that the rain would not still be around.

She carefully climbed out of bed, not wanting to wake Harry, stepped into a pair of slippers and slipped out of their bedroom. Once she got into the living room of their flat, she was glad to find that the storms had passed and the skies were only partly cloudy.

Pansy sat down on the couch and looked at her ring, smiling brightly for the millionth time that summer. The diamond itself was big and brilliant, but the part that had made her choose that particular design were the emeralds on either side of it. She'd always liked the color green, but since she'd fallen for Harry and those gorgeous green eyes of his, it had become far and away her favorite color.

She was still sitting there just smiling to herself and thinking pleasant thoughts when Luna's voice disturbed her.

"Good morning," she yawned before noticing Pansy's face. "You've got that 'I'm thinking about being Mrs. Potter' face again. It's nice, but it will take people by surprise if you're like that all day when we go shopping."

"Screw them if the jealous bitches can't handle it," Pansy said while she kept on grinning.

"I assume you're wearing your ring today then? Not thinking of hiding it or anything like that?"

"Nope. I'm done hiding things."

"Good," Harry interjected as he too yawned while entering the room. He slumped down on the couch next to her. "I'll have Sam send out the letters that tactfully reject all possible betrothal offers. Been waiting to do that for a while now."

"I hope I didn't wake you," Pansy said.

"The bed got a bit colder without you in it." He shrugged though, not seeming to be too bothered. "I did need to get up early for once."

"Dobby is making tea!"

"Thanks, Dobby."

"I think I'll go home to eat breakfast with daddy," Luna said as she stood up and stretched. "I need to get changed anyway as I didn't bring any clothes with me before spending the night. Also, I don't want Winky to get jealous of me eating another elf's cooking."

"Good thinking," Harry chuckled.

"Why don't you come over in a couple of hours?" Luna suggested. "That should give us all plenty of time to get ready."

"See you then sweetie," Pansy replied.

Two house-elf pops later and Luna disappeared with Winky back to the Rookery.

* * *

Exactly two hours later, Harry arrived at Diagon Alley and found people once again staring at him. There was even a round of applause when they made their way through the Leaky Cauldron.

He may have thought he'd grown used to some of the staring, but it was worse than ever. Plus, the fact that so much of it was coming from adults who should have known better was even more unnerving. Being there with Luna and her father did help though, as Xeno's outfit was outlandish as usual, and people were naturally drawn to looking at him as well. Harry greatly appreciated it regardless of the lack of intent.

The four of them hurried through the pub, and that did help although the people in the alley were just as awestruck. You'd almost think they didn't believe that their so-called boy who lived had once again lived.

On the other hand, if Harry felt like being charitable, the fact that the paper had also captured him standing up and blasting Riddle with a spell certainly contributed to his fame. For too long, Riddle had been some nightmarish figure that no one stood up to, at least not while surviving to tell the tale, so to see a teenager doing so was pretty striking.

But the way Harry saw it, that was the entire problem. He couldn't help but agree with Pansy- there were far too many sheep who didn't seem to understand that they could use their wands for something as basic and obvious as self-defense.

Luna was already talking to Pansy about the classes they would take for their NEWT studies though, and her carefree attitude helped pull him out of his grumpiness as he followed the girls into the bookstore. They had their lists of books, and Harry dutifully took up the role of the muscle, carrying a large stack of them as he trailed behind. Since he and Pansy were going to be taking the same classes, he didn't really need to do anything on his own.

"Harry?" Luna's voice drew his attention.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if we could go shopping for more records later," she repeated.

"Oh, sure," he shrugged. "We've got to go back to school in a few days though."

"Yes, but I assumed we would often end up back in your quarters and we could listen to music while we study or just hang out."

"Oh, yeah, good idea."

"That's everything," Pansy said as she set two copies of a book on advanced Transfiguration on the top of the stack. "We can head to the register and then have Dobby take things home."

"I'm glad we don't need new robes," Luna added as she nodded to the window. "It looks like it's getting pretty busy out there."

"I haven't needed new robes in three years," Pansy scowled.

"Oh, don't be fussy," Luna teased. "Or else I'll have Harry do filthy things to you right here in the store."

"I'll do them too," Harry grinned.

"I did not need to hear that," Xeno chuckled.

"Sorry daddy."

"It's alright sugarplum. Just try to keep everything kinky away from the eyes and ears of your poor old father."

"Will do!" Luna cheerfully agreed.

"If you're all taking Potions, then I would suggest trying the apothecary next," Xeno said. "That's another store that's bound to be busy today, so we should see if we can beat some of the crowd."

Once the purchases were made and then handed over to the capable hands of Dobby and Winky (house-elf delivery services were quite handy), they headed off in search of Potions supplies. Harry was holding the door open for the others when a voice called out to him.

"Hi, Harry!"

He turned and saw Parvati and her sister heading over.

"Hi. Or should I say welcome back?"

"Either works," Parvati grinned. Padma rolled her eyes at her sister but said hello as well before heading into the apothecary. "You don't need to hold that for me; I'm finally done with Potions."

"Oh." Harry shut the door. "Congratulations, I guess."

"I passed my OWL, but the class has never really been my thing. Of course, Snape being such a jerk those first few years definitely made me not like it even if Slughorn was much better."

"Yeah. I like him a lot, and Pansy loves the class, so..." Harry shrugged. "How was your summer?"

"Not too awful, but pretty boring."

"Sorry."

"Do you think Pansy would get mad if I hugged you?"

"I don't think so."

"I'll keep the snogging to myself this time." Parvati smiled as she stepped closer and hugged him tight. "It's really good to see you again."

"You too. Oh! And I was going to tell you..." he looked around for a moment, trying to make sure there weren't any blatant eavesdroppers, then whispered to her. "The reward money finally came through, so you've got a nice little nest egg set aside."

"That's good news. How much do you think that would be in the muggle world?"

"A lot."

"Good, I'm thinking I might spend some time there once school is done."

"Yeah, me too."

"Not liking all this?" Parvati motioned to the people watching them.

"Expectations can be annoying."

"I guess so," she replied before sighing. "I should warn you that it's going to get worse."

"Really?"

"Yeah, apparently word is spreading that 'The Chosen One' is in the alley today, so a lot of people are going to be flocking here." She saw his scowl and continued. "It's not just to stare at you though, it's also that a lot of them have been worried about attacks, and I guess they figure that if you're here, they'll be safe. As if you would single handedly drive off Tom Riddle and protect them all."

"I mean, I probably would, but it's the single handed part that bothers me." Harry shook his head. "If there are a hundred witches and wizards here today-"

"Probably more," Parvati interjected as she looked around.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Well, however many there are, if everyone just fired spells at him, or any other of his henchmen, they would be routed. Even the best shield spells can't stand up to a constant barrage forever, and no matter how skilled a wizard might be, he can't deflect everything."

"You think so?"

"No one, not even Voldemort, is invincible."

A woman passing by gasped at hearing the name of the boogeyman. Harry rolled his eyes and Parvati laughed. "I see what you mean. Well, you know I'd blast any of those baddies with you, right?"

"I think you proved yourself back in April," Harry said with a smile. "Thank you again for that."

"Anytime, Harry," she smiled back.

"There you are!" a voice squealed from Harry's left and he turned to see Lavender dragging Ron along. She ran up and hugged her best friend. "I've missed you!"

"Ron," Harry nodded at his former best mate, who looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Hey, Harry. How are you?"

"Pretty good."

"Yeah, me too."

Lavender turned back to the two guys and smiled at Harry before latching back onto Ron's arm. "Is your mum still watching us?"

"No, she and Ginny went into the twins' shop."

"Good." Lavender pulled him down the nearest alleyway and proceeded to start snogging her boyfriend.

"I guess they lasted the summer," Harry chuckled.

"Lucky them," Parvati sighed. "Here's hoping it lasts for awhile."

"I'm sure you'll be able to help her get over him if she needs to."

"Don't jinx it already," Parvati hissed.

"Sorry. I was just meaning that you're a good friend," he shrugged.

"Thanks," she sighed.

"Hello, Pavarti," Luna cheerfully said as she and Pansy exited the apothecary. "Did you meet any nagas on your trip?"

"Uh, no, not this time."

"That's too bad. Maybe next time."

"I hope you managed to have some fun, even without meeting any legendary creatures," Pansy added.

"It was alright, I guess," Parvati shrugged.

"I see. Well, maybe next year will be better."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," she replied with a smirk before catching a glimpse of something shiny. "Oh my! Is that...?"

Pansy raised up her hand to give her a better view of the ring. "It is."

"Wow, that's... wow."

"Isn't it just lovely?" Luna added with a smile.

"Isn't what lovely?" Sirius asked as he appeared strolling through the crowd with a beautiful blonde on his arm.

"I didn't think dogs were allowed in the alley," Harry replied with a smirk.

"Ha ha, your wit is so powerful today," Sirius mocked.

"We were remarking on Pansy's engagement ring," Luna answered with a grin before winking at Harry. "Are you going to invite him to the wedding? I'll be sure to bring a rolled up newspaper to keep him in line if need be."

"I'd appreciate that," Harry smiled.

"I should be able to keep my husband from making too big a fool of himself," Kathryn said.

"Did anyone warn you that you were marrying into a family of crazy people?" Harry asked the newest Mrs. Black.

"Hey, we're not all that bad," Sirius protested.

"First of all, I've gone out drinking with you and Nym, so yes you are," Harry replied. "Bellatrix was a full on raging lunatic when we fought her. Not to mention the fact that Andromeda was willing to threaten Dumbledore at wand point. And who could forget your sweet mother's portrait?"

"Yeah, but..." Sirius thought about it for a moment then shrugged. "I've got nothing."

"Sirius can be quite charming," Kathryn said, seeming to defend her man. "In small doses."

"Ouch!" Harry laughed. "So, what are you doing here anyway, Sirius?"

"I've come to check on my newest investment," he said as he gestured down the street. Harry followed him as he walked. "Several months ago, I was introduced to two very creative young men and I was persuaded to finance the biggest thing to hit Diagon Alley since Tubby Turdner tried selling quick-growing pear trees."

"That doesn't sound too remarkable," Harry frowned.

"Ah, but you see, two very handsome young men might have taken the opportunity to sneak into the alley one night, magic up a few spots of bare soil, dump in plenty of dragon dung, and voila! The next morning there were nearly one hundred foot tall pear trees with thousands and thousands of pieces of fruit filling the alley," Sirius chuckled. "Poor Tubby was forced to close down but I heard he made a fortune after moving to the States. Might've saved his life too, now that I think about it, since this was back in the Seventies."

"I imagine I might be able to guess who these two 'handsome young men' were," Harry said as he rolled his eyes before turning the corner next to Sirius and coming to a stop in surprise at the enormous and garish new shop. Leave it to Fred and George to go completely over the top.

"Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," Sirius announced with a smile.

The girls had been following behind and Harry heard Pansy groan. "I am not going in there."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Sirius argued.

"Fun for buffoons like you maybe," she answered with a glare.

"Why are you with such a mean girl, Harry?" he teased back.

"She's my mean girl," he replied with a grin as he wrapped an arm around Pansy. Then Harry kissed her on the cheek. "I won't be too long."

"We'll go get ice cream!" Luna said cheerfully. "Want me to order you something?"

He shook his head. "I don't want it to get all melty."

"Let's go, Harry," Sirius said as he pulled him to the door. "I'm going to find something to make your next school year a lot more fun."

As they disappeared into the shop, Kathryn sighed fondly. "I don't know how it turned out that my husband is more of a kid than I am, despite the age difference."

"I am so sorry for you," Pansy said, patting her on the back.

"Can I join you girls?"

"Sure."

"The more, the merrier!" Luna smiled.

"And you can tell us all about your honeymoon," Pansy suggested as they headed towards Florean Fortescue's.

"There isn't too much to tell, really," Kathryn replied. "We spent a lot of time on a private tropical island."

"Clothing optional?" Luna asked excitedly.

"Well, I enjoy teasing him, so I'd usually wear something just to see how long I could keep it on before Sirius lost his mind," she laughed.

"I hope for your sake, Sirius knows what he's doing in the bedroom," Pansy said. "I've heard the way he and Harry talk, but I never know how much of his hot air is just trying to wind Harry up or try to outdo him."

"I wouldn't want him to start bragging too much," Kathryn grinned as they reached the door and entered the ice cream parlour, thankfully without a huge line at that moment. "But he is very good in bed. And so enthusiastic."

"I'm happy for you then," Pansy replied.

"Me too," Luna agreed. "By the way, we seem to have lost Parvati along the way."

"She said something about needing to do some more shopping," Pansy said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we run into her again later."

* * *

Later, Harry and Pansy ended up back at home eating pizza for dinner before planning on going out to the movies one last time that summer.

"You never did tell me about that shop of the Weasleys," she said. "I would have thought you would be more excited, but when you showed up for ice cream, you quickly changed the subject."

"I didn't want to cause a scene or ruin Sirius' good mood," Harry sighed. "Most of it was pretty interesting. Fred and George are really creative guys, and I'd give them credit for most of what I saw. There was only one problem."

"What?"

"They sell love potions."

"Ugh," Pansy grumbled. "That does explain how those awful gingers can get dates."

"Yeah, I know you don't like them," Harry snorted. "But it wasn't even just them so much. There were a number of people there checking those things out- guys and girls- and not a single person seemed to be bothered by the fact that rape in a bottle was being openly sold to teenagers. What the fuck is wrong with the magical world?"

"A lot, I'd say," Pansy shrugged. "I thought you had figured that out by now."

"I have, it was just... disappointing." Harry frowned and took another bite. "Sirius said something about how I should have loaned them money, as he thinks he's going to make a fortune as part owner, but after that..."

"I understand," she nodded, reaching across the table to give his free hand a squeeze. "Let's talk about something more pleasant."

"Okay." Harry chewed for a moment as he thought it over. "So, you know how I've been looking into blood magic?"

"I could have sworn I said 'more pleasant' not more disturbing." She rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"A number of reasons," Harry said as he set his slice of pizza down. He raised one hand and started to count off the reasons. "First of all, according to Dumbledore, my mother's death enacted some sort of blood protection against Riddle all those years ago. Second, Riddle then took my blood as part of his rebirth ritual. Third, from our own experiences, we know that there can be other positive effects of blood rituals. Fourth, you saw how a simple little spell could be useful when I assured Steven about little Gracie. And fifth, I've had this idea ever since that day at the ministry about how to deal with Riddle for good."

He waved his fingers at her and smiled. "How's that for why?"

"Alright, tell me this idea then," Pansy replied.

"Let's finish eating. I'll need to give you a demonstration of my idea and then you can see if you agree."

"Fine," she huffed.

Harry noticed with some amusement that she started eating faster. He didn't want to annoy her though, so he dug in as well.

A few minutes later when he was done, Harry washed his hands before retrieving the book he had been studying and a couple of other things as well. Pansy was waiting expectantly on the couch. "To start with, remember the spell I used with Steven. _Invenio Familio_ , right? I told you how simple it is. Having a bit of blood on hand to use for a material component makes it extremely accurate."

"I'm following you so far," she nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, let me remind you of something from when I was speaking to Death," Harry added. "He, or it or whatever, reminded me before I came back that the core personality traits of Riddle are that he is a coward and a thief. The coward part seems obvious to me- his fear of dying being a big part of the problem. However, it's the thief part that led me to my theory."

"Which is what exactly?"

"When I came back from the dead, I used a cutting curse to wound Riddle. Some people might not get why that was important. I'm not even sure if I realized why I used that spell in particular in the moment. I knew it was pointless to try to kill him since he still had some horcruxes around, but why a cutting curse. But then I saw his bloody fingers lying there, and..." Harry pulled out the vial of Riddle's blood he had scooped off the floor of the ministry. "I gathered up a bit of his blood."

"Okay, but-"

"Let me show you." Harry set the vial down on the kitchen table, picked up a knife, and stepped over to join her. He carefully cut the back of his hand so that a trickle of blood appeared. " _Invenio Familio!_ "

The blood from the back of his hand flew across the room and landed on the vial. Pansy gasped.

"Riddle's blood can also be considered my blood," he finished turning to look at her. "And he has no right to it."

"Then that means-"

"It's time to reclaim what was stolen from me."

* * *

Pansy did have a couple of ideas to help refine Harry's plan, which was far too brash for her tastes. It was the reason they ended up meeting Alastor Moody very late that night at the Shrieking Shack.

"I hope the two of you have some good news," the older wizard gruffly announced his arrival.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Because Albus has picked a wonderful time to disappear. I hope the bloody fool hasn't gotten himself killed."

"That hasn't been in the papers," Pansy replied.

"It's being kept hushed up at the moment. Wouldn't want to start a panic, now would we?" he scoffed. "You'd find out soon anyway, what with Hogwarts about to start back up. Now, what's this meeting all about?"

"Well, you could start by congratulating us," Pansy smirked as she showed off her ring.

"Hah!" he laughed. "You've got your work cut out for you in keeping Harry grounded, you know that, right? Congrats to the both of you. But I don't think you got me out of bed just to tell me that."

"No, but you did ask for some good news," Harry replied. "That was the simple bit. The other good news is a bit more complicated."

"Alright."

"How would you like to help finish Riddle tonight?"

"Are you serious, Harry?"

"Absolutely."

"Bloody hell," Alastor replied as he sat down and pulled out a vial. "Good thing I brought this then. Wideye Potion to keep me awake. Tell me your plan."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle Tom by myself, but Pansy suggested bringing along some back up. Naturally, I thought of you," Harry added giving Alastor a little smirk. "Who better to watch my back? Specifically, I'd like for you to be there to deal with Barty Crouch or anyone else that might get in the way."

"As far as we know, Barty's the only one the bastard has left."

"Yeah, as far as we know," Harry agreed. "Hopefully he hasn't recruited, or more likely _Imperiused_ , any other help. I want to keep this mission as small as possible. I don't really like the idea of trying to assassinate someone with a gaggle of people there to screw things up."

"How do you think you can get rid of Riddle then?"

"Do you remember watching the memory of his little rebirth ritual?"

"Aye, lad."

"Then, you'll remember that he used my blood in it," Harry said.

"Right. Blood magic is potent even if it is dangerous."

"Do you know much about it?" Pansy asked.

"Of course," Moody chuckled. "I've studied every bit of dark and dangerous magic I could over the years. You need to know that sort of thing when you're dealing with the type of filth I've fought against and hunted down in my line of work."

"Then have you heard of the blood reclamation curse?"

Moody whistled and nodded his head. "Nasty bit of business, that. A very awful way to disown someone- _permanently_. I think one of the Blacks invented it a few hundred years ago. I guess Sirius should be glad his dear old mum never learned it."

"Yeah," Harry exhaled. "The thing is, with Riddle using my blood in his plan to get his body back-"

"He stole your blood." Moody started to chuckle before bursting out into full fledged laughter. "Oh, that is perfect, lad! The bastard practically offered up his own downfall on a platter for you. Hah! I always said he was too damn smug and arrogant."

"And now it can cost him," Harry added. "The crazy bastard probably never expected any of his foes to research such things to defeat him."

"Yeah, too many damn witches and wizards who went dark seem to think they're the only ones willing to pursue such 'esoteric knowledge.' Morons," Alastor snorted. "I like it. The only problem will be tracking him down and getting into wherever he's hiding out."

"Well, tracking him down might take a bit of time," Harry admitted. "But, we've already got the way in."

"We do?"

Harry smiled and Dobby appeared at his side. "Meet my partner in crime and bodyguard, Dobby."

"That might work," Alastor nodded thoughtfully. "I've never come across any sort of enchantment to ward off house-elves, and believe me, I've looked."

"I'm hoping that blood magic will allow me to track him down too," Harry added. "When we were at the ministry and I used that cutting curse on Riddle, I scooped up some of his blood. I tried using the spell that lets you find blood relatives and the vial did show up. I'm thinking that we'll just need to use that to sort of hunt across the country."

"There's a faster way," Moody interjected. "I know a spell like that. Only problem is that it would track all living family members. But with you being the last Potter, there won't be too many of 'em."

"Then I guess we should get to work."

"Now?"

"Even demonic-looking serpentine abominations have to sleep," Harry grinned. "Riddle and his band of terrorists never believed in a fair fight, so why should we give him the chance to fight back?"

"I like it," Alastor chuckled. "Let's go."

* * *

With Alastor's knowledge and help, they were able to use a charm to track down the Dark Lord's hiding place within an hour. It was a fairly large country manor, far enough out of the way to not have to deal with any muggles. For Riddle's purposes, that might have been due to arrogance, but it was helpful for Harry as well since they wouldn't have to deal with any possible witnesses or other extraneous problems.

"I've got one prone body in an upstairs bedroom," Alastor whispered as he scanned the building with his magical eye. "If that's the head bastard, then Junior isn't here."

"That would make things easier," Harry replied.

"Maybe our luck will hold then."

"Here's hoping." Harry turned and knelt down next to Dobby. "We need to get inside. Can you do that for us?"

"Of course, master Harry sir!" Dobby grinned.

"Where should we go?" Pansy asked. "Do we want to try to just pop right into the bedroom?"

"On the one hand, that could be best for a surprise attack," Moody answered. "On the other hand, it might be more dangerous." He looked over at Harry, both eyes focused on him after the magical one stopped spinning. "What do you think, son?"

After a moment to think it over, he finally replied. "I just want this over with. We go in with our wands ready and finish things before he has time to wake up and try to fight back. I'll summon his wand as soon as we get in. Can you incapacitate him as fast as possible? Just in case he wakes up fast enough and tries something."

"Aye, lad. Sounds like a plan."

Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. "Alright, everybody ready?"

"I am," Pansy nodded.

"Let's go."

"Dobby, take us in on the count of three, alright?"

"Dobby is ready!"

"Okay." Harry put his left hand on the elf's shoulder and started to count. "One. Two. Three-"

Dobby pulled them all inside the building with his magic. They landed at the foot of a bed with the noseless monster sleeping in it. Harry was already calling the brother wand to his own and he caught it just as Riddle awoke, his red-eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Alastor was ready for him though, and his body went rigid just as he sat up. The Dark Lord fell back onto the bed, his arms glued to his side.

"Petrificus Totalis," the older auror explained. "Good spell except for how long the bloody incantation is. I mastered the damn thing by practicing it until my arm nearly fell off. I think you can see why though."

"Yeah."

"You ready for your part then?"

"Right, just-"

Pansy interrupted him though as her wand lashed out and she screamed, " _Crucio!_ "

Harry and Alastor were both so shocked that they just watched as she cast the unforgivable curse, stepping forward as she held Riddle under it. His eyes looked terrified, and for a second there, Harry wondered if he had ever known that sort of pain that he was finally on the other end of the torture curse.

"Look at me, you bastard!" She yelled. "I want you to know pain before you die. For my mother, and Harry's parents, and every wasted life lost to your madness. Suffer, you fucking monster."

"Harry," Alastor prodded his side.

Harry stepped forward, slipping Riddle's wand into a pocket and then wrapping his free arm around Pansy. "It's alright, sweetheart. Let him go, so I can finish this. He isn't worth your anger. Tom Riddle is a failure, and its time for him to meet his end."

She sagged after a moment, lowering her wand and releasing the spell. Harry kissed her forehead and then stared the madman in the face. "You know Tom, I've seen Death. Beyond this world, there is an afterlife for almost everyone. Except you- you who tore your own soul to pieces because of your delusional need to be immortal. What an idiot. All that awaits you is oblivion."

He raised his wand and smirked at those red demonic eyes. "You are a thief, Riddle. It's time for me to take back what you stole. _Sanguine Redito!_ "

The curse was apparently too powerful, as it undid Alastor's body bind, but for that brief moment all that meant was that Tom Riddle let out one last tortured cry as his veins burst open. The blood formed into a crimson ball, floating in the air right in front of Harry, and the light left those glowing red-eyes for the last time. The Dark Lord was gone.

They stood there for a moment as silence fell, the ending all that more shocking for how quickly it had come.

"Maybe we should cut his head off," Harry suggested.

"He's not a vampire, lad," Moody replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but we can't really be too careful, can we?"

"I suppose." Moody looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you want to do the honors?"

"I guess," Harry nodded. " _Diffindo!_ "

The ghostly white head slid off, rolling back onto the pillows.

"You know, Pansy," Alastor broke the tension. "Normally, I'd have to arrest you for casting that spell. Luckily, you didn't use it on another human being. Just this abomination. But let's try not to do it in the future, alright lass?"

He chuckled and she nodded against Harry's side. She put her wand away and wrapped both arms around him. "He tortured the man I love. He _killed_ the man I love. That monster deserved some pain before the end. I couldn't let him have a peaceful death."

"I understand." The old wizard took a deep breath. "I can hardly believe it's over. I guess I should summon some back up."

"Maybe not," Harry interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Crouch is still out there somewhere," he pointed out. "Maybe we shouldn't make this public just yet. If we stash the body some place safe, then you could have time to stake this place out. Wait for Barty to show up again so you can catch him too. He's bound to come looking for his master, right?"

"That is an idea." Alastor clomped around to the other side of the bed. "What would we do with the body though?"

"I've got a safe hideaway," Harry answered. "A place no one but my family knows where it is. Dobby could take it there and have it in stasis for... I don't know, maybe a week or two to see if you can nab Crouch. How does that sound?"

"You'll be back at school by then," Alastor pointed out.

Harry shrugged. "We could turn the body in on a weekend. It would give you and Amelia time to come up with some sort of plan to deal with the publicity too. I'm sure letting everyone know that the Dark Lord, and hopefully his last follower, is finished will be a big deal."

"I like it."

"Alright," Harry nodded before looking down to Dobby. "Dobby, my friend, can you take the body to our safe house and leave it in stasis there until the time is right?"

"Dobby is honored to help the greatest of all wizards- Harry Potter sir!" The little elf jumped onto the bed, then grabbed hold of Riddle's sleepwear and severed head before disappearing with a pop.

"I think you might have to deal with just a tiny bit more hero worship from the little guy," Pansy laughed.

"Well, the lad did just once again save the world," Alastor chuckled. "I'd say he's earned it."

"Dobby can call me whatever he wants," Harry said with a smile. "After all he's done to help us, _he's earned it_. That little guy has been a life saver."

"When he gets back, I'd like to use his help then," Alastor said. "Assuming you don't mind, I'll get at least Nymphadora summoned over here, and we can set up a watch tonight before you two leave. Sound alright?"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

It was well after three in the morning by the time they got home that night, but Harry and Pansy were both still so excited that they ended up celebrating until nearly dawn. Teenage hormones were a wonderful thing. They could spend the next day sleeping in if they felt like it. Getting back on schedule for school might be a bit of a pain, but after everything else, that was a very minor concern.

The second war with Voldemort was over.


	91. The End of an Era

* * *

"So, another train ride to school," Harry began as he took a seat across from Luna who had beaten them to the station that day. He and Pansy had way too many late nights to make it bright and early, but they still had a few minutes before they were to get underway. The last minute blitz was just beginning to get bad as a number of families rushed their children onto the Hogwarts Express.

"My OWL year begins," Luna added with a pleased smile. "I'm curious to see how difficult it turns out to be."

"You'll be fine, sweetie," Pansy replied as she leaned against Harry. "If we could handle it despite all the crap we had to deal with last year, then I have all the confidence in the world that you'll do amazingly well."

"Thanks," Luna grinned.

"You're welcome."

"I wonder if Watts will be back to teach Defense again," Harry said. "He was pretty good."

"It would be nice to have a more cohesive Defense Against the Dark Arts class for a few years," Luna agreed. "That would make my NEWT years much more useful, assuming I continue the class on that far."

"Have you given much thought to which classes you want to focus on past the OWLs?" Pansy asked. "I admit that I'd already had it mostly planned out for the two of us even a year ago."

"Not so much," Luna shrugged. "Then again, I don't have anyone that I need to plan a schedule around, like the two of you trying to coordinate things. I suppose I'll see how this year goes."

"I wonder if we'll have many visitors during this trip," Harry said as he yawned. "I could use a nap."

"It's your own fault," Pansy snorted. "Who decided we needed to stay up half the night?"

"You did," he argued. "When you decided to be all sexy and irresistible."

"He does have a point," Luna agreed.

"Thank you, Luna. See, when I'm right, I'm right," Harry grinned. There was a little lurch as the train finally got underway. "I'm glad I don't have to waste any time with that prefect nonsense."

"I turned down the opportunity as well," Luna said. "Authority doesn't interest me. I'd much prefer just doing my own thing without having to worry about the actions of others. It seems like it might be something of a time sink as well."

"True," Harry nodded.

"We could play a game," Luna suggested.

"Like what?"

"How about, would you rather?"

"What's that?"

"One of us comes up with a scenario, and everyone has to decide which of two options they would take," Luna explained. "For example, would you rather have to help Mister Filch clean up after a nasty Potions mess or spend two hours convincing Moaning Myrtle to stop watching you while you have to pee?"

"Myrtle," Harry answered. "I wouldn't mind talking to her for awhile; much better than having to be around Filch."

"I'd probably have to go with Myrtle too," Pansy added.

"Good choice," Luna smiled. "That would be easy for me, because I wouldn't care if she watched me. But, it could be fun to ask her about the other people she has peeped on over the years. She's probably seen most of the witches and wizards of the last fifty years in compromising situations. Like you two."

"Knowing how things usually go for me, I imagine she'll be trying to further enhance the myths about Harry Potter for years to come." Harry could only shake his head.

"Yeah, but she likes you," Pansy pointed out. "So, at least it will be good things."

"I guess."

"Alright, which of you wants to go next?" Luna asked. "I don't want to have to come up with all of the choices."

"I'll go," Pansy said. She thought for a moment, and Harry had to smile as he watched her scrunch up her nose while she pondered. "Okay, I've got it. Would you rather have to try to shave Hagrid's beard after he's been drinking, or clean bedpans with Madam Pomfrey?"

"Can we use magic?" Luna wanted clarification, while Harry was just trying not to picture anything in bedpans.

"No magic," Pansy smirked. "Just good old fashioned grossness."

"Yuck," Luna turned up her nose.

* * *

A few hours later, Harry was sitting in the Great Hall and vowing to never play would you rather with the girls again. They both came up with way, way too many gross things that he would prefer not having to think about. There was plenty of muttering as Professor McGonagall was sitting in Dumbledore's traditional spot at the staff table, but then he supposed that he should have expected that. Harry wondered who would be bringing in the newest students just as the door banged open with Slughorn leading the way. He was a little surprised by that, but maybe Sluggy just wanted to make a good first impression on those impressionable young minds. He did have a reputation as a talent scout for a reason, after all, so Harry guessed that it was never too early to start appraising the new kids.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said. "As those of you who are returning have certainly noticed, Professor Dumbledore is not with us. Unfortunately, he has been missing for a few weeks now. Until we can learn what has happened to him, I will be acting as Headmistress. I will have a few more announcements to make, but let us eat first."

It was no surprise that a lot of talk around all of the tables that evening was about the Headmaster's disappearance. Harry did his best to ignore it, merely speaking with Pansy about what their schedule might look like. He was definitely pleased to think about having more free time due to fewer classes.

He also noticed how Parvati had given him only a couple of sad glances before focusing on Lavender. She hadn't come around during the train ride either, and he had a feeling it was due to the ring that Pansy now wore. He wasn't clueless- he had known that Parvati had a crush on him- and he hoped that they could be friends again if she got over it. Harry wasn't going to push though. Considering she had fought by his side, he wanted to try to be as respectful as possible of her feelings.

It also made him realize how lucky he was. He and Pansy had been together forever, so he had been spared from the typical heartache and pain that most of his peers would go through. Harry thought that maybe that was a bit of karma though, for everything else he'd had to deal with over the last few years. Not many teenagers had to fight terrorists after all.

* * *

The next morning led to even more worry on the part of the general populace, as the Daily Prophet covered Dumbledore's disappearance in detail. It also questioned why the story had been kept quiet for so long. Pansy snorted at that- obviously, to keep people from panicking. However, judging by how loud the other students were being, it hadn't worked.

At the same time, Harry knew that they would soon calm down once the Dark Lord's demise was made public. He hadn't heard anything from Alastor yet, but he knew that they were working on trying to catch Barty Crouch, and thus, not revealing what had happened to Riddle. Harry guessed that stake out might last another week or so.

Then there would be the announcement, and Harry had to sigh at how bad things might get. He was already cringing at the idea of them coming up with some new sort of epithet for him. Maybe he could talk Minister Bones into not having him put on display for the press? Probably not, but Harry was strongly considering dragging Alastor up front with him if he had to. Pansy had already told him that she was not interested in sharing credit- or having to be more in the limelight for anything other than being the future Mrs. Potter.

Lavender had shown her the copy of Witch Weekly that had featured a small photo someone had taken when they had been in Diagon Alley. Pansy was very glad that they had mail wards up- Dobby was bound to deal with any nastiness after Harry had warned him that some people might try to be mean to his future mistress. The little guy had looked rather blood thirsty at being given free reign to deal with anyone that would dare to bother his family.

Otherwise, things mostly got off to a normal start for their sixth year. The NEWT classes were interesting, despite Harry already moaning about McGonagall's first essay assignment of two feet of parchment about the Vanishing Charm.

Surprisingly, Ron Weasley had been named the quidditch captain for that year. Harry found out that Katie Bell wanted to be able to focus more on her upcoming NEWTs, and that left Ron as the only other option with any experience. Judging by the way Harry had seen McGonagall looking at him, he was pretty sure that she was very disappointed that he'd preemptively turned down the position.

After the first couple of weeks, Harry started to wish the same thing. Ron was trying to schedule as many practices as possible before Gryffindor would have to play their first match of the season.

On one hand, Harry could understand. The team had two new chasers and two new beaters, all of whom could use the chance to practice teamwork. But that didn't mean that he was enjoying it. For his part, there wasn't a lot for him to work on. Fly fast, catch snitch- it was the same thing he'd been doing for five years.

He was already considering skipping practice one Saturday during lunch when Alastor Moody came stomping into the Great Hall and heading right for him.

"Harry."

"Alastor," he replied as he stood up. "Is it time?"

"Almost, son. We've got the first meeting today, and then things should get really interesting."

"I know, and I'm already dreading it," Harry sighed which only made the old auror chuckle.

"Suck it up, Potter," Moody said. "The world needs a hero, and you've been drafted."

"Have fun!" Luna chimed in.

Pansy climbed to her feet and pulled Harry in for a kiss. "Good luck, Harry."

He smiled as she pushed him off to follow Moody, who was on his way to explain things to McGonagall about why Harry was going to be leaving the castle that day. It only took a few minutes, and then the two of them were out the main door and walking towards the gates of Hogwarts.

"Did you have any luck with Crouch?" Harry asked.

"No, the bastard hasn't shown his face," Alastor grumbled. "Amelia said three weeks was long enough. I'm still going to try to hunt him down, but the primary danger has been dealt with, and the minister can't wait to release that knowledge any longer. The public won't stand for it."

"Yeah, I guess that figures."

"At least this way the geas still holds," Alastor added. "With Albus disappearing, it might be for the best. I doubt little Barty will be able to get into nearly as much trouble without his boss telling him what to do. I should have plenty of time to track him. Like most of the Death Eaters, he's a pureblood who has lived his entire life in the magical world. There aren't that many places for him to hide."

"You're taking backup, I hope?"

"Yes, Nymphadora has been assigned to me starting on Wednesday. After a big weekend, Amelia's going to give me a couple of days off."

"So, what are we doing today, exactly?"

"I'm taking you to the ministry," Moody answered. "We're going to be having a rather blatant meeting with the minister. Then, you and I will 'go off on a mission' and return a short while later with the body. Expect the press to be ready for a big scene when we get back."

"Great," Harry muttered.

"Try to look on the bright side. This will give Amelia a lot of leverage," Alastor pointed out. "She might even be able to hire competent people for a change."

"I suppose that would be nice for once," Harry snorted.

"Hold on," Moody said as they stepped through the gates. "Better let me apparate us both there instead of making them ask even more questions."

A few minutes later, Harry was once again enduring a lot of stares and whispers as he walked through the atrium of the ministry of magic. He held back his desire to groan, although it was a close thing. They reached the lifts and Alastor accompanied him inside an empty one, glaring at a couple of people who briefly looked like they were going to try to join them.

"This old mug of mine has its advantages," Moody laughed.

"I've been told it's the eye mostly," Harry added.

"I suppose so."

"At least I'm getting out of quidditch practice today," Harry said.

"I thought you liked the sport," Moody replied.

"I do, but the team captain has been scheduling way too many of them. I'd rather spend the weekend with Pansy than sitting on a broom for five or six hours." Harry shook his head. "I don't need the practice anyway. I've been better than all the other seekers at school pretty much since my first day."

"Without having a challenge, things can get boring," Moody nodded. "Even if it's something you enjoy."

A ding announced their arrival to the correct floor. Even more stares and whispers followed them as they went to speak with Minister Bones.

"Alastor, mister Potter, welcome," she said as they entered her office.

"Amelia, having a good day?" Alastor asked with a grin.

"It will be a much better one soon," she replied as she turned to Harry with a smile. "I believe I'm going to owe you a very large amount of gratitude, as will we all. Although, you might appreciate the reward money even more than that."

"I won't turn it down," Harry smirked. "I'm not looking forward to the public's response though."

"You can always drag Alastor up there with you," she suggested.

"I was thinking of doing just that," Harry nodded.

"You're both traitors," Moody grumbled.

"You did back me up," Harry pointed out.

"It was your plan, and you did the hard work, lad. But I'll stand by you, if that's what you want."

"Thanks."

* * *

It was roughly an hour later, and Alastor had shared a fortifying drink with Harry before they were bound to return. They were standing in the shrieking shack once again, a handy meeting place where no one would think to look for anyone. "You ready, lad?"

"I guess so."

"Let's get this over with then."

Harry nodded. "Dobby?"

"Dobby is here, sir!"

"Thanks," Harry chuckled. "Can you bring Riddle's body here?"

"Of course!"

Two pops later and the dead former Dark Lord was laying on the floor in front of them.

"How exactly are we going to do this?" Harry asked.

"I'll conjure up a stretcher and sheet to cover the body. You'll walk in front with your wand out, just in case anyone tries to get in the way. It will make you look more imposing too. I'll float our acquisition in behind you. We should have plenty of help to clear space."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Harry nodded.

Alastor got to work securing their transport. He had to use a sticking charm to hold Riddle's head on. He then turned the stretcher itself into a portkey so they would arrive together.

The atrium was brimming with people when they landed. Harry was happy to see a large auror presence awaiting them, all of whom quickly began to make a path towards a small stage where Amelia Bones looked ready to get the show started. She was standing at a podium with what looked like an old fashioned microphone and she nodded at Harry and Moody as soon as she saw them approaching.

"Ladies and gentleman, I have wonderful news to announce," she began once the duo and their cargo had reached the stage. Alastor stood in the back, still floating the stretcher with the body, and he gently pushed Harry forward. Harry turned and tried to glare, but the old man was grinning at him and it helped him to relax. "With the help of auror Alastor Moody, Harry Potter has recently done something that once again sees us all in his debt. Lord Potter, would you care to say a few words?"

He nodded, even though he didn't really _want_ to, and stepped closer. Amelia covered the mic for a second. "It's got a built in Sonorous charm, so you won't need to yell. At least, not until the crowd starts to get out of hand."

"Thanks," he said as he went to the podium. "A few months ago, there was an attack made on the Department of Mysteries. Along with my allies, which included both our newly elected minister as well as auror Moody, I came here to rescue a hostage from the Death Eaters. While we were successful, eventually, that day also saw the first public appearance of Tom Riddle, the man who called himself Voldemort. Some of you may have seen a photo of the two of us from that day."

A round of laughter swept through the room, causing Harry to pause. He had expected it, just as he had expected several gasps when he said the name of his former foe, and that was in fact why he made the joke. Pansy had suggested it, helping him to prepare what he would say. Once they quieted down, Harry continued.

"Since then, there have been a number of rumors about what happened. Some people have taken to calling me things like the Chosen One." He was able to keep himself from scowling at that by trying to focus on reaching the end of that day's attention. Hopefully, it would come soon so that he could spend the evening with Pansy- she had promised to reward him for having to deal with the 'sheep' by wearing something that would cheer him up. No scowl could form when he was thinking of that sort of fun.

"I don't personally believe in destiny," he said. "Regardless, after a number of setbacks, the so-called Dark Lord was rendered vulnerable this summer. The loss of a number of his troops earlier this year was only one part of that process. Without his masked followers to spread terror, Tom Riddle was only one man. A dangerous man to be sure, and no longer human due to his madness. But only a single wizard.

"I had the help of Alastor Moody, who I would like to thank for all that he has done over the last few years and especially for all that he has taught me. I doubt that I would still be alive today without him. When an opportunity came to strike at the madman who killed my parents all those years ago, it seemed like an obvious choice to call on the aid of a man who had been fighting against the Dark Arts longer and harder than anyone.

"I won't go into specifics about what we did." Harry waited for a moment after the inevitable grumbling that followed that statement. "While I am sure there are many of you who are curious, I do not want to say or do anything that might cause problems in the future. Years before Riddle came along, we'd had Grindelwald's reign of death and destruction. I hope that it will be many, many years before we have anything like that to deal with again. With that in mind...

"It is my great pleasure to announce the end of Tom Riddle," he said and the cheers began immediately, drowning out the few voices from the press that were trying to ask questions. As for himself, Harry felt mostly relief. He waited patiently for the crowd to quiet down.

One of the reporters in the front was able to fire off the first question several minutes after the celebration began. "Is that the Dark Lord's body?"

"It is," Harry confirmed. "I imagine some of you will want to see the evidence first hand, but at the same time, we thought it appropriate to try not to cause any panic."

"Can we see it then?"

Minister Bones stepped in front of Harry to answer. "We will allow a public viewing shortly, but we will be checking our security first and we ask that anyone with children take them home first."

Harry hadn't noticed before, but the gathering had grown quite large, and sure enough, he saw a number of families had filled the atrium. There were even a few fathers towards the back holding their youngsters on their shoulders to help them see over the crowd.

The questions came fast and furious, and a number of them were things that Harry had no comment about. Several times people asked for more information about how he had defeated Riddle, all of which he refused to answer. Then a few that started to get more personal, including the eventual mention of Pansy. Other than confirming that they were engaged, Harry would not comment any further. A couple of the more persistent witches earned deadly glares when they asked if he couldn't be persuaded to choose someone else. He was sorely tempted to use his wand on those bitches.

Amelia Bones saw how annoyed he was getting though, so she stepped to the podium and told them that Harry had done more than enough to help them and that any requests for more questions or interviews would have to be sent through his solicitor. He felt very grateful that he had hired Sam McKenzie three years prior- Harry had a feeling he was going to be earning his pay with the furor that all of this was already starting to cause.

A few photos were soon taken, although Harry drew the line when one man from the Daily Prophet asked him to hold up Riddle's severed head. For one thing, he didn't want to touch the thing, but also, he wasn't even sure how he would have been able to pick it up. Riddle didn't have any hair or ears to grab onto, and Harry certainly wasn't going to touch the stump of a neck. The lack of blood might have kept the mess to a minimum, but it was still pretty gross. The stasis charms were the only thing keeping the stench of the corpse in check.

Finally, Tonks pulled Harry out of the spotlight using her most official voice as she would be escorting him back to Hogwarts. When they landed in Hogsmeade, he turned to her with a smile. "You're my favorite cousin, you know that?"

"I could tell you were tired of all that," she grinned in response as they started trudging up the path to the school. "Poor Harry, everyone wants to adore you for being their savior."

"I know," he moaned. "It sucks."

"It could be worse. They could all be afraid of you, like now with Riddle out of the way, you'll become the next Dark Lord or something else ridiculous."

"That doesn't make any sense though."

"This is the magical world we're talking about," she pointed out. "These are the same people that think a baby saved them all those years ago. Although, mum always said that was mostly just because many people wouldn't have wanted to give the credit to a muggleborn witch. And thus, the legend of your magical forehead was born."

"Idiots," Harry muttered. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up too."

"I imagine Pansy will do an even better job once you can get some privacy," Tonks said with a smirk.

"That is why I'm marrying her," Harry smiled.

"Want me to come in there with you?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "If the news has already gotten out, I might have people trying to mob me. I could use a big strong auror to protect me from that sort of thing."

"I can't shift into too much bigger of a form," she replied. "These pants are new, and I don't want to tear out the bum."

"Have you had that happen before?"

"Not since I was a teenager," Tonks frowned. "My third year was pretty rough. I was still getting the hang of shifting partly because puberty was throwing me off in some new and awful ways."

"Sorry. By now I'd think it was worth it though."

"Yeah, everyone has some crappy things to go through during those years." She perked up with a grin. "It let me have an alibi for several things that I won't admit anywhere near Hogwarts though. McGonagall still seems like she might try to throw me in detention. She's got that sort of stern, _'what have you done, young lady?'_ expression that always makes me want to squirm."

"I think I've gotten used to it," Harry chuckled. A moment later his stomach grumbled just as they were getting in sight of the main door to the castle. "I am starving."

"I guess saving the world builds up an appetite, eh?" Tonks giggled.

* * *

The tables were already groaning with food as everyone was eating when they got inside. Harry went straight to the spot between Pansy and Luna. "Thanks for saving me a seat."

"I'm glad you got back in time," Luna replied happily. "Pansy and I had a lovely afternoon."

"Oh?"

"Officially, we were studying in your quarters." She looked around furtively and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Unofficially, we mostly were listening to music and I might have helped Pansy pick out something to wear later tonight. Trust me, you'll like it."

"Thanks Luna."

"Is everything taken care of?" Pansy asked.

"Alastor has a long term assignment to catch the last missing one," Harry replied. "But the main event is done. Now I just have to deal with everything that comes afterwards."

"I see," she replied. "I think I'll try to finish my meal and retire early. I'll be waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?"

"Haven't you noticed how McGonagall has been looking at you?"

"No." Harry turned to gaze up to the staff table. Apparently, the headmistress had heard the news, judging by the unusually happy look on her face. "Oh crap. Well, maybe she'll wait until I finish eating before unleashing pandemonium."

"That's why I'll be leaving soon," Pansy snorted at his description. "I don't want to get crushed in the stampede."

"You might want to take Luna with you then," Harry said.

"No, I think I'd rather stay for the show," Luna answered with a smile. "I won't get to be part of your private celebration later."

"We could do something with just the three of us tomorrow," Pansy suggested. "Assuming that Harry will be able to escape his adoring fans long enough, anyway."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Luna teased.

"Goodnight, sweetie." Pansy stood up and kissed Harry on the cheek before whispering in his ear, "I'm going to take a nice relaxing bath. That will have to keep you smiling until you see what else I have planned for you this evening."

"I love you," Harry chuckled as she winked and started walking off. He managed a few bites of his dessert before he noticed that there was a lot more than usual crowd noise. Judging by the number of people looking at him, he knew what was coming next. Luna merely hummed to herself as she finished her first serving of plum cake. Professor McGonagall stood at the head table, and people turned to look at her.

Harry took a deep breath and tried to relax. Luna wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned in for a snuggle.

"If I can have your attention please." McGonagall waited for things to quiet down as the students were hoping for an announcement. "I can confirm that this afternoon our very own mister Potter, along with the help of auror Alastor Moody, has delivered the body of Tom Riddle to the ministry."

Cheers and shouting broke out everywhere. There was a surge of people moving to congratulate him, everyone wanting to touch the hero of the hour, and any further comments from the Headmistress were unnecessary. It was bedlam at Hogwarts for the rest of the night, with parties continuing in each house's common rooms- even Slytherin had very few people left who might have supported the former Dark Lord.

For Harry though, the best part was when he finally managed to excuse himself from his well wishers. He entered his quarters to find Pansy waiting for him, dressed in a scandalously short green skirt, with a matching midriff baring top and pom poms.

Or, as she put it, "I had to remind you who your biggest fan is."

Sometimes it was good to be Harry Potter.

* * *

Pansy thought that, for the most part, things settled into a routine over the next few weeks. Sure, the sheep bleated a lot more at Harry, and they always seemed to be staring at him, but otherwise it was the calmest year they'd had together. Halloween even came and went without anything of importance happening- which Harry called a miracle once the day was over, so as not to jinx anything.

Many of the people around them were behaving differently that fall. A number of Slytherins were spotted being more sociable with students from the other houses. Without any specter hanging over things, and with good old Sluggy's jovial nature, the house of cunning and ambition was no longer such a millstone for those sorted into silver and green. Pansy even noted her former roommate Tracy Davis had started dating Seamus Finnigan- something that would have seemed impossible only a couple of years past.

She was missing out on much of the gossip though- Parvati was no longer her cheerful self, barely able to glance at Harry without getting visibly upset, and obviously not wanting to chat with her either. Pansy didn't blame her, but she also realized that she actually missed Parvati. Who would have thought they could become such good friends?

As for her second favorite gossip, Lavender was still dating Weasley, and they seemed rather happy about it too. Pansy didn't understand what she saw in him, but she did act as a distraction that helped him reign in the quidditch practice a bit, to Harry's great delight.

Longbottom had become the new Gryffindor prefect, and that meant it was he who now had to roam the halls with Hermione twice a week. Granger was another one who Pansy had noticed staring longingly at Harry on occasion. She knew that he probably wouldn't mind trying to rekindle that friendship, but Granger seemed either too stubborn or frightened to try to approach him.

Luna of all people was the beacon of normality. Other than thanking Harry for doing what needed to be done, she still treated them the same.

However, she noticed that Harry seemed distracted and bored much of the time.

They were eating in the Great Hall before the first quidditch match of the season when her locket warned her of a danger just as he was about to take a drink. She grabbed his hand. "Hold on."

Waving her wand over his cup, she found that there was definitely something contaminating Harry's water. "I think someone spiked your drink."

He sighed. "I should have known that would happen."

"Due to quidditch?"

"That or it's a love potion," he shrugged. "Neither would surprise me."

"One of which would make me a lot angrier though," Pansy replied, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the people surrounding them. Which of these stupid little bitches would possibly try something like that? Ginny Weasley hadn't seemed so obvious about her crush in awhile, and she wasn't looking too nervous either. Turning the other way though, she spotted Romilda Vane, who was watching them too carefully before looking away when Pansy glared at her. "I think I know who needs to be taught a lesson."

"Why don't you take that up to Sluggy?" Harry suggested as he handed over the tainted drink.

"And leave you all alone?"

"Luna will keep an eye on me," he replied, and she did in fact slide over to grab onto him as Pansy stood up.

"He'll be a good boy while you're gone."

"I'll be right back," Pansy nodded as she hurried to speak with the Potions Master.

"Which do you think it was?" Luna asked Harry.

"Love potion," he answered with a groan. "There were a number of enchanted pieces of mail sent my way after the whole thing with Riddle's defeat was announced. Postmaster Dobby's been extra busy sorting everything the last couple of months- which I guess is good since we haven't needed his help with any other dangers lately."

"Does Pansy know?"

"I've tried not to worry her," Harry shrugged. "Dobby's under strict orders to detain me if I start acting funny or try to go off with someone."

"That's probably a good idea," Luna said as she watched her best friend conversing with the head of Slytherin. "You know, if Pansy finds out who did it, I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to scalp whichever witch did this."

"I think I'd like that," Harry chuckled. "A morbid little trophy might scare more people off."

"As long as she doesn't get in trouble."

"Of course," he nodded.

* * *

Harry actually felt bad later that afternoon as he once again took to the skies against Slytherin. Goyle had been made captain- he was the only member of the team left from the year before's bloodbath- and most of the others were kids from the lower years. Gryffindor had some newbies too, but Ginny and Demelza were holding their own with Katie and Ron was performing much better than Harry had expected. The only weak spot were the beaters, but even they weren't doing too poorly, all things considered.

His team was already up by two hundred points by the time he spotted the snitch. Harry made short work of it, chasing the little golden ball through a dive and grabbing it just as it tried to change course.

The resulting celebration was as loud and boisterous as any other that Pansy had seen from the Gryffindors as they all flooded back into their common room. She was glued to Harry's side when once again she felt her locket give off another warning tingle just before someone passed Harry a bottle of butterbeer- which had already been opened. She growled as she took it from his hand, and the relaxed smile that had been on Harry's face slid right off as he saw her expression. He pushed his way through the crowd so they could retreat to the privacy of their room.

"Again?" he asked as he sat down on the couch.

"It appears so," Pansy grumbled as she began to pace. "I think I need to kill someone."

"I guess I should have seen this coming," Harry sighed. "The Chosen One has saved the country, again, so now everybody wants a piece of me. Fucking hell, I'm tired of this."

"I'm pretty sure it was Romilda Vane that tried earlier, if it was her again this afternoon, I'll gut the little slut."

"Please don't," Harry chuckled. "I'd rather not have to go to war with the ministry to make them leave us alone."

"So, what do you want to do then?"

Harry looked weary for a moment, and Pansy could tell he was really wondering about that very thing. "Let me ask you first," he said. "What do you want to do? Not now, or even this week, but for the future in general."

"You mean like here at Hogwarts?" she asked for clarification.

"And beyond," he nodded.

"I don't know," she replied as she sat down next to him. "I guess we've never really made too many serious plans about the future, other than things like getting married or taking a ridiculously long honeymoon."

"And shagging all over the world," Harry added with a grin. "Can't forget the most important part, you know."

"Of course," she laughed. "Hell, Harry, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

There was a moment of silence as his face fell when he looked back at the door that led out to the still noisy Gryffindor common room. "I'm not sure that I really want to stay here for a couple more years," he finally admitted. "As much as I like spending time with Luna, I don't really have many close friends. Even quidditch was tainted today. The classes- well they're not too bad, but I don't care that much about them either. I've done pretty well in self-study when there was something I really wanted to learn. So, I'm kind of thinking, why bother?"

"I suppose you don't need any NEWTs to qualify for a job," Pansy said as she leaned against his side, burrowing close and taking the time to think for a second. "I don't know that there are any things like that which would matter to me either. If we really wanted to make money, there are plenty of ways we could do that. I can imagine a few already- magic could give us huge advantages over muggles in a lot of ways."

"Just the repairing charm could do things that would be impossible for them," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah."

"And we're already rich, so unless we go splurge on ridiculously expensive things, it's not like we would need to work any time soon."

"So, you want to just... what, pack up and leave?" Pansy asked.

"I was thinking we might try to finish the term," he shrugged. "Assuming we don't get too many more idiots trying to slip me potions. You'll be turning of age shortly after. There's nothing to stop us then from getting started on that honeymoon."

"We could elope over the holidays, make our plans and set out for..." she trailed off and tapped her chin in thought. "Where should we start?"

"If it's the beginning of the year, then I was thinking that we should start in the Southern hemisphere, where it will be much warmer. Maybe Africa? Then we could go see-"

"Elephants!" Pansy squealed before climbing onto Harry's lap and kissing him. "I'm liking this plan already."

"Good," he smiled back at her. "We already have a really fancy magical tent too. I could throw up a couple of charms, notice-me-not and whatever, so we could spend time out in the wilderness if we wanted."

"And we'd still have Dobby to pamper us with food," Pansy giggled. "I take it back- I'm now loving this plan. Other than missing Luna, I don't see any other reasons not to go. We can always write to her about our trip."

"She's got her OWLs coming up too, so we wouldn't want to distract her from studying."

"Since when do you care about something like that?" Pansy snorted.

"I don't care about it for myself, but I know that Luna will want to do her best," Harry corrected her. "She's a little Ravenclaw, our girl, and I wouldn't want to change that about her. We could see her again by the time summer comes around."

"And we can spend part of the Christmas break with her before we leave," Pansy added, still with a huge smile on her face. "We should plan on going to France too. I'd like to visit the Flora, Hestia, the Delacours and some of my extended family. We'll do that once it gets warmer though."

"Agreed. Probably any parts of Europe should wait until at least March or April."

"We've got the six weeks to do some research," Pansy said as she wiggled a bit and snuggled down into Harry's arms. She could feel his appreciation for it too, but she hid her grin for the moment. "We can look up protective charms to keep away bugs for example. And I suppose you'll have to officially learn that sunscreen charm."

"What sunscreen charm?"

"The one that I'm sure you've never used on yourself before spending hilarious amounts of time while covering me in the muggle stuff."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, and she knew he was smirking without even looking up.

"That's fine, but we might not always be sitting around at beaches and pools."

"Okay," Harry sighed.

"Good boy." Pansy took the opportunity to climb off him and pull Harry to his feet. "Now, between your unbeaten quidditch career and today's brilliant idea, I think we have plenty of reasons to go celebrate in bed. And in the shower first."

"This is why I love you," Harry laughed as he followed and watched her sway her hips.

* * *

"Alright, what's got you in such a good mood?" Luna wondered as Pansy was still smiling the next day during breakfast.

"You and I are going to the library today."

"We are?"

Pansy nodded. "We might even be able to drag Harry along with us."

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Why?" Luna asked.

"We've got a very important research project to start," Pansy replied as she started to eat, faster than usual. "You can probably help us a lot too, since you've traveled so much with your father."

"Oh, are we going to start planning a certain trip? For just the two of you?"

"Yes we are."

"Goodie! I know just where to start," Luna grinned as she dug into her plate. "Eat up, Harry, or we won't wait around for you."

Harry chuckled to himself and did as he was told. He was looking forward to it as much as Pansy; a few years prior, he had never been anywhere other than Surrey while growing up. Traveling now was inextricably tied to Pansy in his head, and it made him that much more excited to think of seeing more of the world with her.

"For the record, it was my idea," he reminded them with a smirk.

And so, Harry Potter ended up spending more time in the Hogwarts' library during that November and December than he ever had before. Thankfully, it was for a good cause. Luna's help was very useful, especially as she could write to her father for advice about spells that she might not have otherwise remembered. Despite his reputation as an oddball, Xenophilius was a font of knowledge about how magical people traveled the world.

* * *

Before November was over, and despite Pansy's vigilance during meal times, there was a third attempt at slipping Harry a love potion. She wasn't sure how someone had been able to do it either- Harry suggested maybe a switching spell, while Luna suggested someone asking one of the school's house-elves to do it. Unfortunately, it looked like it wasn't Romilda Vane either, so she didn't have any strong suspects.

Harry's celebrity was too great at that moment for her to take anyone for granted. They took to eating more meals in their quarters or down in the kitchens with just Luna for company.

It was at the beginning of December during one such dinner on a Sunday that Pansy decided on something she had been considering for a while. "Luna, are you busy this evening?"

"Unfortunately yes. I've got a paper for Babbling due that I put off so we could spend last night hanging out. Why do you ask?"

"I didn't want you to feel left out, but I've got something that I want to do with Harry."

"Oh? Something fun?" he asked with a playful waggle of his eyebrows.

"No... not really," Pansy sighed. "I've been thinking. With us leaving soon, I'd like to do a couple of things before we go. And I'd like to go down to the Slytherin common room one last time."

"Ah, right," Harry nodded. "I'll go with you."

"Are you going to be alright?" Luna asked.

"I've got some pretty complicated feelings about my time there," Pansy admitted. "My first couple of years were... a mixed bag, I guess. And, with that battle that broke out when Millie... died..."

She took a breath to calm herself and Harry and Luna both reached over to comfort her.

"I'd just like to say goodbye, I guess."

"Okay," Harry said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Can we go after we eat?" Pansy wondered if this was really a good idea, but it felt like something she needed to do- for closure, if nothing else.

"We are fairly close by," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah. I thought that way I wouldn't have as much time to lose my nerve," she snorted. Pansy leaned against Harry and closed her eyes for a moment. "You'll probably need to cheer me up afterwards."

"I can handle that."

Luna departed first, and Pansy's reticence was obvious as she held onto Harry and watched the blonde climbing the steps before she could force herself to start the short trek down a couple of hallways that would lead to her old common room.

"I'll be right here beside you," Harry reminded her and she nodded. They still didn't hurry along their way though.

"Galanthus Nivalis," she said once they reached the entrance, a section of the wall sliding out of the way.

"Leave it to dear old Sluggy to use Potions ingredients as passwords," Harry said.

"Better than some of the crap Snape used to pull," Pansy replied with a scowl. "I was honestly surprised that some of the little shits like Draco didn't convince him to use 'die mudbloods' or something back in our second year. 'Gryffindor sucks' used to show up before every quidditch match against you guys."

Harry chuckled darkly. "I'm so glad he died. Fucking bastard."

"Amen," Pansy nodded as they stepped into the Slytherin common room. It wasn't too packed as there were bound to be some people who stayed late at dinner, went to the library to study, or did various other things in the couple of hours before curfew hit. A handful of people they had worked with last year in Harry's defense group waved hello. They went down the steps, and she forced herself not to stare off to her right side, where she had seen Millie...

She shook that thought off and guided Harry over to the large fireplace on her left. "I remember sitting here a lot in my first year. I was still getting used to this place, and sometimes it could get kinda cold down here. At the same time, it was nice not to have to be around my parents anymore. But I think I like snuggling up on our couch with you a lot more."

"I would hope so," Harry said with a small smile. He wrapped his arm around her waist and Pansy relaxed as she took a minute just to bathe in the warmth of the fire, seemingly losing herself as she looked into the flames. "You know, it's a lot nicer down here than I would have thought several years ago."

"Even us nasty little Slytherins need a decent place to stay," Pansy snorted, bringing a laugh out of Harry.

"You ever wonder why the houses are where they are?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, on the one hand you've got Slytherin and Hufflepuff down at the bottom of the school, and then Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are both up at the top of towers," he pointed out. "I would have thought at least one of the founders might have gone for a more centralized location."

"That might be more practical," she shrugged. "But these are witches and wizards we're talking about. Practicality isn't the most common trait in the magical world. Paper and pencils have been around for hundreds of years, but we're still stuck with parchment and quills, you know?"

"Yeah," Harry groaned. "I swear my handwriting suffered a lot when I was trying to get used to writing with those stupid things."

"I've noticed it is better when we're at home." She pulled him on with her, over towards the windows that looked into the murky water of the lake. They produced a greenish tinge to the light that filtered into the common room. "I've always liked these windows."

"It's pretty different to the view up in Gryffindor."

"Yeah, but..."

"I like it too," Harry said. "It's sorta calming."

She squeezed his hand and just looked into the water for a moment.

"What are you two doing down here?"

Pansy turned, still holding onto Harry's hand, and saw Daphne Greengrass was watching them. "I just wanted to revisit the place."

"You haven't been down here all term," Daphne said. "I guess you've been too busy- planning for the wedding, maybe?"

"Or something like that," she smirked in response.

"Well, congratulations, I suppose." Daphne's tone was every bit as aloof as Pansy remembered and it made her smile in spite of all the years she'd been jealous of the blonde. "I noticed you weren't at dinner again tonight."

"Is that a question?" Pansy kept on smiling even as Daphne narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. She decided to answer instead of needling her former dorm mate any further. "Too many of the little sluts around here have tried to slip Harry love potions, and I've gotten sick of it. Since he doesn't want me to murder anyone-"

"Because the trip to Azkaban would be annoying," he added with a laugh.

"Indeed," she continued, "I've been trying to limit my frustrations."

"That is quite understandable," Daphne replied. "Astoria dragged me into that shop of the Weasley twins over the summer and I had to restrain myself when I saw they were on sale there, as if it was just another laughing matter."

"Yeah, Fred and George were my friends, but I wasn't okay with that either," Harry agreed.

"I will give them credit for their daydream charms," Daphne said. Pansy noticed a small glance at Harry before she continued. "The one I tried was rather amazing."

"They're pretty inventive guys," Harry answered.

"Indeed." Daphne looked down at their linked hands and smirked. "Are you two lovebirds looking forward to the holidays then? Only two more weeks before we're done."

"Very much so," Pansy grinned while Harry nodded in agreement. Maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea she thought. Daphne bid them farewell and Pansy pulled Harry down for a kiss before they turned away from the windows and left Slytherin behind.

She wasn't in too bad of a mood when they returned to their quarters, but Harry still did his best to cheer her up anyway.

* * *

"One last train ride," Luna said while she was sitting down across from them on the Hogwarts express. "Did you make sure to pack everything before we left?"

"Dobby and I both double checked," Pansy nodded. "Harry wasn't too helpful though."

"Just because I wanted us to go out with a bang-"

"We did that last night," Pansy interrupted him. " _Twice_."

"Yeah, but you rejected me this morning," he pouted. "Luna, my wife to be is so mean to me."

"You should spank her if she's being a bad girl," Luna suggested with a leer over at Pansy. "And she is, so very often, being a very, very naughty girl. Santa's going to put coal in her stockings."

"I'd much rather Pansy just wear those stockings," Harry said with a smile. "You should do that tonight to make it up to me."

"I might be persuaded," she smirked.

"So, what about one last train ride shag?" Luna asked with a grin. "I vote yes."

"If we do that, we'll have to wait awhile," Harry said with a frown. "I ate a big breakfast because I know how long this ride is."

"Me too," Pansy agreed.

"Me three," Luna smiled before turning thoughtful. "I suppose it wouldn't be as pleasant to try to have sex on a full tummy."

"Yeah, and my sex drive goes down after I've eaten," Harry shrugged.

"I think mine does a bit too," Pansy said.

"I'll have to keep that in mind for the future," Luna frowned. "It's too bad really. I always thought the idea of combining sex and food sounded fun."

"I think that works best if it's just a bit of something sweet, like perhaps chocolate, instead of anything too filling," Pansy suggested.

"Or honey," Harry said with a dreamy smile. "We should definitely do that again."

"Let's talk about something other than sex," Pansy said. She ignored the boos coming from her companions and shook her head, turning to Luna. "Are you going to be unavailable at any time over the holidays?"

"I'm just doing the usual with daddy," Luna replied. "No travel or anything. Why?"

"I was hoping that you and Xeno could come along when we go to the ministry."

"It's too bad you are just going to elope, but I can understand wanting to get away and start on the honeymoon."

"We might do a ceremony of some sort later," Pansy shrugged. "Maybe after you finish school and are free for the summer. I couldn't very well not have my bridesmaid with me, now could I?"

"I would enjoy that," Luna nodded happily.

"I still think we might want to use glamours to sneak into the ministry," Harry said. "I don't want to deal with a crowd, if at all possible. Just getting to the right department could be a mess."

"I could get there first," Luna suggested. "Then I could call you two on the mirror and let you know how busy it is. I would think it might not be too bad with the holidays coming up. A lot of people are bound to be taking time off during the Christmas season."

"That's not a bad idea," Pansy replied.

"Yeah, thanks, Luna," Harry added.

"No problem," she grinned in return. "Is there anyone else you were wanting to say goodbye to?"

"Um, maybe," Pansy said with a sigh. "There's Parvati, but..."

"But neither of you are sure what to say to her?" Luna finished.

"Yes."

"I think it should be Harry," Luna said.

"Really?" he asked.

"You might not always be as eloquent as Pansy, but it would mean more to her, I think," Luna replied. "Any feelings of envy she has are towards Pansy, not you, so that might make it easier on her too."

"I guess," he said as he looked out the window for a moment. That had been one of the things that bothered him about the fall term, seeing Parvati's previously cheerful self seem downright depressed, as well as knowing that there wasn't really much he could do about it.

"Don't put it off, Harry," Luna said firmly. "It might help us all feel a bit better."

"Okay." He stood up and made his way for the door.

Pansy sighed as he stepped outside. "Are you sure about this, sweetie?"

"Not completely, but I am fairly certain that talking to you wouldn't help as much."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Harry took a deep breath and knocked at the compartment door where he saw Parvati sitting alone, staring out the window. She looked startled when she saw him standing there but she waved him inside.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be riding all alone," he said, not sure how to get started.

"Lavender and Ron are busy together," she shrugged. "My sister will be probably be back in awhile, but she wanted to visit a couple of her dorm mates, so..."

"Ah," Harry nodded. "I, um, wanted to talk to you."

"Really?'

"Well, not really." He saw her face fall and Harry realized he was already screwing this up. "Wait, that's not what I meant. I do want to talk to you. It's just... I'm not sure what to say."

"Did Pansy put you up to this?" Parvati frowned.

"No, we-" he paused and tried to figure out the best way to put this, closing the door behind him. "We both have missed hanging out with you. You're our friend, Parvati, but we could tell how upset you were with... well, with Pansy's ring and everything. I'm just... I'm sorry, Parvati. I never meant to hurt you."

"You must think I'm so silly," she replied as Harry noticed her wiping a stray teardrop that had escaped.

"I don't think that. Not at all. I just don't know what I can do to make things better."

"I've been trying to come to grips with it, you know?" she said as he sat down across from her. "A part of me probably knew I was being a fool. 'I'll be your second girlfriend, Harry;' how silly of me to think that would somehow work. You and Pansy have been living together for years, how could I hope to somehow top that?"

"I... um..." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"It's not your fault, I should have known better," she shook her head.

"I'm still sorry," he said. "We care about you. And I will still help you if you want to get away from your parents after school, you know? That hasn't changed. I just... I didn't want to try to act like, I don't know. Like I expected you just to get over it, or something."

"Thanks, Harry." Parvati rubbed her arms and stood up. "Can I have a hug?"

"Sure."

"You're a good guy," she said as she leaned into him. "I'll pull it together one of these days."

"Well, it might be easier soon," Harry began. "Maybe..."

"What do you mean?" Parvati asked as she stepped back and sat down again.

"I've been kinda sick of some things lately," he shrugged. "All the attention and stuff, girls trying to slip me love potions, and some of the mail from people I've never met- I don't really know why some grown woman would think sending me her underwear would be a good way to introduce herself."

Parvati giggled at him. "A lot of guys would probably like that sort of thing, Harry."

"Yeah, well, a lot of guys aren't me," he answered with a frown. "If they were, or if people really knew some of the things I've seen and done-"

"I think they'd be even more in awe of you," Parvati argued. "I didn't see everything that happened that day when we went to the ministry, but I was still amazed at your courage that day. You walked into the middle of a dozen Death Eaters, Harry- willingly. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen. Either that or the craziest, maybe."

"Probably some of both," he chuckled. "There are other things though, things that even you might be shocked by."

"Harry-"

"I'm a killer, Parvati," he cut her off. "Maybe it's easier because they were terrorists, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I'm not normal. If all those people had really seen me have to fight, if they'd seen me literally get blood all over my hands, it wouldn't seem so damn heroic. It was never about being a hero to me- it was about making sure that someday I could just live my life in peace without worrying about who else was out there that wanted to try to kill me."

"I guess no one really thinks about it like that," she replied with a frown. "I'm glad I wasn't you in that case."

"I wouldn't want most people to have to go through some of my life," Harry said. "Although..."

"What's that grin for?"

"The one part that would have been pretty cool if you were me," he answered while still grinning. "You and Pansy in bed together."

"Harry!" Parvati laughed.

"What, I'm a guy," he shrugged. "Two hot chicks? Sounds pretty good to me."

"I guess I should be flattered," she said with a smile. "But I think you were going to say something before you got off track."

"Oh, yeah," Harry scratched his head. "Right. I'm kind of worn out on... just everything really. So, I'm done with Hogwarts. The magical world has always been so fickle and crazy about the way they treat me. I'm sick of it, so Pansy and I are going off on vacation."

"Oh," Parvati frowned, looking down at her hands. "I'll miss you."

"Maybe a few months will help."

"Maybe," Parvati shrugged. "Do you think we could hang out some next summer?"

"I don't have anything planned out that far yet, but yeah, probably."

"Sorry it took so long," Padma said as she opened the door, stopping when she saw Harry sitting there. "Um, am I interrupting anything? I can come back in a bit."

"No," Parvati shook her head. "Harry and I were just talking, but I think we're done."

"Um, yeah, I guess so," he said as he stood up. "I hope you two have good holidays."

"You too, Harry," Parvati smiled at him. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," he nodded as he left the compartment.

Her sister sat down across from her and Padma's concern was obvious. "Is everything okay?"

"I..." Parvati looked back at the door and then shook her head. "I think maybe it will be."

* * *

In the end, getting married was one of the easiest things Harry and Pansy had ever done. With only a couple of days till Christmas, the crowd at the ministry was thankfully thin. Getting in and out of the correct department and signing the papers that officially made them Mr. and Mrs. Potter turned out to be a breeze. Luna was smiling the whole time, with her and Xeno there as witnesses, and they all went out to eat Italian food for lunch afterwards.

It was one of the most laid back and simple ways to get married imaginable.

In spite of that, Pansy thought it was perfect. She and Harry got dressed up and went to a very fancy restaurant for dinner before celebrating their wedding night in the usual way.

Their Christmas shopping was much more practical than it might have otherwise been. They needed all sorts of supplies needed for their trip, not the least of which were clothes for much hotter weather than they would be used to. Harry and Pansy both practiced their cooling and drying charms, in preparation for what they expected as well- and that felt more than a bit odd as it was so cold and wet outside. No snow though, which made Pansy a bit nostalgic for the first holiday break they had spent together.

Harry bought her one other gift- a new mirror that he enchanted out the wazoo so she would only need to carry one of the things while still being able to get in touch with several people. Namely, he had made several connections for it, one of which brought them to visiting Steven, Vanessa, and little Grace Frost a couple of days later.

The bag full of presents though was mostly for Gracie, and Pansy had been delighted to be shopping for a baby. Not so secretly, Harry might have enjoyed it as well.

"Come in," Steven answered the door in a quiet voice. "But not too loud, we just got her down for a nap."

"Aww," Pansy whined with a little smile on her face. "I was hoping to hold her again."

"You'll just have to stay until she wakes up," Vanessa replied as she stepped into the hall. "It might not even take that long. How was your Christmas?"

"The best ever," Pansy grinned as she stepped forward and hugged her friend.

"How come?" Steven asked.

Pansy flashed her rings with a huge smile on her face. "I am now officially Mrs. Pansy Potter!"

"Oh my god!" Vanessa squealed, her hand coming up a second later to quiet herself before she woke the baby. Then she grabbed Pansy's hand to take a closer look. "It's beautiful. I was hoping to come to the wedding though."

"We didn't have a ceremony yet, but we might next summer," Pansy replied. "Harry's bad influence has worn me down, so we are done with school. We're going to leave on a honeymoon in a little over a week."

"Damn, Harry," Steven whistled. "That's a nice rock. It must have cost a lot."

"Yeah, but I figured this was the sort of thing worth splurging on," he shrugged. "Pansy plans on wearing it for the next hundred years or so, so I could hardly scrimp, now could I?"

"Hah!" Pansy snorted. "As if I'm ever taking this off. You can bet that I'll be buried with it."

"Whatever you want, dear," Harry grinned.

"See, I've already got him trained and everything," Pansy giggled.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm not sure. We had joked about a year long honeymoon, but I think we'll be back for the summer to visit you guys and Luna, if nothing else."

"And Parvati," Harry added.

"I'd like that, if she's over everything," Pansy agreed.

"What about Glastonbury?" Steven asked. "I know you guys had talked about wanting to go once you were out of school. I've started hearing about some of the bands that are going to be there this coming June."

"That's a good idea," Pansy smiled. "We'll have to see about getting tickets. Are you going to try to go?"

"Maybe," Vanessa replied. "Grace might be old enough to stay with my parents by then."

"Well, speaking of the little princess, I hope you won't be upset to learn that almost everything in here is for her," Pansy smiled as she held up the bag of gifts. "There's one for you too, but I'll have to give credit to Harry for making it."

"Let's go sit down," Vanessa suggested.

Pansy followed her and they were soon sitting on the couch together and spreading out the gifts across the coffee table. She pulled the one oblong box out that was wrapped in less colorful packaging and handed it to Vanessa. "I'll explain once you open it."

"Okay," Vanessa said as she raised an eyebrow and started to tear off the paper. "A mirror?"

"A magical mirror," Pansy replied with a grin as Harry handed her purse over and she pulled out her own. "It connects to mine, and you activate it by saying my name. This way, we can stay in contact no matter where we go."

"And considering we won't be near a phone, that can be handy," Harry added. "Other than when we're at the flat, we often aren't easy to reach."

"Which will be even more true soon," Pansy said with a huge smile. "We're going to start in Africa."

"And assuming she ever gets enough of elephants," Harry said which Pansy snorted at, "I might even get her to go to a few other places too."

"Does magic help with travel?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, a whole lot," Harry replied. "There's a couple of different ways that are basically teleportation."

"No way," Steven said with a grin. "You're going to make me jealous."

"The ride can be pretty bumpy with a portkey," Harry said. "So that kinda sucks, but since we haven't been to Africa before, it's still the best option for us."

"You know..." Pansy tapped her chin for a moment. "We could probably get a magic carpet while we're there."

"Those are real too?" Vanessa asked with a shocked expression.

"Yes, but they're illegal in England," Pansy replied with a frown. "However, if we're traveling in other countries, one could be really useful. Especially if we could disillusion it."

"That means invisible," Harry added, translating magic to muggle for their friends. "That's a good idea, love. Especially if we ever go on a trip with Luna and Xeno."

"Now you're making me wish I could go on vacation with you," Vanessa said with a smile.

"Maybe once Gracie is older," Steven suggested with a shrug.

"And once I'm able to afford the time off," his wife nodded. "I'm going back to work starting in the new year. I mean, I've been doing some things from home, but I'll be back in the office soon. What I want to know is about you finishing school though. Aren't there any rules about that sort of thing?"

"Not really," Pansy replied. "Most of the time, parents would probably make their children stay for all seven years. We don't have that issue, obviously. And now that I'm of age-"

"Seventeen is when you reach your majority in the magical world," Harry added.

"Right, since I'm now legally an adult, there was nothing to stop us from getting married. With Harry's fame probably at an all time high and all the annoyances that go with it, we both have decided that we don't need the stress anymore. We can learn what we want through self-study or hire tutors if we decide to in the future."

"But Harry, I thought you wouldn't turn seventeen until next year," Vanessa wondered.

"Yeah, but I was able to get legally emancipated," he answered. "It was one of the only really nice perks about being the last member of an old magical family. I still would have preferred growing up with decent people, but it helped the two of us in the long run."

"Well, I'm not sure where you're going, but parts of Africa are dangerous," Vanessa said. "And there are always poachers to worry about if you're going on a savanna trip."

"We can take care of ourselves," Harry said with a smirk. "And Dobby will be there to watch over us as well. Plus, we're starting out in Botswana, and according to my research, it's a pretty nice place."

"That's good," Vanessa replied. "After all the stories about Rwanda, the war in Somalia, and then Gambia had a coup a couple of years ago too- I would be worried to travel there. I'm sure it's beautiful, but people with guns frighten me."

"We're basically armed anyway," Pansy said. "We know how to defend ourselves with magic- and there are several spells that will divert attention away from us."

"Yeah, I could probably cast the notice-me-not charm in my sleep now," Harry added with a chuckle. "It's a spell that pretty much does what it says- people will just walk past and ignore you once you've cast it unless you draw attention to yourselves. I wonder how well it works on animals though."

"Luna said it does well unless the creatures are magical," Pansy answered. "Which means we should be able to get even closer to the elephants without bothering them or scaring them off."

"Just remember," Harry grinned. "Our flat isn't nearly big enough for you to bring home a pet."

"We'll have to think about moving then- won't we?" she teased in return.

Grace chose that second to wake up and make her presence known with her crying. "I've got her," Steven said as he left the room.

"I guess little princess Gracie decided she wants to see her gifts," Vanessa laughed. "Hopefully she isn't hungry again. That or she might be in a bad mood."

"Aw," Pansy pouted.

"She just started teething. It makes her cranky. We've taken to making sure there's always something for her to chew on other than me." Vanessa shook her head and sighed. "Here's something for you to remember for the future- cold helps with a little one's gums. Sticking her pacifier in the freezer for awhile makes her feel better. We're going to try frozen fruit once she's older."

"She just needed changing," Steven said as he returned carrying his daughter.

"Ooh!" Pansy tried to keep herself from squealing too loudly. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," he chuckled as he handed Grace over.

"Then I guess it's time to see what sort of presents you've brought," Vanessa smiled as Pansy was already entranced, cooing over the baby who had started giggling at her.

* * *

"Are you done packing yet?" Harry asked as he finished sorting the last of his clothes. They had decided to take a few things for cooler weather, just in case.

"I finished half an hour ago," Pansy answered from the bathroom.

"What are you doing then?"

"Just making sure I look fabulous," she chuckled.

"Why?"

"For when we go to Hogwarts."

Harry wandered down the hall to peek in at her. "You always look fabulous though."

She rolled her eyes and snorted at him. "I want to impress other people, Harry. Not just a simpleton like you."

"Why are you calling me simple?" he wondered with a grin.

"Do you like my outfit?" she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." The skirt was shorter than usual, always a plus in Harry's book, and her top was dark burgundy with a couple of buttons undone. He was a little concerned about why she was wearing heels, as that didn't seem very practical, but it sure did look nice. As for the stockings, well, that was just a reminder that he had married the greatest woman ever. Plus, he was already imagining peeling her out of the clothes as soon as she would let him.

"Judging by that goofy smile, I can guess what's on your mind," she giggled. "That's why you're simple."

"I know what I like," he shrugged.

"And I love that about you, but I want to make a statement as we leave," she said.

"Is that why we're doing this?" Harry asked with a grimace. "We could have just sent the letters with Hedwig. Or Luna."

"That wouldn't be nearly as amusing to me," Pansy replied, making him chuckle. "Besides, I want to gloat a bit. Announcing myself as Mrs. Potter will be too much fun for me to miss seeing all the faces of those stupid little girls, like whoever kept trying to slip you love potions. You wouldn't let me go on a murder spree, so I had to find another way to get my revenge. I'll even let you get handsy before we disappear, if you want."

"Rawr," Harry laughed. "For the record, a murder spree could have caused a delay in our honeymoon, which is the main reason I was against it."

"Understandable," she nodded as she peered into the mirror above the sink, turning one way then the other as she did one final check of her makeup. Harry didn't understand that either- she didn't seem to be wearing much other than some eye shadow, but then he was just a simple guy, so what did he know?

"Do you have the portkey?"

"It's on the table right by your purse," Harry said.

"Good." Pansy shooed him down the hall, turning off the light behind her. "Dobby?"

"Yes, mistress?" The little elf appeared in the middle of the living room, apparently waiting for them.

"I just wanted to make sure you've got everything placed in our tent."

"Dobby has finished and double checked everything," he agreed happily as he snapped his fingers and the magical tent appeared, closed up and rolled down to no bigger than a suitcase. It made Harry grin to think that contained inside it was more than half their belongings and almost a dozen rooms, including a fully stocked kitchen for Dobby and, most importantly according to Pansy, three bathrooms. They weren't likely to need more than two, but she had been firmly in favor of them both being able to get cleaned up from any hot, sweaty weather whenever they wanted. Harry had admitted that they might not always have time for shower sex, even though he pouted at her while doing so.

"What about our records?" Pansy asked.

"Dobby made sure of those, of course, mistress Pansy."

"Thank you, Dobby," she smiled at him. "I guess we're ready to go then."

* * *

It was very dark as Dobby transported them back up to Scotland, where they landed just outside the main doors leading into the castle. Harry looked around one last time, grinned, and said, "I think they're bound to be in the middle of dinner still."

"All the better for us to appear fashionably late," Pansy smirked.

"And make sure all eyes are on us when we go strolling in," Harry finished.

"You know me so well, husband."

Harry grinned and offered up his arm before they strode inside. Sure enough, everyone turned to stare when they came strolling down the center aisle of the Great Hall. He noticed a few faces- Luna smiled and winked at him, as she was off to his right, opposite from Pansy. Harry was pretty sure she knew exactly what his wife had planned.

And he smiled as well, just happy as the words 'his wife' flew around in his mind. They had survived, and now, somehow, he was actually going to get to experience that fabled happily ever after.

He noticed plenty of other people staring and whispering about them. Parvati looked better- he noticed that she was giggling, probably also realizing just how much of a scene this was going to cause. Of course, the fact that she was maybe the only other person there who knew that they were leaving likely helped.

Harry didn't have to look at Pansy to know that she was smirking triumphantly when they reached the staff table.

"Mr. Potter, you are a wee bit late," McGonagall said as she stood up.

"Sorry about that," he replied as Pansy reached into her little clutch purse and removed two pieces of parchment. "My wife and I just had to make sure we had finished packing everything."

You could probably hear a pin drop as everyone was trying to listen in, and in fact there was the sound of several pieces of silverware clattering onto the tables at his statement.

"Your wife?" McGonagall asked with a shocked look.

"Congratulations," Slughorn said with a merry chuckle.

"Thank you, professor," Pansy replied as she handed over the first piece of parchment. "As head of Slytherin, I am turning in my official notice to you. We are resigning from Hogwarts."

"I will miss you, my dear," he answered with a sigh. "But I suppose you must be excited for the honeymoon."

"Indeed," Pansy nodded with a smile.

"Headmistress," Harry said, drawing her attention as he handed over his own official notice that they were withdrawing from school. Professor McGonagall took the parchment and sat down with a frown as she began to read it. He turned to Pansy with a grin. "All set, Mrs. Potter?"

"Ready when you are, Mr. Potter," she smiled back at him as she pulled the portkey out of her purse and handed it over to him before taking his free hand in her own.

"Well then..." he turned back to look out over the Great Hall one last time. "Adieu."

Harry and Pansy disappeared together, leaving Hogwarts behind for the final time.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to once again thank everyone who has supported me as I've written this. All the reviews, favorites, and whatnot have been greatly appreciated.
> 
> It is a month from the three year anniversary of when I started writing this story. Although I wrote a lot as a kid and all through my teen years, it had been a decade or so since I had written anything at all before I started We're In This Together. And I'd certainly never done anything even close to this long either. I think that shows to some extent as I feel the writing quality improves over the course of the story, but I'm not the type to go back and rewrite the beginning.
> 
> I'd rather work on a new project instead.
> 
> Next, speaking of new projects, I have a few things in the works. First of all, my comedic take on Harry as a muscle bound bro is in the early stages of planning for year 3. If you like silliness, I'm pretty proud of Does Voldemort Even Lift, Bro?
> 
> Also, I have my first true crossover story that I'll probably begin posting soon once I can get a bit more planning and polishing done to make sure I've got the plot outlined. More to come soon.
> 
> And, finally, the characters in this story have claimed such a large portion of my imagination that I will be writing a sequel to this story exploring what happens in the years after Hogwarts. I imagine I'll answer some of the typical 'epilogue' questions like what are everyone's jobs, who marries who, who has kids, etc. Plus, one that I know some of you are looking forward to- will Pansy and Harry ever have a threesome?
> 
> I'll probably take a bit of a break before starting that up though. You can expect an update here to announce when I do start posting it.
> 
> Coming 2021- The Further Adventures of Harry and Pansy.


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